With handdrums beating in unison to build anticipation, a veil was pulled back at the Brodie Street public library to reveal a large, brightly coloured mural honouring the life and legacy of residential school survivors in Thunder Bay, Ont.

On the upper floor of the library, people gathered to take in the mural and to celebrate the completion of a two-year project designed to bring awareness and commemorate the history and legacy of the St. Joseph's Residential School.

"It speaks to the resilience of Indigenous people," said Robyn Medicine, the Indigenous relationships supervisor with the Thunder Bay Public Library who has led the project called "Stories of Anishinaabe Resilience" (SOAR).

"That's what this project is about. I wanted to focus on the resiliency of Indigenous people, starting with residential school survivors because we have to acknowledge what they had went through in residential schools," she said.

The Stories of Anishinaabe Resilience (SOAR) project took more than two years to complete, and includes a high school educational curriculum, artwork and a podcast featuring the voices, stories and experiences of St. Joseph's residential school survivors and their families. (Logan Turner/CBC)

The SOAR project included several components, including a research report on the establishment, daily activities and the tearing down of St. Joseph's residential school, a high school education curriculum, and artwork to be hung at the library.

It also includes a podcast, with survivors and their descendants sharing their personal experiences and stories from the residential school.

"It's a part of the history of Thunder Bay that's missing," Medicine said.

A piece of felt artwork completed by a group of young Indigenous artists hangs on the left and a mural by Rufus Moonias of Neskantaga First Nation hangs on the right. The piece by Moonias represents "the resiliency of survivors from residential schools, group homes, foster homes, hospitals, and/or jails," according to a press release. (Logan Turner/CBC)

The history of St. Joseph's, if it is known at all, she said, is often depicted as being an "orphanage" or a "boarding school" — something that was designed to benefit children and families. What has been missed in this local history, Medicine added, are the stories and experiences of Indigenous children while they attended the school and after.

"If you Google St. Joseph's Residential School, there are very limited resources out there. Even at the Thunder Bay Public Library, we have very limited resources. And we need to recognize and acknowledge the fact that Thunder Bay had a residential school," Medicine said.

Residential school in operation until 1960s

St. Joseph's started in the 1870s as a Roman Catholic orphanage and school for girls in what is now known as Fort William First Nation. It was operated by the Sisters of St. Joseph from Sault Ste. Marie, according to the curriculum documents created for the SOAR project.

The residential school was relocated twice during its operation, including a site on the corner of Arthur and Franklin Streets, where it operated until 1966 when it was closed, according to the documents shared with CBC News.

This mural by Anishinaabe artist Quill Christie-Peters hangs in the Waverley Library in Thunder Bay, Ont. It's called “despite it all, we are all they can never have,” and depicts "the beauty, wholeness and complexity of who we are as Anishinaabeg, despite the violence we have endured through residential schools," according to a press release. (Logan Turner/CBC)

Three of the residential school survivors — Morris Shapwaykeesic, Dolores Wawia and Doloris Skinner-Wanakamik — were captured in portraits painted by Brian Michon of Fort William First Nation. Those portraits now hang in the Brodie Street Library.

He also painted the large mural that was unveiled on Thursday, scheduled to be installed outside the library in the fall.

The mural is set at Anemki Wajiw (also known as Thunder Mountain or Mount McKay) in Fort William First Nation, and includes residential school students and survivors in black and orange at the bottom, Michon said. But taking up most of the space in the mural is a brightly painted young girl wearing a fancy shawl.

A portrait of the late Dolores Wawia, a survivor of the St. Joseph's residential school and a longtime advocate for Indigenous education, was painted by Brian Michon and now hangs in the Brodie Street library in Thunder Bay, Ont. (Logan Turner/CBC)

"To me, she represents hope and resilience of our people," Michon told CBC News.

"It's why I call the painting 'A Foundation of Hope.' We can learn from the past and we can carry on as a people, building upon what we had gone through and not letting that hold us back."

To see the original report and read related stories, follow this link to the CBC News website.