Library set for demolition 

Any hope that Kahnawake’s library would one day reopen in its current location were squashed Monday, when it was officially decided by the Mohawk Council of Kahnawake (MCK) the building would be demolished. 

That comes following a recommendation brought forward at the Council meeting by the MCK’s infrastructure and asset management team.

“Within the past 10 years it’s become a money pit,” said Council chief Arnold Boyer, the lead on the infrastructure file. “We’re talking hundreds of thousands of dollars.” 

The aging structure is at risk of collapse and has been shuttered since mid-July.

The evacuation of staff then came as a surprise. The Skawenni:io Tsi Iewennahnotáhkhwa library had just reopened in March after a two-month long closure for construction aimed at fixing its crumbling foundation. That work involved reinforcing the building’s structure through the addition of new columns in its basement and a steel beam in the lobby’s ceiling. 

The cracks in its walls and sinking floors reappeared however following a heavy rainfall that July - sealing its fate. A team with Public Safety was called over to inspect the building, and everyone was ordered to vacate soon after.

The entire perimeter of the building’s foundation dropped between one to two inches after that rainfall, deforming the entire structure. 

“It was built in the 1900s, and I don’t think the intention was to house a library,” Boyer said. “It’s all about safety. We don’t want anybody getting injured in that building.”

Complaints from workers there about the state of the building date back to last spring, when those on the second storey noticed the floor was so slanted that rolling chairs would move when left unattended. 

The library is expected to be demolished before Christmas or by spring at the latest, said Chris Stacey, an infrastructure executive with the MCK. Had they gone the route of trying to again repair the building it could have remained closed for upwards of two to three years.

“It was too complicated and costly,” he said they decided after consulting their engineers. “They gave us a high-level estimate of that being somewhere between half a million to $1.2 million in repairs. And that was just to bring it up to safe standards, not anything else.”

Word of the library being demolished came out last Friday after Council chief David Diabo spoke about it on K1037 Radio with host Peggy Mayo-Standup. 

Library staff were unaware of the decision that had been reached prior to being contacted by The Eastern Door about it this Monday. Staff there have already begun the process of removing books from the location.  

“We are always so grateful and truly appreciative of all the community support,” said Melanie Phillips, coordinator of the children’s library, thanking the MCK for their support in finding a solution.

Community members looking to help out are welcome to drop off packing boxes at the library’s front porch between 10 a.m. and 3 p.m. between each Monday and Wednesday, she said.

“We are hoping to be able to offer limited library services in the near future,” Phillips added. “However, that is out of our control and is dependent on space availability.”

The library’s books are currently being held in storage containers located on Cemetery Road at the former site of the Kanien’kehá:ka Onkwawén:na Raotitióhkwa Language and Cultural Center (KOR), Boyer said. 

Work is still underway to find a temporary location large enough to house all the library’s books and to eventually reopen the essential service. 

“We’re looking at various options,” Stacey said. “Like placing the library somewhere that has availability. We’re looking at a modular trailer option as well.”

The library that stands next to the United Church was built back in the early 1900s, and it has a storied past. It previously housed the church’s rectory. It later became the community’s first ever band council office. It was also once a recreation centre, before being taken over by the Kahnawake Education Centre (KEC). The library meanwhile has occupied it since 2009. 

Library staff are now working out of trailers by the Kahnawake Labour Office (KLO). Employees with the MCK’s organizational development unit that previously worked out of the library’s second floor have been moved to the band council’s main building.

As for where the library could be permanently housed, Boyer said it’s too early to say right now. 

“We’re accommodating the library any way possible at this time,” the Council chief said. “It’s important for our youth, it’s important for our students to have a place to go and study.”

This article was originally published in print on September 27 in issue 33.39 of The Eastern Door.

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