Project of Heart was founded in 2007 by Ottawa secondary school teacher Sylvia Smith, who was outraged to discover that there were only 64 words pertaining to residential schools in her students’ history textbook. Smith developed an innovative educational toolkit and began a strategic campaign to engage students and teachers across the country.
In the fall of 2012, the BC Teachers' Federation was selected by the Project of Heart to host the Truth and Reconciliation Commission (TRC) National Commemoration Project for Indian and residential school survivors in BC. The project saw the collaboration of teachers and students from over 270 BC schools working with Aboriginal artists to create the beautiful canoe that has come to symbolize healing and reconciliation.
Teachers who signed up to do Project of Heart had residential school survivors tell their stories in classrooms. Then their students created artworks on wooden tiles to pay tribute to children who died in residential schools and to honour survivors. Through the 6,000 tiles, students expressed their learning and their commitment to building respectful relationships and a better future together.
The canoe was carved by Derrick George, a Tsleil-Waututh carver and intergenerational survivor of residential schools, and his three sons. With great pride and generosity, Derrick and his sons donated the canoe to the BCTF as the foundation for the commemoration piece.
Una-Ann Moyer, a Tahltan artist and Aboriginal support worker for the Langley School District, took on the task of embellishing the canoe with the tiles created by students from across the province. Each tile is a witness piece, representing something meaningful from one person’s journey of learning about residential schools.
The canoe was blessed at a ceremony in 2013 on the ancestral lands of the Kwantlen, Katzie, and Matsqui First Nations prior to its unveiling at the TRC National Education Day to honour survivors. The canoe, displayed in the Learning Place over three days, offered thousands of people the opportunity to view it, touch it, and “read” the stories. Thanks to the strength and courage of residential school survivors, Canada’s once-hidden history has been illuminated.
Since its unveiling in 2013, the Project of Heart canoe has toured the province visiting different communities, creating dynamic relationships and opportunities to learn about residential schools. Along its journey, the canoe has brought history into the present and helped us understand that residential schools are not simply something from the past.
Starting its journey in Langley in 2013, the canoe travelled amongst secondary schools during the following school year. The canoe next travelled to the U’mista Cultural Centre in Alert Bay and was exhibited alongside the Speaking to Memory exhibit at the museum. At that time, the U’mista Cultural Centre stood in the dark shadows of St. Michael’s Indian Residential School which has since been demolished. Survivors who visited the exhibit often shared how the heartfelt artwork that embellished the canoe was meaningful and contributed to their healing.
From U’mista Cultural Centre, the canoe journeyed down island to Comox where a partnership between the schools and the local museums led to the creation of a beautiful lightbox replica of the canoe. Comox teachers were anxious to develop curriculum with connections to the Project of Heart canoe and have posted this project to their website. Port Alberni welcomed the canoe for the following school year. Chilliwack was then set to host A Journey with the Project of Heart Canoe the next year, but with the pandemic, many restrictions were in place around in-person events. The canoe then travelled along its journey to Mission before leaving for Fraser Cascade for the 2023–24 school year.
Exhibit Installation: Project Heart Canoe, U’mista Cultural Centre, Alert Bay, 2018.
Exhibition installation: Canoe lightbox, fabricators: Werner Karsten, Alun Macanulty). HD Video projection, Speaking to Memory 13:20 min., CVAG, 2018. HD Project of Heart 69:42 min., CVAG, 2018. 2018. Publication
The Project of Heart canoe has been a catalyst for ongoing learning and a centre for broader projects with community partners. Often the scope and duration of each project changes based on local partnerships and BCTF members' experiences with the canoe. In honouring the survivors who have shared their stories, it is important that locals and schools wanting to share in the stewardship of the canoe understand what is involved in preparation to receive and welcome the canoe. Consideration should be given to planning with respect to educational opportunities, potential partnerships, and engagement with local communities.
The intent of the protocols will encourage both an awareness of, and a commitment to, Acts of Reconciliation that denote Indigenous values of cultural responsibility, respect, and ceremony. Each local or school is encouraged to invite Elders, Knowledge Keepers, local chiefs, and survivors to follow cultural protocols specific to their respective community or territory. As the canoe represents learning about the impact of residential schools, the exhibition may be triggering on multiple levels. Many people in their lifetimes, and through the lifetimes of their parents and grandparents, have lived through trauma. The story of residential schools, is unfortunately, one that has echoed in similar ways across the world and the telling of this story is a powerful bridge-building and healing opportunity. Through dialogue regarding this difficult part of Canada’s history, much light is being shared. It is important to be prepared for this to be an emotional and powerful learning experience.
To support survivors and families that have experienced, and continue to experience, the impact of residential schools, information on crisis lines offering cultural and emotional support should be available, particularly at events where survivors are asked to speak. A list of crisis lines supporting survivors can be accessed here.
Each local or school that hosts the canoe is highly encouraged to create a legacy project, so that the learning can continue even after the canoe moves on to another local. Examples of legacy projects include the beautiful lightbox replica of the canoe that was developed in partnership between Comox schools and the Comox Valley Art Gallery and is intended to travel with the canoe. As part of their legacy project, Port Alberni created a resource bank filled with lesson plans, which they have agreed to share with organizations who host the canoe.
