Tyendinaga Central Day School (No. 3)

by | Aug 5, 2025 | Uncategorized | 0 comments

While there were no Day Schools or Residential Schools in Frontenac County, there were several Day Schools at the nearby Tyendinaga Mohawk Reserve. This blog post will discuss the history of Tyendinaga Central Day School using its own institutional records. Please also take a look at our recent blog post, “What Are Indigenous Day Schools?” for more information on the history of Day Schools in Canada. [1]

The Tyendinaga Day Schools were a set of five schools  – Eastern (No.1), West (No.2), Central (No.3), Mission (No.4), and Quinte Mohawk School.[2]  A petition from 7 September 1843, held in the Ontario archives, shows that the Kanien’kehá:ka (also known as the Mohawk or Haudenosaunee) attempted to create their own schools which would not only preserve their language, but also teach students English.[3] Indeed, the Kanien’kehá:ka wanted to provide community-run educational opportunities for their children, without sacrificing the preservation of their vibrant language, culture, and traditions. However, the goals of Indigenous education managed by Indigenous Peoples would not come to fruition for many generations. 

Tyendinaga Central Day School

Tyendinaga Central school opened in 1882 and was managed by the federal Department of Indian Affairs (DIA).[2] While the public school system was separate in many ways to the Indigenous Day School system, the documents (1896-1944) digitized by the Government of Canada and made accessible by Indigenous activists reveal the complexities of jurisdiction over Indigenous education. Many letters directly mention the need for the DIA to follow Ontario Department of Education standards. For example, a letter from Indian Agent J.R Stainton to Assistant Deputy Superintendent J.D McClean was included with a school supplies list from 24 September 1910.[4] In this letter, Stainton states: “[the Public Schools] inspector has been very careful to see that I comply with the Ontario School Act in the matter of equipment…”.[5] Notably, there are multiple references in the DIA records to the Ontario Department of Education, because they were responsible for approving textbooks and equipment to be used in schools.[6] Public school inspectors, such as H.J Clarke, inspected the physical state of the schools, the success of the teachers, and the progress of the students.[6] His findings were reported to the Department of Indian Affairs, who would make decisions about staffing and would provide materials for the schools. The Indian Agent, through the DIA, would make reports and would live in the community. Though the DIA ordered and paid for the materials, the letter from Agent Stainton (above), shows that the school inspectors carefully ensured that the DIA was following provincial requirements.

The history of Day Schools is multi-faceted and complicated, especially in the case of Tyendinaga Central school, where primary evidence suggests that both Indigenous and white children attended the same school. The Tyendinaga reserve rented out land to white tenants who lived, raised families, and grew crops on the land.[7] A series of letters between the DIA Assistant Deputy Superintendent General J.D. McClean, Indian Agent J.R. Stainton, and the Deputy Minister of Education for Ontario, A.H.U. Colquhoun, dated between September and October 1910, focused on the purchase of new supplies for the Tyendinaga School. On 29 September 1910, Stainton mentions how, “[i]t is to be distinctly understood that these readers are for the use of the Indian children, as the whites will be required to furnish their own.”[8] In reply to a letter now missing from the collection, McClean describes a September 1909 agreement between the Indigenous Peoples of Tyendinaga and “the whites who are lessees of Indian lands”.[9] A letter from J.D McClean to Deputy Minister Colquhoun, stated “the Indians are responsible for the equipment of the schools in accordance with the regulations of your Department [of Education]”.[8] This series of letters not only reveals the integrated nature of at least two of the Tyendinaga schools (Central, and another simply called ‘Brick’), but also the participation of the Ontario Department of Education in the regulation of equipment, including readers and gazetteers. Simply put, readers were paid for by the Tyendinaga community, but they had to be in line with a curriculum regulated by the Department of Education.[11]

Resistance and Conflict

Attendance at Indigenous Day Schools fluctuated due to seasonal concerns (e.g crop planting), but also as a result of resistance by the Tyendinaga community. For Tyendinaga Chief John A. Loft, refusal to attend Day School was a meaningful form of protest against the Department of Indian Affairs’ control of the schools and thus of the education of Indigenous children. Loft argued for the communities to have the power to hire and fire teachers and to make decisions about the education of the students.[10, 12] There were also complaints from the parents of Tyendinaga children that alleged that the students were not being properly taught to read and write.[13, 14] These claims were sometimes supported by inspection reports, which described the progress of the students. Letters between 2 September 1913 and 7 April 1915 describe a conflict between the DIA and the Tyendinaga community, led by John A. Loft.[12] The conflict is first alluded to in the summer of 1913, with unspecified complaints made against the teacher of Central School, Miss Florence Fletcher.[12]

