Introducing Sioux Lookout ON’ from the Un-Earthed collection. This 18 x 6 x 2 inches totem holds profound significance. Each bundle and twig represents a child who never returned home from Canada’s residential schools. Amanda Pierce created this piece with vibrant gold leaf and bright oranges, symbolizing the resilience, strength, and beauty these children embody. Through her art, she ensures their stories will endure, ensuring these children will never be forgotten.

Pelican Lake school was established in 1926 near Sioux Lookout, ON. Despite its location on the Canadian Shield, the students cleared a portion of the school’s 287 acres for a farm operation. In the late 1940s there was severe overcrowding in the school. In the 1950s the school increasingly served as a residence for students attending local day schools. The federal government took over administration of the school in 1969. In 1978 the school, which by then was operating solely as a hostel, closed.