Stained Glass Window Colouring Project

Government of Canada (2012) Christi Belcourt's Stained Glass Window in Parliament Commemorating the Legacy of Indian Residential Schools

From the Government of Canada website

"A Stained Glass window in Canada's Parliament

Remembering Children who went to an Indian Residential School

For more than 100 years, the Canadian government took more than 150,000 Aboriginal children away from their families and put them in residential schools that were far away from their homes. At these schools, the children were not allowed to speak in their own Aboriginal language which they spoke at home. They had to wear different clothes and eat different kinds of food. They didn't get to see their families for a long time.

On June 11, 2008, the Prime Minister of Canada apologized to the former students, their families and their communities. On behalf of all Canadians, he said sorry for the hurt that some students experienced. He asked the Aboriginal people to forgive Canada for making such a big mistake.

In October 2012, a stained glass window was installed in the Parliament buildings. This window will teach visitors to Parliament about this sad time in Canadian history. The window also gives us hope for a better future for all Canadians.

The window was designed by Christi Belcourt, a Métis artist (www.christibelcourt.com)."

The following attachment is pdf document of colouring pages. Each page is part of the stained glass window. Learners could do this individually or in groups.

The following is the official Government of Canada pamphlet on the window.