A new light installation that honours the courage and strength of residential school survivors is coming to the Syéxw Chó:leqw Adventure Park for two days in February.
Taking place on Feb. 10 and Feb. 24, Lighting the Path is an “innovative and interactive” outdoor light experience that takes people through the stories, courage, and resilience of residential school survivors. According to Sq’ewá:lxw First Nation (Skawahlook), who created and are hosting the event on their traditional territory, the “immersive path takes guests through a moving exploration of historical grief and pain, leading to a celebration of hope, stories, and the laughter of Indigenous children thriving in the care of their parents.”
“We are incredibly pleased to add this new attraction that tells the story of residential schools but also speaks to our resilience as Indigenous people and our ability to rebuild our culture and ways of living,” said Skawahlook Chief Maureen Chapman in the press release. “Education at every level is important for understanding different cultures and circumstances, and the more people who share information from Lighting the Path, the more who will connect with our story.”
Starting at 5:15 p.m. and running till 9:45 p.m. on Feb. 10, and starting at 5:15 p.m. and running till 10:15 p.m. on Feb. 24, the tours are 30 minutes each. Tickets for the event can be bought at www.eventbrite.com .
According to Sharron Young, the managing director for Skawahlook, the project took over a year to plan and complete. Young said it was always the intention of the community to incorporate lights at the Adventure Park. Over time, as they saw more examples of light installations throughout the country, they decided that a project honouring residential school surviors — especially those from Skawahlook — would work well at the park.
“It’s definitely our story and our members were included as characters for the story,” Young said. “So basically, everybody is either family or a member here. And we gave everyone the opportunity to participate where it made sense.
“We tried to make it so that it wasn’t extremely heavy, to be honest. So, the way the story goes is that it starts with a story of children being taken. But the story ends in a place of hope. So, at the end, you actually hear our kids. And our kids are the ones that are actually talking at the end.
“And they’re talking about what they love about their families and how important they are to them.”
With the help of Limbic Media, a company that helps to transform public spaces with high-tech interactive art and light installations, Young said they were able to “bring this vision to fruition.” She also said that Skawahlook looks forward to sharing it with both non-Indigenous and Indigenous guests. And, while the event is only scheduled for two days, Young said that if things go well there may be plans to bring back the light installation for more days in the future.
“I think there’s going to be an array of feelings in it and we give people the opportunity to reflect at the very end,” Young said. “We have a large memorial bench and we provide a stone at the beginning. And the idea is to place it (the stone) on there (the bench) as a way to sort of honor those feelings.
“For different people, it’s going to mean different things. We’re hoping that people (feel the experience) ends on a high note. And that (they’ve) learned something and can understand a bit more about what happened.”
(Credit: Sq’ewá:lxw First Nation (Skawahlook) )
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