Simon Fraser University

Simon Fraser University has approved a Burnaby campus memorial to commemorate the experience of First Nations, Metis and Inuit children who attended residential schools. It will be a part of the Faculty of Education’s new Aboriginal Gathering Place. The initiative is sparked by the Truth and Reconciliation Commission (TRC) final report.

“It is still early, but we envision the creation of a special area with a copper or bronze wall plaque with map, locations and names of B.C. residential schools, a small stone or bronze statue of a hugging mother and child figure, and a memorial garden with traditionally used plants and an outdoor classroom,” said William Lindsay, director of the Office for Aboriginal Peoples at SFU.

“The plan is to locate this in a beautiful patio location that is part of the new Aboriginal Gathering Place being created in the SFU Faculty of Education. We see this place as a place of honour, a place to remember, and a place to learn.”

It is expected that the project will take years to complete. SFU’s Vancouver Aboriginal gathering place opened last fall.