Carey Newman and Kirstie Hudson are the authors of Picking Up the Pieces. (Orca Book Publishers, Ken Wilkinson, Melissa Welsh)

Why Carey Newman & Kirstie Hudson created a book about the making of the Witness Blanket

When Vancouver Island artist Carey Newman created the Witness Blanket, it was to be a monument to children who were forced to attend residential schools. Newman is of Kwakwaka’wakw, Coast Salish and settler heritage and his father is a residential school survivor.

Newman worked with Victoria writer and editor Kirstie Hudson to create the book Picking Up the Pieces.

Picking Up the Pieces documents the creation of the Witness Blanket and calls on readers of all ages to bear witness to the residential school experience, an important piece of Canada’s history.

Newman and Hudson spoke with Shelagh Rogers about how Picking Up the Pieces came to be.