Mohawk Mothers say McGill University trying to ‘control’ process of search for unmarked graves
By Emelia FournierAug 04, 2023
Archeological dig at old Montreal hospital on hold after incident with security guard.
A spokesperson for the Mohawk Mothers, or Kahnistensera, says the group feels pushed aside in the search for unmarked graves on McGill University grounds.
The groups said they feel pushed aside in the on McGill University grounds.
“The process can no longer by any means be considered Indigenous-led, as the SQI and McGill attempt to control the whole process, reducing the role of Indigenous people to performing ceremonies on the site,” said Kahentinetha, one of the Mothers who added that they feel blindsided by the communications that happened without consulting them.
Quebec’s infrastructure society, or SQI, and McGill both put out statements on Aug. 3 saying nine potential gravesites were identified through ground penetrating radar, or GPR, without consulting the Kahnistensera.
They excluded the information that, according to Geoscan’s report, “It is possible that some of the unknown features may be unmarked graves, particularly in the case of older burials without coffins and also possibly child-size graves.”
Kahentinetha said that the archeologists on-site have been very informative, but there’s often a delay in the mothers receiving important reports.
“The only way we can find out is to be right there, because we are not told and I don’t know why the material goes to them, and then they distribute it in the way they want and eventually we get a copy of it,” she said. “It seems like this is violating the court order.”
They were present on-site when archeologists also dug up a woman’s dress and a pair of children’s shoes, the style dating back to around the 1940s.
But the archeologist panel appointed in the settlement agreement said that they need to appoint a forensic specialist to handle these items, something the SQI has refused, said researcher Philippe Blouin.
“That has been refused now, officially, even though it was a recommendation from the panel, and their recommendations are supposed to be binding, as per the settlement agreement. It’s been refused by the SQI,” he said.
In an email statement to APTN News, the SQI stated that a bioarcheologist is present when archeological works are underway – but did not say whether they were trained in handling potentially criminal evidence.
“The dress was found just a few inches inside the ground and then put in a plastic bag but it has to be a tamper-proof bag for it to stand in a criminal court. There are many chances that it is possible that this comes to a criminal court and this chain of custody has to be preserved for this prosecution to be successful,” said Blouin.
Blouin said they also have left partially covered piles of dirt to sit in the rain since July 25 that was dug up where sniffer dogs detected the scent of human remains in early June.
“The piles have not been sifted through, and that was also a recommendation from the panel that was not respected by the SQI to sift through these piles that were extracted from the site where the search dogs sniffed a target to sift through them immediately because the human remains could be inside these piles.”
Kahentinetha said that in the midst of these recommendations being ignored, “Despite publicly stating their support for the process and commitment to reconciliation, McGill and SQI have unilaterally deemed the panel’s mandate terminated.”
This would mean that archeological works would continue with the firm Ethnoscope, but they would be guided by McGill and SQI, rather than a panel of expert archeologists. The SQI stated that the archeologist’s panel had the mandate to submit two reports of recommendations, one being submitted on May 8 and the other on July 17. The SQI said they were “very satisfied by and grateful for the work accomplished by the experts.”
The settlement agreement states, “SQI, McGill and the Kanien’keha:ka Kahnistensera agree to be bound by the recommendations of the Panel as to the Techniques and agree to be guided by the recommendations of the Panel as to the specialists to carry out the techniques and analyse the relevant data, but McGill and SQI retain discretion to retain other providers with the appropriate qualifications and expertise if the circumstances warrant.”
The Kahnistensera also don’t want to return to work until they have mohawk security guards after a security guard appointed by a private company hired by SQI kicked them off the grounds on July 25.
“We need to have our own people to do the security. and we do have a group in Kahnawake ready to come and do it, and we’re working on bringing them in.”
Archeological digs have been suspended since that incident.
The SQI and McGill both said that dialogue is underway with the Kahnistensera. In an email statement to APTN, the SQI did not say whether they’d hire a Mohawk security form, but said the agents assigned to the site would receive “awareness training about Indigenous realities including a portion on residential schools and missing children” as well as “a specific training on Mohawk culture provided by the Mothers.”
The Kanistensera and their allies are prepared to return to court if the SQI and McGill continue to breach the settlement agreement.
Mohawk Nation News
PRESS RELEASE FOR IMMEDIATE PUBLICATION
MNN. August 4th, 2023. Major developments on search for unmarked graves at Royal Victoria Hospital RVH.
The Kahnistensera (Mohawk Mothers) are deeply concerned about the recent actions of McGill University and the Société Québécoise des Infrastructures’ (SQI) in the archaeological search for unmarked burials at the New Vic site. Despite publicly stating their support for the court ordered process and commitment to reconciliation, McGill and SQI have unilaterally terminated the panel’s Que. ordered mandate. They also did not follow through on several recommendations in the Settlement Agreement signed in April 2023 and homologated in the Quebec Superior Court.
