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9T Langdon School
2015
A Gesture of Reconciliation to
Residential School Survivors
Project of
Heart

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Gesture of Reconciliation
Project of Heart
Students in 9T designed and created a gesture of reconciliation
for survivors of Residential Schools. 9T wants to remember and
honor all residential school survivors. They designed a totem pole
that has animals on it that represent the traits that people who
went to residential schools have. The Eagle at the top of the
totem pole is holding dream catchers. These dream catchers
were created to keep away the bad dreams and thoughts from
the days in residential schools.

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Totem Pole
At the top of the totem pole, we put an eagle. The eagle
represents courage, sacrifice and healing. The eagle is the ruler
of the sky and has a great leadership. Under the eagle is a turtle.
The turtle represents adaptability in the face of adversity. Next, is
a hawk which shows the power of focus and vision. Below our
hawk, we placed a whale. The whale helps people in need,
especially the helpless and the wounded. Up next is the
crocodile, who is strong willed, emotional and a healer. Below
the crocodile, we put a bear. The bear symbolizes healing,
courage, self preservation and strength. After the bear, we put an
elk. The elk represent majesty, strength and nobility. At the
bottom, the grouse represents personal power and
enlightenment. All the animals represent traits that Residential
School Survivors demonstrate on a daily base. We want to honor
these traits.

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Dream Catchers
9T designed and created 1 large and 8 small dream catchers.
The eagle is holding the small ones on his wings. The purpose of
these dream catchers is to protect Residential School survivors
from having bad dreams. The dream catchers will replace these
bad dreams with good, positive dreams. The positive dreams go
through the center and slide down the fathers to the person
below. The negative dreams get caught in the web and disappear
once daylight comes. Again, these dream catchers were made to
represent protecting those that were in Residential Schools from
the bad thoughts and dreams that arise. The dream catchers
were handmade with metal rings, leather, string, beads and
feathers. Each dream catcher has its own unique design.

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Presentation to Residential School Survivor
Elder Randy Bottle
March 24, 2015

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We, 9T, respect and honor all the
Residential School Survivors in
Canada. Please accept the totem
pole and dream catchers as a
Gesture of Reconciliation on
behalf of Project of Heart.
“Thinking of you.”