Mapping unmarked graves: Why the Mohawk Mothers are fighting McGill University

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The ruling comes after a group of Indigenous women known as the Mohawk Mothers called for an emergency court hearing to halt excavations at the site.

Metadata

Provider:

The Conversation

URL:

https://theconversation.com/mapping-unmarked-graves-why-the-mohawk-mothers-are-fighting-mcgill-university-214204

Retrieved on:

Jeudi, septembre 28, 2023

Information

Geotags:

CANADA

Résumé

Key Points:

The ruling comes after a group of Indigenous women known as the Mohawk Mothers called for an emergency court hearing to halt excavations at the site.
In October 2022, the Mohawk Mothers obtained a temporary injunction against McGill to stop any excavations.
In April, Québec’s Superior Court approved a settlement allowing the Mohawk Mothers to investigate unmarked graves at the site.
Read more:
Inside the search for the unmarked graves of children lost to Indian Residential Schools — Podcast

Defining mapping

McGill’s lawyer argued that mapping means making a map with points or zones where different archaeological techniques should be applied to find human remains.
When all the zones were drawn, the panel could be disbanded because the mapping was over.
This interpretation distorts and extensively simplifies the process of mapping the unmarked graves of children.
It reduces mapping to a mere checklist item, detached from the ever-changing reality on the ground.
While this initial mapping serves as a starting point, the panel should remain involved as the map evolves.

Colonial vs. decolonial perspectives

Observing the courtroom proceedings, I was struck by the enduring presence of colonial assumptions about cartography.
Indigenous communities continue having to advocate for and defend their cartographic methods in order to uphold their connections and duties to the land.
A truly decolonial mapping project centres and respects Indigenous geographical knowledge and protocols, and includes involvement of Indigenous communities in the process.