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The Witness Blanket is more than a wooden representation of a woven blanket. It is the story of Canada’s indigenous people who came before. The website dedicated to the project says, “Inspired by a woven blanket, the Witness Blanket is a large-scale work of art. It contains hundreds of items reclaimed from residential schools, churches, government buildings and traditional and cultural structures from across Canada.”
Located in Chalmers gym this November, the display was open to students to show the story of resilience and heartbreak left behind from the residential school system. Bathurst is the second place in New Brunswick to have the honour of displaying it to schools and public.
The blanket contains the items collected by Carey Newman and displays the effects of the mass genocide that occurred. Every piece tells a story, every piece depicts the darkest place in Canada’s history.
It is a reminder of all the students who never made it home and all the loss caused by the schools.
The blanket includes hundreds of pieces collected from across Canada, all with their own stories that could have been left forgotten in the darkest corner of Canada’s history, but that are now being brought to light once again to help Canadians see the truth of the effects of the residential school system.
Every time a person looks at the witness blanket, they are bound to find something new that they missed the previous time. An interactive website can help viewers understand what each item is and its significance. For example, one of the artifacts is a piece of a swing that was contributed by Councilor Richard Stonechild. The description reads that it is a “piece of a swing set that was at the File Hills Residential School near Balcarres, Saskatchewan. The school was located on the Okanese First Nation and is surrounded by 3 other First Nations. StarBlanket, Little Black Bear First Nation, Peepeekisis First Nation.”
Some students who viewed the blanket had deeply emotional reactions. One student group had the opportunity to make their own art piece depicting how they perceived the whole experience. These art pieces made by students will be displayed in learning centres in Bathurst as a testament to the impact the Witness Blanket has.

Hannah Moreau

Students from Bathurst High School went to NB Power in Belledune for a class trip on November 14. Environmental Science 120 students went to NB Power to learn about energy and what kinds of employment opportunities are available at the facility.
The students on the trip learned a lot, but one feature of the trip stood out to everyone: the see-through floors and heights. Students could see all the way down to the 1st floor all the way from the 50th floor. A lot of the students on the trip were afraid of heights and some say it helped their fear of heights or made it tremendously worse. The tour guide sympathized with the students, saying their first month working there and about how scared they were with the heights, but they got used to it and are not afraid of heights anymore.
If students were not scared of the heights, they feared the elevator. The elevator was so fast it would go from floor 1-20 in the span of 10 seconds. Some also say when the elevator stopped it felt like the elevator was going to drop just like a thrill ride.
Before the trip, some students were excited with anticipation. “I’m so excited to see what it’s like working for NB, being able to control the whole New Brunswick Power, until I realized how scary it is because of the see through floors and the fast elevator,” Madison Legacy said.
Teacher Renee St.Onge said the purpose of the trip was “to learn about sustainable energy and NB power’s efforts to move in that direction. They also had a chance to explore various careers in trades” Mrs. Renee said. “I thought it was great that some of the students who were looking at trades had a chance to chat with people in the field and were given advice on courses and college pathways. I also liked learning that NB power was currently testing coal alternatives in power generation in an effort to move away from coal dependency in 5 years.”
– Tanisha Paulin