Truth and Reconciliation as Art at Sergeant Tommy Prince School

Sergeant Tommy Prince School wraps up the school year with a Truth and Reconciliation Calls to Action Gallery, a school-wide project involving all students and teachers researching the calls to action to create art and interactive displays with their findings. Students addressed 12 Calls to Action of the 96 listed in the Truth And Reconciliation Commission with each class addressing 2-3 calls.

Principal Wendy McPherson had long planned the project, working toward the gallery as early as two years ago. Studies for the calls to action began early in the 2024-2025 school year for each class, classes then selected Calls to Action to address together.

“The idea was that they are the teachers. They’re our next generation that need to know some of this painful stuff, so when we talk about it, we make sure there is a feast going on or that there’s a smudge happening, that it's all done to honor their spirits and talk about it safely. Because they’re the ones that are going to share this with some of the grandmas and elders who maybe can’t talk about it.”

Principal Wendy spoke further to the experiences she witnessed in the gallery, “ A Grandmother spoke about how she was angry over how this would have been hard for her, but she had a sense of peace.” The viewer was able to view the gallery without a lens of trauma, but with a sense of pride in the students' work.

MFNSS commends Sergeant Tommy Prince for their dedication to sharing the knowledge of the Truth and Reconciliation Commission. The gallery was open to the community and the public for 3 days June 17-19.