Secret Path is a graphic novel by musician Gord Downie and illustrator Jeff Lemire that tells the story of Chanie âCharlieâ Wenjack, a twelve-year-old boy who died in flight from the Cecilia Jeffrey Indian Residential School fifty years ago.
Chanie, misnamed Charlie by his teachers, was a young boy who died on October 22, 1966, walking the railroad tracks, trying to escape from the Cecilia Jeffrey Indian Residential School to return home. Chanieâs home was 400 miles away. He didnât know that. He didnât know where it was, nor how to find it, but, like so many kidsâmore than anyone will be able to imagineâhe tried.
Chanieâs story is Canadaâs story. We are not the country we thought we were. History will be re-written. We are all accountable. Secret Path acknowledges a dark part of Canadaâs historyâthe long suppressed mistreatment of Indigenous children and families by the residential school systemâwith the hope of starting our country on a road to reconciliation. Every year as we remember Chanie Wenjack, the hope for Secret Path is that it educates all Canadians young and old on this omitted part of our history, urging our entire nation to play an active role in the preservation of Indigenous lives and culture in Canada.
The next hundred years are going to be painful as we come to know Chanie Wenjack and thousands like himâas we find out about ourselves, about all of usâbut only when we do can we truly call ourselves, âCanada.â
Proceeds from Secret Path will be donated to The Gord Downie Secret Path Fund for Truth and Reconciliation via The National Centre for Truth and Reconciliation (NCTR) at The University of Manitoba.