A new memorial recognizing the former site of the Wawanosh Home in Sault Ste. Marie was officially unveiled to the public during an event held at Royal Canadian Legion Branch 25 on the National Day for Truth and Reconciliation. Started in 1879 by Rev.
E. F. Wilson, the institution was one of Canada's first residential schools for Indigenous girls.
The school closed its doors in 1900 when the girls' school was relocated to the former grounds of Shingwauk Indian Residential School. The new memorial, which features a sitting area and a plaque to educate the public about the Wawanosh Home, is the result of a three-year collaboration between the Legion, SalDan Developments Ltd. and the Children of Shingwauk Alumni Association (CSAA).
“It’s mind blowing, absolutely mind blowing,” said CSAA member Marjorie Cachagee-Lee, who attended the Shingwauk school. “This was nothing but tall grass here, and we took the initiative. Everybody worked together — the Legion, the Children of Shingwauk, the architects.
We searched for funding, and it turned into this beautiful memorial place for people to sit and learn what was here before.” A sandstone monument, erected on the present-day grounds of the Legion by the South Tarentorus Women’s Institute in 1967 in recognition of the Wawanosh Home, was preserved in 2021 after the Legion formed a partnership with CSAA, a group made up of Shingwauk survivors and their family members. A subcommittee was struck three years ago, aimed at enhan.
