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The Witness Blanket: Truth, Art and Reconciliation
For more than 150 years, thousands of Indigenous children were taken from their families and sent to residential schools across Canada.
Artist Carey Newman created the Witness Blanket to make sure that history is never forgotten. The Blanket is a living work of art—a collection of hundreds of objects from those schools. It includes everything from photos, bricks, hockey skates, graduation certificates, dolls and piano keys to braids of hair. Behind every piece is a story. And behind every story is a residential school Survivor, including Carey's father. This book is a collection of truths about what happened at those schools, but it's also a beacon of hope and a step on the journey toward reconciliation.
The epub edition of this title is fully accessible.
Artist Carey Newman created the Witness Blanket to make sure that history is never forgotten. The Blanket is a living work of art—a collection of hundreds of objects from those schools. It includes everything from photos, bricks, hockey skates, graduation certificates, dolls and piano keys to braids of hair. Behind every piece is a story. And behind every story is a residential school Survivor, including Carey's father. This book is a collection of truths about what happened at those schools, but it's also a beacon of hope and a step on the journey toward reconciliation.
The epub edition of this title is fully accessible.
95 pages, Kindle Edition
Published April 19, 2022
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Displaying 1 - 17 of 17 reviews
October 1, 2024
Artist Carey Newman is an intergenerational survivor (son of a residential school survivor) who has created an all-wood witness blanket to make sure that his culture’s history is never forgotten. This blanket is a monument to children who were forced to attend residential schools and has become a way of using art to talk about the truth of residential school history in Canada. The ‘blanket’ is 39 feet long consisting of 13 panels and weighs a total of 2 tons. There are over 800 items collected from 139 former residential schools across Canada continued within the patches of the quilt. Each object is a witness, an untold story witnessed by a silent observer. Each object has seen something.
For example, one of the blocks from a residential school not far from me in Mission, B.C., is cut from an apple tree on the grounds of the former St. Mary’s.
Harold Gatensby’s words struck a chord with me: “Something’s got to be done about this horrible legacy we’ve inherited.” He donated a moss-covered leather shoe he found on the property.
The opening where the author explains the significance of blankets in their culture sets the tone for the book and gives readers a sense of the monument’s purpose. Truth must come before reconciliation. Each object in the quilt squares has played a role in bearing witness of the truth
The Witness Blanket now lives at the Canadian Museum for Human Rights in Winnipeg, Manitoba
For example, one of the blocks from a residential school not far from me in Mission, B.C., is cut from an apple tree on the grounds of the former St. Mary’s.
Harold Gatensby’s words struck a chord with me: “Something’s got to be done about this horrible legacy we’ve inherited.” He donated a moss-covered leather shoe he found on the property.
The opening where the author explains the significance of blankets in their culture sets the tone for the book and gives readers a sense of the monument’s purpose. Truth must come before reconciliation. Each object in the quilt squares has played a role in bearing witness of the truth
The Witness Blanket now lives at the Canadian Museum for Human Rights in Winnipeg, Manitoba
March 16, 2023
Unsure what age level it's aimed for (snagged it from the children's book feature at my library) but I think it's a pretty complex book. It does a really good job of breaking down massively difficult subjects into accessible information, and the layout was definitely dynamic and engaging, but as a boring grown-up, something about the way each page featured multiple sources of information (photos and their descriptions, main text continued from the following page, and insets with additional info) was kind of overwhelming. Would definitely recommend for parents looking for ways to teach their kids about the legacy of violence and settler colonialism in Canada.
October 19, 2025
This book is a must read for everyone. It is about the Residential School Era in Canada - an unbelievably terrible and shockingly violent part of Canada's history. And it is directed at children. The Witness Blanket bears witness to these atrocities. If you ever get a chance to see the original, or the replica, do it. Learn the stories, share the stories. I am thankful for the art of Carey Newman.
August 1, 2025
This book was very well-done. The author created the Witness Blanket to memorialize and honor all the indigenous children who were forced to attend residential schools. The photos of the pieces of the Witness Blanket and the survivors' stories added a great deal to this book. I highly recommend this book to middle readers and adults alike.
May 17, 2022
A blanket .. such a humble thing...is symbolic for many cultures around the world....from wrapping a newborn to wrapping a loved one when they die.....the blanket becomes the vehicle chosen by artist Carey Newman to represent the 'truths' uncovered on this emotional journey.
In many indigenous cultures, the blanket often takes on added symbolism....being worn during traditional ceremonies, enveloping the wearer as a sign of gratitude, to being worn as protection because of a trauma.
