Calls grow for search of grounds at former Ontario residential school

Calls are growing to search the grounds of the former Mohawk Institute for potential remains on the heels of the discovery of the remains of 215 children at a former residential school in Kamloops, B.C.

The Mohawk Institute sits on 350 acres of farmland in Brantford, Ont. and was one of the longest running residential schools in the country.

After its closure in 1970, the residential school became the Woodland Cultural Centre. Executive Director Janis Monture has been working with survivors of the residential school there for the last two decades.

“We’ve heard the stories and the testimony,” said Monture. When asked if there is reason to believe children are buried here, her answer was, “Yes, the chances are good.”

Monture tells CityNews she has heard too many accounts of students suddenly disappearing. “Things like seeing a student one day and not seeing them again or hearing that someone fell out of a tree or they were sick and then never seeing them again”.

Mohawk Institute opened in 1831 and over the course of its 140-year history, there have been countless claims of physical, sexual and emotional abuse.

John Elliot is a survivor. He arrived at Mohawk Institute in the 1940s and recalls being beaten and locked away in a tiny room for days after his many attempts to run away. “I would be just so mad and I wouldn’t cry, I could cry but I wouldn’t”

Elliot said he always heard about burials in the back and at a nearby farmers field.

After the discovery of the mass grave in Kamloops during a search, he is hoping to finally get some answers. “I think they should investigate. Maybe there would be some of the boys and girls who went missing from when I was here.”

RELATED: Discovery of children’s remains at former Kamloops residential school an ‘unthinkable loss’

There is no estimate on the number of children who have disappeared from Mohawk Institute over the decades it was operating.

The school burnt down in the early 1900’s and after the rebuild, Monture told CityNews most of the records are still under lock and key.

“Some of them are with the Diocese, some are with government, some are public but there are big gaps in that information.” Monture is now hoping those records will be released in the coming months.

In an open letter to Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, Six Nations of the Grand River called on the Canadian government to take immediate action in equipping them to conduct a comprehensive search for remains on the grounds of the former Mohawk Institute.

Chief Mark Hill wrote, “Documentation needs to be studied and preserved. The school cemeteries need to be protected and maintained…We must find all our missing children.”

This week, Trudeau vowed the Canadian government will help unearth gravesites at other residential schools across the country, pledging $27 million.

Monture tells CityNews there is not a day that goes by when she doesn’t feel the heaviness of the building. She said  preparing for what’s next won’t be easy but it’s necessary.

“It’s sad that it took that much to realize that what these survivors have been saying for decades was accurate.”