A new memorial recognizing the former site of the Wawanosh Home in Sault Ste. Marie was officially unveiled to the public during an event held at Royal Canadian Legion Branch 25 on the National Day for Truth and Reconciliation.
Started in 1879 by Rev. E. F. Wilson, the institution was one of Canada's first residential schools for Indigenous girls. The school closed its doors in 1900 when the girls' school was relocated to the former grounds of Shingwauk Indian Residential School.
The new memorial, which features a sitting area and a plaque to educate the public about the Wawanosh Home, is the result of a three-year collaboration between the Legion, SalDan Developments Ltd. and the Children of Shingwauk Alumni Association (CSAA).
“It’s mind blowing, absolutely mind blowing,” said CSAA member Marjorie Cachagee-Lee, who attended the Shingwauk school. “This was nothing but tall grass here, and we took the initiative. Everybody worked together — the Legion, the Children of Shingwauk, the architects. We searched for funding, and it turned into this beautiful memorial place for people to sit and learn what was here before.”
A sandstone monument, erected on the present-day grounds of the Legion by the South Tarentorus Women’s Institute in 1967 in recognition of the Wawanosh Home, was preserved in 2021 after the Legion formed a partnership with CSAA, a group made up of Shingwauk survivors and their family members.
A subcommittee was struck three years ago, aimed at enhancing the memorial and transforming it into a place of quiet reflection — an idea inspired by Shirley Horn and Jackie Fletcher of the Children of Shingwauk group.
“We were able to create this enhancement, and going forward for many, many years people will understand and know that the memorial is dedicated to the Wawanosh residential school,” said Pierre Breckenbridge, president of Royal Canadian Legion Branch 25. “Many people didn’t know the memorial was here before, or that there was even an Indigenous school here. Our small part in getting that story told, it pleases me.”
The new memorial, which was erected with the help of various grants and donations by community partners, comes with an estimated price tag north of $400,000.
“The memorial unveiling is a very proud moment,” Breckenridge said. “It’s an example — when people deal with each other in truth, with respect and person-to-person, there’s nothing that can’t be done. There’s nothing that can’t be fixed, and there’s nothing that can’t be overcome.”
Cachagee-Lee says Monday’s event “warmed her heart” as she thought about her five deceased brothers — all of whom attended residential school — and the children who never made it home from those institutions, which were designed to strip Indigenous Peoples across Canada of their language and culture.
“What is so good here is to see the native and non-native population coming together as one and understanding — the understanding is getting out there, because their children will now understand,” she said. “It is getting into the schools slowly, but it’s not getting there.”
The former Wawanosh site received heritage designation by the City of Sault Ste. Marie in 2021.
A National Residential School Crisis Line is available to provide support for former Residential School students. Emotional and crisis referral services are available by calling the 24-hour national crisis line: 1-866-925-4419.
The Hope for Wellness Line is available to all Indigenous peoples and provides immediate, toll-free telephone and on-line support and crisis intervention 24 hours a day, seven days a week and is available in English, French and, upon request, Cree, Ojibway and Inuktitut. Trained counsellors are available by phone at 1-855-242-3310 or by online chat on their website.