Mohawk Mothers calling on McGill, Quebec and feds to search for potential unmarked graves at Montreal sites

The Mohawk Mothers are calling on McGill University and the Quebec and federal governments to search and protect potential unmarked graves they believe to exist at Montreal sites, like the old hôpital de la Miséricorde.

The group is behind the recent push to search the former Royal Victoria Hospital in Montreal, where they say trained cadaver dogs have detected human remains.

“Hôpital de la Miséricorde actually was a house for unwed mothers [who] were pregnant out of wedlock and it opened middle of the 19th century and stayed opened 20 years ago,” said Philippe Blouin, an anthropologist who accompanies the Mohawk Mothers.

Kwetiio, a member of the Mohawk Mothers adds, “These circumstances are going to pave a way to have a process in place…because I can’t do everything. Our group can’t do everything but we can certainly pave the way.”

The group says respecting human remains is an issue of public interest and that proper funding and resources must be provided to Indigenous investigators seeking to protect possible burial sites in the province. So far, the group says there are approximately 200 sites across the province that need to be investigated.

RELATED:

• Mohawk Mothers, McGill reach agreement to search former Montreal hospital for possible unmarked graves
• Search dogs find evidence of human remains buried on grounds of Montreal’s old Royal Victoria Hospital

“The list of institutions where Indigenous people were sent to and who made a request included in the settlement for residential schools but that were not included because they were hospitals or orphanages or sanitoriums,” said Boulin.

“The burden can’t be on the Mohawk Mothers to have to go to court with their own resources and their own time just to put in place basic respect for human burials.”

The group also says they faced challenges during the investigation at the Royal Victoria Hospital.

“There is still no recognition that this is Indigenous-led. It seems like they want to run the show when that’s not what it’s about. It’s about doing the right thing,” said Kwetiio.

“Everyone who were victims of this and succumbed to it, they deserve an answer.”

In an emailed statement, McGill University tells CityNews an agreement was reached by multiple parties involved in the site, including McGill, the Kanien’kehà:ka Kahnistensera, and the Société québécoise des infrastructures (SQI) – which owns the Royal Victoria Hospital site.

“The agreement stipulates that a panel of three archeologists would make binding decisions with respect to the steps to follow and the techniques to be used to investigate potential unmarked graves,” reads the university’s statement. “The process laid out by the panel began earlier this month, during which the historic human remains detection dogs detected the scent of possible human remains.

“The next step, as detailed in the panel of three archeologists’ report, is to use ground penetrating radar, which will take place later this month. The agreement stipulates that Indigenous cultural monitors, appointed by the Kanien’kehà:ka Kahnistensera, may be present during the investigation of the site.

“McGill University fully respects this agreement and is committed to complying with all regulatory requirements for exploratory archaeological work.”