Brock Street Burial - Remains found from a man who lived over 2,000 years ago

The Brock Street Burial

Finding human remains from over 2,000 years ago

When you walk by the parking lot on Brock Street between Aylmer and George Streets in Peterborough, there is a plaque by the road on a granite boulder, with indigenous prairie grass around it, and a narrow stone pathway marking the boundary. The plaque was installed on November 8, 1962. It marks the site where the complete skeletal remains and 30 associated artifacts of a man, believed to have lived in the Trent River System over 2,000 years ago, were found while excavating the lot on December 6, 1960.

Large plaque for the remains from 1960 at the front of Brock Street Parking Lot (photos courtesy of Peterborough Museum and Archive)

Archaeologist Walter Kenyon of the Royal Ontario Museum described it as an important find. He said in a newspaper article, ‘The Indian chief in the Brock St parking lot probably lived before Christ was born on the other side of the world’. After extensive research, officials concluded the skeleton belonged to a Point Peninsula Native, 45 to 50 years of age, and that group lived all through this region. The remains were reinterred at Curve Lake First Nation Reserve on May 30th 1991.

So you may ask, as I did, where were the remains for the 36 years between finding them, and interring them?

In the 1960s, the remains were on display in museums around the world. This was normal practice for that time period. They were at the ROM, and the last place that they were displayed was at Peterborough Museum and Archives. The remains and the grave goods were on display until approximately 1983, where the Curator at Peterborough Museum and Archives advised that it was no longer appropriate. Even though the Brock Street Burial has been removed from public viewing, it was not until 1988 that Museum staff, with the consent of the Board of Museum Management, decided that the skeletal remains should be removed from the collection.

On May 30th 1991, the morning of the burial, a sweet grass ceremony was held at the Museum to purify Museum staff, the route to be taken, the burial containers, and the vehicle. A sweet grass ceremony was started at Curve Lake when the remains left the museum.

For the reburial to Curve Lake First Nation Reserve, an informal Feast of the Living was held at Curve Lake Community Centre. Chief (at the time) Jacobs described it, “So the feast began, all formed a circle with

four pipe carriers on their blankets leading. There was the smell of sweet grass and sage. They cleansed the people and the food they offered. The pipe carriers spoke to Grandfather, spoke of Mother Earth, hoping that the spirits understood that it may not be exactly right but they would do the best they could. They spoke of the break in the travel of the spirits and that tomorrow they would be on their way. The drummers and singers sang an honour song, the four pipes were passed around the circle to young, to old, to white, to Indian, to men, to women in kinship and the being of one purpose. After the meal, a plate of food was prepared for the spirits to take on their journey the next day.”

“This repatriation process has been viewed as precedent setting. It’s an emotion issue.”

In the Peterborough Precedent, written by Ken Doherty from Peterborough Museum & Archives written in 1991, the heart of the matter is discussed.

“This repatriation process has been viewed as precedent setting. It’s an emotional issue. Too often, museum professionals have been desensitized in their dealings with native skeletal remains. While they may no longer regard them as curiosities, they still tend to view them simply as accessions, specimens and interpretive material. By doing so, they have lost sight of the values and emotions that they readily equate with their own dead – like dignity, compassion, and perhaps most importantly, respect”, wrote Mr. Doherty. “It was a muggy, overcast morning. The grass was wet, the ground muddy. The birds were singing. At one quiet point in the service, the sun suddenly broke through the clouds and the atmosphere was charged. It was a deeply moving experience.”

“Mr. Doherty continues, “When this process started, there were no known precedent in Canada for this kind of under-taking. It has been learned subsequently, of course, that there have been many repatriations, especially of skeletal remains. But, not only have many been shrouded in secrecy, some were literally conducted in the dead of night.”

Eric Hanson, Heritage Resources Coordinator for the City of Peterborough wrote, “The story of the grave artifacts is not a pretty one. (It is) my understanding that back in the 1960s when the burial was first unearthed,

the grave goods were removed along with the remains. At some point, the remains and the grave goods became separated and the artifacts dropped off the radar screen. The ROM may have had them at some point or the archaeologist that did the work, but when the remains were repatriated and interred at Curve Lake, the grave goods were not with them.”

But that isn’t the end to this story. Erik Hanson explained, “In 2004, the city was refurbishing the same parking lot, and unearthed a small pocket of bone. It was analyzed, and while most of it was animal bone, a small number of bone fragments were identified as human. The City asked what the First Nations wanted to do with the remains. At the time, I thought that since it was almost certain that they were part of the remains found in the 1960s that the Chiefs

would want them interred in the grave with the other remains, but Chief (at that time) Knott said that unless it was 100% certain that they were the same person, the remains should be reinterred where they were found. The City agreed and redesigned the parking lot to create an Unapproved Aboriginal Cemetery designated under the Provincial Cemeteries Act. All parties signed a site disposition agreement and agreed that at a later date, the remains would be reinterred and a plaque commemorating the site would be installed.”

Anne Taylor, Curve Lake Historian, said ‘the plaque … seems appropriate when one considers the importance and likely social status of the individual re-interred at the site.“

Mykawartha.com did an article on Friday September 26, 2003 about the find. “Gordon Dibb with York North Archaeologists says carbon dating on the bones have discovered they are anywhere from the year 655 to 780. “They are small, like slivers, but they’re still human remains.” Mr. Dibb says there is little chance these fragments will go on display. “It just doesn’t happen anymore”.

So what is the lesson to be learned from this? Has there been a change in the Archaeological Community on how we treat human remains that are found?

Mr. Doherty summed it up by saying “Despite previous reference, there is hope for the Archaeological Community. The Museum Manager was recently asked to defend the museum’s actions at a graduate level class on Ethics in Archaeology at Trent University. The attitudes of the Professors in attendance probably reflect the broader community. Of the four, one openly supported repatriation of cultural material and especially native remains; one was still hedging her bets by sitting on the fence; one was adamantly opposed and argued that this trend – if it continued – would be the deathblow to pre-historic archaeology in Canada; and one had gone through radical conversion. He too had been adamantly opposed, but after attending the recent conference in Ottawa where the Task Force officially unveiled their recommendations, he left with a new respect for aboriginal concerns.”

Bill Ramp, the Chair of the Board of Museum Management for the Peterborough Centennial Museum & Archives best described it by saying “I think I can safely say that all who were involved in the process leading up to these ceremonies received very great gifts. We, at the Museum, were profoundly touched by the generosity with which the people of Curve Lake responded to our overtures. For a very small and long-overdue gesture of respect, we received a hand of friendship and gained a renewed appreciation for the vibrant and enduring culture and aspirations of the First Nations.”

What I have learned while researching for this article, is that when Indigenous human remains are found, they are given much more respect than back in the 1960’s. After all, this was a person whose home was the Kawarthas.

And that, is progress.

NOTE: A book has been published and released on Jan.22, 2019 documenting this story, “The Ancestors Speak: Stories from the Brock Street Burial”.

You can purchase it at TUARC, The Peterborough Museum and Archives, the Curve Lake Cultural Centre, Chapters and at the Trent Valley Archives for $20.

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