McGill and SQI recently rejected recommendations from the Panel to include a forensics expert to oversee the ‘chain of custody’ of artefacts, an essential part of a credible investigation. The Settlement Agreement was part of an injunction won by the Mohawk Mothers in October 2022. The New Vic construction project was halted in order to allow for an “Indigenous-led” investigation of unmarked graves. This process is constantly being interfered with by the SQI and McGill to try to control the whole process, reducing the role of Indigenous people to performing ceremonies on the site.
One panel member resigned during these troubling developments. Mohawk Mother Kahentinetha declared the turn of events “deplorable”. Mohawk Mother Kwetiio stated that “it is very unfortunate that the SQI, as a Quebec public institution, appears to prefer waste public funds and time to keep Indigenous elders from revealing the truth about the fate of their children. We wanted an open dialogue to resolve the disagreements over implementing the Settlement Agreement. It is unacceptable that Quebec and McGill forcefully violate a court ordered ‘indigenous lead’ search for the unmarked graves of potential victims of their institutions.”
False Narratives: On August 3rd, 2023, McGill University and the SQI published newsletters disclosing part of the results of a Ground Penetrating Radar (GPR) survey performed by Geoscan on July 24, 2023, which we received the day before on August 2nd, 2023. See attached newsletters. The SQI and McGill did not consult the Kahnistensera (Mohawk Mothers) before making it public. These newsletters contain misleading information that must be corrected.
The SQI’s newsletter suggests that “to date, no burials have been found”, not mentioning the search dogs which detected the scent of human remains. The recent excavation failed to mention the discovery of important evidence found in the soil excavated until now, including a young woman’s dress and an old pair of children’s leather shoes. They fail to mention the verbal attack last week of Mohawk cultural monitors and elders on the site, who were evicted and verbally aggressed by unidentified security guards under the direction of the SQI. Someone’s phone was illegally grabbed and the video content was erased. In the GPR report, the SQI and McGill’s newsletters mislead the public into believing that only nine (9) anomalies were found in the small “priority zone”, where construction work was started. A far greater number of “unknown” targets were detected by the GPR team, who suggest that, “It is possible that some of the unknown features may be unmarked graves, particularly in the case of older burials without coffins and also possibly child-size graves.”
The burials now being searched follow the testimonies of survivors of medical experiments at the former hospital. They could be children who may have been clandestinely buried without coffins. For more information write at ka***********@ri****.net Consult www.mohawkmothers.ca Donate at https://fundrazr.com/e23JRc
The Archives!!!! WOO-o-o-o!!!
ANNEXES: McGill University’s newsletter: “Dear members of the McGill community. Following up on the last update I provided about the work being conducted on the former Royal Victoria Hospital site, ground penetrating radar work was performed in priority areas of the site, as established by the Settlement Agreement, a legally binding agreement we entered into last April with the Kanien’keha:ka Kahnistensera, also known as the Mohawk Mothers, and the Société québécoise des infrastructures (SQI), which is responsible for redeveloping the site. The company conducting the work stated in a report summarizing its findings that no “likely” grave type features was identified across the site. However, “[i]n total, nine (9) geophysical signatures were identified across the site that display attributes allowing us to categorize them as “potential” grave type features.” These nine signatures are all outside the McGill project zone, which accounts for about 15 per cent of the entire site. The SQI indicated it will follow the recommendation of the Panel of expert archeologists, agreed to by all three parties, to investigate the nine areas manually. This technique will verify the results of the ground penetrating radar, which cannot, on its own, confirm the presence of graves. All archeological work is being conducted in the presence of Cultural Monitors named by the Kanien’keha:ka Kahnistensera to ensure appropriate Indigenous protocols and ceremonies are respected. Meanwhile, discussions continue between the SQI, the Kanien’keha:ka Kahnistensera and the Independent Special Interlocutor for Missing Children and Unmarked Graves and Burial Sites, with respect to security on the site. This follows a reprehensible act last week, in which offensive remarks were directed at the Cultural Monitors as they were inappropriately asked to leave the site by a security guard. The SQI, which is responsible for security on the site, immediately condemned the action and dealt with the incident. Since then, discussions have been taking place to reach an agreement among the parties to put on additional security measures so that the archeological work at the site may resume as soon as possible. We have been and will continue to work in a spirit of collaboration and mutual respect with the SQI and the Kanien’keha:ka Kahnistensera that adheres to and respects the Settlement Agreement we all entered into. We will continue to keep you updated of significant events as they occur.
Sincerely, Christopher Manfredi, Provost and Vice-Principal (Academic)