News release details

In honour of the National Day for Truth and Reconciliation, the Canadian Museum for Human Rights (CMHR) will be open with free admission on Monday, September 30.

Visitors are encouraged to participate in conversation and take time to reflect and bear witness with the return of the Witness Blanket to the Museum. The Witness Blanket stands as a national monument to recognize the atrocities of the Indian residential school era, honour the children, and symbolize ongoing reconciliation. 

Inspired by a woven blanket, the large‐scale art installation by Carey Newman, whose traditional name is Ha̱yałka̱ng̱a̱me’, is made from pieces of history – hundreds of items reclaimed from residential schools, churches, government buildings and other cultural structures across Canada. 

“My role as an artist is to bear witness. The pieces themselves are witnesses. The people giving us the pieces are witnesses, and, at some level, we are all – or we all should be – witnesses,” said Newman, who was in Winnipeg last week for ceremony marking the return of the Witness Blanket to the CMHR.

Long weekend hours of operation: 

Saturday, September 28: 10 a.m.– 5 p.m. (regular admission) 

Free admission on Sunday, September 29: 10 a.m. – 5 p.m. 

Free admission on Monday, September 30: 10 a.m. – 5 p.m.