All 2022 Festival Youth events can be attended in-person or viewed online. Please ensure that you select the correct ticket option during checkout.

How can we meaningfully engage our communities and our children in discussions about reconciliation? In this conversation for adults, educators, and students, Indigenous artist Carey Newman and co-author Kirstie Hudson speak to The Witness Blanket: a collection of photos, letters, hockey sticks, braids, bricks, dolls, and other hundreds of items that reside in this living work. In Coast Salish tradition, these blankets uplift the spirit, protect the vulnerable, or honour the strong. Newman and Hudson will speak to how we can acknowledge the trauma inflicted on Indigenous peoples by the residential school system, and pay tribute to stories of loss, strength, and resistance required for healing. Grades 4–7.

Event Participants:

Kirstie Hudson

KIRSTIE HUDSON was a reporter and producer with the CBC. Her work has been recognized with a Jack Webster Award and a Gabriel Award. She co-authored The Witness Blanket and Picking Up the Pieces: Residential School Memories and the Making of the Witness Blanket. (BRITISH COLUMBIA)

Carey Newman

CAREY NEWMAN or Hayalthkin’geme, is a multidisciplinary artist and master carver. In his practice he highlights Indigenous, social, or environmental issues. With Kirstie Hudson, he co-authored The Witness Blanket and Picking Up the Pieces: Residential School Memories and the Making of the Witness Blanket. (BRITISH COLUMBIA)