BRANTFORD – On Friday August 19, representatives from Brantford Native Housing (BNH) made a $5,000 donation to the Mohawk Institute’s Save the Evidence campaign. Shane Bomberry, president of BNH and Andy Joseph, executive director of BNH met with the Woodland Cultural Centre’s Outreach Co-ordinator Jessica Powless to sign the giant cheque and make the donation official.
The Save the Evidence campaign is trying to raise money to complete renovations to the Mohawk Institute; The Mohawk Institute Indian Residential School operated in Brantford, Ontario from 1828 to 1970. It served as a boarding school for First Nations children from Six Nations, as well as other communities throughout Ontario and Quebec. It served as a key tool in the effort to assimilate First Nations children into European Christian society, and sever the continuity of culture from parent to child. After closing in 1970, it reopened in 1972 as the Woodland Cultural Centre, a non-profit organization that serves to preserve and promote First Nations culture and heritage.
“We definitely are thankful for the $5,000 donation,” said Powless. “Every dollar we can raise towards the campaign is appreciated and this money will go directly towards the current project.”
In 2013, major roof leaks caused significant and costly damage to the historic Mohawk Institute Indian Residential School building. The Save the Evidence fundraising campaign was launched in response. Its goal is to raise the necessary funds for repairs and renovations to ensure the physical evidence of the dark history of Residential Schools in Canada is never forgotten.
BNH was founded in 1986 as a non-profit charitable organization which works to provide housing for people of native ancestry who are of low income, and as such strives to provide access to a safe, affordable and secure place to live in peace and dignity for the First Nation population residing in Brantford as well as provide the urban First Nation population with community services.
In continuing to do so, BNH recognizes the importance of collaborating with fellow First Nation service provider organizations in the Brantford Community.
“BNH acknowledges the importance of the efforts of the Woodland Cultural Centre to educate the public on the rich culture and heritage of the First Nations of the Eastern Woodland area, including the history and purpose of the former Mohawk Institute, and wishes to express our support by way of a donation to the ‘Save the Evidence’ campaign. BNH stands in unity with this project’s purpose to become Canada’s first ‘Canadian Museum of Conscience’ in the city of Brantford on Six Nations of the Grand River territory, and as such serve as a constant reminder for future generations,” reads a statement from the BNH.
