INUVIK
The legacy of the residential schools in Inuvik now has a sombre reminder in the halls of the Aurora Campus.

Nellie Cournoyea, left, chairperson and CEO of the Inuvialuit Regional Corporation, Doug Robertson, the director of the Aurora Campus, and Inuvik Boot Lake MLA Alfred Moses pose with the commemorative marker to Grollier Hall and Stringer Hall at Inuvik's former residential school during its unveiling April 2 at the college campus. - Shawn Giilck/NNSL photo

A stone sculpture of a mother and child will serve as a permanent commemorative marker at the college on Gwich'in Road. It was built mostly on the site of Grollier Hall, the notorious residence associated with the school. The Midnight Sun Complex is built mostly on the site of Stringer Hall.

The statue was unveiled at a subdued but emotional event during the evening of April 2, hosted by the college and campus director Doug Robertson.

The sculpture was commissioned through the Truth and Reconciliation Commission, organizers said.

Meghan Etter said she was contacted by the Assembly of First Nations to get the funding for the sculpture. Once that was arranged, she and Lucy Kuptana organized the event at the college.

"The piece is made by an actual residential school survivor, so that is relevant," Etter said. "To be able to house it here, at the college, on the hall site, means a lot to everybody. I can't take all the credit, it was Lucy's vision.

"It's something that's been talked about a lot in the last five or six years. This is a nice moment that remembers the past while moving toward a healthier future."

Robertson talked about the "mixed emotions" in Inuvik when the site was chosen for the Aurora Campus building.

"There were those who felt the choice of the site was inappropriate, that nothing good was likely to come of something that was built on it. Other people felt differently, that there could be no better thing than the hall site, that it would help people strive for a better future.

"It challenges the educators and administrators that work to make sure that we have learned from the past, and to accept that there are different ways of knowing."

The sculpture will also speak forever to the "strength and resilience" of those survivors of the residential school system.

Nellie Cournoyea, the chairperson and CEO of the Inuvialuit Regional Corporation, said "it will be an ongoing portrait of what happened in the past.

"There was a disconnect between the Arctic people and the institutions from the south that believed they should do something to bring the native peoples into the mainstream of Canada. Unfortunately many of the things that happened really broke us apart more than brought us together," Cournoyea said.

"I know it's difficult for people to comprehend, but these students never went home, sometimes for a period of 10 years. They didn't see their parents, and didn't even know if they ever would. When they came home, they were different people, and they had a difficult time to relate to their parents and learn again the traditions so they could survive in the smaller communities."

Cournoyea said people "worked very hard" to create a venue where they could express themselves. Aboriginal people, she added, often internalize their feelings and never speak out, and it's difficult to break that barrier.

"It's very difficult, even today, to try to get that relationship straightened out. The question is how do we move forward, and we have to find a way to bring that on and continue. We have a lot of work to do," Cournoyea said.

Perhaps the most poignant comments came from Gwich'in elder Winston Moses.

"People help each other in time of trouble," he said. "But we also learn from struggles. Tonight, I'm sure every one of you is helping each other, and learning. I want to thank all of you for coming, and not just for the survivors of the residential school, but also for those who have passed on."