When I set foot on the campus of Algoma University in Sault Ste. Marie, I knew I wasn’t just visiting an academic institution. I was stepping onto a land that holds stories — some filled with pain and loss, others with resilience, hope, and a vision for healing.
Algoma University’s grounds once housed a Residential School — part of the dark legacy of a system that sought to erase Indigenous identities and cultures. But here, transformation is happening. The land, gifted by Chief Shingwauk and his community, was always meant to be a place of learning — a place where Anishinaabe knowledge and European teachings could meet, where newcomers and Indigenous peoples could learn to live in harmony with each other and with all of creation.
That vision is alive today in the University’s Special Mission: to cultivate cross-cultural learning between Indigenous and non-Indigenous communities, while honouring and telling the truth about Canada’s Residential Schools. Every corner of the campus carries that intention — to be welcoming, inclusive, and respectful, to hold space for both learning and healing.
During my visit, I had the privilege of exploring the Shingwauk Kinoomaage Gamig (SKG) — the “House of Learning” — which stands as a testament to the original vision of Chief Shingwauk. SKG is more than a building; it is a living space of Anishinaabe education, language revitalization, and cultural resurgence. Here, the past is not buried. Instead, it is honoured, and it serves as the foundation for new ways of teaching and learning that empower Anishinaabe students and welcome all who seek understanding.
SKG embodies the commitment to healing through education. It is a place where language courses, cultural programs, and ceremonies connect students and visitors to Anishinaabe ways of knowing and being. For me, stepping into SKG was to witness what true reconciliation can look like — when education becomes a tool for healing, truth-telling, and relationship-building.
Standing there, I felt the weight of history — but also the energy of transformation. Algoma is not erasing the past; it is teaching it, ensuring that the stories of Survivors and their families are heard, acknowledged, and learned from. This is the essence of Truth and Reconciliation: to face the truth, no matter how uncomfortable, and to build a shared path forward based on respect, understanding, and justice.
The visit was a powerful reminder that reconciliation is not about forgetting but about learning to remember together. Algoma and SKG are ensuring that the voices of Survivors and their descendants are heard, archived, and shared, so that no one can say, “I didn’t know.”
For the Gallery, which lives and breathes stories of migration, belonging, and human resilience, visiting Algoma was a reminder of how places carry stories — stories that demand to be told, remembered, and honoured. Just as migration journeys shape identity and community, the journeys of Survivors and their descendants shape the ongoing narrative of this land.
As we reflect on this visit, we are called to carry forward the responsibility that comes with knowing the truth. Reconciliation is not a destination; it is a continuous act of learning, unlearning, and walking together.
Algoma University and the Shingwauk Kinoomaage Gamig show us what that can look like: a campus that is not just a place of study but a place of healing, inclusion, and shared humanity.