The Witness Blanket: Truth, Art and Reconciliation

For more than 150 years, thousands of Indigenous children were taken from their families and sent to residential schools across Canada. Artist Carey Newman created the Witness Blanket to make sure that history is never forgotten.The Blanket is a living work of art-a collection of hundreds of objects from those schools. It includes everything from photos, bricks, hockey skates, graduation certificates, dolls and piano keys to braids of hair. Behind every piece is a story. And behind every story is a residential school Survivor, including Carey's father.This book is a collection of truths about what happened at those schools, but it's also a beacon of hope and a step on the journey toward reconciliation.

"Newman collected the stories of residential school Survivors and brings those stories forward in this book in a way that is very accessible for the reader. The stories are personal and emotional and bring alive the truth that enables the reader to understand the scope and intensity of the cultural genocide that was done to not only Indigenous children but entire Indigenous communities."

Carey Newman or Hayalthkin'geme is a multidisciplinary artist and master carver. Through his father he is Kwakwaka'wakw from the Kukwekum, Giiksam and WaWalaby'ie clans of Fort Rupert, and Coast Salish from Cheam of the Stó lo Nation along the upper Fraser Valley. Through his mother he is English, Irish and Scottish. In his artistic practice he strives to highlight Indigenous, social or environmental issues. Carey was awarded the Meritorious Service Medal in 2017 and was named to the Order of British Columbia in 2018. Carey lives in Victoria, British Columbia.

Kirstie Hudson is an editor and writer in Victoria, British Columbia. She was a reporter and producer with the CBC in Toronto, Vancouver, Prince Rupert and Victoria. In her award-winning career as a journalist, Kirstie's work was recognized with a Jack Webster Award, Radio Television Digital News Association Awards and a Gabriel Award. As an instructor at the University of Victoria and Royal Roads University, Kirstie shared her love of storytelling with students in writing, communications and journalism.

Together, Carey and Kirstie wrote Picking Up the Pieces: Residential School Memories and the Making of the Witness Blanket, which was a finalist for the City of Victoria Butler Book Prize and the Norma Fleck Award for Canadian Children's Nonfiction.

The Witness Blanket now lives at the Canadian Museum for Human Rights (CMHR) in Winnipeg, Manitoba. It was placed there through a unique stewardship agreement between Carey and the CMHR. The agreement recognizes the legal rights of the Blanket and the stories it holds and shares responsibility for its care between Carey and the CMHR.

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