with Rick Hill, author of Behind the Bricks ~ A Culture Days event
Richard W. Hill Sr. talks about the collection of essays in Behind the Bricks, an important work that offers deep insight into the Mohawk Institute, Canada's first and longest-running residential school, which operated in Brantford, Ontario, from 1828 to 1970.
Behind the Bricks traces the history and context of the school and touches on an array of topics, from the experiences of students to archaeology and architecture, to the role of religion, and beyond. The collection draws on a wide variety of sources, including government documents, church records, and oral histories, to examine the policies and motivations that shaped the experiences of the government, the church, the students, and their communities. Behind the Bricks provides a window into the past with the goal of working towards a future of truth and reconciliation.
This Culture Days event is made possible with funding from the City of Burlington.
Borrow Behind the Bricks from our collection
Rick Hill is from two farming families—the Hill’s from Six Nations of the Grand River and the Wilson’s from the Tuscarora Nation. He is a member of the Beaver Clan of the Tuscarora Nation and a leading knowledge specialist at the First Nation Technical Institute. A historian and museum curator, he has led a 40-year campaign to repatriate wampum to their original Haudenosaunee owners and makers. He is also celebrated at Hamilton’s Mohawk College for educating new generations of Indigenous learners in Haudenosaunee and other Indigenous intellectual, social, political and artistic traditions.
If you need an accessibility accommodation during this program, please register early so we can confirm arrangements a few days before your visit.
Central Library is the largest location and houses historical and special collections, a computer lab, meeting rooms for public rental, and departments responsible for system-wide library services support. Burlington Public Library is a tax-supported registered charitable organization.
