The replica of a large scale art installation made out of hundreds of items reclaimed from residential schools across Canada is in North Battleford right now through February 9th at the Chapel Gallery.
The Witness Blanket is a national monument to recognize the atrocities of the Indian Residential School era, to honour the children that went to these schools, and to symbolize ongoing reconciliation.
The original toured Canada extensively and is now undergoing conservation at the Canadian Museum of Human Rights in Winnipeg.
The piece isn’t actually a blanket. It’s a cedar-framed work inspired by a woven blanket with all the objects recovered from residential school sites included in the piece.