Memorial Bench Finds New Home at the Kanatakon School

Never doubt that a small group of committed people can change the world; indeed it is the only thing that ever has. Margaret Mead

While the group of people gathered on Remembrance Day in the Kanatakon School gymnasium was small, their intent was honorable. There was no head table with dignitaries; no rambling speeches; and no obligatory hand shaking. Instead, the group of people was brought together because of a small, stone Bench and the history and experiences it represented.

This Bench had been lovingly created and inscribed with these words: "In Memory of the Children of Akwesasne Who Were Forced to Attend Residential Schools and Sadly As A Result Died There Forever In Our Hearts Honored By The Community of Akwesasne" Then the Bench was put in a large cavernous building and moved from one spot to another, as if it was in the way. Eventually, the Bench caught the attention of an Akwesasne Mohawk language teacher who did not like what was happening to the Bench. After some discussion, the Bench was removed from its inhospitable environment, and moved to a more welcoming environment at the Kanatakon School.

The history of Residential schools has been well documented. The purpose was to get rid of the Indian in the Indian. Children as young as four years old were taken from their families, community and everything they knew and often did not return for years. The children's identity was physically destroyed: cutting off their hair; changing their clothes and being reduced to an ID number. To be caught speaking their Native language meant corporal punishment.

As Kaweienon:ni Margaret Peters (AMBE Kanien'keha Specialist) stated: "When something is being taken away from us, we don't just let it happen; that's just who we are." The Mohawk language may be at risk but serious efforts by educators to put in place language immersion programs are essential to prevent its further decline.

The evening program included the reciting of the Ohen:ton Karihweatehkwen by Grade 5 student, Teiohniserathe Lazore and heartfelt songs from Kontiwennenha:wi (Ahkwesahsne Women Singers) to honor the survivors.

Dr. Barry M. Montour, AMBE Director of Education, welcomed everyone and thanked Kaweienon:ni for her insight and efforts to bring the bench to the school. Barry reminded everyone that the history of Residential schools is not old or some long ago past history. "The last Residential school to close was in Kenora, Ontario in 1976, In Canada, the last school closed in Saskatchewan in 1996!"

Enrollment of students in the K4 – Grade Six immersion language programs have grown steadily, from 42 students in 2005 to 100 students in 2013. He credits the dedication of "people like that to remind the board of what we are here for".

The gift of story telling and sharing life experience was bestowed on the people attending that night. Isabel McDonald and Bill Sunday spoke of their time spent at Spanish Residential school with some laughter and some emotion.

Guest speaker, Tom Porter remarked on the 'beautiful' school with Mohawk culture and language highlighted everywhere. What a change from his Mohawk school experiences! A young teacher, Ray Fadden, tried painting murals on the wall with historical facts for Mohawk students only to have the principal order it painted over!

Tom pointed out that young people should be told these stories to recognize that what they have today wasn't always this way. There was someone gone before who 'fought' and 'paved the way' and it wasn't easy!

Before the evening's activities ended, Barry Montour was presented with a Pendleton blanket depicting the Creation story. A gift of gratitude from the Mohawk language teachers for his leadership and support of language programs.

At the beginning of the evening, young people were assisting with the meal setup because they had been 'voluntold'. When asked, they weren't too sure what the evening was about and, they were even less knowledgeable about the Residential school legacy.

As the evening closed and clean up began, the young people were in agreement that a lot had been learned and they were glad to have been a part of it.

As guest speaker, there were many stories and lessons told by Tom Porter. It is important to attend these gatherings, if only to keep him from talking about you because you aren't there! Ask Margaret what he had to say about Bill Loran and deciphering the words of the Mohawk language. Getting to the 'root' word goes a long way to understanding its deeper meaning.