ABOUT THE BOOK
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This book takes its title from the phrase for “I work” in Lunaape, the traditional language of Munsee Delaware people, and was inspired by the work of the Munsee Delaware Language and History Group. Written for the descendants and communities of children who attended Mount Elgin and intended as a resource for all Canadians, Nii Ndahlohke tells the story of student life at Mount Elgin Industrial School between 1890 and 1915. Like the school itself, Nii Ndahlohke is structured in two sections. The first focuses on boys’ work, including maintenance and farm labour, the second on girls’ work, such as cooking, cleaning, and laundry.
In Nii Ndahlohke readers will find a valuable piece of local, Indigenous, and Canadian history that depicts the nature of “education” provided at Canada’s Indian residential schools and the exploitation of children’s labour in order to keep school operating costs down. This history honours the students of Mount Elgin even as it reveals the injustice of Indian policy, segregated schooling, and racism in Canada. |
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All royalties from the sale of this book will be donated to support programs for language and history learning at Munsee Delaware Nation, Chippewas of the Thames First Nation and Oneida Nation of the Thames.
The Munsee Delaware Nation Language and History Group acknowledges financial support for the production of this book provided by the Government of Canada through the Commemorating the History and Legacy of Residential Schools component of the Celebration and Commemoration Program of the Department of Culture, Heritage and Sport, the Social Science and Humanities Research Council of Canada and the Canada Research Chairs Program. |
