November 2 Presentations: Chanie Wenjack was an Anishinaabe boy from Marten Falls First Nation. In 1963, at the age of nine, he was sent to Cecilia Jeffrey Indian Residential School in Kenora, Ontario. Three years later, he ran away trying to reunite with his family 600 kilometers away.
Chanie joined the spirit world on October 22, 1966, a week after he fled. His body was found by the railway tracks. His death sparked the first inquest into the treatment of Indigenous children at residential schools.
We are very fortunate to have Susan Stewart, a grandmother of one of our SJA students coming to share her knowledge of residential schools and Chanie Wenjack’s personal story. She is a close friend of Chanie Wenjack’s sister and currently the Executive Director of the True North Aboriginal Parternship. Susan will be giving two presentations which will be shared with the classes virtually on November 2. One will be geared for the students in grades 2 and 3 and the second will be for students in grades 4 to 8.