When these complaints went unaddressed, Loft asked the teachers to sign a new contract, which they refused to do. From September 1913 until September 1914, there are various letters from Miss Fletcher, the DIA, and Public Schools Inspector H.J. Clarke, all describing a crisis of attendance. According to a letter from the DIA to Thomas Donelly, the new Indian Agent for the community, the teachers complained that Loft was sending children home from school.[15] On April 7, 1915, J.D McClean informed Indian Agent G.M. Campbell that the DIA had refused to fire Miss Florence Fletcher, despite complaints from Loft.[16] Though later reports blame the ‘disinterest’ of the parents for poor attendance, there are many references to a conscious community effort to resist Day Schools through non-attendance.[17] As the Tyendinaga community fought for greater rights to make decisions about their children’s education, the DIA continued to enforce attendance to the schools, even calling in the RCMP on 9 October 1943.[18]

It bears mentioning that complaints against staff are only vaguely referenced in the Tyendinaga administrative records. The schools were frequently in disrepair, resulting in regular failures of school inspections.[19] Students and teachers were ill with respiratory ailments, skin conditions, and even smallpox.[20] Maintenance reports and inspections suggest that the conditions at the Day Schools were abnormally poor.[21] The records reviewed are only a small part of the story of these schools, as they contain very few documents written by teachers, and none written by students. The ‘silence’ in the written record tells us more about what was preserved and by whom, than about what isn’t written; diaries, personal letters, and oral histories from the communities themselves remain the best and most detailed sources about the experiences of Indigenous students.

 

Why did the schools close?

By 1969, the only remaining Day School in Tyendinaga was Quinte Mohawk School, which opened in 1960.[2] There are no digitized records that explain why this school remained open while the other four closed. There are also no digitized and publicly available records from the Quinte Mohawk school, so the reasons for its foundation are unclear. However, Tyendinaga Central began to experience significant staffing shortages in World War I, largely due to their inability to pay a competitive salary.[22] In 1916, a teacher named Lena J. Warren was hired with an annual salary of just $500; a year later, she was forced to write to the DIA for a $50 raise because, “[t]he inconvenience of living on reserve [brought her] expenses higher than town rates.”[23] The high cost of living, combined with the uncompetitive salaries, left much to be desired. In 1916, a report from Inspector H.J. Clarke noted significant issues with the school building, including lack of heat, light, and ventilation. His report suggested the consolidation of schools into “one efficient school”, but there is little indication that he received a response.[24] During World War II, the situation grew especially dire as schools across Ontario faced similar staffing shortages, albeit with higher teacher salary budgets.[25] Records suggest that teachers across the province left the classroom to contribute to the war effort, with one Tyendinaga Central teacher even reportedly working in a munitions factory.[26] As the schools continued to struggle with hiring teachers, the DIA even lengthened the school year from nine months to ten months, in an effort to match the provincial school year and justify higher salaries.[27] In 1997, as the last Residential Schools closed, so did Quinte Mohawk Day School.[2]

 

How can I learn more?

As the Frontenac County Schools Museum continues to develop an exhibit on Indigenous ways of knowing, in grateful consultation with a member of the Katarowki Kanien’kehá:ka e community, we invite you to visit these curated resources. Please also stay tuned for future blog posts from the FCSM. 

