Display of backpacks honours those buried at Marieval residential school site

Backpacks are being placed on the steps of the Legislative Building in honour of those buried in 751 unmarked graves on the former site of the Marieval Indian Residential School on Cowessess First Nation.

Prairie Crowe is behind the display. She was also the one who started putting shoes on the steps following the discovery of 215 children buried in unmarked graves at a former residential school site in Kamloops, B.C.

Of the first memorial, Crowe said she wanted to create a “visual” representation of those children. Others soon joined, placing far more shoes than the 215 she first expected.

“I was scrolling social media, I was emotional (and) I had grief. I didn’t really know how to feel,” Crowe said. “I just wanted to do something, so I did that, and then obviously a lot of other people felt like that because they contributed.”

Crowe said it was a healing experience for her, creating a space where others could gather, express their sadness and share stories.

Many of the backpacks have already been placed on the steps of the Legislative Building. Each one comes pinned with a cutout of an orange hand. They will be filled with school supplies and donated to inner-city children and possibly those living on First Nations reserves.

Like the tribute with the shoes, Crowe wanted to evoke a visceral reaction.

“Think of this, your little kid, or a kid with a backpack on, going to school and they never come back,” she said.

The recent revelations of unmarked graves at former residential school sites have sparked a debate on whether it would be appropriate for Canada Day celebrations to continue. A number of Canadian municipalities across the country, big and small, including in Saskatchewan, have opted to cancel celebrations.

Crowe feels like mourning, not just because the discoveries are still fresh but because to her, Canada Day represents the country’s attempt to erase Indigenous people and culture.

“It’s a time of grief for us right now,” she said. “I don’t really think fireworks and celebrating the creation of a country that created the residential schools for the creation of the country is fitting right now.”