Woodland Cultural Centre Launches “We Celebrate Our Stories” Capital Campaign for New Indigenous Cultural Centre

Brantford, ON – The Woodland Cultural Centre has launched the “Dwadę̨’nyota’ Dwaga:’shǫ:’ǫh – We Celebrate Our Stories” Capital Campaign, a $65 million initiative to build a new purpose-built Indigenous cultural centre in Brantford, Ontario.

Located at the former Mohawk Institute Residential School site, the Woodland Cultural Centre is one of the largest Indigenous-led cultural centres in Canada and an internationally recognized site for education, truth-telling, and cultural revitalization. The new facility will expand this role by establishing a major cultural destination for visitors from across Ontario, Canada, and beyond.

“This project is about creating more than a building, it is about creating a new home for our stories,” said Alysha Longboat, Campaign Lead. “While we continue to honour and educate about the difficult truths of our history through the Mohawk Institute Residential school interpretive space, this new space will also celebrate the strength, knowledge, humour, artistry, languages, creativity, and culture that could never be taken from us. Through a purpose-built centre designed by us, for us, we are creating a place where future generations can gather, learn, heal, and celebrate our resilience in meaningful ways.”

The proposed cultural centre will support expanded museum and archival preservation, improved collections care, and the repatriation/rematriation of Indigenous cultural belongings within an accessible and sustainable facility designed for future generations. The centre will create spaces for language revitalization, education, gathering, performance, and contemporary and traditional Indigenous arts and cultural programming, while also supporting Indigenous tourism, employment opportunities, and relationship building between Indigenous and non-Indigenous communities. It will further serve as a resource for museums and galleries seeking to share more accurate and Indigenous-led histories and perspectives.

“Building this new space will give future generations a place where they can feel proud of who they are, learn from our rich histories and cultures, and celebrate the stories that continue to shape us today. Through spaces dedicated to the arts, museum collections, archives, and cultural gathering, we are creating a home for sharing our stories – past, present, and those still to come.” said Ava Hill Co-Chair of the Capital Campaign.

The campaign builds on Woodland Cultural Centre’s long-standing mandate to preserve and share Indigenous knowledge through exhibitions, education, research, programming, and community partnerships, along with stewardship of more than 50,000 artifacts and archival materials.

As part of the planning process, the Centre is undertaking feasibility and engagement work supported by the Government of Canada’s Canada Cultural Spaces Fund. This includes consultation with Survivors, Elders, youth, artists, educators, museum professionals, and cultural leaders to ensure the project reflects community priorities and sustainable future needs.

The “Dwadę̨’nyota’ Dwaga:’shǫ:’ǫh – We Celebrate Our Stories” Capital Campaign represents a long-term vision for a space where Indigenous stories are shared, languages are strengthened, and future generations can see themselves reflected in a cultural centre built for them.

For more information, visit: https://woodlandculturalcentre.ca/capital-campaign