Chanie Wenjack
| Chanie Wenjack | |
|---|---|
| Born | 1954 |
| Died | 1966 |
| Occupation | student |
Chanie Wenjack was an Anishinaabe boy who died after escaping a residential school.[1]
In Anishinabek News
- Home community: Marten Falls First Nation[2]
- September 2016: He died in October 1966 while attempting to walk home to Ogoki Post after fleeing Cecilia Jeffrey Indian Residential School. His body was found on October 23, 1966, along a rail line approximately 60 kilometres from the school near Kenora, Ontario. His story was the subject of a Maclean’s magazine article in 1967 and a Heritage Minute released in 2016.[2]
- November 2016: In 1966, he died along a railway track after running away from a residential school in Kenora. His life and final days are the subject of the animated film The Secret Path by Gord Downie. His body was found on October 23, 1966, about 60 kilometres from the residential school.[3]
- October 2017: He died in October 1966 after fleeing from the Cecilia Jeffrey Indian Residential School in Northwestern Ontario. His body was discovered near railroad tracks near Kenora while he was attempting to walk to his home in Ogoki Post. His life story was the central focus of the Secret Path project created by Gord Downie.[4]
- January 2019: He died in 1966 while trying to walk home from a residential school along a railway track in Northwestern Ontario. His life story is the subject of the Secret Path graphic novel and a subsequent educational curriculum. His legacy is intertwined with that of Gord Downie to reveal the truth regarding the Indian residential school system.[5]
- July 2021: He froze to death while attempting to walk home from a residential school. The article refers to this person as deceased (no date of death is given).[6]
- July 2021: He died more than 50 years before 2021 while attempting to flee the Cecilia Jeffrey Indian Residential School near Kenora. His story inspired Gord Downie to create the Secret Path project and establish a fund for reconciliation. The Gord Downie & Chanie Wenjack Fund works with his family to continue the conversation about his life and residential schools.[7]
- October 2023: The youth died from exposure and starvation while attempting to walk 600 kilometres home from the Cecilia Jeffrey Residential School. His body was discovered near railway tracks one week after he fled the institution in Kenora. His life story inspired the Secret Path album and the creation of the Gord Downie & Chanie Wenjack Fund. The article refers to this person as deceased (no date of death is given).[1]
- November 2025: In 1966, he died from hunger and cold while attempting to walk over 600 kilometres to his home from a residential school. He was found near a Canadian National Railway track after escaping the Cecilia Jeffrey Residential School in Kenora. His life and death are the subject of the Secret Path project created by Gord Downie.[8]
References
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 "Toronto’s Union Station hosts exhibit by Anishinaabe artist", Anishinabek News, 26 October 2023 (archived copy; original article).
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 "NAN, MKO support Gord Downie’s ‘Secret Path’ Project", Anishinabek News, 12 September 2016 (archived copy; original article).
- ↑ "Family of Chanie Wenjack attends Gord Downie’s The Secret Path premier", Anishinabek News, 9 November 2016 (archived copy; original article).
- ↑ "Nishnawbe Aski Nation statement on the passing of Gord Downie", Anishinabek News, 18 October 2017 (archived copy; original article).
- ↑ "Wenjack and Downie legacy lives on through the Secret Path Curriculum Resource at Trent University", Anishinabek News, 29 January 2019 (archived copy; original article).
- ↑ "No Pride in Genocide marchers call on protectors and allies to come together", Anishinabek News, 21 July 2021 (archived copy; original article).
- ↑ "Cluster Stars Song Book to support Gord Downie’s legacy", Anishinabek News, 27 July 2021 (archived copy; original article).
- ↑ "ReconciliACTION with the new Downie Wenjack Legacy Space at Canadore College", Anishinabek News, 27 November 2025 (archived copy; original article).