Snapshot: Robert Houle celebrates survival with art

This photograph of me was taken in 1967 by my classmate while I was in residence at Assiniboia Indian Residential School, in Winnipeg, Manitoba. As you can see I am holding my voyageur bag, as I was just about to travel to Montreal. 

I was in grade 12 at the time and worked very hard to get top marks. Because of this I was awarded the opportunity to take part in Canada's centennial year celebrations with other Manitoban honour students. It was wonderful and I made a lot of friends.

The exhibition Robert Houle: enuhmo andúhyaun (the road home) features paintings and drawings from my Sandy Bay Indian Residential School Series. 

The paintings are based on a series of elegiacally drawn memories of fear and trauma. They celebrate my survival of elementary school abuse. 

The drawings evoke the ubiquitous blackboards of residential schools, a lietmotif of institutional power, childhood apprehension and confinement, indoctrination and humiliation. In the work, issues of reconciliation and forgiveness are counterpoints to traditional values of letting go of conflict in order to move on. 

As someone who was punished for speaking my language, I have the privilege and responsibility of using Ahnisnabewin proudly in this installation.