The Witness Blanket is a living work of art, and the stories behind the hundreds of collected items from every residential school make this a powerful piece in the journey of healing.
Creators Carey Newman and Kirstie Hudson have with great sensitivity gathered 'truths' and assembled these precious objects that 'bear witness' to the many who were in the residential school system in this "blanket made of solid objects". p.9
Assembling photos, glass, shoes, skates, bricks, wood, all document truths, making sure that history is never forgotten.
This book is an emotional educational journey for both reader and those who contributed to its construction.
Thank you, Carey Newman and Kirstie Hudson and all those who contributed, for having the courage and perseverance to create this monumental "step on the journey toward reconciliation."
This book on so many levels will prompt important discussions.
Thank you to Orca Book Publishers
Highly Recommended for every library, school and public!
FIVE STARS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
In many indigenous cultures, the blanket often takes on added symbolism....being worn during traditional ceremonies, enveloping the wearer as a sign of gratitude, to being worn as protection because of a trauma.
The Witness Blanket is a living work of art, and the stories behind the hundreds of collected items from every residential school make this a powerful piece in the journey of healing.
Creators Carey Newman and Kirstie Hudson have with great sensitivity gathered 'truths' and assembled these precious objects that 'bear witness' to the many who were in the residential school system in this "blanket made of solid objects". p.9
Assembling photos, glass, shoes, skates, bricks, wood, all document truths, making sure that history is never forgotten.
This book is an emotional educational journey for both reader and those who contributed to its construction.
Thank you, Carey Newman and Kirstie Hudson and all those who contributed, for having the courage and perseverance to create this monumental "step on the journey toward reconciliation."
This book on so many levels will prompt important discussions.
Thank you to Orca Book Publishers
Highly Recommended for every library, school and public!
FIVE STARS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
September 29, 2024
I would definitely want to see the witness blanket in person
July 22, 2022
I highly recommend this book.
Reading it will change you.
Reading it can be part of your reconciliation journey.
The author speaks of his experience creating the Witness Blanket:
“I will always remember, because through all of this I have been changed. And I think that is the truth about reconciliation. We don’t change each other. The responsibility is individual. It happens inside each of us, by our own actions and decisions, one human at a time.”
A reproduction of The Witness Blanket artwork was on exhibit in our local art gallery this spring.
The most powerful image for me was of the two braids cut from Indigenous children's hair. I learned from reading this book that they were actually from the author’s adult sisters (p. 58):
“There is nothing simple about a haircut in my culture. It is a time for letting go of the past and starting fresh again. Mourning what is lost and moving forward. It is a mark of survival and growth through a painful time.” —Marion Newman
When I viewed the reproduction of the Witness Blanket, I found the Native Prayer displayed in portions quite meaningful:
A Native Prayer
O God the CREATOR
Whose voice I hear in the winds,
AND WHOSE BREATH,
Gives life to all the world,
I AM SMALL & WEAK,
I need your strength and wisdom.
LET ME WALK IN BEAUTY,
and make my eyes ever behold the red and purple sunset.
MAKE MY HANDS,
respect the things you have made and my ears sharp to hear your voice.
MAKE ME WISE,
so that I may understand the things you have taught my people.
LET ME LEARN,
the lessons you have hidden in Your Word.
I SEEK STRENGTH,
not to be greater than my brother,
BUT TO FIGHT,
my greatest enemy, myself.
MAKE ME ALWAYS READY,
to come to you with clean hands and straight eyes.
SO WHEN LIFE FADES,
as the fading sunset,
my spirit may come to you without shame.
Did you know that
“In 1455, the Pope made a declaration that lands not occupied by Christians were vacant and that Christians could claim those lands as their own. This is known as the Doctrine of Discovery and was used by European countries to colonize distant lands. In 1763, King George III claimed lands in North America for Britain.” (p. 2)
At the end of the book, the artist says:
• I made this Blanket for the Survivors and for the children who never came home, for the displaced and the forgotten.
• It is for the parents who hold their stories inside, afraid of how the truth might affect their children.
• It is for those who are angry, those who are in pain and those who are bitter.
• It is for those who remember and those who are still trying to forget.
…
• I made this Blanket so that I will never forget—so that we will never forget.
…
• I made this for anyone who doesn’t know what a residential school is or the truth of what happened there.
• I made this Blanket for the people who want to learn. For those who walk beside us and those who are only now ready to walk beside us.
• I made this for the conversations to come, for the lessons we have yet to learn and for the future we are building together.
