Indigenous Histories & Learning with Woodland Cultural Centre
Join Woodland Cultural Centre for an interactive learning workshop that will engage your team in conversation about the history, events and resiliency of Hodinohsho:ni people through a virtual tour of the former Mohawk Residential School, followed by a hands-on, reflective beading activity.
Get your team learning, talking, and sharing.
Fusing a virtual tour with a hands-on beading activity, this unique online learning workshop led by Woodland Cultural Centre will bring your team together to learn about Canada's history and consider their own role in building an equitable future for generations to come.
The tour will provide your team with the 140-year-old history of the former Mohawk Institute Residential School, getting to see inside different rooms and learn about the stories of survivors.
After the tour, a Woodland cultural interpreter will invite attendees to participate in a wampum belt beading activity that will give participants a chance to get hands-on with a Hodinohsho:ni craft while engaging in a guided discussion about each person’s reflections on the tour. Together we will explore the history of Canada's past, discussing ways to continuously educate ourselves and how we can integrate our learnings into our daily lives.
Length: 120 minutes
Event package: supplies & materials for wampum belt beading activity
Delivery radius: North America wide
Type: Virtual
Learning: Materials to encourage personal learning around the themes explored during the workshop are sent to participants both pre & post event
Learning Outcomes
Learn 💡
about the significance of wampum belts, how they’re made and the origins of the beads while learning how to make your own wampum belt-inspired bracelet.
Build 🔨
an understanding of the history and events of residential schools across Turtle Island and the resiliency of Hodinohsho:ni people.
Honour 📖
the voices of residential school survivors, whose stories need to be shared.
Discover ⚡️
how experiential learning can help us engage in difficult conversations.
Woodland Cultural Centre
The Woodland Cultural Centre (WCC) was established in October 1972, under the direction of the Association of Iroquois and Allied Indians upon the closure of the Mohawk Institute Residential School (MI). WCC’s focus began on collecting research and artifacts, to develop its library and museum collections, expanding to include the arts in 1975 and the language program in 1984. As an organization with historic expertise and strong community connections, WCC has a key role to play in knowledge and learning through its program offerings, including education, museum, language, library and arts.
Home to an exceptional collection of significant pieces specific to both the Six Nations’ community history, culture and traditions and beyond, the Museum provides accessibility to community members for the present and future generations through acquisition, research, preservation and interpretation of the collection.
The Language Program strengthens languages, produces resources, supports community grassroots language initiatives, and works with Elders, Faithkeepers, and speakers to preserve the languages so that future generations will also have the tools that they need to strengthen the languages in turn.
Both the WCC and the Mohawk Institute Residential School have a critical role to play in educating Indigenous and non-Indigenous people about the history, events and resiliency of Hodinohsho:ni people. The site involves an interactive museum and gallery, the library and language resource Centre, MI, and 5 acres of grounds and green spaces with outdoor exhibits. MI is one of the few residential that still stands in the country, and as such is critical for education across the country and beyond, and for honouring the voices of survivors, whose stories need to be shared.