Grandmother seeks owner of box possibly made in Yukon

A Winnipeg grandmother has a wooden box that bears the name of a Yukon residential school and she would like to return it to its rightful owner.

Geraldine Greyeyes bought the box at a garage sale but said she looks forward to the day when she can give it back. She said she thinks it could bring peace of mind to its owner.

The box bears the inscription "Choutla Residential School."

Choutla was a residential school in Carcoss, a small community about 70 kilometres southeast of Whitehorse.

The schoolwas established by the Anglican Church in 1911 but was closed in the 1970s. It drew First Nations students from across the Yukon.

Greyeyes said the box made a big impression on her when she first spotted it.

"I saw the little box sitting there, and it was by itself, and I know that I could feel that the little box wanted to be taken out of there. Somehow or another, there was a communication between my heart and that little box," she said.

It has a large emblem, a Latin inscription and the date 1952 on the top.

Phil Gatnesby,a former Choutla student, said he thinks the chance of finding the owner of the box is remote.

Hesaidit most likely belonged to a former residential school employee because of the distance it has travelled.

"See, that's one of the things that led me to think that it may have belonged to a supervisor rather than a student. How would it get to Winnipeg? Because lots of people who went to school in the Yukon, pretty much stayed in the Yukon," he said.

Gatnesby works as a support worker with former students who have filed lawsuits over abuses theyallege they suffered at residential schools. He said if the box belonged to a former student, it could trigger painful memories.

'We have a tendency to sort of romanticize'

"I think we have a tendency to sort of romanticize. I do," he said.

He said an eldermight see the box andsay,"Gosh, I made this when I was young,"but that person might also react differently.

"I'm not really sure it would be so wonderful for the person, but maybe it would be. I hope it would be," he said.

Greyeyes said shedidn't goto residential school, but she is aware of the memories that the box might bring.

"Maybe they'll just put it away for a while, and once they work through their own history, itmay bevery valuable and positive," she said.

She said the box could fill in a missing part of a person's history.