Chanie Wenjack

Chanie Wenjack was born in 1954 on the Ogoki Post on the Marten Falls Reserve. At the age of nine, he was sent, along with his two sisters, to board at the Cecilia Jeffrey Indian Residential School in Kenora. Once there, he was given the name 'Charlie'. The school was funded by the Canadian government and overseen by the Women’s Missionary Society of the Presbyterian Church. At the time, 150 students lived at the school. Wenjack began his schooling at the age of nine and was put in remedial classes soon after. He was known to have a good sense of humour, according to the Cree Principal of the school, and was always the first to recognize a pun or riddle.[1][2]

On the morning of October 16, 1966, Wenjack and two school friends, orphaned brothers Ralph and Jackie MacDonald, ran away from the residential school, making it as far as Redditt, 31 km (19 mi) north of Kenora. Wenjack only brought seven matches. The three boys stayed with Ralph and Jackie's uncle, Charley Kelly, in Redditt. After four days with the Kellys, Wenjack left to follow the Canadian National Railway (CN) mainline, heading towards Ogoki Post, 600 km (370 mi) east and north from Kenora. He had found a CN passenger timetable which included a map and was using it as guide to get back home. The Kellys gave him some food and matches and suggested that he ask for help from the section maintenance crews stationed along the line.[1][2]

Wenjack had only a light windbreaker and walked for 36 hours in the wind as the temperature dropped to −6 °C (21 °F). Evidence given at the inquest into his death showed that he had made his way another 20 km (12 mi) east along the CN mainline. Bruises indicated that he fell several times. He collapsed and died sometime on the morning of October 23 in a rock cut near Farlane.[1][2]

His body was discovered beside the track at 11:20 am on October 23 by Elwood McIvor, a CN railway engineer on freight train number No. 821. Elwood contacted the Ontario Provincial Police (OPP) who recovered the body an hour later with help from a CN section crew. Coroner Dr. Glenn Davidson determined the cause of the death was attributed to exposure and hunger.[1][2]

On October 27, 1966, Wenjack was buried at the cemetery on the reserve beside the Albany River.[1][2]

On November 17 an inquest was begun and a report was commissioned and determined that:

The Indian education system causes tremendous emotional & adjustment problems for these children.

— Coroner's jury[3]

Ethical questions were raised and it brought to light the abuse and treatment of indigenous children in the residential school system. A year after Wenjack's death an article written by journalist Ian Adams, "The Lonely Death of Charlie Wenjack," was published in February 1967 in Maclean's magazine. The article brought the ordeal to national attention.[2]

The Wenjack affair along with many other incidents would bring legislative reforms and class action lawsuits as well as the Indian Residential School Settlement Agreement and the Truth and Reconciliation Commission.

Today the story of Wenjack has been seen as a symbol of resistance against the residential school system. In 1973, indigenous students at Trent University lobbied for a building to be named after Wenjack. The largest lecture hall on campus was subsequently named Wenjack Theatre in Wenjack's honour. On March 9, 2018 Trent University marked the official launch of the Chanie Wenjack School for Indigenous Studies.[4]

In 2016, the Gord Downie-Chanie Wenjack Fund was established to help with reconciliation between Canada and its indigenous peoples.[5]

On June 21, 2016, a Heritage Minute about Wenjack's death was released by Historica Canada to coincide with National Aboriginal Day. Unlike other Heritage Minutes that were narrated by actors, Wenjack's was narrated by his sister, Pearl.[6]

The Tragically Hip singer Gord Downie wrote a concept album based on Wenjack's escape. The album, dubbed Secret Path, was released on October 18, 2016,[7][8] along with a concurrent graphic novel of Wenjack's story by novelist Jeff Lemire and an animated film which aired on CBC Television.

Published in October 2016, a novella by Canadian author Joseph Boyden focused on the suffering Wenjack endured and his state of mind during his ordeal. Its title is simply Wenjack.[9]

• Heritage Minutes: Chanie Wenjack
• The Gord Downie and Chanie Wenjack Fund