PAST, PRESENT AND FUTURE SPIRITS ARE WITH YOU.
“This is the Unity Flag which all warriors of the world are to use when they need peace”. Karonhiatajeh, the creator of this symbol.
https://bsnorrell.blogspot.com/2024/06/mohawk-flag-flies-in-palestine-refugee.html
MIGHT IS NOT RIGHT.
As the martyr, John Lennon, sang, “All we are saying is give peace a chance”.
box 991 kahnawake que. canada
REMARKS
MNN. May 15, 2024. This is about accountability. That is what reconciliation is about. We were given by creation the ability to protect ourselves, our people, the kanien’keha:ka, and all peoples and to love and care for our mother earth. Presently we are trying to find our missing and murdered children. We find that no public institution in Quebec has the mandate to be accountable for state abuse and genocide of children and people.
Our kaianerekpwa teaches us to hold ourselves accountable to our past traditions, our ways that foster dialogue and harmony to create balance and equality: the two row wampum, the dish with one spoon, the kaianerekowa (great peace). We first met the SAQ [Quebec Liquor Board] after writing them a letter in January 2024 about our concerns that the former cemetery on the property of the St. Jean de Dieu Hospital contained our ancestors who were patients there. We always seek to find all our children. Before the beginning of our relationship with the Europeans we held onto the spirit of loving and caring for our children. We find no one accountable for torturing and murdering them. They have benefitted from the genocide. This is a crime against humanity.
The Duplessis orphans were mistreated and eliminated because of money. Only the corporation’s rights have been upheld, not that of the people. Our way is to hold ourselves to the truth. The Quebec government and its institutions like the SAQ [Quebec Liquor Board] have to be held accountable for their part in criminal actions to our people and to the orphans of all origins. What are we supposed to do when no corporate or religious institution seems to have the mandate to hold groups like the Sisters of Misericorde, the Quebec government and the SAQ accountable for the atrocities that were committed here and from which they are benefitting – the lobotomies, the pigsty cemetery, over which the first SAQ warehouse was built in 1975, transporting bodies in black plastic bags [we have seen the photos] of those bodies found by accident. The SAQ now inexplicably refuses to allow search dogs to survey the area to ensure that no burials or human remains will be destroyed or hidden. Refusing this recommendation from the leading national body of experts in searches for unmarked graves is immoral, unethical and inhuman., and pure evil.
The Quebec government made money changing the status of these children, most of whom were stolen from their families and designated as “mentally retarded”. What happened to us and to them is arguably one of the worst crimes against humanity that occurred in the Western world after the Second World War. The surviving Duplessis Orphans here are primarily witnesses to the horrors and atrocities they experienced which they tried to make public. They have been denied and betrayed every single time. I went to a funeral of three orphans. Hervé’s group doesn’t have enough money to put names on their gravestones. The orphans became family together and we are family with them. Many of them were Indigenous and had been hidden away as orphans, simply taken away, or sold for adoption if they were lucky, used for psychiatric experiments if they were not.
People’s power was taken away so they could not fight back or protect themselves. Our children and families were taken away to disempower us. The SAQ built its warehouse over the cemetery where more than 2000 people were buried. By refusing to let in search dogs who are capable of detecting the zones containing human remains, the SAQ is inferring that it will not account for the wrongs, even if it means infringing on human rights, breaking Federal and international law, and breaching the ethical framework of a just society. Our ways are different, we respect everyone, we trust true dialogue and strive for understanding.
Yesterday, I asked to stop our meeting with the SAQ after they announced that the search dogs could not be used. The voice of the orphans was ignored, as was their demand for search dogs to be used as recommended by the top experts in this country to make sure no grave will be desecrated or destroyed. It was very hurtful, insulting and abusive. In our ways we cannot speak with such dissonance. We must have a consensual discussion which is based on truth, peace and complete respect so we can arrive at a complete understanding. When sharp words and dealings happen, we must close the meeting and the parties must come back to the table when our minds agree to understand each other. If that mindset cannot be reached by state institutions like the SAQ, Quebec will have to reckon with the way their dead are being treated. This is very alarming.
SAQ obviously have never had a dog and they show their hatred by disallowing our blood hounds to go onto the land and be good dogs. As Red Foley sings about dogs:
MNN. May 16, 2024. Duplessis Orphans and Mohawk Mothers: Details on stopping SAQ [Quebec Liquor Board] from starting their construction work on the former site of the former cemetary of St-Jean-de-Dieu “asylum” Tiohtià:ke /Montreal.
