2023 Memorial Monument for Children of the Indian Residential Schools
Kwakwaka'wakw Master Carver Stanley Hunt, from Prince Rupert, BC, and Vancouver businessman Ray Bergen, partnered to initiate the “2023 Memorial Monument for Children of IRS” Project, and invite everyone to join the resulting 18-foot monument in its journey from Fort Rupert, down Vancouver Island to Victoria, and then on to Vancouver. From the invitation:
Kwakwabalas, Stan Hunt and the team from the “2023 Memorial Monument for Children of IRS” Project extends a warm welcome to your community and all residents in your area to participate this journey. A chance to celebrate what has NOT been lost through IRS. Our communities are stronger, our children hold the space in the way our ancestors taught us, learning language, participating in ceremony and practicing traditional and cultural values.
See the attached downloads for the full text of the invitation and itinerary and a collection of photographs from the carving process.
The monument is scheduled to be arriving in Victoria's Inner Harbour around 10am on Tuesday, 20 June, with public viewing opportunities from noon-3pm that day. The final ceremony and departure for Vancouver via Canadian Coast Guard hovercraft will take place on Wednesday, June 21, at 11am - National Indigenous People's Day.