‘Of national importance’: Mohawk Mothers go to Supreme Court over unmarked grave search at former Montreal hospital

The Mohawk Mothers are taking their legal battle to Canada’s highest court.

The group of Indigenous women, also known as the Kanien’keha:ka Kahnistensera, believes Indigenous and non-Indigenous children may be buried in unmarked graves on the grounds of the former Royal Victoria Hospital and Allan Memorial Psychiatric Institute.

It’s the site of a future campus expansion for McGill University, which says no evidence of unmarked graves has been found.

“Our people have had enough,” said Kwetiio with the Mohawk Mothers, which held a press conference in Ottawa Tuesday. “We’ve had enough of being treated like our lives matter less. Enough of being treated like people doomed to disappear. We’ve had enough of the government giving us the runaround when we try to defend our rights. Enough of waking up prepared for this next next government initiative designed to get rid of us.”

In November 2023, a Quebec judge ordered McGill and the Société québecoise des infrastructures (SQI) to comply with a deal it reached with the Mohawk Mothers seven months earlier – which meant abiding by the recommendations of a panel of archaeologists on how the search should proceed.

In August, the Quebec Court of Appeal reversed that decision, calling that judge’s order “not enforceable.” McGill tells CityNews it considers that decision “well founded.”

Now the Mohawk Mothers say they filed a motion with the Supreme Court of Canada for the search to be overseen by the panel of experts.

“Today we filed with the Supreme Court to protect our right to an independent investigation to search for our missing children and to protect our inherent right to care take our land in accordance with the great peace,” Kwetiio said.

“Today we stand in front of the Supreme Court of Canada facing a political violation by the people of Canada that we wish to discuss so that we may get justice,” added Kahentinetha.

The Mohawk Mothers were joined by independent special interlocutor Kimberly Murray outside the Supreme Court.

“I support this application, this Leave to Appeal,” Murray said. “It’s of national importance. We do not have a national law to protect the burial grounds of Indigenous ancestors. We do not have proper provincial territorial laws to protect the burial grounds of our ancestors.”

Panel dissolved ‘as it was intended to do’

McGill claims part of the agreement with the Mohawk Mothers was fulfilled after the panel submitted its second of two reports on July 17, 2023.

“It’s important to note the mandate letter to the panel members stipulated an end date of 17 July for their service contracts,” a McGill University spokesperson told CityNews in an email. “As the panel had carried out its mandate by that date, it dissolved, as it was intended to do. The settlement agreement nonetheless indicates that McGill, SQI and the Kahnistensera will seek the advice of the panel as to how to move forward if there is some unexpected discovery.

“To date, no unexpected discovery has been made.”

The SQI echoes that claim, saying it wants to “shed light, in a spirit of collaboration, on the allegations of the presence of burials,” but that none have been found.

“Despite the research carried out to date in all the areas of interest identified in the archaeological research plan, and at the various stages of the plan (georadar, sniffer dogs, local excavations carried out manually and analyses carried out at each stage), to date, nothing has demonstrated the presence of burials,” a spokesperson for the government office told CityNews.

The SQI adds it has agreed, “in good faith and in a rigorous manner,” to conduct archaeological research in the company of experts. “The SQI continues to respect the agreement and has complied with the recommendations issued by the panel.”

Cherry picking recommendations?

But the Mohawk Mothers allege McGill and the SQI “cherry picked” the panel’s recommendations.

“Respecting the ones that seemed convenient and rejecting others,” said Kwetiio. “They refused the panel’s recommendation to use forensic caution as they dug up evidence from the ground. As a result of the chain of custody was lost and all the evidence was made useless.

“They turned our agreement upside down and twisted its words to exclude the panel and us entirely.”

During the 1950s and ‘60s, the psychiatric institute at the Royal Victoria Hospital performed mind control experiments. The Mohawk Mothers say there could be former patients of those treatments buried at the site.

“As we got closer to the truth. When we found bones, when we had human-remain detection dogs (pick up the) scent of human remains, when we found shoes of children, everything was getting shut down,” Murray said. “And the lawyers were not practising law or lawyering for reconciliation. They were putting up every barrier they could to stop these people from getting to the truth.”

McGill maintains it believes it has “respected the spirit and the letter” of the agreement with the Mohawk Mothers and will continue to do so.

“A strong Indigenous presence has been and will continue to be part of the archeological work on the site,” the spokesperson said. “Cultural monitors can be present to conduct appropriate cultural ceremonies. The Kahnistensera have also been present at the site during the work and receive regular updates and all reports produced by the professionals.”