SAYUMKI’YA’ASEH
On May 16, 2024, faced with the SAQ’s refusal to let the HHRDDs enter the site to ensure that no graves will be disturbed or destroyed, the Duplessis Orphans and Mohawk Mothers may have no choice but to seek to file the appropriate emergency legal applications, while being prepared to use mediation or negotiation before going to court if work is halted. On May 14, 2024, the Comité des Orphelins et Orphelines Institutionnalisé.es de Duplessis and the Kanien’keha:ka Kahnistensera (Mohawk Mothers) sent a formal notice to the Société des alcools du Québec (SAQ), demanding an immediate halt to all excavation work on the site of the former pauper’s cemetery of the St-Jean-de-Dieu psychiatric “asylum” in Montreal’s east end. This move follows the SAQ’s categorical refusal to employ historic human remains detection dogs (HHRDD) and other non-invasive techniques recommended by the Canadian Archaeological Association’s Working Group on Unmarked Graves (CAAWGUG), the country’s leading authority on the proper techniques for investigating these contexts.
“The SAQ has ignored our repeated calls to thoroughly investigate this tragic site where Duplessis orphans and Indigenous children suffered abuse and inhumane medical experimentation,” said Kahentinetha, speaking on behalf of the Mohawk Mothers. “Their remains could be buried in unmarked graves that the SAQ is preparing to disturb with no respect for their dignity.” Rejecting the use of HHRDDs, the provincial Crown corporation chose to go ahead with its proposed development project immediately, disregarding the expert’s recommendations and the demands of the impacted communities and survivors, the Duplessis Orphans and the Mohawk Mothers. “This is an insult to the memory of our lost brothers and sisters,” added Hervé Bertrand, representing the Duplessis Orphans. “The SAQ must be held accountable and demonstrate transparency by immediately suspending work until a proper investigation is carried out.”
This formal notice is a response to the SAQ’s neglect of basic human rights and its refusal to promote reconciliation and healing. The groups involved are urging the media to amplify their voices and hold the SAQ accountable on this critically important issue. GBM partner Frédéric Bérard will be representing the Duplessis Orphans. Faced with the SAQ’s refusal to let the HHRDDs enter the site to ensure that no graves will be disturbed and destroyed, the Duplessis Orphans and Mohawk Mothers may have no choice but to seek to file the appropriate emergency legal applications, while being prepared to use mediation or negotiation before going to court if work is halted.
For interviews, further information or access to supporting documents, please contact Philippe Blouin at 514-463-8835 or philippe.enver.blouin@gmail.com.
____________
BACKGROUND & TIMELINE: On January 9, 2024, the Duplessis Orphans and Mohawk Mothers wrote a letter to the SAQ stating that work planned for a new automated distribution center risked disturbing and destroying human remains from the former cemetery known as the “pigsty cemetery”, where more than 2,000 patients from the St-Jean-de-Dieu psychiatric asylum whose bodies were unclaimed had been buried between the years 1870 and 1958. The Duplessis Orphans and Mohawk Mothers requested the use of non-invasive technologies, and of qualified, independent experts and cultural monitors during any archaeological investigations, and that a discussion be opened with the goal of discussing an independent inquiry into the history of the people buried in the cemetery, and the potential atrocities that led to these deaths.
The letter of January 9, 2024 reminded the SAQ that, after the Sisters of Providence had exhumed more than 2,000 bodies from this cemetery for unclaimed patient’s bodies in 1967, additional remains had been accidentally found in 1975, during the construction of the SAQ’s first warehouse, showing that the first exhumation had been incomplete. In 1975, these bodies were exhumed by a construction company and moved in plastic bags to a mass grave at Repos St-François d’Assise, without the presence of an archaeologist or forensic expert. In testimony to the Superior Court, Sister Marie-Paule Lévaque admitted that she did not know the exact extent of the cemetery. Then, in 1999, the Journal de Montréal reported another accidental discovery of human remains in a zone quite far from the “pigstry cemetery,” during a new SAQ warehouse expansion project led by SAQ president Gaétan Frigon and then Parti Québécois minister François Legault. The SAQ has been unable to locate or provide a report or any information whatsoever about the bones found in 1999.
