This 35-year-old Six Nations language school in Ontario still awaits federal funding for a home of its own

Kawenni:io/Gaweni:yo Private School, a language immersion school on Six Nations of the Grand River in Ontario, has been operating from the second floor of the Iroquois Lacrosse Arena for over a decade. 

It is the only school in Canada that offers Cayuga and Mohawk languages, both of which are critically endangered, from kindergarten through Grade 12.

As first-language speakers of Mohawk and Cayuga continue to pass away, the push for Kawenni:io/Gaweni:yo to have an adequate space to educate its students is urgent, say members of the school’s board.

According to language experts on Six Nations, there are fewer than 1,000 native speakers of Mohawk and