The Journey Home

 The Journey Home

Last December my local quilt shop posted a panel and asked us to pre-order.  I bought two of them.  I gave one away and kept one for us.

The Journey Home was designed by Karen Erickson, a Metis from Prince George, BC.  A fabulous artist and her work can be found here.  Proceeds from the sale of these panels will be donated to the Indian Residential School Survivors Society and the Orange Shirt Society.

Canada was rocked to the core in 2021 when a mass grave containing the remains of 215 Indigenous children were found on the grounds of a former residential school in Kamloops, British Columbia.  We all knew (and if you didn't you had your head under a rock) that these children were taken from their reserves and badly mistreated by those in charge of these schools.  ALL religious organizations. 

After a lot of thought I chose circles for the pantograph to represent the "healing circle".  Not only the healing circle but all circles that are part of the Indigenous people's lives.  Ceremonies, dances, all part of the circle.  Even the circle that represents "I have gone home."

I strongly recomment that people read or research the story behind the orange shirt who's link I have inserted above.  It is heartbreaking but it needs to be known.  I also recommend you read about residential schools and the treatment of these children.  NO child should be treated by 'Christians' the way these children were.   A good book to read is "Sugar Falls", a true story about Betsy Ross.  It isn't long, it's an hour's read and it's available from Chapters.  An eye opener?  Definitely.

                  Ready to hang outside on June 21st and August 3rd.  

P.S.  This is the backing.  I chose this because of the colours involved in the fabric.  The earth and the sky.  Greens and blues.  I added a pocket and inside are my thoughts about our Indigenous peoples and how they were treated.  We can do better and we must!!