[press release] [click on any of the pictures for larger versions]
New stamps feature artwork reflecting the history and legacy of residential schools
Stamp creation process guided by the Survivors Circle of the National Centre for Truth and Reconciliation

OTTAWA, ON /CNW/ – To commemorate the National Day for Truth and Reconciliation, Canada Post and the Survivors Circle of the National Centre for Truth and Reconciliation have unveiled new stamps highlighting artwork that reflects the history and legacy of residential schools.

Canada Post again partnered with the Survivors Circle to create this third issue of its Truth and Reconciliation stamp series. This partnership helps ensure that the perspectives and voices of Survivors remain central throughout the stamp creation process.

The artwork chosen by the Survivors Circle for this series was created by three artists: Robert Burke, Helen Iguptak and Adrian Stimson. All three are residential school Survivors.

Robert Burke
Robert Burke’s artwork explores the social issues and personal challenges of his Black Indigenous identity, as well as what he experienced in nearly a decade spent at St. Joseph’s Residential School in the Northwest Territories.

Helen Iguptak
Inuk artist Helen Iguptak was forced to abandon her traditional clothing when taken to live at Turquetil Hall in Nunavut. At the school, an older girl taught her to make dolls, a medium with a rich Inuit history. The dolls she makes today are dressed in traditional Inuit clothing.

Adrian Stimson
Two-Spirit interdisciplinary artist Adrian Stimson is a member of the Siksika Nation of the Blackfoot Confederacy in Alberta. He attended three residential schools, including Gordon’s Residential School in Saskatchewan.

About the stamps
The booklet cover features the Survivors’ Flag of the National Centre for Truth and Reconciliation. The stamps are cancelled in Ottawa, home to the seat of the Canadian government, which forcibly separated Indigenous children from their families and communities and removed them from their land, languages, cultures and spiritual traditions, by sending them to residential schools and day schools.

The child’s handprint is a symbol to remember the children taken at a young age to residential schools, many of whom never returned home. Lowe-Martin printed the stamps. Canada Post thanks the Survivors Circle of the National Centre for Truth and Reconciliation for their guidance throughout the stamp creation process.

The stamp products will be available at canadapost.ca and postal outlets across Canada beginning on September 27, to commemorate the National Day for Truth and Reconciliation on September 30.

The National Indian Residential School Crisis Line provides 24-hour support to former residential school students and their families. If you require support, please call 1-866-925-4419. [en Francais pour les médias d’information]
De nouveaux timbres présentent des œuvres d’art qui reflètent l’histoire des pensionnats et les séquelles qu’ils ont laissées
Les vignettes ont été conçues en collaboration avec le Cercle des survivants du Centre national pour la vérité et la réconciliation.

OTTAWA, ON /CNW/ – Pour commémorer la Journée nationale de la vérité et de la réconciliation, Postes Canada et le Cercle des survivants du Centre national pour la vérité et la réconciliation ont dévoilé aujourd’hui de nouveaux timbres mettant en vedette des œuvres d’art qui reflètent l’histoire des pensionnats et les séquelles qu’ils ont laissées.

Dans le cadre de ce troisième volet de sa série Vérité et réconciliation, Postes Canada a travaillé de nouveau avec le Cercle des survivants, qui a veillé à ce que les points de vue et les voix des personnes survivantes soient au cœur du processus de création.

Les œuvres d’art choisies par le Cercle des survivants pour ce volet ont été réalisées par trois artistes, Robert Burke, Helen Iguptak et Adrian Stimson, qui ont survécu aux pensionnats.

Robert Burke
Les œuvres de Robert Burke explorent les enjeux sociaux et les défis personnels liés à son identité afro-autochtone, ainsi que ce qu’il a vécu pendant près d’une décennie au pensionnat St. Joseph’s, dans les Territoires du Nord-Ouest.

Helen Iguptak
L’artiste inuk Helen Iguptak a été forcée d’abandonner ses vêtements traditionnels lorsqu’elle a été amenée à Turquetil Hall, au Nunavut, où une fille plus âgée lui a appris à fabriquer des poupées, un art inuit à la riche histoire. Celles qu’elle confectionne aujourd’hui portent des habits inuit traditionnels.

Adrian Stimson
Personne bispirituelle, l’artiste interdisciplinaire Adrian Stimson est membre de la nation des Siksika de la Confédération des Pieds-Noirs en Alberta. Il a fréquenté trois pensionnats, y compris le pensionnat de Gordon, en Saskatchewan.