Between February and May 2024, a total of eight (8) meetings took place between the SAQ, the Mohawk Mothers and the Duplessis Orphans. The latter two groups learned in April that on the very day of their first meeting, February 23, 2024, the SAQ had privately hired Arkéos Inc. to submit an archaeological permit application to the Ministère de la Culture et des Communications (MCC), without consulting the Duplessis Orphans or the Mohawk Mothers. The inventory application submitted by the SAQ and its contractor avoided the requests of the Orphans and Mohawk Mothers for the use of non-invasive technologies specifically designed to detect human remains, such as georadar and Historic Human Remains Detection Dogs (HHRDD) – trained to detect historic human bones at depths of several metres – which are most appropriate when there is a potential for the discovery, disturbance and destruction of human remains.
The Arkéos inventory was not specifically designed to identify and preserve unmarked graves or burials, but rather to identify the remains of material heritage such as buildings, roads and artifacts. Its sampling approach, which suggested that the failure to find complete remains in four (4) trenches dug in certain areas of the site eliminated any possibility of human remains elsewhere, was insufficient to reassure survivors whose loved ones were buried in this cemetery as a result of mistreatment, which included lobotomies.
The Orphans have been calling since 2002 for the exhumation of the bodies buried in the “pigsty cemetery”, the heart of which lies beneath the current SAQ warehouse, to find the evidence of medical experiments and atrocities committed against children. Following the SAQ’s unilateral decision, the Duplessis Mothers and Orphans wrote to the MCC to make additional submissions to ensure that the archaeological permit would take into account the need to use non-invasive techniques to exclude or confirm the presence of human remains on the entire site, but their message was ignored by the Ministry.
Anxious to accommodate the work schedule, the Duplessis Orphans and Mohawk Mothers made a compromise at a meeting held on April 2, 2024, agreeing to work with the contractor selected by the SAQ for an archaeological inventory on the condition that SAQ request and respect the recommendations of independent experts specifically experienced in the use of non-invasive methods and in the search for unmarked graves. At this meeting, all parties agreed to involve Canada’s leading authority on the search for unmarked graves at residential school and on hospital grounds, the Canadian Archaeological Association’s Working Group on Unmarked Graves (CAAWGUG). In an e-mail dated April 4, 2024, the SAQ altered the verbal agreement to request and respect the CAAWGUG recommendations instead to a commitment to hold an information session with the CAAWGUG. As a result of this change of heart, the Duplessis Orphans and Mohawk Mothers had to cancel a traditional condolence ceremony to authorize and inaugurate Arkéos’ research according to Indigenous spiritual protocol.
On April 10, the SAQ finally agreed in writing to suspend work until the CAAWGUG had made its recommendations, and the condolence ceremony was held on April 16, 2024, followed by Arkéos’ inventory. Holding this ceremony was conditional on the involvement of CAAWGUG and a commitment that an independent investigation would be carried out in line with best practices determined by the experts specializing in archaeological investigations at sites potentially containing anonymous burials.
Representatives of CAAWGUG attended a meeting with all parties on May 8, 2024. At this meeting, the SAQ’s contractor, Arkéos, presented a preliminary report “liberating the site” from archaeological restrictions and not recommending any additional measures on site, not including the presence of archaeologists and cultural monitors during the construction work to identify human remains which might be discovered accidentally. It is important to note that the SAQ and Arkéos made this decision despite the fact that only just over half of the bones excavated at the site could be visually identified as being of animal origin, and that no laboratory tests were planned for bone fragments that could not be visually identified.
At the May 8, 2024 meeting, CAAWGUG representatives were finally able to obtain from the SAQ some of the documentation needed to make recommendations appropriate for the site’s context, and indicated that they would be able to provide their recommendations in less than seven (7) days to accommodate the SAQ’s concerns about their project timeline.
On May 9, 2024, reneging on its commitment to wait for the CAAWGUG report, the SAQ announced in a press release that the archaeological investigation was complete, that no human remains had been positively identified on the site, and that work would resume during the week of May 13, 2024. The CAAWGUG shared its official recommendations around the same time as the SAQ’s May 9 press release. In these recommendations, the CAAWGUG called for the use of HHRDD throughout the site and on the excavated bones to detect any human remains, as well as the presence of monitors during all excavation work.
