An exhibit about the TRC in the Level 7 Inspiring Change gallery displays a beautifully hand‐painted guitar from the National Centre for Truth and Reconciliation collection. The guitar was gifted to the TRC on behalf of the Jesuits in English Canada as a gesture of reconciliation.
Painted by Métis artist Christi Belcourt, it symbolizes how music was an escape for students in residential schools. The guitar also represents how survivors use music for sharing their experiences and as a tool for healing.
For a time, the exhibit displayed the beautifully carved Bentwood Box as its visual centrepiece. Made from a single piece of red cedar by Coast Salish artist Luke Marston, the box accompanied the TRC during events held across Canada, receiving diverse offerings from participants, including the ashes of tissues containing the tears of survivors.
On January 25, 2017, the Bentwood Box returned to its home at the National Centre for Truth and Reconciliation.
You can discover more about the significance of the carvings on the Bentwood Box within our mobile app under the heading "Floor 7".
In addition to this exhibit, several other exhibits that explore the tragic story and legacy of residential schools, which is among Canada’s most pressing human rights concerns. The Museum recognizes the colonial experience in Canada, from first contact to the present, as genocide. As a national museum and hub of human rights education, we have an important role to play in efforts towards reconciliation between Indigenous and non‐Indigenous people in Canada. We are working to keep the conversation alive, examine injustices and contribute to education as a powerful tool towards reconciliation.
The Museum is working to keep the conversation alive, examine injustices and contribute to education as a powerful tool towards reconciliation.
Truth and Reconciliation is featured in the Level 7 Inspiring Change gallery.
