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Mohawk Mothers want former Montreal hospital site searched for unmarked graves

"We are also aware that Indigenous survivors have requested to add the Hôpital de la Miséricorde to the list of institutions included in the settlement agreement for Indian residential schools."

Part of the facade of the Hopital de la Misericorde on René-Lévesque is seen in file photo.
Part of the facade of the Hôpital de la Miséricorde building on René-Lévesque Blvd. is seen in file photo. Photo by Dario Ayala /Montreal Gazette

The group behind the recent push to search for unmarked graves at the site of the former Royal Victoria Hospital now hopes to suspend the sale of another former Montreal hospital to allow for the grounds to be searched.

In a statement issued Tuesday, the Mohawk Mothers (kanien’kehá:ka kahnistensera) said it has sent a formal notice to the city of Montreal and Quebec government concerning the sale of the former Hôpital de la Miséricorde.

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The Société Québécoise des infrastructures (SQI) is in the process of selling the former hospital, located in downtown Montreal.

The group, however, says it has reason to believe “significant violations of human rights” took place at the hospital against women who were pregnant out of wedlock, including many Indigenous women.

“We are also aware that Indigenous survivors have requested to add the Hôpital de la Miséricorde to the list of institutions included in the settlement agreement for Indian residential schools,” the letter states.

The group is calling on the city and government to suspend the sale and fund research into whether there could be unmarked graves of Indigenous children on the site.

If the research indicates there could be remains there, the group wants the parties involved to commit to a full archaeological and forensic investigation.

In what it described as an important victory, in April, the Mohawk Mothers struck an agreement for searches to be conducted at the site of Montreal’s former Royal Victoria Hospital.

The Quebec Superiour Court approved a settlement agreement between the different parties involved to ensure the “appropriate archeological techniques” are used to detect whether there are graves on the site.

The agreement outlined a detailed process for how the site should be searched for possible graves. The group now wants the same process applied to the Hôpital de la Miséricorde site.

  1. Work is planned for the site the former Royal Victoria Hospital as part of McGill University expanding its campus, but the Mohawk Mothers have argued they have reason to believe Indigenous children might have been buried there.

    Mohawk Mothers hopeful after deal to search for unmarked graves at Royal Victoria

  2. Kawenaa, left, and Kahentinetha are members of the Mohawk Mothers group. The group is demanding a forensic and archeological investigation of the old Royal Victoria Hospital site, which they say contains remains of a precolonial Iroquoian village, and may contain unmarked graves.

    McGill will co-operate in search for unmarked graves on Royal Victoria Hospital site