“We Were Always Hungry” was a class assignment in my third year of undergrad at the Wilson School of Design that aimed to educate the audience on how lack of food was used to abuse children in Residential Schools.
Residential Schools: 1831-1996
Canadian Residential schools were a system of schools created by the Canadian government and administered by the church that removed Indigenous children from their homes and stripped them of their indigeneity. Operating from 1831 to 1996, Residential Schools abused tens of thousands of children and the effects are still felt in Indigenous communities today.
Shingwauk Residential Schools Centre, via Reuters
"We Were Always Hungry" is an infographic booklet created to shed light on the way that food, or the lack thereof, was one of the ways that children were abused in Residential Schools. The booklet highlights poor food quality, caloric deficit, and nutritional experiments as the specific ways children were abused with food. The booklet was informed by a collection of anecdotes by survivors, as well as journals and studies about the effect that poor nutrition had on Indigenous Children in Residential Schools. A full list of resources can be viewed here.
This project was initially created in my third year at the Wilson School of Design. In fourth year, the creative direction was reimagined and the content was updated to the available information in 2022.
Kitchen at Mohawk Institute (Maracle-Hill Archives)
Researching and completing a project about the Residential School system was the most emotionally taxing project in my undergrad–it was also the most important one. It is important to mention, though, that the emotional taxation that myself and my classmates experienced completing these projects pales in comparison to what the Indigenous Children in these schools went through. The truth of the horrors that occurred in Indian Residential Schools are far beyond what we could ever know.
As painful as learning and dissecting the source material was, I believe it is of utmost importance that we face the truth of our past as Canadians, and do what we can to support Indigenous communities today. To donate in support of Residential School survivors, please click here for options.