Native protesters camp out in High Park to protect burial ground
Posted May 17, 2011 8:30 am.
This article is more than 5 years old.
A section of High Park popular with BMX bikers was the site of a native protest Tuesday.
Mohawk protesters camped out at the area, known as Snake or Serpent Mound that they claim is a sacred Iroquois burial mound dating back thousands of years.
“Right now what’s happened is desecration of the site by BMX-ers who have built several jumps throughout the area,” said Harrison Friesen of the Red Power United Native Rights Movement.
City officials say a study, approved by the province, was conducted a couple of years ago that found “no archaeological significance” and no human remains.
“We’ve actually had a part two and a part one study done that demonstrate it isn’t a burial ground,” said Brenda Patterson of the Parks & Forestry Department.
The campers, who took over the area on Friday, say they have a city document that says human remains were found in the park in 1922.
They say they’ll remain at the park in an effort to stop teenage cyclists from riding over their sacred site until the government can do something to provide permanent protection.
“This is a 3,000-year-old Iroquois burial mound and it was shared through a route of travel by the Iroquois people, the Cree people, the Ojibwa people — many people passed through here,” said Friesen.
The protesters also used shovels to try and level the land where young BMX bikers have created mounds of dirt to ride over.
The city has agreed to permanently block out the bikers on the grounds they are damaging a sensitive ecological area that houses the trillium flower.
A temporary fence will soon be erected, at which point the campers say they will leave.