Notes

  1. Frontenac County Schools Museum Blog, “What were Indigenous Day Schools?”, July 24 2025. What were Indigenous Day Schools? – Frontenac County Schools Museum.
  2. Federal Indian Day Schools,  “Indian Day Schools Map,” https://www.indiandayschools.org/. In particular, see the dates of opening and closure on the map.
  3. Ontario Archive File F 983-1-0-684, “Petition from the Indians at Tyendinaga to the Bishop of Toronto”. September 7 1843. 
  4. Vol 441-1, p.20. List of School Supplies needed from J.R Stainton to J.D McClean, September 24, 1910. https://www.indiandayschools.org/files/RG10_441-1_PART_1.pdf.
  5. Vol 441-1, p.23-24. Letter from J. Stainton to J.D McClean dated September 24, 1910. https://www.indiandayschools.org/files/RG10_441-1_PART_1.pdf.
  6. A letter from October 3, 1910, from Assistant Deputy Superintendent General of Indian Affairs, J.D McClean, mentions Inspector H.J Clarke’s orders with regards to equipment. The letter is addressed to A.H.,U Colquhoun, the Deputy Minister of Education for Ontario. Throughout the collection, there are a number of letters and reports from H.J Clarke as well. 
  7. Vol 441-1, p. 26. Letter from J.D McClean to A.H.U Colquhoun, Deputy Minister of Education, dated October 3, 1910. https://www.indiandayschools.org/files/RG10_441-1_PART_1.pdf. This letter discusses an agreement from September 1909 re: the management of schools. 
  8. Vol 441-1, p. 25. Letter from J.D McClean to J.R. Stainton, dated September 29, 1910. https://www.indiandayschools.org/files/RG10_441-1_PART_1.pdf. 
  9. See endnote 8 for reference. This letter appears to be part of a larger correspondence between the Department of Indian Affairs and the Department of Education, but no reply is available digitally.
  10.  Vol 441-1, p. 53-55. Letter from Miss Florence Fletcher to the D.I.A, dated September 2, 1913. https://www.indiandayschools.org/files/RG10_441-1_PART_1.pdf. In this letter, Miss Fletcher describes how John Loft “claims that the Department [of Indian Affairs] oversteps their limit when they hire teachers for the Indians. He informed us that you were simply their servants, it is your duty to follow their wishes, and in future they would hire their own teachers, as they were quite capable of doing so”. Miss Fletcher also claims that Mr. Loft tried to force them to sign a new contract and threatened them when they refused. There are no documents from John Loft.
  11. Notably, Tyendinaga Central school faced documented issues with proper repairs and provision of equipment. 
  12. Vol 441-1, p. 52. Letter from J.D McClean to Martin Benson, dated August 20, 1913. https://www.indiandayschools.org/files/RG10_441-1_PART_1.pdf.  In this letter, McClean mentions a complaint “made by Mr. John A Loft against Miss Fletcher”. The exact complaint is not specified. Notably, this report also mentions that some ‘neglected children’ were to be removed from Tyendinaga and placed in St. Patrick’s Orphanage, rather than fostered within the community; these removals may have contributed to Loft’s ire. 
  13.  A letter from G.M Campbell to the DIA describes how a Tyendinaga mother “said all her children had learned for the last year was to cut paper and make toys out of plastine [sic]”. Vol 441-1, p. 86. Report from Agent G.M Campbell to the DIA, dated April 27, 1917. https://www.indiandayschools.org/files/RG10_441-1_PART_1.pdf. 
  14. See also: Vol 441-1, p. 73. Report from Inspector H.J Clarke of Tyendinaga Central School, September 21, 1916. https://www.indiandayschools.org/files/RG10_441-1_PART_1.pdf. 
  15. Vol 441-1, p. 57. Letter from J.D McClean to Indian Agent Thomas Donnelly dated September 6, 1913. https://www.indiandayschools.org/files/RG10_441-1_PART_1.pdf. 
  16. Vol 441-1, p. 66. Extract from Agent Campbell’s Report of Tyendinaga Central for the month of March 1915. https://www.indiandayschools.org/files/RG10_441-1_PART_1.pdf. 
  17. Vol 441-1, p. 64. Report of Inspector H.J Clarke on Tyendinaga Central School, September 26, 1914. https://www.indiandayschools.org/files/RG10_441-1_PART_1.pdf. 
  18. Vol 441-1, part 2. Letter from Indian Agent A.D Moore to the DIA re: attendance. https://data2.archives.ca/microform/data2/dm09/d09/006003/c-7911/pdf/c-7911-00008.pdf.
  19. One example (of many) – a letter from December 2 1920, from Agent Campbell to the DIA, states, “the school house is enough to make a teacher sick as on a cold day they have to huddle around the stove…”. Vol 441-1, p. 66. Extract from Agent Campbell’s Report of Tyendinaga Central for the month of March 1915. https://www.indiandayschools.org/files/RG10_441-1_PART_1.pdf. 
  20. A letter from April 16, 1921, mentions that the school had to be closed as the teacher contracted smallpox; the DIA was concerned it would become an outbreak among students. Vol 441-1, p.134. Letter from J.D McClean to Agent G.M Campbell, dated April 16, 1921. https://www.indiandayschools.org/files/RG10_441-1_PART_1.pdf.
  21. Reports discuss broken equipment (e.g desks), improper heating, improper ventilation, etc. 
  22. Various records discuss how the DIA was unable to provide raises or offer salaries comparable even to other local schools. See footnote 23, for example, where Lena J. Warren was unable to obtain her raise initially due to the budget issues during the war. In 1940, as a cost saving measure, the DIA even shortened the academic year to nine months; the school year only became ten months again in 1943.
  23. Vol 441-1, p. 92. Extract from requisition for supplies for the Central School on the Tyendinaga Indian Reserve, dated October 10, 1917, https://www.indiandayschools.org/files/RG10_441-1_PART_1.pdf. 
  24. Vol 6174, File 441-5, part 1. Report of Inspector H.J. Clarke on the Tyendinaga Central School, dated June 5, 1916. https://data2.archives.ca/microform/data2/dm09/d09/006003/c-7911/pdf/c-7911-00204.pdf.
  25. A letter from November 20, 1945, from Indian Agent A.D Moore to the DIA states: |I am of the belief that, to retain good teachers, the Department will have to increase salaries to procure satisfactory employees and thereby bring salaries of teachers in Indian Day Schools in harmony with those paid teachers of white rural schools.” Vol 6473, file 441-1. Letter from Indian Agent A.D Moore to the Department of Indian Affairs, November 20, 1945, https://data2.archives.ca/microform/data2/dm09/d09/006003/c-7911/pdf/c-7911-00023.pdf.
  26. In World War II, Miss Jean Schell took a leave from teaching to work as a supervisor in a munitions factory.  Vol 6173, File 441-1 Part 2, p.69, https://www.indiandayschools.org/files/RG10_441-1_PART_2.pdf.
  27. File 441, part 2. Letter from R.A Hoey, the Superintendent of Welfare and Training, to A.D Moore, Indian Agent. Dated September 8, 1943.  https://data2.archives.ca/microform/data2/dm09/d09/006003/c-7911/pdf/c-7911-00007.pdf.

 

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