Arson causes major damage to Six Nations church

The congregation of St. John's Anglican Church on Six Nations suspects whoever set fire to the historic building on Saturday was motivated by anger over residential schools.

This I'm sure is related to the feelings generated by the discovery of the 215 bodies," said Don Lynch, one of four trustees who look after the church, which was heavily damaged in what police say was arson.

Lynch was referring to the discovery last month of the remains of 215 children buried on the grounds of a former residential school in Kamloops, B.C., which sparked protests across the country against the schools run by the government and Christian clergy beginning in the 1800s.

I really don't think it's widespread," Lynch said of anti-church sentiment on the reserve. I think there's a small group of misguided people that are venting their anger against organized religion."

Rev. Rosalyn Elm, the minister at St. John's, said the Diocese of Huron received several recent threats to churches, including the venerable Mohawk Chapel in Brantford.

The community was just heavy with emotion over the 215 little ones found in Kamloops. Everything was just piling up on one another," said Elm, who is Haudenosaunee from Oneida First Nation.

Firefighters were called to the church at Tuscarora Road and Fifth Line on Saturday around 3:30 a.m. They found flames shooting up the steeple just inside the front entrance.

Six Nations acting fire chief Dereck Manitowabi said firefighters from Six Nations and County of Brant had the blaze under control within half an hour.

We deemed it suspicious and we requested an investigation from the Office of the Fire Marshal," said Manitowabi.

Investigators from the OFM were on scene Saturday afternoon into the evening, looking into the origin of the fire and potential causes. The arson investigation now lies with Six Nations Police.

I'm just sick over it," Lynch said of the fire, adding the outcome could have been much worse.

The intention was not just to vandalize the church and damage it. The object was to burn the church down," he said. You can see examples of where gasoline or some other accelerant was sprayed against the church, because the grass is burned all the way around."

Lynch and the other trustees spent most of Saturday vacuuming soot and water from the entranceway, clearing debris from the pews, and carefully taking out old photos that were left a bit waterlogged but otherwise intact.

Over the weekend we were able to remove all of the precious, irreplaceable objects that we could, for fear that there'd be a return visit," Lynch said.

Designated a chapel of ease" in 2000 due to its once-thriving congregation having dwindled to a handful of worshippers, today St. John's is used sparingly for special services.

We were lucky to get it used once a year, and during funerals," Lynch said.

But the church retains historical significance as one of the first on Six Nations and in the province.

The St. John's Tuscarora Mission was established in 1817, with a log cabin built in 1829 on the north side of the Grand River. The current building was dismantled and carried across the frozen river in the winter of 1884, following the Tuscaroras who had moved further into Six Nations territory.

That history is complicated by the legacy of residential schools. While most schools were administered by the Catholic Church, some, like the infamous Mohawk Institute in Brantford, were led by Anglican clergy.

Elm hopes the fire will be a catalyst for the community to move forward more positively, starting with a meeting held outside the church on Sunday with the four trustees, other Six Nations residents, and Bishop Todd Townshend from the Diocese of Huron.

We had such a good gathering. People from all of the churches came to support St. John's," Elm said.

Lynch said being together helped him and the other trustees process the destruction.

It was more or less for people to vent and express their feelings of sympathy and condolence," he said. The bishop was there to mainly listen and offer moral support. We didn't get into anything tangible at this point. I'm hoping that will develop down the road."

Lynch doubts whoever set the fire considered the impact on band members who have ties to the church.

I'm sure they weren't even considering that," he said. I realize it's a lot easier to be destructive than it is to be constructive, but vandalism in any case - I can't understand it, and it doesn't solve anything."

As for the future of the historic church, Lynch said opinion among the trustees is split.

My personal feeling is if it can be rebuilt and we can find the funds to do it, I think we should," he said.

Otherwise, the people that were trying to destroy it have won."

-With files from John Rennison

J.P. Antonacci's reporting is funded by the Canadian government through its Local Journalism Initiative. The funding allows him to report on stories about the regions of Haldimand and Norfolk.