The Woodland Cultural Centre in Brantford, Ontario, hosted its grand opening on the National Day for Truth and Reconciliation. The museum, once the longest-operating residential school in Canada, attracted a large crowd eager to explore the refurbished space celebrating Indigenous language, culture, art, and history.
Visitors shared their reasons for attending the event, with some seeking to learn about the Mohawk Institute’s history and others honoring their family members who were former students. The residential school, administered by the Anglican Church and the federal government from 1828 to 1970, received approximately 15,000 children from 60 different communities.
John Moses, accompanied by his cousins Lesley and Patty Davis, who have mixed Mohawk and Mohican Delaware heritage, attended the museum opening. Moses emphasized the importance of reconciliation and educating non-Indigenous Canadians about the country’s true history, with families like theirs serving as truth-tellers.
During their visit, the trio stood at the same spot where a framed photograph of Moses’s father and Lesley and Patty’s mother was taken in 1943 when the siblings were students at the institute. The picture captured a brief monthly visit that the school permitted.
The descendants of Russ and Thelma Moses, depicted in the photo frame, shared how their parents refused to be defined by their challenging school experiences. Russ went on to serve in the navy and contribute to an Indigenous pavilion at Expo ’67, while Thelma advocated for an apology from the Anglican Church regarding residential schools.
The Woodland Cultural Centre, which emerged two years after the closure of the residential school, has been closed to the public since 2019 for renovations. The centre’s executive director, Heather George, expressed the hope that the museum would encourage visitors to delve deeper into Indigenous history and reflect on the ongoing impact of discrimination on Indigenous communities.
The museum’s restoration also includes a language center, a significant endeavor supported by former director Janis Kahentóktha Bomberry. She emphasized the importance of preserving Indigenous languages as a form of resistance against past attempts to eradicate them.
The grand opening of the Woodland Cultural Centre drew individuals like siblings Jessica and Kyle Nguyen, who sought to expand their understanding of local Indigenous history after taking a course on the experiences of Black, Indigenous, and people of color workers. Kyle stressed the need for unity and allyship among visible minorities to support each other.
The event also provided an opportunity for attendees like Carol McDonald, Brian Burleigh, and Cathy Mountenay to honor their grandmother, a former student of the Mohawk Institute who never spoke of her time there. Burleigh reflected on the importance of acknowledging past injustices and embracing one’s Indigenous identity.
The museum opening symbolized a step towards recognizing the impact of residential schools on Indigenous communities and fostering a deeper understanding of Indigenous history and culture among visitors.
