A school-driven art project in Ulukhaktok is helping make Truth and Reconciliation Day part of the community.
Helen Kalvak Elihakvik school held a contest earlier this month for local artists to design this year’s “Every Child Matters” T-shirt.
“We’ve purchased enough T-shirts for every student and staff in the school,” said District Education Authority chair Derek Squirrel. “We have a printing machine with partnership with Aurora College and the local learning centre, so once we get the logo completed we will get them all printed locally and provide those to each student and staff.
“It’s just something that’s closer to home, something that’s theirs — a logo that came from the community. It’s to bring people closer in awareness to Truth and Reconciliation Day.”
Logos were submitted on Sept. 7, with students drawing their designs in black and white sketches. Of the four entries submitted by the community, Juliet Klengenberg’s design was chosen for the T-shirts.
Production is now underway and enough of the locally-made shirts will be made for the entire school.
Squirrel said he was hoping the shirts would be ready between Sept. 28 and 30. Shirts would be given to students, teachers and employees of the DEA.
“All of them were great entries and were all worthy of being on the shirt, but at the end of the day we could only take one,” he said. “We will probably keep this design and anything else going forward for the school will probably use this design.”
However, Squirrel said the contest has served its purpose — Truth and Reconciliation was the talk of the community during the effort.
Once the finished product has arrived, Squirrel said the plan was for the entire school to don a shirt and display it throughout town.
“When people see the children with the new shirts, that’s when it will really hit home,” he said.