The Secret Path Map

Background Information

Background Info

Chanie Wenjack was a 12-year-old Anishinaabe/Indigenous boy born on January 19, 1954. He attended the Canadian residential schools. After he escaped the school on October 16, 1966, he died 7 days later after escaping from his residential school in Ontario. He was not a strong person; he was thin and weak/susceptible to disease.

What were Residential Schools?

Residential School

Residential Schools were boarding schools for Canadian Indigenous Children during the 1870s-1990s. The purpose of these schools were to educate/convert them to Canadian society, or in other words, "Take the Indian out of the Child." They were funded by the Canadian government and run by churches. Around 150,000 children were forced to attend them. These schools did not help; many children were abused, and children frequently ran away from them. An estimated 6,000 children died from these schools.

Ogoki Post

Chanie grew up in Ogoki Post, a part of the Marten Falls Indian Reserve in Northern Ontario. He lived with his parents, sisters, and two dogs.

1

January 19, 1954- 1963

Going to School

When Chanie was 9 years old, he was sent to Cecilia Jeffrey Indian Residential School with 3 of his sisters. The school was more than 600 km away from his home.

2

1963

Cecilia Jeffrey Indian Residential School

3

The school was located in Kenora, Ontario, and 150 students lived there in the 1960s. He was misnamed "Charlie." Chanie struggled with English and Arithmetic, and needed remedial classes. He did not learn how to read English in his life. The former principal of the school remembered Wenjack's good sense of humor.

1963 - October 16, 1966

Escape

On October 16, 1966, Chanie and two of his friends ran away from their school. This was risky, as the punishment in their school for running away was by strapping (a physical punishment using a strap). He only wore light cotton clothes when he ran away. Chanie's friends said that he ran away because he wanted to see his father. A jury/journalist said he ran away because he was lonely, and his sister, Pearl Wenjack, believes that he might have been sexually assaulted.

4

October 16, 1963

Cabin

For the first night after the escape, Chanie and his friends went to a white man's home to eat and sleep. The next day, he followed his friends to their uncle's cabin, the cabin of Charles Kelly. Charles told Chanie to follow the railroad tracks and ask the railroad workers for food. Before Chanie set off, Charles gave him a glass jar with a few matches.

5

October 16, 1963 - October 18, 1963

The Walk

The weather was extremely cold, with temperatures between -1 and -7 degrees Celsius. While that might not seem that cold, remember that he is wearing light clothing. Chanie also found no food to eat. His body was bruised from several falls, and his lungs appeared to infected at the time of his death.

6

October 18, 1963 - October 23, 1963

Death

After walking around 60 km away from his residential school, Chanie was found dead on the side of the train tracks. An engineer passing on a train found his body.

7

October 23, 1963

Mourning

After his death, Chanie's mother requested for his body to be returned back home. Chanie's father did not know that he died, and he only knew about his death from CBC radio and newspaper reports. His father only received a letter before Chanie's death, saying that his children were doing well. Chanie Wenjack was buried on October 27, 1963.

8

October 27, 1963

Significance

Significance

After his death, Chanie Wenjack became a symbol of residential schools. His death was the first inquest into the treatment of children in restidential schools. He also gained national attention.

In 1972, students and members from Trent University wanted to name a new college after Chanie. They ended up naming the new theatre "Wenjack Theatre." There were also many art/productions about him, notably Gord Downie's "Secret Path" project.

Citations

Citations

Carley, G. (2016, April 07). Chanie Wenjack. Retrieved November 01, 2020, from

https://www.thecanadianencyclopedia.ca/en/article/charlie-wenjack

Ian Adams February 1, 1. (2019, October 03). The lonely death of Chanie Wenjack. Retrieved from

https://www.macleans.ca/society/the-lonely-death-of-chanie-wenjack/