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9T Langdon School 2015

A Gesture of Reconciliation to Residential School Survivors

Project of Heart

+Gesture of Reconciliation

Project of Heart

Students in 9T designed and created a gesture of reconciliation for survivors of Residential Schools. 9T wants to remember and honor all residential school survivors. They designed a totem pole that has animals on it that represent the traits that people who went to residential schools have. The Eagle at the top of the totem pole is holding dream catchers. These dream catchers were created to keep away the bad dreams and thoughts from the days in residential schools.

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+Totem Pole

At the top of the totem pole, we put an eagle. The eagle represents courage, sacrifice and healing. The eagle is the ruler of the sky and has a great leadership. Under the eagle is a turtle. The turtle represents adaptability in the face of adversity. Next, is a hawk which shows the power of focus and vision. Below our hawk, we placed a whale. The whale helps people in need, especially the helpless and the wounded. Up next is the crocodile, who is strong willed, emotional and a healer. Below the crocodile, we put a bear. The bear symbolizes healing, courage, self preservation and strength. After the bear, we put an elk. The elk represent majesty, strength and nobility. At the bottom, the grouse represents personal power and enlightenment. All the animals represent traits that Residential School Survivors demonstrate on a daily base. We want to honor these traits.

+Dream Catchers

9T designed and created 1 large and 8 small dream catchers. The eagle is holding the small ones on his wings. The purpose of these dream catchers is to protect Residential School survivors from having bad dreams. The dream catchers will replace these bad dreams with good, positive dreams. The positive dreams go through the center and slide down the fathers to the person below. The negative dreams get caught in the web and disappear once daylight comes. Again, these dream catchers were made to represent protecting those that were in Residential Schools from the bad thoughts and dreams that arise. The dream catchers were handmade with metal rings, leather, string, beads and feathers. Each dream catcher has its own unique design.

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Presentation to Residential School Survivor

Elder Randy BottleMarch 24, 2015

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We, 9T, respect and honor all the Residential School Survivors in Canada. Please accept the totem pole and dream catchers as a Gesture of Reconciliation on behalf of Project of Heart.

“Thinking of you.”