Interpretive panels welcomed at Sask. Residential School Memorial

Two new elements were added to the monument: information panels were installed and metal silhouettes of children, made by the Indigenous company Pro Metal Industries in Saskatoon.

The monument was unveiled on June 21, 2022 in response to the Truth and Reconciliation Commission’s Call for Action Number 82.

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Saskatchewan Lieutenant Governor Russ Mirasty said in a speech that the monument “was really a place that was meant to be a place of many things.”

“…There is definitely a spiritual side to this site that we have always respected and continue to respect. We also believe it is a place where people come to learn.”

The only element missing from the monument, Mirasty said, was a “representation of children.”

He said it was Government House that had engaged Pro Metal Industries to produce the images.

Cappo was accompanied to the unveiling by his family.

“We … remember that we were once children. The image of those silhouettes of children is a wake-up call for everyone. And for me too,” Cappo said. “My daughter was there today, so it woke me up a little bit. I said, ‘Look, honey, that’s where Daddy used to be.'”

Chad Debert, manager of Government House, said “the intention was always to do a little more visual interpretation of the site, to give context and tell a little bit of the history … something that specifically speaks to the children who have gone missing and the children who have survived,” Debert said.

The panels were installed in a pavilion near the monument, and Debert said it was an important addition.

“There is a historical connection. This was the place of government from 1891 until the birth of the province. And it is an accessible place, everyone can come here at any time of the day.”

According to Debert, the new panels offer a glimpse into history.

“This is the briefest history of boarding schools… There are a few statistics on it. But what we have given people is the opportunity to take the first step. We hope that people will leave here with the courage to ask questions, encouraged to explore their own knowledge and understanding, and to share what they learn and move forward in a positive way.”

Cappo also hopes that people will go home with a better understanding.

“You can’t just look at someone and know their story,” he said. “I tell my wife I can walk into a store dressed like this and (people will) look at me. But I go in dressed in a shirt and pants and they don’t seem to follow you. They look at you completely differently. So it’s creating that awareness.”

Cappo said of his own experiences at boarding school that it was “very different” from anything he had experienced before.

“I went from having a family to having none,” he said. “I grew up fast in that boarding school because we had to.

“We are supposed to feed and guide our children… It was a very traumatic experience, but I changed that for my children.”

When asked if the government should do more for boarding schools and survivors, Cappo replied in the affirmative.

“It’s called action,” he said. “We need to see more action, especially with regard to boarding schools, especially education and language.”

Cappo speaks a foreign language.

“If it wasn’t for my culture, my language and my identity, I don’t know where I would be,” he said. “I think there needs to be more action from the government, not just the provincial government but the federal government, to create a better understanding.

“To quote Murray Sinclair (former chairman of the Indian Residential Schools Truth and Reconciliation Commission), ‘Education is what got us in, education will get us out.’ That education part is very important.”

With files from Nicole Garn