Quilt honouring residential school survivors stolen from Timmins Museum
The artist is urging people to return it to their studio and promising not to ask any questions
An artist from Missanabie Cree First Nation says they can't believe somebody stole a quilt honouring residential school survivors that had been on display at the Timmins Museum.
Katherine Jeremiah-Génier created the quilt with their brother; it features a centre panel by Indigenous artist Karen Erickson that depicts two children holding hands against an orange backdrop.
"The sad part is we would have made them one if they had asked, as opposed to taking it," Jeremiah-Génier said of the culprit.
The quilt was on display as part of an exhibit called This is Home, showcasing work by young Indigenous artists from the region.
It was resting on a rocking chair and was the only piece in the exhibit that wasn't protected in some way, Jeremiah-Génier said.
The museum confirmed the theft to CBC and said police are investigating.
Artist promises no questions asked if quilt is returned
Jeremiah-Génier urged anyone who knows where the quilt is to return it to the Quilts for Survivors studio in South Porcupine and said no questions will be asked.
"I would make them one," they said.
"I just want the wall hanging back. It has a lot of meaning and value to me."
Jeremiah-Génier said they don't know why someone would steal the quilt – if they were motivated by resentment or desperate to keep warm. But they said they'd make a new quilt for the thief if warmth was the issue.
The artist's mother, Vanessa Génier said the theft just compounds the suffering Indigenous people have already faced.
"The reason that they're made is in memorial to those children that never came home [from residential school] and to the children who suffered at the school," she said.
"And to take that and to deny an artist their voice is really — it's just mean and it's uncalled for. It's unnecessary."
Jeremiah-Génier said they've received a variety of responses to their call for help to find the quilt, most of which have been "really beautiful."
But not everyone has been kind, they said.
"I've been getting a few rude comments about who may have taken the quilt," they said.
"Which is uncalled for, honestly."
With files from Aya Dufour