Carried Home on Butterfly Wings

2023

This piece was created in remembrance of the Indigenous children taken from their families through Canada’s residential school system and related colonial policies. It speaks to the Every Child Matters movement, honouring lives disrupted, lost, and forever changed by systemic injustice.

At the center of this piece, a butterfly carries the spirit of transformation, representing the stolen children whose lives were interrupted but whose presence has never been erased. Surrounding it, vibrant florals speak to growth, resilience, and the continuity of Indigenous life despite generations of harm caused by residential schools and colonial systems in Canada.

Woven throughout the circle are leaves of sage, a sacred medicine used for cleansing, protection, and prayer. The sage in this work symbolizes remembrance and spiritual care an offering to the children who were taken, and a call to cleanse the truth that has long been silenced. It represents healing not only for those who were lost, but for families, communities, and future generations still carrying the weight of this history.

The circular form reflects the Indigenous understanding of life as cyclical , that even in grief, there is connection, memory, and responsibility. This piece stands within the Every Child Matters movement as both education and witness, honoring the children, acknowledging the injustices faced in Canada, and reminding us that their spirits are still held, still honored, and still sacred.