The Witness Blanket at the Canadian Museum of Human Rights, photo by Jessica Sigurdson, Canadian Museum of Human Rights
Around the world, communities are grappling with the traces of systemic violence and human rights violations that exist in the landscape around us.
How do we remember injustices when the physical signs of that history are no longer visible? What do we do with the buildings and structures that still stand? And how are the memories embedded within these sites both painful scars and opportunities for healing?
In this episode Ry Moran talks with Carey Newman, Oliver Schmidtke, and Tavia Panton about sites with difficult histories in Canada, Germany, and the United Kingdom and what to do with them.
Carey Newman: @blueravenart
Oliver Schmidtke: https://www.uvic.ca/socialsciences/politicalscience/people/directory/schmidtkeoliver.php
Tavia Panton’s current project with Museums of Liverpool: https://www.liverpoolmuseums.org.uk/waterfront-transformation-project
The Witness Blanket: https://witnessblanket.ca/
The Witness Blanket documentary: https://humanrights.ca/story/picking-pieces-making-witness-blanket
Bluecoat’s Colonial Legacies Project: https://www.thebluecoat.org.uk/coloniallegacies
Episode Transcript
Close up of the Witness Blanket, photo 1 by Jessica Hlady, photos 2-5 by Jessica Sigurdson, Canadian Museum of Human Rights, phptp 6 courtesy of Media One Inc.
National Centre for Truth and Reconciliation on St. Michael's Residential School: https://archives.nctr.ca/St-Michaels-Residential-School-Alert-Bay
UBC Indian Residential School History and Dialogue Centre on St. Michael's Residential School: https://collections.irshdc.ubc.ca/index.php/Detail/entities/54
U'mista Cultural Centre: https://www.umista.ca/
Robert Joseph's new book: https://www.chapters.indigo.ca/en-ca/books/namwayut-we-are-all-one/9781774580059-item.html
Further reporting on St. Michael's Residential School:
TRC Calls to Action: https://www2.gov.bc.ca/assets/gov/british-columbians-our-governments/indigenous-people/aboriginal-peoples-documents/calls_to_action_english2.pdf
The Principles of Reconciliation: https://publications.gc.ca/collections/collection_2015/trc/IR4-6-2015-eng.pdf
United Nation’s Sustainable Development Goals: https://sdgs.un.org/goals
The Bluecoat Gallery, photo by Sophie Traynor; The Colonial Legacies exhibit, photos by Kiernan Irvine.
This podcast is created through direct work of an incredible group of people. It is produced and written by Karina Greenwood and Ry Moran, with editing and script support by Cassidy Villebrun-Buracas, mixing and mastering by Matheus Terra, with music by Ry Moran.
Special thanks to Christine Walde, Emily Garry, Kaelan Smith, Lisa Abram, Molly Hanley, Samantha McFarlane, and Sophie Beriault for all their work and support on this project.
Taapwaywin is made possible through the University of Victoria Strategic Framework Impact Fund and with support from the UVic Libraries and CFUV Radio. This podcast was created on unceded lək̓ʷəŋən and W̱SÁNEĆ territories.