The newly created Every Child Matters Memorial officially opened at Snowdon Park with a celebration on Saturday August 5, 2024.

This project came about from former President, Irene Barbeau, in her discussions with Ed Sadowski (a long-time researcher for CSAA about 2018).  He told her about the drownings of two unnamed boys from the Shingwauk Residential School in the early 1900’s, whose bodies were never recovered.  And in 1910 a third residential schoolboy by the name of Peter Beauvais also drowned in the pond.  His body was recovered and buried in the Shingwauk cemetery.  

In 1960 heroic deeds of 4 Shingwauk girls, Nellie Ojeebah Mitchell, Ellen Pine, Marjorie Owl and Barb Sagon, helped save a brother of a local non-native boy, Robert Crossman while the second brother, Gerald Crossman, drowned and his body was recovered.

The pond was filled in with slag from the steel plant over the years and eventually covered over with earth and grass and later became known as Snowdon Park, which included a playground and a tennis court. 

Jackie Fletcher, Vice-President of the Children of Shingwauk Alumni Association decided to work on a memorialization honoring the three Shingwauk boys on behalf of CSAA and to honor the four girls for their heroism. A partnership was established with Ken Crossman, a non-native local to include his late brother in the memorial.  A second partnership was developed with the city of Sault Ste. Marie, Ontario to provide resources for the memorial as part of their contribution to the Truth and Reconciliation Calls To Action.

At this point a committee was struck to include Jackie Fletcher, Shirley Horn (Elder Advisor of CSAA), two of the four girls, Nellie and Ellen, Ken Crossman, Virginia McLeod, city of Sault Ste. Marie, as well as support from the Shingwauk Residential School Center and Nordik staff.  Gladys Williams, also a residential school survivor joined the committee as support for Ellen Pine, both are members of the Garden River First Nation.

Before the project began, Algoma University’s cultural advisor, Ozawa Ganew, held two ceremonies.  One to honor the two unrecovered boys and one to respectfully ask for permission to disturb the earth before digging.

The project was 2 years in the making, with many meetings that included some members of the Snowdon family.  Finally, in July 2023, a beautiful, cultural celebration and feast was held on the grounds of the former pond, with invited guests, to honor the above-mentioned children.  Plaques were presented to Nellie Ojeebah Mitchell and Ellen Pine.  The celebration was to introduce the community to the new memorial with benches, trees, flowers and an arbor leading to the serene setting.  

Hopefully the names of the two boys will be released from the government someday and the blank spaces will be filled.