The community historian and recent appointee to the Order of Canada Richard W. Hill Sr. discusses the new book he’s co-edited Behind the Bricks: The Life and Times of the Mohawk Institute, Canada’s Longest Running Residential School (University of Calgary Press, 2025), with Joseph Planta.
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Behind the Bricks: The Life and Times of the Mohawk Institute, Canada’s Longest Running Residential School edited by Richard W. Hill Sr., Alison Norman, Thomas Reace, and Jennifer Pettit (University of Calgary Press, 2025).
Click to buy this book from Amazon.ca: Behind the Bricks |
Text of the introduction by Joseph Planta:
I am Planta: On the Line, in Vancouver, British Columbia, at TheCommentary.ca.
A new book provides insight into Canada’s oldest residential school, The Mohawk Institute in Brantford, Ontario. One of the editors and contributors to the book, Richard W. Hill, Sr joins me now to talk about the history in the book, the often-harrowing accounts of students who were abused, and who witnessed abuse. The book is called Behind the Bricks: The Life and Times of the Mohawk Institute, Canada’s Longest Running Residential School. I’ll ask Mr. Hill about how the book came together, as it’s a big book, rich with insight about the history and context of the residential school system, the architecture itself, religion, the model there that was used in other residential schools across Canada, as well as the impact to the wider community, and the path towards truth and reconciliation. Rick Hill is a citizen of the Beaver Clan of the Tuscarora Nation of the Haudenosaunee, and is a community-based historian at Six Nations of Grand River. He was recently appointed an Officer of the Order of Canada, who with Alison Norman, Thomas Reace, and Jennifer Pettit edited this book which is published by University of Calgary Press. The list of contributors to the book vary from Indigenous and non-Indigenous alike, and from a variety of disciplines. We spoke in late September, with Mr. Hill joining me from Brantford. Please welcome to the Planta: On the Line program, Rick Hill; Mr. Hill, good morning.
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