Plaque lasting reminder of residential school victims
- EFN Staff | August 15, 2018
A monument to commemorate and honour those who died while attending the Regina Indian Industrial School (RIIS) over 100 years ago was unveiled on August 14th.
“This Provincial Heritage Property designation ensures the Regina Indian Industrial School Cemetery history will not be forgotten,” said Minister of Parks, Culture and Sport Gene Makowsky in a media release. “This plaque is a permanent feature to commemorate the children who passed while attending the school, and acknowledges the impact residential schools had on Saskatchewan peoples and communities.”
Located west of Regina on Pinkie Road, the RIIS operated from 1891-1910. The cemetery is the final resting place of at least 35 children from First Nations and Métis communities from Alberta, Saskatchewan and Manitoba who died while attending the school.
RIIS Commemorative Association member, Janine Windolph helped to make this a reality. Back in September of 2016, the RIIS grave site was granted approval for heritage recognition and gained heritage status. This was passed by the City of Regina Planning Commission which was a unanimous vote.
“We wish to thank the City of Regina and the Province of Saskatchewan for commemorating this important heritage site and joining us in the spirit of reconciliation,” Windolph said. “It is important that this story be shared so that future generations may gain a better understanding of what happened in a dark part of our history.”
Windolph and Trudy Stewart, both filmmakers, were approached by the Saskatchewan Filmpool in 2014 to make a documentary about the RIIS. Their 46-minute documentary called ‘RIIS from Amnesia’ premiered on May 22nd, 2015.
It was a long journey but it was something worth investing their time in.
“Unveiling this monument was an emotional and powerful experience for many,” said Federation of Sovereign Indigenous Nations Chief Bobby Cameron. “We still have a long road ahead of us on the healing journey, but are pleased to be witnessing this historic moment of reconciliation
after the devastating legacy left by the residential school system.”
Provincial Heritage Property designations play an integral role in the conservation and protection of Saskatchewan’s heritage. The RIIS association worked hard to implement and honour the Truth and Reconciliation Call to Action #75 where the federal government is called to work with “provincial, territorial, and municipal governments, churches, Aboriginal communities, former residential school students, and current landowners to develop and implement strategies and procedures for the ongoing identification, documentation, maintenance, commemoration, and protection of residential school cemeteries or other sites at which residential school children were buried.”