It is recognized that some communities may have greater access to resources, including opportunities to collaborate with community partners. In contemplating legacy projects, the intention is to continue the conversation, generate awareness, and ultimately, contribute to the ongoing healing of residential school survivors. The scale of the project may be small, but the impact may be significant.
As has been the practice, each community agrees to host the Project of Heart canoe for the duration of the school year, although in several instances this time been extended to support collaboration with community partners. The U’mista Cultural Centre in Alert Bay requested that the canoe be paired with the Speaking to Memory exhibit at the museum, and therefore, the canoe remained longer than initially intended. Similarly, in Comox, the partnership with the local museum and creation of the lightbox extended the duration of the exhibition.
In hosting the canoe, consideration should be given to the planning of events that will take place within the school year and specified timeline, but as we know from past experience, the canoe is often a catalyst for learning, resulting in changes to the scope and duration of legacy projects. Given these opportunities, there may be some flexibility to extend timelines to host the canoe, where possible, and if doing so does not create hardship for those communities and organizations that are planning to host the canoe.
Teachers are encouraged to work with their classes and prepare their students to discuss the difficult material involving residential schools. Providing students with information prior to the arrival of the Project of Heart canoe is important in helping build context and mitigating vicarious trauma, which may be experienced by some students.
The Federation has the following resources to support educational and learning:
Project of Heart: Illuminating the hidden history of Indian Residential Schools in BC. Project of Heart is an inquiry-based, hands-on, collaborative, intergenerational, artistic journey for seeking truth about the history of Aboriginal people in Canada. This teaching resource examines the history and legacy of Indian residential schools, commemorates the lives of the thousands of Indigenous children who died as a result, and prepares students to engage in social justice activities that contribute to the developing truth and reconciliation movement.
The Project of Heart book can be ordered by emailing Miranda Light at mlight@bctf.ca. An Issuu version of this resource can be viewed here.
Gladys We Never Knew: The life of a child in a BC Indian Residential School Someone's sister … someone's auntie … someone's daughter … Gladys was first introduced in the Project of Heart book. Designed for the intermediate grades, this teacher and student-friendly, ten-lesson module was written with the New BC Curriculum in mind. While learning about the true-life story of Gladys, a local Aboriginal girl from the Nlaka'pamux Nation in Spuzzum, BC, students are taken on a local, land and place-based historical journey of inquiry and ethical judgement. Students are encouraged to connect personally to Gladys as they work together to examine and evaluate a wide range of primary and secondary resources. Click here to access this resource.
Digital tools and resources: The Federation also has a number of recommended digital resources to support learning, which can be accessed here.
The BCTF's Professional and Social Issues Division supports members and locals with training. Workshops are led by classroom teachers (facilitators) with special expertise and are available to school staffs, districts, locals, parent groups, and conferences/PD days. If you would like to book an Aboriginal Education workshop, please click here to learn more about available workshops and eligibility.
The canoe and lightbox are suitable to exhibit in a variety of environments such as galleries, community halls, school foyers, etc.
The canoe is 16’ 5” L x 15’ 4” W x 11’ 5” H. and sits on wooden blocks and weighs approximately 55 kilograms. The lightbox is 16’ 2 1/2 “L x 2’ 1 ½” W x 1’ 1 3/4” H.
The designated area to exhibit the canoe and lightbox should provide adequate space for viewers to walk around the canoe unincumbered. Ideally, the space should be in an environment that invites reflection, connection, and learning.
Transportation will be co-ordinated by the Federation, who have established relationships with unionized shippers, to ensure the safe and careful transport of the canoe. In a commitment to ongoing learning, costs associated with transportation will be the responsibility of the Federation.
In order to minimize travel of the canoe, it will be best to consider regional or zone-based travel of the canoe wherever possible. The intent is to minimize excessive travel to mitigate the risk of damage to the canoe and increased transportation costs. This also supports community knowledge and partnership opportunities with the canoe being a resource and centre point for broader projects. As such, the Federation will co-ordinate a multi-year hosting schedule that considers the best options for transportation and minimizes "ping-pong" travel around the province.
Before expressing interest in hosting the Project of Heart canoe, it is important to have an informed plan and prepare for what stewardship entails. Part of planning involves consideration of existing partnerships or relationships with local communities that might be part of the Expression of Interest. Readiness to receive the canoe also includes understanding the cultural protocols within the hosting territory as a commitment to Acts of Reconciliation defined by each community hosting the canoe.
If you would like to find out more information about stewardship of the canoe before submitting an Expression of Interest, please email Gail Stromquist, Assistant Director, Aboriginal Education, Professional and Social Issues Division at gstromquist@bctf.ca. To submit an Expression of Interest to host the Project of Heart canoe, please click here.
We acknowledge that BCTF office is located on the unceded lands of the Coast Salish people, including the territories of the xʷməθkwəy̓əm (Musqueam), Səl̓ílwətaʔ/Selilwitulh (Tsleil-Waututh) and Skwxwú7mesh (Squamish) Nations.
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