Mohawk longhouse being rebuilt after two years

By Cole Breiland

The grounds that once held the ashes of the heart of a community now cradle a growing one.

The longhouse on Sadie’s Lane in Tyendinaga Mohawk Territory is being rebuilt after an emotional two-year journey.

The building was burned to the ground two years ago during a time of political upheaval in the community.  Upon seeing the scene Bill Hay of the Ontario Fire Marshal’s office said that the fire was suspicious because of the time of night it occurred, the building’s isolated location and its lack of power source.  No cause or culprit has been found.

The longhouse was traditionally a building where Mohawk families lived, organized through matriarchal lineage.  In current times is a spiritual and community centre for members of the longhouse, where group and personal ceremonies are performed, meetings are held, and where they can gather socially.

The loss of the original longhouse was a shock to the community.

“I was devastated, I have never been as devastated in my life as I was that day,” said Janice Hill, Turtle clan clan-mother, as she described seeing the still burning ruins of the old longhouse on that dark night.  “It broke my heart that our longhouse was burned down.”

As the longhouse was burning, its members decided to rebuild.  Donations started to come in to support the effort that day from members and non-members alike.

Over the next two years, people still gathered to the site to perform ceremonies, while awaiting the longhouse’s reconstruction.

The building process has involved many in Tyendinaga, not just those who are a part of the longhouse community.

Donations and fundraising from within the Tyendinaga Mohawk Community and other Mohawk communities, have allowed that reconstruction to begin over the past few months.

In mid-October of this year, the site was excavated and the foundation laid, with donated time from contractors, tradespeople, and volunteers.   The mild winter allowed the building to be put up in four days this January.

Recently the midwinter ceremonies were held at the longhouse, which mark the end of the last year beginning of the new year.

“We renew our fire… we’re renewing our home fire, we’re renewing our longhouse fire, and we’re renewing our individual personal fire, which is our personal energy,” explains Hill.

The sacred ceremonies performed at that time are all related to giving thanks to what has been provided in the last year according to Hill.

“It was just overwhelming.  The longhouse was full, there was more people in the longhouse than there has been at ceremonies in the last two years,” said Hill.

There is still work to be done.  The building stands unfinished surrounded by the slick mud of a construction site, lacking siding, and proper doors.  Inside, two fireplaces warm the building.

“It is a little ways off being done, but it’s home,” says 49 year old electrician Kevin Brant who lives in Tyendinaga, and who is helping to finish the interior of the building. “It is a new building, new beginning, a fresh start,” says Brant.