- Peter Dawson, University of Calgary
- Madisen Hvidberg, University of Calgary
Indian Residential Schools (IRS) were part of an education system, in name only, that caused great pain and suffering to generations of Indigenous people across Canada for over a hundred years. The few schools that remain standing, the grounds where they once stood, as well as the cemeteries and unmarked graves of missing children, exist as “sites of conscience” and “witnesses to history”. Consequently, establishing a national strategy for understanding the historical and ongoing traumas of the IRS system and commemorating these spaces is among the Calls to Action issued by the Truth and Reconciliation Commission of Canada (TRC). This session explores how community-guided projects across the country are using archaeology, remote sensing, digital heritage, and other approaches to ensure that the histories, legacies, and effects of Indian Residential Schools in Canada are not ignored or forgotten.