Healing Through Play at Mohawk Village Memorial Park (2024)

The Mohawk Village Memorial Fund, created by a group of survivors from the Mohawk Residential School in Brantford, Ontario, is dedicated to reclaiming their childhoods and fostering new memories for the families and descendants of survivors.

The group is constructing a playground and park designed to bring together past students, their families, and the wider community.

With the support of the Indigenous Reconciliation Fund (IRF), the Memorial Fund initiated the design and construction of the park in 2023. The funding covered playground materials, signage, and the initial layout. In 2024, an additional grant will allow for the purchase of the “strawberry field” playground equipment, chosen for the significance of the berry in Indigenous ceremonies, creation stories, and medicine.

Once installed, the playground will serve as a safe and inviting space for children to engage in active play. Positioned on the same grounds that once offered temporary respite to residential school children, the park will be a place to create new, more joyful moments for former students, offering solace and healing from the traumas endured within the school’s walls.

Diocese of Hamilton