At the left of the Roddick Gates stands the Hochelaga Rock, established by Parks Canada to commemorate the Iroquois settlement that stood on the land that McGill sits on today.
Calls to Action
In 2017, the Provost Task Force on Indigenous Studies and Indigenous Education called on our University to complete the relocation of the Hochelaga Rock on the lower campus by developing a plan for the landscaping of the new site, developed in consultation with local Indigenous communities. The Hochelaga Rock is an enduring historical marker of Indigenous history and settler-Indigenous people’s interactions on the island of Montreal and its hinterland. The Rock marks the historical ties and use of the land by Indigenous peoples.
In the summer of 2016, the Hochelaga Rock was moved to a more prominent site on the lower campus of McGill. The Provost’s Task Force was publicly launched with a ceremony at this site on September 22, 2016. On June 21, 2017, on National Indigenous Peoples Day, there was a ceremony held at the Hochelaga Rock to mark the submission of the Task Force Final Report on Indigenous Studies and Indigenous Education.
The specific call to action regarding the design of the landscape surrounding the rock was included in the campus Master Plan (2019) by the Campus Planning Development Office. Hochelaga Rock has been identified as a key element of Indigenous representation on campus in line with the Task Force report. Details regarding surrounding landscape design are part of ongoing discussions with the Indigenous communities.
Read more about this Call to Action (#18) here.
News
Read the article titled, "Hochelaga Rock Honoured In Prominent Spot," featured in The Eastern Door on September 22, 2016 to learn more about the ceremony held moving the Hochelega Rock.
