Behind the Bricks: The Life and Times of the Mohawk Institute, Canada’s Longest-Running Residential School

by Richard W. Hill Sr., Alison Norman, Thomas Peace

From the outside, the Mohawk Institute looks like a large and welcoming school building. When one looks behind the bricks of the school, however, a much different story becomes apparent. Conceived and overseen by Six Nations community member Richard W. Hill Sr., Behind the Bricks is an important work that provides deep insight into the Mohawk Institute, Canada's first, and longest-running, residential school, operating from 1828 to 1970 in Brantford, Ontario. Many see the Mohawk Institute as a model for the residential school system.


Behind the Bricks brings together Indigenous and non-Indigenous experts. The book begins with an overview that traces the history and context of the school, and the remainder of Behind the Bricks touches on a broad array of topics from the experiences of students, to archaeology and architecture, to the role of religion, and beyond, drawing on a wide variety of sources including government documents, church records, and oral history.


Behind the Bricks examines the policies and motivations that shaped the experiences of all three parties involved with the school—the government, the church, and the students and their communities.


A thorough and thoughtful history that provides deep insight into over a century of institutional operation, Behind the Bricks is an essential work that tells us not only about the Mohawk Institute, but the entire residential school system, providing a window into the past with the goal of working towards a future of truth and reconciliation.

Genres: Indigenous, Nonfiction, History

402 pages, Paperback

Published September 1, 2025

Reviews

[Sar · Rating 5 out of 5]

Edited collections can be a hit or miss for me, but this was an outstanding piece. Brilliantly uncomfortable, it makes you confront not only the reality of residential schools in Canada, but their closeness in both proximity and time period. The deep dive into the inner workings of the school system provides a much needed look beyond the surface level teachings of public education. A read I highly recommend, especially for non-Indigenous Canadians.

[Anne Smith-Nochasak · Rating 5 out of 5]

Behind the Bricks is a comprehensive study of the life and times of the Mohawk Institute in Brandford, Ontario, one which not only details student experiences but grounds them in the overall historical, social, archaeological, architectural, and religious context, with each analysis reflecting the specific milieu and outcomes during different time periods. Drawing on Indigenous and settler scholarship, as well as a variety of research tools, it provides a well-rounded and thorough examination, not only of the Institute itself, but also its impact in comparison with other residential school models. As readers, we are urged not to observe only, but to take what we learn and “make concrete actions toward truth and reconciliation.” (7) The goal Is to produce or contribute to the truth, and as is pointed out, “Without this truth, there can be no reconciliation.” (9)

From the opening poem, in which David Monture speaks of being “made to feel ‘The Other,’ in our own homeland” to that powerful concluding line in the poem by Jimmy Edgar, “May your God forgive you, oh Canada, for I cannot,” through each painstaking detail, this is a book that cannot and must not be ignored. This book provides a powerful reminder that to have truth and reconciliation we must not only read these things but know these things and change our lives in this knowledge. Let us listen, learn, and act.

[Andrew Porteus · Rating 5 out of 5]

A readable and eminently informative look at the history of the Mohawk Institute, and the origins and impacts of the Canadian residential school system. This book weaves the history of the Mohawk Institute from a variety of scholarly disciplines as well as writings from survivors of the Mohawk Institute and Elders detailing life at the Institute and the effect it has had on both immediate and intergenerational survivors.
Written for both scholars and the general public, this book is an essential addition to the literature of this shameful chapter of Canadian history.

Disclaimer: I created the index to this book, but was not in any way involved in the contents, layout, or editorial decisions about the book.