Cree artist Lance Cardinal showcases miniature residential school model at RAM
Cree artist Lance Cardinal unveiled a handcrafted model of a former residential school, sharing the personal family history that inspired the project.
Artist Lance Cardinal (far left) gives a talk about his miniature “St. Martin’s Catholic Mission School” model Photo credit: Zaneb Alzubaidi
Cree artist Lance Cardinal recently presented a miniature model of the St. Martin’s Catholic Mission School at the Royal Alberta Museum.
The model was displayed inside the museum’s Roundhouse during this year’s National Day for Truth and Reconciliation for its first public showing, where visitors gathered to hear Cardinal speak about the personal history behind the project.
Cardinal, a member of the Bigstone Cree Nation, delivered a 15-minute talk about his family’s connection to the original school and how that history inspired the miniature. He thanked the non-Indigenous attendees for coming and encouraged Indigenous audience members to “show more love.”
Before the presentation, Cardinal said he discovered archival photos of residential schools online, including one showing his grandparents getting married in front of St. Martin’s Catholic Mission School.
“It blew my mind,” he said. “When I saw the photo of them, I knew that was a sign that I needed to make this miniature to recreate the school. And so I decided it would be a great thing to do.”
Cardinal said he hopes the model helps people better understand the realities of residential school history and encourages further conversation.
After his talk, he screened a short film documenting the process of building the miniature, followed by a question-and-answer session.
Attendees described the presentation as meaningful.
“I feel like [this] is a great use of Truth and Reconciliation Day and I was just really proud to come in and see all the community here,” said Fatima Iftikhar.
“I also have an art and design background, so coming in here and not just seeing the work but seeing the artist’s intention and everything behind the work was just very moving.”
Marie Sutherland said the model reflects both past and future experiences.
“Not only is this reflective for the past generations that Lance mentioned, his grandparents going there,” she said. “But this is now something that will be in archives and will affect future generations as they come to learn the truths of what happened in that Big Stone history.”
