Before we get to that conversation, let’s go right back to the beginning.  It  really begins with fostering and caring for our relationships. The Kawartha Truth and Reconciliation Support Group (KTRSG) from Peterborough is a group with Indigenous and Settler folks learning together and trying to address the brutal truths of Canadian history. Many from our group had developed relationships with KTRSG over the years. 

One of our members attended a workshop facilitated by KTRSG quilter Alice Williams and Pam Hart – as part of a Storytellers Conference at Trent. The central focus of the workshop was the beautiful teaching quilt their group created on the legacy of residential schools. The stories behind the squares were personal: some were first hand accounts from survivors themselves. We knew we wanted to bring this workshop to our community.

In the meantime, in the Fall of 2018, TRC Bobcaygeon sponsored Drew Hayden Taylor’s play “Cottager’s and Indians” bringing it to a performance at Curve Lake First Nation and several performances at the Lakeview Arts Barn in Bobcaygeon. We were interested in education and support for First Nation’s treaty rights around growing and harvesting wild rice (Manoomin) in the Kawartha’s so this was a perfect fit for us.

As part of our activities we invited KTRSG to bring the quilt to the play. Not only were we impacted by the stories but we could also see how clearly people in the community were drawn to engage with the history told in cloth and in word.

Finally in the spring of 2019, we invited Alice to give the workshop to our community in Bobcaygeon. There was a lot of interest in this event so the circle was quite big and the engagement was fantastic. The discussion was lively to say the least. It was in the middle of this high energy interchange that Alice suggested that we do our own quilt.

Ahhh ha… the seed was planted. That moment we started the year long conversation we have been having around our quilt.

During the discussion that ensued, the idea of a quilting a banner came to the forefront. TRC Bobcaygeon participates in events such as Water Walks, Settler’s Day at Bobcaygeon Settler’s Village, book signings, workshops, Manoomin Ceremonies and other places where we engage with the public and want to have a way to identify ourselves and talk about what we do. Having a quilted banner to identify us from a distance and to tell our story seemed like a wonderful idea.

Having our logo front and centre would help to identify us. In fact the creation of our logo is a story in itself that also reflects the core of TRC- Bobcaygeon.

Alice came to one of our meetings to help us with technical information, She also gave a brief demonstration of applique technique, and left us with inspiration to find a way to tell our story from our hearts. Each of the current members of the group took on the project. Some had help from other members who volunteered to interpret the design for the non-sewers in fabric form, some did applique and some embroidery but we all told what matters most to us about this Truth and Reconciliation Community.

You can see how the stories of our individual squares represents our vision, our focus and our worldview in the links below to our individual squares.