The Carlisle Indian Boarding School in Reverse is the idea that spurs on an ongoing project to reverse assimilation and cultural genocide. It is being developed at the traditional Mohawk Community of Kanatsiohareke in Fonda, NY. In 1997 and 1998, Community Leader Tom Porter hosted several meetings to discuss the pressing need for this project. Those meetings were attended by members of the traditional Longhouse communities from the six Iroquois nations located throughout New York and Canada. This led to the creation of the Mohawk Language Immersion Program at Kanatsiohareke.

All Indian cultures and languages were systematically obliterated during the infamous "Boarding School Era", of which the government-sanctioned school in Carlisle, Pennsylvania was most renowned.

Instituting a language revitalization program was a logical and critical first step to reversing the cultural and linguistic damage caused by those residential schools.

According to statistics compiled in 1997, among the population of 76,000 Iroquois, less than 4000 people could still speak their respective languages. Many of those who were fluent were mostly in their 70s and 80s. Almost all of the nations had less than 30 speakers who were continuing to teach others about Iroquois traditions.

The initial session of the Mohawk Language Immersion Program was held at Kanatsiohareke from August 3 - August 28, 1998. Expert teachers were hired from various Mohawk communities. The program was far more successful than predicted and has since blossomed into a multi-level program. Home-practice materials were developed to help students continue learning their language during the rest of the year. Kanatsiohareke language students have ranged in age from 6-60 years old. The immersion program will continue each summer, to provide the basis for instruction in traditional and ceremonial aspects of Haudenosaunee lifeways, as well as the revitalization of the Mohawk language.