Picking Up the Pieces

Personal and Classroom Learning Resource:

Through impactful interviews, and profound photographs, Newman & Hudson examine the residential school legacy. An accomplished artist, Newman has created “The Witness Blanket”. This metaphorical blanket is a collection of 889 objects which have been constructed into an exhibit taken from every residential school across Canada. In this resource, Newman documents the journey of creating this piece and then touring it across Canada to be displayed as a means for everyone to “bear witness” to the truth. In doing this, they are valuable contributors to examining ways to move forward in Truth and Reconciliation. Newman and his team also incorporate interviews with survivors which are both heartwarming and heartbreaking., and there is also a full-length documentary about the creation of this project. This would be an exceptional resource for teachers as personal learning to learn about the residential school legacy and could also be used in a secondary school classroom