The National Trust has a call out for nominations for its 2018 awards, and is seeking submissions through an online process. They want to know about great places and projects (including those that may have already won awards in your area) that deserve national recognition.
This process is simple but there is a short time available for nominations (April 1st). We are sure there are lots of places that could be nominated, but supporting nominations from a number of people and organizations might bring good attention to a particularly deserving place. Please see the details here.
The ACO North Waterloo Region Branch has in mind a place that needs such recognition: The Mohawk Institute Residential School. At a recent one day conference on the 94 recommendations of the Truth and Reconciliation Commission, a great deal was heard about the Mohawk Institute Residential School. The building is one of a handful still extant and was the longest running residential school in Canada. Plans to restore the building and open it to educate the public about residential schools are well underway, but much needs to be done. The roof has been repaired and the front façade restored. There is grassroots fundraising happening with local schools and individuals making donations. The next phase alone has a $12.5 million price tag, and another $5 million still needs to be raised (see a TVO article here).
For more information, see the following:
Mohawk Institute Residential School
Save the Evidence - Mush Hole Project
Woodland Cultural Centre - Save the Evidence
There is only a week left to nominate the building. Fortunately, there are two simple ways to do this:
1. Use Twitter to tweet a picture and a description of the place with #10endangered. Many photos can be seen here.
2. Please fill in th required information at this link.
Please decide to take one of these actions. Also, it would be helpful if you would send this message on to friends you think might be interested in supporting the restoration of this building. By supporting this, we are taking a small step towards fulfilling the 94 recommendations of the Truth and Reconciliation Commission.
