Posted May 26, 2023, 5:13 PM
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Registered User
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Join Date: Dec 2015
Posts: 14,680
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Quote:
Originally Posted by FarmerHaight
The entirety of the residential schools memorial at Robson Plaza has been removed. You can now once again sit on the south VAG steps if you so please.
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Sun article about it:
Quote:
The dismantling of the residential school memorial at the Vancouver Art Galley has not gone according to the city’s plan.
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City officials say they had originally intended to “respectfully” begin removal of the items from the steps of the VAG on Friday, but when staff showed up in the morning they found the majority of the memorial items had been removed overnight.
Hundreds of pairs of children’s shoes and stuffed animals were placed at the memorial on the steps of the downtown VAG to honour the children whose potential unmarked graves have been detected on the sites of several former residential schools.
In an email, the city said the decision to remove the memorial was made with the artist, volunteers, and the local xʷməθkʷəy̓əm (Musqueam), Sḵwx̱wú7mesh (Squamish) and səlilwətaɬ (Tsleil-Waututh) First Nations.
“Volunteers on the site have since confirmed they have removed the items, and transported them to an undisclosed location, and are not following through with the agreed-upon process,” the city said in a statement Friday morning.
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In a follow-up statement Friday afternoon, the city said it learned the shoes and stuffed animals had been placed in spots throughout the city.
People who encounter these items are being asked to contact [email protected] so that the city can transfer these items “to a central location to prepare for blanketing and an upcoming private burning ceremony with Indigenous partners.”
Earlier this week, Haida artist Tamara Bell, who the city of Vancouver had asked to remove the memorial, claimed the city had agreed to create a healing garden to replace the memorial.
In a news release, Bell said she and Desiree Simeon, who had been leading a vigil at the VAG to protect the memorial from being dismantled, had “constructive talks” with the city, the gallery, and the park board, and that they agreed to build a “healing park” on the south side of the VAG.
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“It is our fervent hope that the creation of this new park at the Vancouver Art Gallery contributes to a deeper appreciation of the need for healing, for hope, and for respect,” said Bell.
However, while Vancouver staff confirmed the city has been in talks to develop a plan “to respectfully bring the residential school memorial at Robson Square to a close,” they said no plans have been made for a healing garden.
“No decisions have been made by the city or park board regarding the form or the location of such a space,” the city said, in an email, adding that they “will ensure that both the artist and the volunteers are invited to participate in these future conversations.”
The city and each of the three Indigenous governments sent Bell letters in November asking for the temporary memorial to be removed.
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On Wednesday, Bell also alleged that in naming her, the city put her in danger from individuals fuelled by extreme hatred and racism. She said the vigil keepers have been subjected to threats of violence, racist rants and aggression.
The city responded to the allegations, saying it “unconditionally denounces racism and harassment directed toward the artist and volunteers” involved with the temporary memorial.
According to Vancouver staff, the artist’s name was initially published on the city’s website but it was removed at her request. It was also included as an artist credit for her role in the memorial installation as she had previously been a public face for the installation.
The memorial had grown to more than 1,000 pairs of shoes and included stuffed animals, banners saying No Pride in Genocide and Every Child Matters, as well as a full-sized tipi, a camping tent, a covered meeting area, as well as a table selling T-shirts and requesting donations, and a portable toilet.
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Simeon, a Haida woman who has lived in Vancouver for 50 years and who works in the city’s Downtown Eastside, told Postmedia in March that they wanted to keep it alive for the memory of murdered and missing children.
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https://vancouversun.com/news/local-...l-memorial-vag
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