Sunday Sept. 22 marked a momentous day for Damian Abrahams.
The exhibit he had worked vigorously on to honor residential school survivors came to light.
The display, near entrance 8 at Kingsway Mall shows not only the images of his photography but also the words and audio voices from Residential School Survivors to show that they are still here and that they are thriving in our communities, despite the atrocities they faced.
Curator and photographer Damian addressed the crowd to open up the display :
Curator and photographer Damian Abrahams addresses the crowd in the grand opening of the display.
photo : Emil Starlight
A few of the folks who took part as subjects in the display were also in attendance. One of those people is Mavis Moberly. Mavis is residential school survivor from Treaty 8 in Northern Alberta who attended from 1964 – 1968.
Mavis Moberly and Bill LeBlanc (Rellik) from WIndspeaker Media
photo : Emil Starliught
She spoke about how it took many years to heal and to build up the courage to talk about the things she had gone through:
Moberly compared what many Indigenous people went through to German concentration camps and as cultural genocide:
Moberly now speaks to youth and adults about her experience with the intent of giving them hope and to be able to overcome the pain and trauma that residential school survivors went through, along with the inter-generational traumas that are also associated with them:
The display, at Kingsway Mall is open to the public and runs until October 5th.
The crowd listens to speakers at the siplays grand opening on Sept. 22, 2024
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