The NWT government has narrowed down its search for a contractor to design a residential schools monument, shortlisting one company.
A request for proposals published just before the Christmas break stated that only Gwich’in Arts was eligible to bid.
The deadline for a proposal to be received is May 27, 2026.
The monument will be located at Somba K’e Civic Plaza outside Yellowknife City Hall.
Gwich’in Arts had been the sole entity shortlisted through a previous process known as a request for qualifications earlier in 2025, the GNWT stated.
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On its website, Gwich’in Arts lists Dennis, Elizabeth and Linda Wright as its founders.
Under the terms of the request for proposals, the company must still meet the RFP’s terms and be selected by the GNWT for the work to go ahead.
The monument will be designed and built with the help of technical consultants and representatives of the We Always Remember Circle for Northern Residential School Survivors, the RFP added.
June 21, 2027 – National Indigenous Peoples Day – is earmarked for a dedication ceremony to open the monument.
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The budget for the artist’s involvement in the process is set at $200,000.
The process of finding a contractor to build a residential schools monument in the NWT began in the summer of 2025.
At the time, the GNWT said it was seeking “Indigenous artists and Indigenous artist-led groups from the NWT or Nunavut” to help create such a monument.
The project was described as a “survivor-led initiative” that will honour individuals who attended residential schools, including those who didn’t return, and people experiencing intergenerational trauma.
“It will be a place to remember, honour, heal, educate, and reconcile, as called for in Truth and Reconciliation Commission Call to Action 82,” the territorial government stated.
Similar monuments have been installed or are in development across Canada as a result of the same TRC call to action.
