{"id":15485,"date":"2023-11-06T21:51:40","date_gmt":"2023-11-07T02:51:40","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/mohawknationnews.com\/blog\/?p=15485"},"modified":"2023-11-06T22:09:40","modified_gmt":"2023-11-07T03:09:40","slug":"mohawk-mothers-dispute-disbandment-of-expert-panel","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/mohawknationnews.com\/blog\/2023\/11\/06\/mohawk-mothers-dispute-disbandment-of-expert-panel\/","title":{"rendered":"MOHAWK MOTHERS DISPUTE DISBANDMENT OF EXPERT PANEL"},"content":{"rendered":"

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Please post & distribute.<\/strong><\/p>\n

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KANIENKEHAKA KAHNISTENSERA APPEAR IN COURT TO DISPUTE<\/strong><\/div>\n
DISBANDMENT OF ARCHAEOLOGICAL PANEL BY MCGILL AND SQI<\/strong><\/div>\n
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MNN. Nov. 1, 2023.
\nhttps:\/\/www.thetribune.ca\/news\/kanienkehaka-kahnistensera-appear-in-court-discuss-disbandment-of-archaeological-panel-31102023\/<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n

The Kanien\u2019keh\u00e1:ka Kahnistensera (Mohawk Mothers<\/a>) appeared at the\u00a0Montreal Courthouse<\/a>\u00a0for a five-hour case management hearing on Oct. 27. The hearing came as part of the Mothers\u2019\u00a0ongoing<\/a>\u00a0investigation into McGill\u2019s\u00a0New Vic Project<\/a>\u00a0site\u2014where the Mothers fear that there may be unmarked Indigenous graves\u2014alongside McGill, the Soci\u00e9t\u00e9 qu\u00e9b\u00e9coise des infrastructures (SQI<\/a>), the Royal Victoria Hospital (RVH<\/a>), the\u00a0City of Montreal<\/a>, and the\u00a0Attorney General of Canada<\/a>.<\/strong><\/p>\n

The Mothers gave the first statement before Justice Gregory Moore. Beginning with Mohawk Mother Kwetiio, the Mothers urged the court to enforce the settlement\u00a0agreement<\/a>, which, in Kwetiio\u2019s interpretation, states that all parties are bound to the recommendations of the court-appointed expert archaeological panel. Kwetiio further alleged that McGill had sent contracts to the three members of the panel\u2014which disbanded on Aug. 3\u2014with three-month termination dates. The Mothers were not informed of these contracts until they had already been signed and were irreversible.<\/strong><\/p>\n

Kwetiio argued that\u00a0Ethnoscop<\/a>\u2014the archaeological firm hired for the investigation\u2014did not use appropriate methods to protect the\u00a0forensic chain of custody<\/a>\u00a0of any potential evidence, as they were touching evidence with their bare hands and not using tamper-proof bags. She also stated that the defendants were strategically choosing which information they would share with the Mothers in order to continue the investigation without delays.<\/strong><\/p>\n

\u201cThere\u2019s been a lot of cherry-picking of what [the defendants] are going to use to help themselves to further their construction, and not the investigation,\u201d Kwetiio said in a press conference after the hearing.<\/strong><\/p>\n

The court then heard from Mohawk Mother Kahentinetha, who shared that potential anomalies were excavated on the site in rapid time which did not allow for proper significance and care to be given to each anomaly. She said that on one day, nine anomalies were excavated with a mere 45 minutes allotted to each anomaly. Kahentinetha claimed that the soil was not sifted properly, and any bone fragments found were immediately deemed to be of animal origin.<\/strong><\/p>\n

In a written statement to\u00a0The Tribune<\/em>, the SQI asserted that all excavation is being carried out in accordance with proper archaeological regulations by expert firms, with proper methods used to ensure soil is not mixed or contaminated.<\/strong><\/p>\n

Kahentinetha also shared that after facing\u00a0verbal assault<\/a>\u00a0from SQI security guards on July 25, the Mothers had asked to be accompanied by Indigenous security personnel from T.D. Security while onsite. However, it took three weeks before the defendants complied with this request.<\/strong><\/p>\n

Kwetiio continued, asserting that the Mothers deserve to be treated with respect on the site and should not be subjected to \u201cuncontrollable anger\u201d from the defendants when they ask questions. She ended the Mothers\u2019 statement by contending that the defendants had breached every part of the settlement agreement.<\/strong><\/p>\n

