Photo of the Calgary Indian Residential School memorial at City Hall
Since the discovery of 215 unmarked graved discovered at Kamloops Indian Residential School (IRS), a temporary memorial has been on the steps of Calgary City Hall since 2021.
On September 30, 2023, the City of Calgary and Fort Calgary signed a letter of intent displaying that work will begin on memorial located where the Bow and Elbow rivers meet.
“Truth must come before reconciliation, and the IRS Memorial will help deepen the community’s understanding of the truth that is represented here at Fort Calgary.” – President of Fort Calgary Jennifer Thompson
Since 2022, the city of Calgary has been engaging with representatives of Treaty 7 and the community to find a permanent placement for the memorial with the location at Fort Calgary being at the top of the list for preferred placements.
In a statement, Calgary Mayor Jyoti Gondek shared “As we move along a path that includes both truth and reconciliation, our actions must come from the heart and reflect a commitment to do better into the future.” Gondek continued, “This permanent memorial will be a space to honour residential school survivors, their families and the thousands of children who never returned.”
The site chosen for the memorial is in the northeast corner near Fort Calgary community garden.
Currently there is no exact placement location as the project for the memorial is entering its next phase.
President of Fort Calgary Jenifer Thompson expressed how having the memorial located by the historic fort is part of its journey of truth and reconciliation.
“Fort Calgary’s legacy will forever be tied to role of the Northwest Mounted Police in enforcing the Indian residential school system. Officers searched for and returned children who had run away, they fined parents whose children did not go to school, and they assisted Indian Agents with the removal of children from their homes,” Thomson continued, ““Truth must come before reconciliation, and the IRS Memorial will help deepen the community’s understanding of the truth that is represented here at Fort Calgary.”
Community members can follow the progress and find out more about the IRS Memorial by visiting the City of Calgary’s website.
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