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Treaty Space

Project of Heart
Jude Gerrard, J.L. Ilsley High School

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Treaty Space Gallery, 1887 Granville St

Community collaborative project

Content notice: This exhibition contains witness statements by residential school survivors. Some of these stories recount the abuse they endured.

Project of Heart—a powerful collaborative project—brought together artist-educator Sabine Fels, Mi’kmaw artist Jude Gerrard, the Department of Education and Early Childhood Development, the Department of Justice, the Halifax Regional School Board, and the students and staff of J.L. Ilsley High School in Spryfield, Nova Scotia.   

Through art, education, and reflection, students engaged with the history and intergenerational legacy of the Indian Residential School system in Canada. Under the guidance of Fels and Gerrard, participants explored the devastating impact of residential schools on Indigenous communities while honouring the resilience and strength of Survivors and their families.   

Using visual storytelling and collaborative art-making, the project provided a space for students to express their learning, empathy, and commitment to reconciliation. The result is a meaningful tribute that acknowledges historical injustices while fostering dialogue and understanding within the school and broader community. The Project of Heart initiative stands as a testament to the power of art in education, truth-telling, and reconciliation. 

All of the quotes come directly from two documents filed by the Truth and Reconciliation Commission, including “Honouring the Truth, Reconciling for the Future”, and “The Survivors Speak”. Quotes displayed in red are those of the survivors and those in black are from historical government officials. 

The flag exhibited was flown on the Peace Tower in Ottawa on June 21, 2019 (National Indigenous Peoples Day.) It is flown upside down to honour those Indigenous children, both survivors and victims, in Canada’s policy of assimilation through the Indian Residential system, as well as those who are continually victimized by the child welfare, education, justice, and health systems in Canada. 

“You cannot have reconciliation without relationships.  Relationships begin when we listen to each other’s stories. Reconciliation begins when we believe those stories.” 
– Jude Gerrard