On May 14, 2024, the SAQ held a meeting with the Duplessis Orphans and Mohawk Mothers to announce that they had decided that the CAAWGUG recommendations would not be followed, that HHRDD would not be used on the site, and that construction would resume immediately without further action. In a press release dated May 15, 2024, the SAQ demonstrated an appalling lack of understanding of the work of the CAAWGUG, which it confused with the broader organization that is the Canadian Association of Archaeologists (CAA), stating that “the CAA is not a professional order, but an association that brings together archaeologists, amateur archaeologists and members of the general public.” This misinformation is extremely worrying coming from a provincial Crown-corporation that acknowledges it has “neither the expertise nor the authority to determine the process of archaeological investigation or analysis of recovered artifacts.” Unlike the CAA, the CAAWGUG brings together fifteen (15) professional archaeologists and scholars selected specifically for their expertise in the search for unmarked graves and burials in humanitarian contexts, such as residential schools. Far from a group of “amateur archaeologists”, the CAAWGUG was recently awarded the 2024 Governor General’s Award for Innovation, which noted that the group “continues to lead the nation with guidance, training, support and assistance for communities conducting searches for children who disappeared from residential schools.”
In its May 15, 2024 press release, the SAQ states, without further explanation, that “regarding the use of HHRDDs, we have referred the matter to the relevant authorities for evaluation. Their conclusions stipulate that this type of method is not appropriate for our site.” Without naming said “competent authorities”, this unjustified rejection of the use of HHRDDs is incomprehensible to the Orphans, the Mohawk Mothers and the survivors of the atrocities that took place at St-Jean-de-Dieu.
While the Arkéos inventory concluded that no human remains were found on the entire site based on samples limited to four (4) trenches, a report published by the U.S. Department of Defense established that HHRDD dogs can effectively differentiate human remains from animal bones (p. 94), even at a depth of 2 metres (p. 44). According to a recent study (Grebenkemper et al 2021, p. 235), HHRDDs have only a 0.06% probability of false positives when two dogs identify a target in the same location. The CAAWGUG, Canada’s leading authority on the subject, considers the use of HHRDD to be appropriate, if not essential, on the entire site and on the excavated bones, with a thorough understanding of the soil composition, as evidenced by the fact that the CAAWGUG does not recommend the use of georadar in its report given its potential ineffectiveness on the site’s clayey soils.
The Duplessis Orphans and Mohawk Mothers are taken aback by the SAQ’s refusal to allow HHRDDs to visit the site to ensure that burials and human remains are identified and protected before work begins. Above all, they are shocked that the SAQ would publicly disseminate misinformation. Once construction work resumes without any supervision – which may already be the case, as the Duplessis Orphans and Mohawk Mothers have not been informed of the work schedule – nothing will be in place to protect the graves, which risk being disturbed, damaged and destroyed forever. Their request to implement, as initially promised, the recommendations that the CAAWGUG specifically identified as critical to identifying any unmarked graves or burials prior to the work is a very basic demand.
Faced with the SAQ’s refusal to let the HHRDDs enter the site to ensure that no graves will be disturbed and destroyed, the Duplessis Orphans and Mohawk Mothers may have no choice but to seek to file the appropriate emergency legal applications, while being prepared to use mediation or negotiation before going to court if work is halted.
*Comité des orphelins et orphelines institutionalisées de Duplessis, 135 rue Therrien Ste-Anne-des-Plaines (Québec) J5N 3B7 *h1bertrand@videotron.ca *Kanien’keha:ka Kahnistensera B.P. 991 Kahnawake (Mohawk Territory) J0L 1B0 kahnistensera@riseup.net
MEDIA CONTACT Philippe Blouin 514-463-8835 philippe.enver.blouin@gmail.com
Vintage Canadian legend and hippie chick, Joanie Mitchell, has the perfect lyrics in “Dog Eat Dog”:
These words were shared by participants of the 50th Anniversary of the Geniengeh Land Back Celebration that happened last weekend.
Part 2
Part 3
Robbie Robertson tells the story: t
HHRDD HISTORIC HUMAN REMAINS DETECTION DOGS
TO SEARCH FOR UNMARKED GRAVES AT SAQ QUEBEC GOVT. LIQUOR WAREHOUSE
***PRESS RELEASE** __FOR IMMEDIATE PUBLICATION___
MNN. MAY. 10, 2024.
May 10, 2024.
On May 9, 2024, the Société des Alcools du Québec (SAQ) issued a press release announcing that construction work for a new warehouse in Montreal’s east end will soon resume after the completion of an archaeological inventory performed by the firm it hired, Arkéos. In January 2024, the Kanien’keha:ka Kahnistensera (Mohawk Mothers), in tandem with the Comité des Orphelins et Orphelines Institutionalisé des Duplessis, had reached out to the SAQ to ask for measures to protect human remains on a site where the SAQ wants to build a new automated warehouse for wine, beer and spirits.
