Quebec pledges $11M to help build cultural centre, community hub in Kahnawake

The Quebec government is providing $11 million to help build a multi-purpose community hub in Kahnawake.

The Kahnawake Culture and Arts Centre project has been in the works for several years. Construction is slated to begin this fall, with a projected grand opening in late 2025.

“It’s like almost a relief to see that this building is happening, that this dream that these women have held together for so long is becoming a reality for us, for our community,” said Kahnawake Chief, Jessica Lazare. 

It’s intended to be a cultural gathering place for the community, with the goal of promoting the Mohawk language and culture.

“We made it,” said Ian Lafrenière, the minister responsible for relations with First Nations and Inuit. “This is one step we’re doing together, we already said that we need to do more, but I’m very confident that baby steps and steps like today will provide hope for people that we can work together.”

The building will have dedicated spaces to language teaching, sharing Mohawk culture, and media content production. The plans include a theatre, multi-purpose community room, museum exhibition space and outdoor amphitheatre.

“We are long overdue to have a museum in the community that also showcases our rich history, who we are as the Kanien’kehá:ka,” said Kahsennenhawe Sky-Deer, Grand Chief of Kahnawake. “They don’t get to learn about it in the history books and what the minimal is, what is taught in the schools, so I think the best way for them to learn about who we are is from us directly.”

With the price tag having increased due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the project has a total budget of $56 million. Officials say more than half has already been raised. A fundraising campaign is hoping to raise $16 million.

Three key community partners are involved: the Kanien’kehá:ka Onkwawén:na Raotitióhkwa Language and Cultural Center (KORLCC), the Turtle Island theatre company, and Kahnawake tourism.

“Not only is it a home for these three organizations, but it’s also a home for the community, a home for the community to celebrate our own language, to advocate for our own language, and to revitalize it on our own,” said Lazare.

(Credit: Alyssia Rubertucci / CityNews Image)

Chief Lazare graduated from the language program that was once housed in a building that’s now condemned and slated for demolition. She says this center is needed to protect their endangered language.

“It’s important for us to be in control of that and to foster that relationship with our culture and our history and our language on our own terms, in our own mind and in our own building,” she said.

“This building is for the entire community and for the seven generations that we always like to refer to,” said Lisa Phillips, Executive Director of the Kanien’kehá:ka Onkwawén:na Raotitióhkwa Language and Cultural Centre. “I’m a [grandmother] and I can’t wait for my granddaughter to enjoy that building and go there and take part in camps and everything that we have to offer.”