The Tiohtià:ke / Onkwehónwe Project

Session Hosting Format: 
in-person session
Organizer(s): 
  • Kelly Marquis
  • Katsi’tsahénte Cross-Delisle
Contact Email: 
Session Description (300 word max): 

The Tiohtià:ke / Onkwehónwe Project began as a partnership between the Mohawk Council of Kahnawà:ke, the Université de Montréal and Pointe-à-Callière Montréal Museum of Archaeology and History. Within this project, the Council developed a Digital Registry, a website where the community could access images and information pertaining to archaeological heritage sites and our material culture. The project has expanded to include several post-secondary institutions and museums. Some of our primary goals include rematriation of artifacts and educating the community (academia and Kahnawà:ke). This includes sharing our worldviews and prioritizing our cultural practices through our work with non-Indigenous proponents. We aim to expand the practice of archaeology among Kahnawà:keró:non and other Onkwehónwe.  The reburial of ancestors who have been uncovered – especially those held in western institutions – is of the utmost importance to us. Our Protocol for the Rematriation of Ancestral Remains expresses our views on how to respectfully return our ancestors to our communities and back to mother earth, never to be disturbed again.