Our Four Pillars

Research & Document Collection:

Survivors’ Secretariat gathers and reviews historical records and documents relevant to the Mohawk Institute. Information is gathered, tagged, and stored in an internal database. The Secretariat wishes to share the information available with families and communities of the children who were forced to attend the institute through the development of a Mohawk Institute Community Archive. Safeguarding these records and challenging historical distortions are essential to this ongoing effort as we strive to uncover the truth and honour those lost.

The Outreach Team, with support of the Wellness Team, works to coordinate opportunities for Survivors to share their lived truths to aid in our investigation.

We Strive To:

Identify every child who attended the Mohawk Institute to determine if any went missing or are unaccounted for.
Identify every child whose death or disappearance is linked to the Mohawk Institute.
Collect, review and tag records pertaining to the Mohawk Institute for preservation for our future generations.
Ensure families & communities have self-determination in accessing and controlling data related to the lived experiences of children who attended the Mohawk Institute.

Our Progress

50+ archives and other repositories identified with relevant information
32,000+ documents obtained
36,000+ documents reviewed
16 full-time researchers committed to this work

*as of February 2025

Our Challenges:

This process requires substantial dialogue with Survivors regarding who can access this information. Our outreach and wellness teams assist to connect with Survivors to guide our path forward.
Substantial work in Data Governance & Data Sovereignty Protocol Development is required for this process.

6200+

Children confirmed to have attended

105

Documented child deaths

60+

Communities had children sent to the institute

2100+

individuals identified to have worked for the institute

*As of February 2025