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Martha Komak lights the qulliq during the residential school travelling exhibition, We were so far away, the Inuit experience of residential schools, at the Mikilaaq Centre in Arviat in March of 2009. - photo courtesy of the Mikilaaq Centre

ARVIAT - Arviat residents saw a portion of a dark time in both Inuit and Canadian history come to life for almost two weeks this past month.

The Mikilaaq Centre hosted the travelling exhibition, We Were So Far Away, the Inuit experience of residential schools, from March 16-28.

The exhibit's visit was sponsored by the Kivalliq Outreach Program, through its affiliation with the Pulaarvik Kablu Friendship Centre and the Aboriginal Healing Foundation.

Isabella Tatar is the executive director of the Legacy of Hope Foundation, which created the exhibit.

She said the project developed out of an original exhibition (Where are the Children: Healing the Legacy of the Residential Schools) the foundation had developed.

"We worked with curator Jeff Thomas to develop the Where are the Children project in 2002," said Tatar.

"Jeff (Thomas) went to church and public archives across Canada to find photographs of residential schools.

"He, basically, used 118 archival photographs and government documents and text to document the history of residential schools.

"It portrayed life in aboriginal communities before, during and after the residential school system."

That exhibit travelled to communities across the country, recently finishing its tour in Owen Sound, Ont.

Tatar said some communities weren't able to access the exhibition, given its size, and Inuit survivors and family members indicated they'd like to see the experiences of Inuit survivors distinctly represented.

She said that struck the foundation as a very worthwhile undertaking, because very little information had been available on the Inuit experience at that point.

"We were hearing a lot about the First Nations experience, but not as much about the Inuit experience.

"So, in 2007, the Legacy of Hope Foundation partnered with the Aboriginal Healing Foundation and Library Archives Canada to develop this current exhibition, which was launched this past February in Ottawa, Ont., with a second version touring around the North."

The foundation is currently looking at ways to bring the exhibit to Chesterfield Inlet and Iqaluit.

She said arrangements will be made to ship the exhibit to any locale that contacts the foundation and requests it.

"We're working to get the word out about the exhibition so communities can contact us, and, also, initiating contact with people we know in various communities to see if there's any interest in having it showcased there."

Tatar said response to the exhibition has been overwhelmingly positive to date, with many people expressing appreciation that it exists.

She said the exhibit uses the voices of eight survivors from the four Inuit regions in Canada (two each from Nunavut, Nunavik, Nunatsiavut and the Inuvialuit region) to tell the collective experience of residential schools.

"The exhibit is helping the voice of Inuit survivors to be heard, and it allows people to engage in a dialogue about the impact the residential schools had in certain communities.

"We're working to develop educational components to accompany the exhibit to help engage youth, students and the community in the exhibition space, as well as encourage dialogue around residential schools, healing and reconciliation.

"We also have a comment book that travels with the exhibition so people can leave their ideas and stories."

Tatar said the foundation works with host communities to ensure there's health support available in case anyone finds the exhibition and its content difficult.

She said although they haven't encountered such a situation to date, the exhibit has the potential to trigger emotional responses and memories from the past.

"We try to ensure the communities hosting the exhibit have supports in place to assist survivors with any difficulty they may have.

"But, so far, the response we've received from both aboriginals and non-aboriginals who have viewed the exhibit has been nothing but positive.

"This is just the beginning for this exhibition, and we'd like it to be around for as long as the stories need to be told of the distinct Inuit experiences at residential schools.

"Having said that, we also hope the time comes when people have heard the stories about the residential schools and it becomes part of what we know as Canadian history."