The Mission

We are an Indigenous-led initiative committed to gathering information about the medical experiments that occurred at the Allen Memorial Institute throughout the 1950s and 1960s. We have been engaged in a legal challenge with promoters of the New Vic project to stall future excavation of the former Royal Victoria Hospital site until a proper archaeological investigation is conducted. The Mohawk Mothers are committed to protecting potential undiscovered evidence or unmarked graves and ensuring that Kaianere'kó:wa (or the Great Law of Peace) protocols are respected on the site.

The Concerns

Excavation of the site, without adequate research and Indigenous oversight, has the potential of erasing past injustices and retraumatizing survivors.

During the MKULTRA medical program period, the Residential School program in Canada was well entrenched. In addition, Indigenous children were being torn from their families as part of the Sixties Scoop. Beginning in the mid 1950s, child welfare officials “scooped up” Indigenous children, placed them in foster homes, or had them adopted out into white families. State policies contributed to lasting familial trauma.

The Mohawk Mothers are committed to uncovering evidence of potential injustices at the site of the former Royal Victoria Hospital.