À propos des timbres
La couverture du carnet présente le drapeau des survivants du Centre national pour la vérité et la réconciliation. Les timbres sont oblitérés à Ottawa, où se situe le siège du gouvernement canadien, qui a séparé des enfants autochtones de leurs familles, de leurs communautés, de leurs terres, de leur langue maternelle, de leur culture et de leurs traditions spirituelles pour les envoyer dans des pensionnats et des externats.

L’empreinte de main est un symbole qui rappelle les enfants qui ont dû aller de force aux pensionnats et dont un bon nombre n’ont jamais eu la chance de rentrer à la maison. Lowe-Martin a imprimé les timbres. Postes Canada remercie le Cercle des survivants du Centre national pour la vérité et réconciliation qui l’a conseillée tout au long du processus de conception.

Les produits philatéliques seront offerts sur postescanada.ca et dans les bureaux de poste partout au pays à partir du 27 septembre en vue de la Journée nationale de la vérité et de la réconciliation le 30 septembre.

Les survivants et survivantes des pensionnats et leurs familles peuvent accéder en tout temps à la ligne d’écoute téléphonique nationale de Résolution des questions des pensionnats indiens. Pour obtenir du soutien, veuillez composer le 1 866 925-4419.

From Richard L. Beecher in The Virtual Stamp Club’s Facebook group on 11 September:

“While we await the news on a possible Morissette stamp, a stamp honouring Sarah McLachlan will be unveiled on Tuesday the 17th.“

No confirmation by Canada Post. The photo at left is of McLachlan playing at the Invictus Games in 2017.

[press release] [click on any of the pictures for larger versions]
New stamp shines spotlight on Canadian singer-songwriter Sarah McLachlan
Grammy and JUNO award-winning artist has sold more than 40 million albums worldwide and is known for her philanthropic efforts

VANCOUVER – Canada Post issued a new stamp today honouring singer-songwriter and musician, Sarah McLachlan. Known for her emotional ballads and hauntingly soulful vocals, the award-winning Canadian artist has sold more than 40 million albums worldwide.

Born in Halifax, Nova Scotia, in 1968, McLachlan was adopted as an infant and received classical training in guitar, piano and voice at an early age. After studying at the Nova Scotia College of Art and Design for one year, she moved to Vancouver, British Columbia, and released her first studio album, Touch (1988), at age 20.

Her second album, Solace (1991), went gold in Canada and earned McLachlan her first two JUNO nominations and first win for Best Video for the single “Into the Fire.” Fumbling Towards Ecstasy – celebrating its 30th anniversary this year with a North American tour – was a hit on its release in Canada and the United States in 1994.

In the photo on the right, McLachlan and Canada Post President & CEO Doug Ettinger pose with the new stamp during the unveiling 17 September at the Sarah McLachlan School of Music.

McLachlan has since launched six more studio albums, including the multi-platinum Surfacing (1997), her best-selling album to date. Showcasing her unique fusion of pop and folk with such hits as, “Building a Mystery,” “Sweet Surrender” and “Angel,” the album was a critical and commercial success and won two Grammy Awards and four JUNO Awards.

In 1997, McLachlan founded the exclusively female-fronted Lilith Fair concert tour, which helped bolster careers and raised more than $7 million for local and national charities. She has been a longtime advocate for animal rights and is the founder of the non-profit Sarah McLachlan School of Music, which provides free music education and mentorship to children and youth, among others, facing barriers to access.

McLachlan was appointed an Officer of the Order of Canada (1999), invested into the Order of British Columbia (2001) and received a Governor General’s Performing Arts Award for Lifetime Artistic Achievement (Popular Music) (2015). A member of the Canadian Music Hall of Fame (2017), she will be inducted into the Canadian Songwriters Hall of Fame on September 28 of this year.

About the stamp
Designed by Jocelyne Saulnier of Joce Creative, the stamp features a photo of McLachlan with a stylized version of her signature in the foreground. The background includes a detail from her hand silk-screened art print, Blue Sunrays. The cancel site is Vancouver, B.C. – McLachlan’s longtime home.

A Virtual Stamp Club exclusive by Danforth Guy:

She was born June 1, 1974, making her 50 years old.

Her Wikipedia entry and IMDB entry.