The grounds upon which this development project is situated have a tragic history. It was used as a mass grave where the unclaimed bodies of thousands of patients of the St-Jean-de-Dieu psychiatric hospital were fed to the pigs called “the cemetery of the ill” or “the pigsty cemetery”. Indigenous patients were present in addition to Duplessis Orphans, who are largely Quebecois children born out of wedlock or from low-income families that were sent to asylums and orphanages. They were abused after being incorrectly re-categorized as intellectually disabled by Prime Minister Maurice Duplessis. They were kept in forced labour, denied education rights, sexually abused and experimented upon. The Sisters of Providence, who ran St-Jean-de-Dieu, said they exhumed the entire cemetery in 1967. But many additional bodies were found after the SAQ bought the land and started to build a warehouse, in 1975. After further construction in 1999, bones were reportedly found that were never confirmed to be non-human.
Since last January, the Kanien’keha:ka Kahnistensera [Mohawk Mothers] and the Duplessis Orphans have met with SAQ representatives to discuss a respectful and thorough search for human remains before any construction work begins. On April 10, 2024, all parties agreed that an archeological inventory would be gathered using the SAQ’s contractor Arkéos provided that the Canadian Archaeological Association’s Working Group on Unmarked Graves (CAAWGUG) would peer-review the reports and provide additional recommendations before the construction begins. A traditional Mohawk condolence ceremony was conducted and then Arkéos’ inventory began.
The SAQ received the CAAWGUG recommendations on May 9, 2024, just after the SAQ announced they would be continuing construction beginning next week, following the completion of Arkéos’ preliminary archaeological report. As the leading national body of experts formed to address the need for research into the mass genocide of Indigenous people at sites like residential schools, the CAAWGUG recommended the use of Historic Human Remains Detection Dogs (HHRDD), and to identify any human bones found by Arkéos on the site. So far nearly half have not yet been determined as human or animal. The CAAWGUG recommended further investigation using archaeological techniques based on their expertise in finding and identifying unmarked graves and burials to be conducted before any development commences.
In light of the CAAWGUG’s recommendations and according to our agreement with the SAQ, that there will be further discussions before development continues as announced in its press release. We all want to rely on expertise and best practices. We expect to continue the cooperative and respectful spirit of previous discussions. As the CAAWGUG stated, continuing the development without further investigation would risk disturbing and potentially destroying the graves of the most vulnerable of our society. They died of maltreatment while survivors were retraumatized in one of the darkest chapters of our history. Such a decision would be unprecedented in our discussions with the SAQ thus far regarding a respectful and thorough investigation. We would not meet with anyone intent on disturbing the graves of the dead for the sake of commercial development. We are committed to a respectful dialogue and to implementing the advice of the best experts to respect and honor the survivors and the memory of the victims of these atrocities.
Judy Garland searched for answers to life and finally threw in the towel and sang that “life is just a bowl of cherries”:
MNN. May 8, 2024. Karohianoron passes his words to our indigenous relatives of Palestine:
“Tekaianewà:konke’: Mohawk-Palestinian Solidarity at the McGill University Encampment Shé:kon sewakwé:kon. Karonhia’nó:ron ióntiats. Kanehsatà:ke nitewaké:non tánon wakeniáhton. I introduce myself to you in my language, Kanien’kéha, the language of this land, my mother, which so many of you call home today. My name is Karonhia’nó:ron, my family is from Kanehsatà:ke and I belong to the Turtle Clan.
I’ve just returned from Saskatchewan, where I attended a meeting for Indigenous archaeologists who are working to protect unmarked graves of Indigenous children across Turtle Island. What I bring back with me is a reminder of the importance of nurturing community and political alliances across Indigenous nations. That is why I wanted to be here with you today. I want to make it clear that what I share with you today is shared on my own initiative. I feel very strongly that it is my duty to use the voice I was given to speak the truth, to bring people together, and to call out any injustice that I see happening before me. I echo the support that has been voiced by my cousin Ellen Gabriel, as well as by the Kanien’kehá:ka Kahnisténsera.
It is my understanding that Onkwehonweh have stood in solidarity with the people of Palestine for some time now. We have been learning from each other about how to survive, resist, rebuild, and reharmonize for ages. This is because our struggles are one and the same. As my elder and mentor Kahentinétha Horn wrote nearly a decade ago, “the Zionist butchers massacring Palestinians in Gaza are the same interests that carried out the genocide of 150 million Indigenous people in the Western hemisphere” (Mohawk Nation News 2014).
