Exhibition documenting the history of Canada’s longest-running Indian Residential School opens at ROM

TORONTO, September 1, 2026 – This September, the Royal Ontario Museum (ROM) will host a powerful exhibition documenting the history and lasting impacts of the Mohawk Institute Indian Residential School, the longest-running Indian Residential School in Canada.

Developed by the Survivors’ Secretariat, Stolen Childhoods – which opens on September 8 and runs until October 1, 2026 – explores over 140 years of history through an interactive installation featuring archival records, photographs, video interviews with Survivors, and a digital timeline.

“The exhibition gives the people of Canada an opportunity to listen, learn, and understand the truth from those who lived it,” says Wilma Snake, Survivor of the Mohawk Institute.  

Stolen Childhoods examines the history of the Mohawk Institute Indian Residential School, located in Brantford, Ont. Established in 1828 by the New England Company, a British Anglican missionary society, the Mohawk Institute was among the earliest residential schools operated in what is now Canada. The Mohawk Institute was also a model used to shape the federally supported Indian Residential School system that later expanded across the country.

The federal government administered residential schools in partnership with Christian churches in a systemic attempt to assimilate Indigenous peoples – a system that worked to destroy their cultures and languages through enforcing European and Christian values. More than 150,000 Indigenous children are estimated to have attended residential schools across Canada. An estimated 15,000 children attended the Mohawk Institute before it closed in 1970. Many other residential schools continued to operate for decades, with the last federally operated institute closing in 1996.  

Visitors to the Stolen Childhoods exhibition will learn about the Indian Residential School system, what children experienced when they arrived at the school, and what daily life was like inside the “Mush Hole,” a name coined by children who attended the Mohawk Institute. Interactive touchscreen stations show video testimony from Survivors of the Institute, while a custom-built barren apple tree sculpture incorporates audio to quietly speak the names of the 60+ communities whose children were sent to the Institute. 
    
Developed with guidance from Mohawk Institute Survivors, the nearly 2,000-square-foot exhibit – which is designed to foster public education, reflection, and dialogue – explores the realities Indigenous children endured within the Indian Residential School system and the intergenerational impacts that continue today.

“This exhibit exists because Survivors chose to share their Truths. Education is one of the most powerful tools we have,” says Mika Patterson, Project Lead & Data Librarian with Survivors’ Secretariat. “We hope visitors leave with a deeper understanding of this history and a responsibility to challenge denialism and misinformation wherever they encounter it.”

Presented to honour Survivors and encourage informed reflection, Stolen Childhoods aims to initiate ongoing conversations about truth, justice, and reconciliation as the exhibition travels across Canada.

“ROM is honoured to present this important exhibition that aims to deepen our understanding of the impacts of the Residential School system,” says John Creese, Vettoretto Curator of North American Archaeology at ROM. “Through the voices of Survivors and their families, Stolen Childhoods invites visitors to learn about and reflect on this part of our country’s history.”

The exhibition text is also available in French and Mohawk, which can be accessed online through QR codes included within the exhibition.

Indigenous Reflection Space
Stolen Childhoods contains content related to Indian Residential Schools, intergenerational trauma, and the experiences of Survivors that may be difficult for some visitors. A dedicated Indigenous Reflection Space will be provided to support the well-being of Indigenous visitors. For further support, the Indian Residential Schools Crisis Line (1-866-925-4419) is available 24 hours a day for anyone experiencing pain or distress.

Survivors’ Secretariat
For more information about the organization, the exhibition, or the Mohawk Institute, please visit the Survivors’ Secretariat website here.  

ROM Boutique will have the book A Dark Legacy written by Enos “Bud” Whiteye, a Survivor of the Mohawk Institute available for purchase. Proceeds help support Survivors’ Secretariat ongoing work and programming.

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ABOUT ROM 
Opened in 1914, ROM (Royal Ontario Museum) showcases art, culture, and nature from around the world and across the ages. Today, ROM houses more than 18 million objects, from Egyptian mummies to contemporary sculpture, from meteorites to dinosaurs. ROM is the most visited museum in the country and one of the top ten museums in North America. It is also the country’s preeminent field research institute, with a diverse range of experts who help us understand the past, make sense of the present, and shape a shared future. Just as impressive is ROM’s facility – a striking combination of heritage architecture and contemporary, cutting-edge design, which marks the Museum as an iconic landmark and global cultural destination.  

We live on in what we leave behind.

ABOUT THE SURVIVORS’ SECRETARIAT
The Survivors’ Secretariat is a Survivor-led, community-involved and trauma-informed organization established in 2021 to Uncover, Document, and Share the truth about what happened to the children at Mohawk Institute Indian Residential School located in Brantford, Ont. The Secretariat coordinates and supports the investigation into missing and disappeared children and unmarked burials associated with the institution’s 140+ year legacy through the organization’s four pillars of Ground Search, Document Collection, Advocacy, and Commemoration.