Participants visited the site of the former sanatorium in Hamilton and a cemetery where Inuit who died of TB were buried and looked at historic photos and artworks made by Inuit patients at the Art Gallery of Hamilton.
Healing circles helped Elders find closure, while workshops fostered inter-generational dialogue and supported learning about TB. "I feel release. I cannot describe it. Now I feel like singing," said one of the survivors at the end of the trip.
The visit drew widespread public attention to the intergenerational trauma the TB sanatoriums caused, as well as to the ongoing TB crisis among Indigenous communities in the North – both through a sold-out public event at the Art Gallery of Hamilton (view a recording here), and extensive media coverage.
It also led to concrete action. McMaster University’s Health Sciences Archives decided to hand over copies of their historic photo collection to the community. The Mayor of Hamilton promised that the city would be adding the Inuktitut translation on the street signs for Sanatorium Drive and a plaque at the site of the former sanatorium to commemorate the history of Inuit TB patients.
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