Know that you are allowed to be here, and we are with you. That McGill University refuses to acknowledge its complicity in, let alone divest from, the genocidal project that maintains the existence of the Israeli state at the expense of the lives of thousands upon thousands of Palestinians unfortunately comes as no surprise to me. As some of you may know, I have been involved in the search for unmarked graves at the site of the Old Royal Victoria Hospital and the Allan Memorial Institute since the summer of 2022. I have seen nothing except the very same violent, denialist narratives being deployed against my people. I have seen the authority of the Kahnisténsera as the caretakers of this land disrespected, repeatedly; I have seen empirical evidence of human remains dismissed, repeatedly; I have seen the lives of my Ancestors and their belonging to this land erased, repeatedly. University administrators have made it very clear that their goal is to ensure that no evidence of unmarked graves are ever found so that they can plow forward with the expansion of their campus.
All the while, they continue to make enunciated commitments to “listen” to Indigenous peoples and pursue reconciliation. This university has spent millions of dollars fighting the Kahnisténsera in court. This battle has been going on for years, and continues to this day. I’m sure all of you here are aware that your tuition moneys are being used to fund the massacre of Palestinians. But did you know that this last December, Provost Christopher Manfredi stated in a university-wide notice that your tuition fees are also being used to support McGill’s efforts to deny the sovereignty of the Mohawk people and the right of the Kahnisténsera to protect the earth and all of her children, past, present and future? (see “Update on the New Vic Project and clarification of salient facts”).
I want to make something very clear: McGill has been illegally occupying Mohawk territory for over 250 years. This institution exists thanks to the theft of moneys meant to be held in trust by the Crown Corporation of Canada on behalf of the Rotinonshón:ni. As such, President Deep Saini’s repeated insistence on McGill’s supreme authority over what can and cannot occur on so-called “campus property” is not only repugnant, but based in a complete lack of understanding– perhaps even a willful ignorance– of the brutal history of this institution. The way of this land is the Kaianereh’kó:wa, and all foreigners are subject to the stipulations of the Teiohate or Two Row wampum. As an invader, McGill University is in violation of both of these. Worst of all, by committing themselves to actively participating in the genocide of Indigenous peoples here and in Palestine, McGill administrators are desecrating the kasahsténsera’kó:wa saoié:ra– that is, the great natural power of creation, and of life on earth. As such, this university and its beloved investors must account for the Indigenous children whose lives they have destroyed by immediately divesting from any and all interests implicated in the genocide of the Palestinian peoples and Kanien’kehà:ka.
Remember that while you are fighting against powers with an affinity for violence and death, you are also fighting for the continuation of natural life. Remember that you are not alone, that you are carrying on the legacy of all of those who came before you, and that you are taking up this struggle in hopes that the children who come after you will know only peace, freedom, and happiness.
To my loved ones who call Palestine their home, know that it is creation that placed you there; that your life is precious, and your bond with Mother Earth is sacred. I wish to leave with you a gift which has framed my understanding of solidarity for quite some time. The closest equivalent to “partnership” or “collaboration” in Kanien’kéha is the word tekaianewà:konke’. It describes the concept of two people walking upon the same path together, and who hold each other accountable to stay on that path. It is my understanding that so many different peoples have come to support the encampment. I’m sure you all have different ideas for how things should be conducted, or how your goals should be pursued. At the end of the day, we each have our own hearts and minds. But you must stay together on this path.
For me, it is the children who keep me in line, who remind me of the horizon we are walking towards together. Do not let anyone corrupt your soul with anxiety, fear, or a lust for power. To reiterate the words of my cousin Ellen: WE ARE ALL PALESTINIAN. Nià:wen’kó:wa, thank you. I lay my medicines down for you and send the strength and resilience of my ancestors your way. Karonhia’nó:ron Rati’niáhton
Edwin Star asks about “War, what is it good for?” and answers, “Nothing!”:
STATEMENT FOR MOHAWK NATION NEWS
OCTOBER 15, 2022.
