Caughnawaga’s Historical Hospital

This is a vintage postcard view of the “Hospital at Caughnawaga, Que. Indian Reserve“.

 

I don’t know whether the postcard depicts the hospital mentioned below by Devine, or whether it is the hospital that was established in the 1930s.

“In 1905, a hospital was established in Caughnawaga and placed in charge of competent nurses whose skill and Christian charity are at the service of all.  In this new institution are treated not
merely the ordinary ills to which humanity is heir, but also others one would hardly look for in an
Indian village. The Iroquois no longer hunt as their ancestors did; barely a fifth of the entire
population till the soil; the rest prefer to work on steel bridges and live perched in the air at the
top of lofty structures. In this risky trade they have specialized in recent years, and the accidents
that occur show the opportuneness of a local hospital which was not needed in less strenuous years.
The little row of graves in their village cemetery, recalling the Quebec bridge disaster of 1907, in
which forty of them lost their lives, are reminders that as long as they are engaged in such employments they are not immune from danger to life and limb.” 

Excerpt:  E.J. Devine, Historical Caughnawaga

For a view of Kahnawake’s modern-day, Native-controlled, Kateri Memorial Hospital, please visit –

 Aiesewataró:roke Karahstánion

and choose slide 26 of the Structures section.

Related Posts:

The Iroquois of Kahnawake