Book Reviews
Review: Documents of the Mohawk Institute
Canada William Acres, ed. Documents of the Mohawk Institute: The Journals and Reports of Robert Ashton, 1872–1876, and the Diary of Alice Ashton, 1877. Toronto, ON: Canadian Church Historical Society (CCHS), 2022. Pp. 375. Paper, CAD$25.00. Published as volume LIX (2021–2022) of the Journal of the Canadian Church Historical Society. In 1872, the Mohawk Institute in Brantford, Ontario, became the first “modern” Indian residential school in Canada… Ashton imported the Feltham reformatory model, enforcing militaristic discipline, English-only rules, and farm-labour efficiency over academics. Backed by the London-based New England Company, his program prefigured the systems later formalized nationwide. The volume presents Ashton’s operational journals and Alice Ashton’s 1877 diary, with a wide-ranging introduction on colonial land politics and the evolution of the IRS system. (Excerpt)
Review: Documents of the Mohawk Institute
The TRC (2015) and Special Interlocutor (2024) reports advanced research on residential schools, though much work remains. For the Mohawk Institute—the longest-running residential school in Canada— William Acres’ edition makes a significant contribution. It transcribes and paginates superintendent Robert Ashton’s journals (1872–76) and Lady Matron Alice Ashton’s diary (1877). A detailed introduction situates the Institute’s administration by the New England Company, late-Victorian governance philosophies, statistical reporting practices, and ties across Southwestern Ontario. The edition supplies early evidence of Indigenous assimilation prior to 1883 and aligns with ongoing community-led research and digitization projects. (Excerpt)