Residential school classroom resources added to "Where are the children" web site
Press release ...
The Legacy of Hope Foundation launches 'Where are the Children Classroom'
November 1, 2007
The Legacy of Hope Foundation launches Where are the Children Classroom, an exciting new addition to its online resource collection about the Residential School System in Canada, on Education Day at the Manito Ahbee Festival, Winnipeg Convention Centre, Winnipeg, Manitoba.
Swept under the carpet for over 100 years, the legacy of the Residential School System in Canada has only recently been exposed to the public at large. In 2005, the Legacy of Hope Foundation and its partners created Where are the Children? Healing the Legacy of the Residential Schools, an exhibit of photos and artifacts that has been shown in communities across Canada. This exhibit became the basis of an online exhibit that was enhanced with video, audio and 3D content.
“Where are the Children? is an important online resource where all Canadians can learn why and how residential schools came about and who was involved in their administration. The goal of this resource is to stimulate discussion and foster greater understanding of the long-term and intergenerational impacts of Residential School faced by past and present generations of First Nations, Inuit and Métis peoples. Phase 2 of the website, www.wherearethechildren.ca, will give improved access and tools to anyone wishing to find some answers and learn more about the Residential School System in Canada.” Isabella Tatar, Executive Director of the Legacy of Hope Foundation.
Phase 2 adds a new exciting interactive classroom experience. In the classroom, visitors to the site will find themselves sitting at a desk, similar to those used in many residential schools. The area around the desktop is equipped with a textbook, dictionary and an interactive map and timeline feature. The virtual textbook allows users to flip back and forth through pages and chapters where information can be found about the schools and what school life was like for students, as well as about the immediate and long-term impacts on Survivors and their descendants. Most importantly, users can watch and listen to videos of Survivors, and consider the broad and devastating impacts of abuses suffered in residential schools.
Where are the Children? Healing the Legacy of the Residential Schools at http://www.wherearethechildren.ca is one of the many projects at the Legacy of Hope Foundation designed to encourage and support Aboriginal peoples in building and reinforcing sustainable healing processes to address the legacy of the Residential School System. The Legacy of Hope Foundation is a national, charitable organization whose purpose is to educate and create awareness and understanding about the legacy of residential schools and the effects and intergenerational impacts on First Nations, Inuit and Métis peoples and to continue to support ongoing healing processes through sharing and reconciliation.
This website was made possible - in part or entirely - through the Canadian Culture Online Program of the Department of Canadian Heritage, and with the generous support of the following corporate partners:
- Aboriginal Healing Foundation
- Donna Cona, Inc.
- Nation Media + Design Ltd.
- Jeff Thomas, Curator of the Website
- Animikii Inc.
For more information please contact the Legacy of Hope Foundation Executive Director, Isabella Tatar, at 1-877-553-7177 extension 303. Cell phone: 613-222-7384. In Ottawa, 613-237-4806.