New Indigenous spirit garden opens outside Toronto city hall

A new Indigenous spirit garden opened in Toronto on Monday, the National Day for Truth and Reconciliation, to honour residential school survivors.

City officials say the garden is Toronto's response in part to the Truth and Reconciliation Commission of Canada's Call to Action 82, which calls for governments to install a residential schools monument in each capital city to honour survivors and all the children who did not come home.

Andrew Wesley, a member of the Fort Albany First Nation and residential school survivor, said visitors to the garden can learn not only about the abuse suffered by residential school survivors and intergenerational trauma, but also about the culture and history of Indigenous peoples who live in Toronto and its surrounding area.

"Be open to your heart when you hear our stories. These are sacred stories."

The public garden, in the southwest corner of Nathan Phillips Square in front of city hall, has as its centrepiece a large turtle sculpture made of limestone. Elements that represent First Nation, Métis and Inuit cultures surround the turtle and include a teaching lodge, a silver voyageur canoe and an inukshuk made out of granite.

The turtle, designed by Anishinaabe artist Solomon King, sits on sculpted boulders in the middle of a reflecting pool, facing the pool's north wall. The wall displays the names of all 18 residential schools that operated in Ontario.

The $24.9-million project was led by the Toronto Council Fire Native Cultural Centre, a cultural agency that serves the city's Indigenous community. 

The city says the garden is designed to be a "peaceful, contemplative space."

Wesley told reporters that the spirit garden contains symbols of significance to Indigenous people in the Toronto area. He has lived in Toronto for nearly 25 years and went to two residential schools, including St. Anne's Indian Residential School in Fort Albany.

Wesley said Indigenous people are diverse, their cultural symbols vary from place to place and he hopes the garden will teach non-Indigenous people a little bit about Indigenous people. A spirit garden is a good idea for other cities in Canada, he added.

"I believe there should be a symbol in every city, according to tradition... If you go to B.C., then you might have a salmon. If you go up to the North, it would be a polar bear. I think it has to represent the people." 

Susan Hunter, a member of the Peawanuck First Nation in Northern Ontario and another residential school survivor, said the garden is a place to meditate and take in teachings from elders. Hunter went to St. Anne's Indian Residential School for seven years.

Hunter said she hopes visitors to the garden gain a better understanding of the diversity of Indigenous cultures in Toronto.

"We've been hidden far too long. We should be in the forefront where people understand our ways and our culture," she said.