The Confluence Commits $1M towards the Indian Residential School Memorial

Press Release

November 19, 2025

The City of Calgary is advancing truth and reconciliation through the creation of a permanent Indian Residential School Memorial (IRSM) — a direct response to the Truth and Reconciliation Commission’s Call to Action #82; to commission and install a publicly accessible, highly visible, Residential Schools Monument in each capital city to honour survivors and all the children who were lost to their families and communities.

After extensive engagement with Treaty 7 nations, urban Indigenous communities, and the broader public, The Confluence Historic Site & Parkland was overwhelmingly chosen as the memorial’s permanent home.

The Confluence has committed to raising $1 million to support the project, and with $888,000 already secured from the Government of Alberta, just $112,000 remains to be raised through community donors and partners.

At the heart of the site will stand The Wandering Spirit, the winning memorial design by Siksika artist Adrian Stimson and groundcubed, a place envisioned as a passage through memory, healing, and collective responsibility.

Jen Thompson, President of The Confluence, says the decision to make the site the permanent home of the memorial is especially significant — not only because of its colonial history, but also because it has been a gathering place for Indigenous peoples since time immemorial. Together, she says, these truths make the memorial’s placement a powerful act of reconciliation.

“Today we know that the North-West Mounted Police were complicit in detaining and returning Indigenous children who tried to go home from residential schools,” says Thompson. “Placing the memorial here is a profound acknowledgment of those harms and of the enduring impacts of colonialism and residential schools on Indigenous Peoples across generations.”

The Necessity of a Permanent Memorial

The project took shape in 2021 after the confirmation of 215 Indigenous children’s remains were found at the former Kamloops Residential School. Calgarians created a temporary memorial at City Hall with hundreds of shoes and offerings, echoing a nationwide grief that demanded permanence.

The Truth and Reconciliation Commission recorded 2,882 children who never returned from residential schools, though the estimated total exceeds 6,500. Residential schools operated for over 165 years, and Alberta home to 37 of the 132 schools, the highest number in Canada, bears a deep responsibility.

The memorial will offer survivors, families, and communities a dedicated space for truth-telling and healing.

“It will be a place to honour the children who never came home and a place for survivors to gather and heal,” says Thompson. “And in the spirit of reconciliation, it will welcome non-Indigenous people to listen, learn, and stand in solidarity.”

A Memorial That Welcomes Community Year-Round

The Wandering Spirit is envisioned as a landmark, a place where the community can gather through the seasons to honour the children who never came home, while also moving forward together on a path of healing.

“The Residential School Memorial will not only be a place for reflection; it will also be a place for celebration, remembrance, and learning, open to the public year-round,” says Thompson.

In the summer, an average of 10,000 people per day use the River Walk. Integrating the memorial with this pathway system ensures that visitors encounter it as part of their daily experience, creating accessible opportunities for public education, programming, and ceremony.

“As The Confluence sits at such an active point in the heart of the city, the memorial will naturally draw people into its indoor and outdoor spaces, inviting them to learn the truthful histories of this land,” says Thompson.

As stewards of this land, The Confluence has already taken steps to ensure Indigenous people have access to this culturally significant site by creating the Indigenous ceremonial room, Naatowápitao’ohkánnao’p (Holy Gathering Place), which will connect to the memorial for greater significance.

Call to Action: Help Bring the Memorial to Life

To complete its $1 million commitment, The Confluence is inviting Calgarians and all those committed to truth and healing to help raise the remaining $112,000. Community members can support the effort by purchasing garden seeds, available at The Confluence front desk and at major events, or by contributing directly to the IRSM fund.

“You’ll be making a commitment to walking toward a path of truth and reconciliation,” says Thompson. “Something we can all be proud of contributing towards the community.”

Together, we can help bring The Wandering Spirit to life and ensure that the children, survivors, families, and stories of the Residential School era are honoured with the dignity they deserve. Learn more about ways to give.

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