Tiičswina, We Survived!
To continue this walk, follow Tin Wis Road out to the highway. In the near future, a footpath at the corner of the parking lot will connect you to the Tsawaak Visitor Centre.
Tiičswina, We Survived! was raised on March 29, 2013 for the Truth and Reconciliation Commission commemoration celebration. This č̓iinuł (totem pole) remembers all the children who survived and those who were lost in the Indian Residential School system.
Organized by Nora Martin, it was carved by Tla-o-qui-aht master carver Joe Martin, who also organized the crests. The topmost sun crest was carved by Tla-o-qui-aht master carver Joe David, who also carved the č̓iinuł in Anchor Park featured in the Downtown Art Walk. Tiičswina, We Survived! was a community effort with many Tla-o-qui-aht carvers contributing.
Tin Wis was a Tla-o-qui-aht ancestral village, one of many throughout their traditional territory. Once a č̓iinuł would have stood on this site next to a cedar longhouse. Using semasiographic (icon- or glyph-based) writing, it was encoded with the Tla-o-qui-aht constitution. Today, Tin Wis Resort is owned and operated by the Tla-o-qui-aht First Nation.
From 1971-1981, Tin Wis was the site of Christie Indian Residential School (Tofino) after the Indian Residential School on Meares Island closed down. This location was the last Indian Residential School to close in BC, though not the last in Canada (Saskatchewan, 1996).
Truth & Reconciliation Commission Commemoration
March 29, 2013
In honour of Ahousaht, Christie, Kamloops, Mission & Port Alberni Indian Residential School Students & Their Families
Government Indian Agents, RCMP, Social Workers, Religious Orders forcibly removed children as young as 2 from their mothers and fathers and placed them in Indian Residential Schools for up to 15 years. While in the confines of the schools children suffered horrendous atrocities.
Many were innocent victims of sexual, psychological, mental, spiritual and physical abuse.
Most, if not all, faced child labor, loss of culture, loss of language, loss of identity & lack of education.
Many children’s lives were lost due to suicide, murder & neglect while in those schools.
Today we welcome all these children home. We are grateful to you that under great threat and intimidation, you carried as much language and culture as you did from the past to today.
To learn more about the history of Tin Wis, please visit: https://tinwis.ca/rough-seas-calming-tin-wis-past-present-and-future/
