This 35-year-old Six Nations language immersion school in Ontario still doesn't have a home of its own

Kawenni:io/Gaweni:yo Private School, a language immersion school on Six Nations of the Grand River in Ontario, has been operating from the second floor of the Iroquois Lacrosse Arena for over a decade. 

It is the only school in Canada that offers Cayuga and Mohawk languages, both of which are critically endangered, from kindergarten through Grade 12.

As first-language speakers of Mohawk and Cayuga continue to pass away, the push for Kawenni:io/Gaweni:yo to have an adequate space to educate its students is urgent, say members of the school's board.

According to language experts on Six Nations, there are fewer than 1,000 native speakers of Mohawk and approximately 30 people who speak Cayuga left in the world, and some of them live in Six Nations. They understand that their teachings, ceremonies and stewardship to the land are all embedded within the languages. Thus, saving them is intrinsic to maintaining Haudenosaunee culture and identity.  

"[Kawenni:io/Gaweni:yo] will restore what was lost through the system of residential schools in Canada," said Ruby Jacobs, the school's board chair. 

Many children were taken from Six Nations over the years and sent to the Mohawk Institute in nearby Brantford that was once Canada's longest-running residential school. Kawenni:io/Gaweni:yo — which translates to good- or nice-sounding words — is effectively undoing much of the damage residential schools did to Indigenous people.

"Residential school syndrome is still happening today, in my opinion," Jacobs said, referring to the impact that displacement has had on communities and emphasizing the importance of schools like Kawenni:io/Gaweni:yo.    

Yet, on the federal government's list of Indigenous schools on reserves to be built or repaired, Kawenni:io/Gaweni:yo ranks 21st out of 40 schools in Ontario alone. 

According to Indigenous Services Canada (ISC), the main federal department that approves funding for these schools through the government's Capital Facilities and Maintenance Program, priority sequence is determined by several factors: health and safety; overcrowding; access to other educational facilities; and design requirements. 

Kawenni:io/Gaweni:yo's administrators say the school easily meets those requirements. They have also prepared a report that lays out its case for funding, finalized design plans and continue to seek out other funding opportunities, from private donors and government. 

The school currently receives core funding from ISC that covers operating costs and staff salaries. However, according to school administrators, the wages fall below those for the average Ontario teacher.  

They are now asking for an estimated $15 million to $20 million to build a space of its own, which would include a gymnasium, Longhouse, library, a space for elders, a wing for nine primary and grade school classrooms, and a separate wing for six high school classrooms.

The proposed design would allow for a significantly greater number of students, an increase from its current 125. 

Still, they wait.