Abstract

Architecture is a statement of the people that produced it. However, the production is not solely the design of the architect, but the actual hands that pulled the stone from the ground, carried the stone to the site and fitted the hand-chiseled pieces together. It stands as a testament to the women that found the lime and carried it in skirts full to the construction site. This Roman Catholic Church, on the Kahnawake Reservation permeated the life and soul of the community and the individual. This thesis examines the Catholic architecture, the Catholic culture and the Catholic endurance that resided, and continues to reside, in a marginalized community. Absolute conversion can only be achieved through ritualistic, highly organized and continuous bombardment. Shirley Scott, an elder in the community, once said, " We chose to adapt, rather than adopt. " As the congregation slowly diminishes, the edifice is left to stand as sculpture, testifying to an upheaval in colonial times.