The court took a fifteen-minute break, after which Julian Falconer\u2014the lawyer for the\u00a0Office of the Independent Special Interlocutor<\/a>, Kimberly Murray\u2014gave his statement, alleging that the defendants were being denialistic. He stated that the Mothers already had an insurmountable burden placed on them throughout this case, and this burden had \u201cquadrupled\u201d the day the panel was disbanded. He condemned the disbandment of the panel and alleged that McGill and the SQI had replaced the panel with their own archaeological experts so that they could inform the public that they were relying on the advice of experts.<\/strong><\/p>\n

\u201cToday was about bringing back the experts that know how to do this work, to find unmarked burials,\u201d Murray said in a press conference after the hearing. \u201cWe have a lot of companies that can do scans. We don\u2019t have a lot of people that have expertise in analyzing the data.\u201d<\/strong><\/p>\n

Later, the court heard from the SQI. Their statement was delivered in French and translated for the Mothers by anthropologist and associate of the Mothers Philippe Blouin. Members of\u00a0Take Back Tekanontak<\/a>\u2014an advocacy group in support of the Mohawk Mothers\u2014were stationed outside of the courthouse after the hearing to show solidarity. In an interview with\u00a0The Tribune<\/em>, an organizer of\u00a0Take Back Tekanontak<\/a>, Diane, who chose not to give her last name, shared her belief that the lack of a court-provided English translation of the SQI\u2019s statement for the Mothers was appalling and oppressively exclusionary.<\/strong><\/p>\n

\u201cThe Kanien\u2019keh\u00e1:ka Kahnistensera come to court, and they speak Kanyen\u2019k\u00e9ha, their own language, and their colonial language is English,\u201d Diane said. \u201cIt\u2019s not okay to ask them to learn French as a second colonial language, and yet there is no translation provided for them. I cannot believe my eyes.\u201d<\/strong><\/p>\n

McGill\u2019s lawyer, Doug Mitchell, provided the next statement before Justice Moore. He stated that the university believes that it has abided by the settlement agreement wholly and respectfully, arguing the occasional disagreements between parties are not an indication that the agreement is being violated. He asserted that the defendants are bound by the recommendations of techniques by the panel, not to anything else.<\/strong><\/p>\n

Mitchell additionally claimed that Falconer had \u201ctheatricized\u201d his speech to the court so that Justice Moore would rule in the favor of the Mothers.\u00a0 He stated that the Mothers needed to take the emotion out of the investigation, alleging that the Mothers and Murray only wanted to enforce their interpretation of the contract and were not suffering any irreparable harm by the way McGill was carrying out the investigation.<\/strong><\/p>\n

Falconer responded to Mitchell\u2019s statement, saying that Mitchell should apologize for asking the Mothers to be less emotional about the investigation. He also argued that all parties should acknowledge that the panel\u2019s recommendations have not been followed, as the panel itself believes its suggestions have not been entirely executed.<\/strong><\/p>\n

\u201cIt is absolutely essential that McGill, the Quebec government, [and the] SQI come to their senses and understand that it is very short-sighted to essentially terminate a panel they agreed to be bound by in order a further a development,\u201d Falconer said in a press conference after the hearing. \u201cI promise you, whatever few dollars [the defendants] make on their development, the [societal cost] and the [further erosion] of trust is absolutely innumerable in terms of the size of the expense.\u201d<\/strong><\/p>\n

Kwetiio also replied to Mitchell\u2019s statement, stating that Mitchell\u2019s words were \u201cdeeply offensive,\u201d and reiterating the fact that all parties would not be back in court if the recommendations of the panel had been respected.<\/strong><\/p>\n

\u201cI think it was pretty disgusting that the defendant said \u2018Oh, there\u2019s no irreparable harm done here.\u2019 [\u2026] There\u2019s never a situation where any one of us is going to bargain without children of the past, present, and future,\u201d Kwetiio said in response to Mitchell\u2019s comment in a press conference after the hearing.<\/strong><\/p>\n

Justice Moore adjourned court with no decision made, explaining that he would need some time to review all submissions and testimonies. McGill media relations officer Fr\u00e9d\u00e9rique Mazerolle told\u00a0The Tribune<\/em>\u00a0in an email that McGill will provide a comment on the hearing once Justice Moore makes a decision. A tentative subsequent court date is set for Dec. 1, during which all parties will discuss the issue of archives and records related to the investigation.<\/strong><\/p>\n

\u201cWe demand that we have a proper best practice investigation for our children and for those that were disrespected on that site,\u201d Kwetiio said. \u201cI think our children are looking for us to find them, and this is what\u2019s important, and I\u2019m so glad that all these people are here today in support.\u201d<\/strong><\/p>\n

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Led Zeppelln knows the way of betrayal; “Lying, cheating, that’s all you seem to do. Messing around with every guy, putting me down for thinking of someone new . . . Your time is gonna come. Your time is gonna come. Your time is gonna come. Your time is gonna come. . . .\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n

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