As part of the Generations Lost: Healing the Legacy of Residential Schools exhibits currently on display at the Irving K. Barber Learning Centre (IKBLC), Xwi7xwa Library has curated several display cases that feature books, photographs, archival documents and other unique materials held in special collections at Xwi7xwa Library relating to Residential Schools in Canada.
The Generations Lost exhibits, Bi-Giwen: Coming Home, Truth Telling from the Sixties Scoop and Generations Lost: Healing the Legacy of Residential Schools on display at IKBLC, along with 100 Years of Loss: The Residential School System in Canada teaching resources on display at UBC’s Education Library, are presented in partnership by the Faculty of Education and UBC Library, with thanks for the generosity of the Legacy of Hope Foundation, creator of the exhibits.
The Legacy of Hope Foundation has worked with Survivors, Indigenous communities, researchers, curators and educators to develop resources, such as K-12 curriculum, to increase public awareness and knowledge of the Indian Residential School System legacy. These exhibits, and the materials made available through the Xwi7xwa Library, Education Library and the Faculty of Education, highlight the importance of education to advance reconciliation.
“When Xwi7xwa was asked to curate the display cases we wanted to do so in a way that would complement 100 Years of Loss and Bi-Giwen, while telling a story of local experiences of Residential Schools, and highlight some of the unique collections and programs that UBC and UBC Library have. We also wanted visitors to engage with the displays and reflect on their own understandings of reconciliation, while encouraging them to not forget about the legacy of Residential Schools in Canada and beyond,” says Kayla Lar-Son, Indigenous Programs and Services Librarian at Xwi7xwa Library.
Each of the eight display cases at IKBLC focuses on a different theme, including: Orange Shirt Day, the Truth and Reconciliation Commission, Uplifting Survivor Voices, Children and Youth Resources, NITEP (Indigenous Teachers Program Faculty of Education), the BC Experience, Research and Residential Schools, and Looking into the Archives. The cases also include unique items like the cedar shavings collected from Reconciliation Pole carved by 7idansuu (Edenshaw) James Hart, Haida Hereditary Chief, as well as medicinal plants like sage and cedar bundles.
Visitors are encouraged to contribute their thoughts about the exhibit on an orange shirt clothesline.
The exhibits, which run until October 29, are open to the public on Level 2 of the Irving K. Barber Learning Centre, located on the UBC Vancouver campus.
Learn more about the Residential School System in Canada in Xwi7xwa Library’s research guide.
The National Indian Residential School Crisis Line is available 24-hours a day for former residential school students: 1.866.925.4419
This webpage contains subject matter that may be disturbing to some visitors, especially to Survivors of the residential school system. Please call the crisis line if you or someone you know is triggered while reading the content of this webpage, or experiencing pain or distress as a result of their residential school experience.
This project is part of UBC Library’s strategic direction to engage with communities.
Learn more about our Strategic Framework.