1. Chanie "Charlie" Wenjack was an Ojibwe First Nations boy who ran away from Cecilia Jeffrey Indian Residential School, where he boarded for three years in Kenora, Ontario, Canada.
10 Facts About Chanie Wenjack
1. 2.
Chanie Wenjack was born on January 19,1954, at Ogoki Post on the Marten Falls Reserve.
3.
Chanie Wenjack spent the first two years of his schooling in grade one and was put in remedial classes soon after.
4.
Chanie Wenjack was known to have a good sense of humour, according to the school principal, and was often the first to recognize wordplay.
5.
Chanie Wenjack had found a CN passenger timetable which included a map and was using it as guide to get back home.
6.
On October 27,1966, Chanie Wenjack was buried at the cemetery on the reserve beside the Albany River.
7.
Today, the story of Chanie Wenjack has been seen as a symbol of resistance against the residential school system.
8.
In 2016, the Gord Downie-Chanie Wenjack Fund was established to help with reconciliation between Canada and Indigenous peoples.
9.
On June 21,2016, a Heritage Minute about Chanie Wenjack's death was released by Historica Canada to coincide with National Aboriginal Day.
10.
Unlike other Heritage Minutes that were narrated by actors, Chanie Wenjack's was narrated by his sister, Pearl.