Shé:kon We have been notified that a number of actions have taken place this > week at the dig site and the offices of Arkéos. The SQI is accusing us of instigating them. We hereby unequivocally deny any knowledge of what > may have happened. We have absolutely nothing to do with any of this. These are false accusations causing prejudice to our legitimate concerns regarding the unmarked graves of our children. We stress that as the caretakers of our land and children, we are bound to follow the > kaianerehkowa, which includes skennen, peace, as one of its three > pillars. We advocate for the truth to be known, for the land and > children to be protected, and for skennen, peace, to be respected at all times. We refute all false accusations and misinformation by anybody trying to cause prejudice to our legal process to halt the excavation of the unmarked graves of our children. O:nen kanien’keha:ka kahnistensera, Kahnawake
FROM THE KAHNISTENSERA:
STATEMENT FOR MOHAWK NATION NEWS
OCTOBER 15, 2022.
PRESS ATTACHE THAHOKETOTEH@NTK.COM
kahnistensera@riseup.net
Please post & circulate
MNN. OCT. 11, 2022.
kanien’kehá:ka kahnistensera (Mohawk Mothers) Kahnawake kahnistensera@riseup.net October 9, 2022 OBJECT:
Re: Arkéos intervention and information meetings on the upcoming excavation in front of the Hersey pavilion of the Royal Victoria Hospital: we were informed that the SQI and McGill have declared that they would wait completing the “information meetings” before carrying out the archaeological intervention. Not so. Arkéos’s intervention can start immediately.
We are wholly opposed to the archaeological intervention in its current form, which dismisses all the guidelines and frameworks that have been developed by the Truth and Reconciliation Commission (TRC) and by archaeologists engaged in searching for unmarked graves since the first findings in Tk’emlúps in 2021. Disturbing ancestral and recent Indigenous burial grounds is a very serious matter in our culture, and the area in front of the Hersey pavilion show a very high risk of containing both precolonial and modern graves of our relatives.
The first ethical rule mentioned by the Canadian Archaeological Association (CAA) for searching unmarked graves states that “Any work to locate missing Indigenous children must be led by Indigenous communities”. The upcoming intervention at the RVH is not led by Indigenous people, but rather by development promoters and a private firm they hired. We note that not a single one of the 10 rules determined by the CAA for ethically conducting professional archaeological work on unmarked graves is being respected.
We have repeatedly requested that remote sensing technologies be used before breaking the ground and disturbing the remains of our families. New Vic and Arkéos have acted as if we were in the 1960’s and those technologies did not exist (GPR, cadaver dogs, resistivity tests, conductivity tests, LIDAR, etc.). In order to respectfully treat the remains of our families, we must have an idea of what is underneath the ground before breaking it, so that we will follow our cultural burial practices and the will of the survivors and families.
A bioarchaeologist will not even be on site, only on call. Our request to monitor the work has not been respected either. As the opponents are failng to take our demands into consideration, we hereby announce that we will be taking the following steps to protect the site:
1) On Tuesday October 11th, if the intervention is not postponed, we will file an official grievance to the CAA to stop the professional misconduct of Arkéos inc. and its failure to comply with its national association’s ethical guidelines for searching unmarked graves;
2) When the work starts, we will report to police authorities an ongoing criminal desecration of human remains and destruction of forensic evidence on a crime scene;
3) We will monitor the work ourselves from the sidewalk using binoculars.
As reinstated by the CAA, “the TRC directed that the work of documenting, maintaining, protecting and commemorating residential school cemeteries should be led by the affected communities and families, with guidance from residential school survivors and other Knowledge Keepers, and must respect Indigenous protocols. This work must be undertaken with the utmost care and appropriate mental health supports because of the huge potential to re-traumatize Indigenous communities.” At this stage, we have already been re-traumatized by the way that our legitimate concerns have been completely ignored by the promoters of the New Vic.
Regarding the information meetings, our duty is to inform all parties that these meetings are not consultation. We invite the SQI, as a public institution, to read the Guidelines for Federal Officials to Fulfill the Duty to Consult, which was apparently not consulted as none of its guidelines are followed. As for us, we were not available on the date that the promoters had unilaterally selected for an information meeting with us, on October 6th. We proposed a range of alternative dates, any time between October 10th and October 14th to meet at the 207 Longhouse. The promoters did not respond to our suggested dates. Instead, they told us that we could come on the next day, October 5th at 7:30pm, to the Golden Agers club, after completing the meeting between them and Band Council affiliates, as well as other meetings that day, including cigarette taxation and an Alcoholic Anonymous meeting, that was canceled because of the McGill information meeting. The natural low of the community was totally disrupted.
McGill and the SQI claimed that we declined their invitation, which is not true. That date did not work for most of us. However, two Mohawk Mothers went to the Golden Agers Club in Kahnawake at 6pm to see the information session with Band Councillors. Neither us nor anyone we know was notified by anybody that this meeting was taking place, though we are Longhouse people. We saw in the invitation shared with the court that elders were supposed to be welcome.
