For more than 150 years, thousands of Indigenous children were taken from their families and sent to residential schools across Canada.
Artist Carey Newman created the Witness Blanket to make sure that history is never forgotten. The Blanket is a living work of art—a collection of hundreds of objects from those schools. It includes everything from photos, bricks, hockey skates, graduation certificates, dolls and piano keys to braids of hair. Behind every piece is a story. And behind every story is a residential school Survivor, including Carey's father. This book is a collection of truths about what happened at those schools, but it's also a beacon of hope and a step on the journey toward reconciliation.
The epub edition of this title is fully accessible.
Canadian Children's Book Centre (CCBC) Norma Fleck Award for Canadian Children’s Non-Fiction | 2023 | Winner
Forest of Reading Yellow Cedar Award | 2023 | Nominated
United States Board on Books for Young People (USBBY) Outstanding International Books List (OIB) | 2023 | Commended
Ontario Library association (OLA) Best Bets | 2022 | Commended
CCBC Best Books for Kids & Teens, starred selection | 2022 | Commended
Children's Book Council Teacher Favorites Award 6th - 8th Grade | 2023 | Commended
Young Readers' Choice Book Awards of British Columbia (YRCABC) Red Cedar Book Awards | 2024 | Nominated
Canadian Children's Book Centre (CCBC) TD Canadian Children’s Literature Award | 2023 | Nominated
BC Books for Schools | 2022 | Commended
Indigenous Books for Schools | 2022 | Commended
“Newman collected the stories of residential school Survivors and brings those stories forward in this book in a way that is very accessible for the reader. The stories are personal and emotional and bring alive the truth that enables the reader to understand the scope and intensity of the cultural genocide that was done to not only Indigenous children but entire Indigenous communities.”