Kanien’kehá:ka Kahnistensera Back at Quebec Court

The Kanien’kehá:ka Kahnistensera, known as the Mohawk Mothers, continue to fight in their search for unmarked graves at the site of the old Royal Victoria hospital. They were back at the Quebec Court of Appeal yesterday arguing that  independent archeologists should oversee the search on the property which is under the McGill University umbrella. The case involves McGill University and the Société québécoise des infrastructures (SQI) – who are appealing a November Superior Court decision. They claim the archeologists’ work is completed. Kwetiio is with the Kahnistensera. There was a panel of 3 overseeing the work until they were let go:

“These 3 judges on this appeals court on this appeals panel, trying to figure out where the manipulation happened within the settlement agreement. On the Kahnistensera’s part we were saying that, you know what, we never would have signed something that would have let that panel go, that would have fired that panel, right when they were giving their recommendations.”

During the 1950s and 60s, the Allen Memorial Institute at the Royal Victoria Hospital performed mind control experiments. The Kahnistensera say that there could be survivors of those treatments buried at the site, both Indigenous and non-Indigenous.  Last June, cadaver dogs identified possible evidence of human remains on the site.