The two Mohawk Mothers who went are 77 and 82 years old. They found no more than five Indigenous people inside, most of whom were currently or recently under contract with McGill or Canada, and about 15 non-Indigenous people representing McGill, Arkéos and the SQI. Such situations where Mohawks are outnumbered by White people are extremely rare and sensitive in Kahnawake, as in such cases our “At the Edge of the Woods” ceremony must be followed to access our territory without trespassing.
During the presentation the unmarked graves of our people were not mentioned. All the zones that Arkéos checked in 2016 did not indicate were declared to contain no archaeological interest, regardless of the widely acknowledged fact that this section of tekanontak (Mount Royal) is the exact location of the highly populated villages of our ancestors. This silencing of our history retraumatized us. So we asked direct questions such as “Where are the bodies of our children?” The organizers reacted by calling the police to escort us out of the building.
The Kahnawake Peacekeepers were surprised to see that they had been called in to remove two of their elders who are still shocked. We are waiting for the Peacekeepers to give us the report to understand what happened. We would appreciate if the other parties could use dialogue instead of armed force to deal with differences. Even though we continue to uphold our role as caretakers of the land and the children, we are still humans, and we are still fragile as survivors and elders.
O:nen Kanien’kehá:ka kahnistensera (Mohawk Mothers), Kahnawake
Kahnistensera@riseup.net
Image by Kanien’kehá:a artist, author, and activist, Louis Karoniaktajeh Hall, 1918-1993
https://www.facebook.com/events/839055253794046 https://www.concordia.ca/cuevents/offices/provost/fourth-space/programming/2022/10/18/mohawk-warrior-society-publication-launch.html
The Mohawk Warrior Society Book Launch and Screenings on Indigenous Sovereignty and Survival Tuesday, October 18, 2022 – Wednesday, October 19, 2022 11 a.m. – 4 p.m. 4TH SPACE J.W. McConnell Building, Concordia University 1400 De Maisonneuve Blvd. W., Montreal The Mohawk Warrior Society: Book Launch and Screenings on Indigenous Sovereignty and Survival
Join us for the launch of an unprecedented book, a public roundtable with members of the Kanien’keha:ka Rotiskenrakete of the Men’s Fire and Kanien’kehá:ka Kahnistensera, an activist group of Mohawk women from Kahnawake, and film screenings in celebration of Indigenous culture and resilience.
THE MOHAWK WARRIOR SOCIETY: A HANDBOOK ON SOVEREIGNTY AND SURVIVAL, is the centrepiece of our events. Containing new oral history by key figures of the Rotisken’rhakéhte revival in the 1970s, this compilation tells the story of the Warriors’ famous flag and other art, their armed occupation of Ganienkeh in 1974, and the role of their constitution, the Great Peace. This book launch is part of a two-day series of events and film screenings that foreground Kanien’kehá:ka activism, culture, and current issues within the broader rubric of Indigenous sovereignty.
See below for the full schedule:
October 18 11:00am – 4:00pm Round Table and Book Launch
October 19 1:00pm – 1:15pm
Welcome and Introduction 1:15pm – 2:00pm Film Screening: “Mohawk Nation” (1978) 2:00pm – 2:15pm
Short Break 2:15pm – 2:40pm Film Screening: “Rose” (2022) 2:45pm – 4:00pm
Open Discussion How can you participate? Join us in person or online by registering for the Zoom Meeting or watching live on YouTube.
Have questions? Send them to info.4@concordia.ca
Please post & circulate.
Audio to be posted
MNN. Sept. 26, 2022. The judgement was rendered on September 20, 2022 by Judge Gregory Moore of the Quebec Superior Court 500-17-120-468-221 Kahentinetha et al. v. Societe des infrastructure et al. concerning the right of kahnistensera Mohawk Mothers to represent themselves in court without an attorney. This judgment acknowledges that they have a right to follow the kaianerekowa. 
Jugement beginas here:
Reasons for decision:
“FOR THESE REASONS THE COURT:
DISMISSES the application for an order that would require the plaintiffs to be represented by legal counsel;
WITHOUT prejudice to the defendants’ right to raise this issue at a later date after the hearing for an interlocutory injunction.
WITHOUT LEGAL COSTS
Gregory Moore J.S.C.”
mohawknationnews.com Box 991, kahnawake Quebec Canada J0L 1B0