• I made this Blanket for hope. I made it for truth. I made it to catch our tears. I made it for me and I made it for each of you.
Thank you, Carey, for your gift to us all.
Reading it will change you.
Reading it can be part of your reconciliation journey.
The author speaks of his experience creating the Witness Blanket:
“I will always remember, because through all of this I have been changed. And I think that is the truth about reconciliation. We don’t change each other. The responsibility is individual. It happens inside each of us, by our own actions and decisions, one human at a time.”
A reproduction of The Witness Blanket artwork was on exhibit in our local art gallery this spring.
The most powerful image for me was of the two braids cut from Indigenous children's hair. I learned from reading this book that they were actually from the author’s adult sisters (p. 58):
“There is nothing simple about a haircut in my culture. It is a time for letting go of the past and starting fresh again. Mourning what is lost and moving forward. It is a mark of survival and growth through a painful time.” —Marion Newman
When I viewed the reproduction of the Witness Blanket, I found the Native Prayer displayed in portions quite meaningful:
A Native Prayer
O God the CREATOR
Whose voice I hear in the winds,
AND WHOSE BREATH,
Gives life to all the world,
I AM SMALL & WEAK,
I need your strength and wisdom.
LET ME WALK IN BEAUTY,
and make my eyes ever behold the red and purple sunset.
MAKE MY HANDS,
respect the things you have made and my ears sharp to hear your voice.
MAKE ME WISE,
so that I may understand the things you have taught my people.
LET ME LEARN,
the lessons you have hidden in Your Word.
I SEEK STRENGTH,
not to be greater than my brother,
BUT TO FIGHT,
my greatest enemy, myself.
MAKE ME ALWAYS READY,
to come to you with clean hands and straight eyes.
SO WHEN LIFE FADES,
as the fading sunset,
my spirit may come to you without shame.
Did you know that
“In 1455, the Pope made a declaration that lands not occupied by Christians were vacant and that Christians could claim those lands as their own. This is known as the Doctrine of Discovery and was used by European countries to colonize distant lands. In 1763, King George III claimed lands in North America for Britain.” (p. 2)
At the end of the book, the artist says:
• I made this Blanket for the Survivors and for the children who never came home, for the displaced and the forgotten.
• It is for the parents who hold their stories inside, afraid of how the truth might affect their children.
• It is for those who are angry, those who are in pain and those who are bitter.
• It is for those who remember and those who are still trying to forget.
…
• I made this Blanket so that I will never forget—so that we will never forget.
…
• I made this for anyone who doesn’t know what a residential school is or the truth of what happened there.
• I made this Blanket for the people who want to learn. For those who walk beside us and those who are only now ready to walk beside us.
• I made this for the conversations to come, for the lessons we have yet to learn and for the future we are building together.
• I made this Blanket for hope. I made it for truth. I made it to catch our tears. I made it for me and I made it for each of you.
Thank you, Carey, for your gift to us all.
August 22, 2023
This book was a recommendation for a topical book club on the healing power of art. GREAT CHOICE! The book is a quick overview of the inspiration behind / development of the "blanket". It is hard to picture while reading - I wish it was touring nearby! I will definitely stop in to see it in Winnipeg if I am ever in the city.
March 14, 2023
It's shocking and kinda creepy how some of the photos of the residential schools seem somewhat normal and happy. It's also really sad that some of the terrible memories and experiences will affect the survivors for the rest of their lives.
September 24, 2023
I read this with my 10yo to open up the conversation about the history of boarding schools in Canada and the US. It was beautifully told and a powerful discussion of how art and stories can heal generations of trauma.
January 11, 2023
Children's nonfiction, but full of information and emotion.
July 5, 2023
A Canadian artist captures 150 years of Indigenous children being pulled from their families and forced into residential schools to erase their culture.
October 7, 2023
A moving account that everyone should read, along with a journey to Winnipeg.
September 4, 2024
This is a fairly quick read page wise, but very moving and informative.
November 9, 2024
Well I'm going to buy this book for my classroom. Wow. I didn't move for over an hour and just cried and read. I am so inspired and moved. Wow. Everyone should read this book!
January 16, 2025
United Women in Faith Reading Program 2026
Education for Mission
Middle grade reader - about Canada Truth and reconciliation commission and authors process of creating art work for it.
Education for Mission
Middle grade reader - about Canada Truth and reconciliation commission and authors process of creating art work for it.
October 24, 2025
"The witness Blanket"is the heartbreaking book about the children that lived on the Canadian residential schools.
Displaying 1 - 17 of 17 reviews