Mohawk Mothers relieved as search begins for potential unmarked graves at former Montreal hospital
Global News
Mohawk Mothers are declaring a victory, after signing an agreement with McGill and the SQI to allow for archeological mapping at a former hospital to look for unmarked graves.
Archeological work on the site of the former Royal Victoria Hospital and Allan Memorial Institute has begun, with experts mapping the area to search for the remains of Indigenous children in Montreal.
The Kanien’keha:ka Kahnistensera, also known as the Mohawk Mothers, struck an agreement on April 6 with McGill University, the Société québécoise des infrastructures (SQI), the MUHC, the City of Montreal and the Attorney General of Canada to allow for archeological work to be conducted.
The Mothers and lawyers for the other parties met in Superior Court Thursday morning to homologate, or give legal status to the agreement.
“This is wonderful. We finally got this going. It’s a big relief for us, it’s been a lot of work,” said Kahentinetha, a Mohawk mother.
“That is primarily what we are here for, our children, to find out what our history is and to make sure our children are put to rest in the proper way,” said Mohawk mother Kwetiio.
The agreement follows the mothers winning an historic injunction in the fall, suspending expansion work on the Royal Victoria hospital site. All sides met several times over the last few months, negotiating and working out an agreement to allow for the searching for remains. The parties agreed to appoint a panel of three archeologists, and a junior student archeologist appointed by the Kanien’keha:ka Kahnistensera.
As per the agreement, the panel will study and map the land, and will identify appropriate archeological techniques to be used on various sites to detect if there are any unmarked graves.
McGill, the SQI and the Mohawk Mothers agreed to be bound by the recommendations of the panel, and if no graves are found, excavation and construction work can begin.
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