NOW OPEN: A National Crime: The Residential School System, Local Saugeen Ojibway Nation Impacts

EXHIBIT NOW OPEN

September 15 – November 30 

From the early 1830s to 1996, over 150,000 First Nations, Inuit and Métis children, some as young as four years, were forced to attend residential schools funded by the Canadian government and administered by the churches.  

The Residential School System consisted of at least 139 schools across the country and was part of a genocidal national strategy to remove Indigenous Peoples from their lands, to destroy their cultures and traditions, and to assimilate them into the dominant culture. The mental, physical, and spiritual abuses suffered by these children have had a deep impact, not only on the children themselves, but also on their families, their communities, their descendants, and on Canada as a nation.  

Over 300 children from Saugeen First Nation and Chippewas of Nawash Unceded First Nation were forceably removed from their homes and communities to attend these schools. Children were sent great distances away across Canada (Ontario, Manitoba, Saskatchewan) and into the USA (Michigan). 

WARNING: This exhibition contains subject matter that may be disturbing to some visitors and may be triggering. Please call 1-866-925-4419 or your local crisis line for counselling and support. 

The Bruce County Museum & Cultural Centre, in partnership with the Legacy of Hope Foundation, Saugeen First Nation, and Chippewas of Nawash Unceded First Nation, are pleased to bring this exhibition and local perspective to the region. 

Proudly presented by Enbridge.