Living Healing Quilt Project
Promoting Healing – One Stitch at a Time

This square was quilted by Lugaganowals (Trudy Spiller). I am Gitxsan in British Columbia and I belong to the House of Gwinintxw of the Wolf Clan. I am a member of the Hospital Employees’ Union which is over 60 years old. HEU is the healthcare sector in British Columbia for Canadian Union of Public Employees.

In 1996 a constitutional amendment was adopted at convention to form four equity standing committees: First Nations, Ethnic Diversity, Gays, Bisexual, Lesbians and Transgender and People With Disabilities. I am presently the Chairperson for HEU First Nation standing committee and I also sit on CUPE National Aboriginal Council from our committee. This square is dedicated to all HEU and CUPE Brothers and Sisters that attended residential schools.

In Solidarity, Trudy Spiller, Hospital Employees’ Union and CUPE Nations Aboriginal Council

Living Healing Quilt Project
Promoting Healing – One Stitch at a Time

My mom, Mavis Harrison Linklater, was four years old when she was sent to St. Margaret’s Residential School in Fort Frances, Ontario. She passed into the spirit world before the legacy of the Residential School System was made public in Canada. She never received an apology from the Catholic Church, or the government of Canada; nor did she receive the “common experience” payment that was issued to survivors of the Residential School System. She was the second generation of my family to attend St. Margaret’s Residential School, as both my grandmother and grandfather were former students.

My mom had many losses in her life, including losing me to the Fort Frances Catholic Children’s Aid in 1969. I became part of the “Sixties Scoop.” When I came home in 1988 she had already passed on.

I could not have completed this quilt block without the help of my sister Deanna Harrison Perrault – who worked with me collaboratively on content; my cousin Trevor Nelson – who retrieved the school picture from a family photo album and produced a jpeg version; my sister Andrea Legge – who re-touched the photograph; my friend Suzanne Smoke – who embroidered the words; and my mother (adoptive) Marion Legge who sewed the quilt block with care and thoughtfulness. This submission was a meaningful project, which brings honour to my mom’s life and experience. Her legacy lives on through myself, my sister Deanna, and her grandchildren – Blaze, Julie and Equix.

Submitted by: Renee Linklater

Living Healing Quilt Project
Promoting Healing – One Stitch at a Time

My colonial name is Moneca Sinclaire and I was raised as a person who attended residential school, even though I never attended. After much thinking I pulled together these quilt pieces to depict how my life was affected by mom’s life in the residential school, tuberculosis sanatorium and the institution of marriage. My mom’s life was very much right or wrong or black and white. I had initially wrote a poem about my observations of my mom’s life and was originally going to submit that as my written piece however after speaking to many people they encouraged me to send the poem in as a piece to be put next to the quilt piece I made. For me the process, although difficult, was a very good process as it has enabled me to put my mom’s spirit to peace.

It was a difficult piece to put together but I think it speaks to the life she had from her residential school experience. Unfortunately my mom left into spirit world without ever having spoken about her life…the stories I learned from her attending residential school were from residential school conferences where I met who knew my mom. They shared with me what they (and my mom) went through in the residential school they attended. My mom’s life was a quiet one and I truly believe it was us, her children, who kept her spirit alive to keep living in this world despite what she had endured.

I am grateful for having her as my mom as I did learn a lot from her in terms of how I want and am raising my son, her grand-son. I also learned about bravery, gentleness and love from my mom who near the end of her life she began to get out of her grief as she began to shine and get out of the house.

Kinaskomitin Ekosani Moneca Sinclaire

Living Healing Quilt Project
Promoting Healing – One Stitch at a Time

Photo L to R: Dominic, Madeleine (Pashquod), Marcel, Evelyn, Elizabeth
(Zabed), Jerry

This is a photo of my Dad’s family – they are Anishinabe (Algonquin) from Kitigan Zibi Anishinabeg (Maniwaki, Quebec). It was taken the day his older brothers and sister (Marcel, Jerry, and Evelyn Buckshot) left for Residential School in Spanish, Ontario around 1947. I was told that my grandmother, Zabed tailored downs these suits for the boys. I don’t really know that much about this time in my Dad’s family. I have noticed, though, that nobody in the photo is smiling.

There’s actually only two things I ever heard about this time. My Uncle Marcel once said, “I was sent there to go to get an education, and all I remember doing is working in the kitchen”. As well, my Aunt Evelyn recalled being told that if she did not go, her mother would be thrown in jail. She was 6 years old at the time, and remembers being very afraid. I never heard my Uncle Jerry speak about these schools.

My Dad did not attend these schools, and left Kitigan Zibi with his mother when he was 8 years old. They moved to Syracuse, New York in 1954. All three older siblings followed – and found work or enlisted in the service, married, and raised their families there. Perhaps my grandmother felt she had to leave to protect my Dad from going to these schools?

I strongly believe this experience had it’s lasting effects on everyone. It impacted our loss of family relationships, loss of Anishininabemowin (our language), and bimodizowin (good life). The one thing these schools did not take away is their strong sense of identity and pride. Both uncles and aunt married into Iroquois families. While acknowledging the differences of our respective languages and cultures – there is a common experience and history of being an Indigenous on Turtle Island. This enabled our generation to hold onto a sense of cultural identity to pass onto our future generations – both Anishinabe and Haudenosaunee respectively.

This quilt square is dedicated to my Uncles Marcel and Jerry, who have passed on to the Spirit world respectively in September 2007 and May 2008; my Aunt Evelyn, my Dad, and to all their families: Marcel, Nancy, Bear, Andrew, Ryan, Seth, Deidre, and great-grandchildren of Syracuse, New York and Onondaga Nation Jerry, Elaine, Sherry, Cindy, Carla, Kayla, DJ, Jenna, Ian, Emerson, Amelia, Brandon, Tweets, Casey, Allissa, Brent, Ah’rie, and great-grandchildren of Syracuse, New York, Onondaga Nation, Akwesasne Mohawk Nation. Sheila, Brian, Corey, Christopher, Rana of Gloucester, Virginia. Jimmy of South Carolina Evelyn, Basil, Jon, Missy, Basil Jr. (Bub), Jon (Baby Jon), Stephanie, Shania, Devon, Quinten, Autumn, Soleil, Anjeni, Mia, Basil III and great-grandchildren of Syracuse, New York, Onondaga Nation, and Oak Island, North Carolina Norman, Lucille, Dena, Teen, Jared, Liam, Delia of Kitigan Zibi, Gatineau, and Ottawa

For all the sadness, hardships, and burdens you carried all of your life,
Christina Buckshot, August 2008

Living Healing Quilt Project
Promoting Healing – One Stitch at a Time

I found my strength and healing within Mother Earth and the Helpers of Mother Earth.

Living Healing Quilt Project
Promoting Healing – One Stitch at a Time

In Remembrance of the survivors of Residential School & for those that have gone off to Skyworld.