Exploring Montreal’s Indigenous Heritage with Skawanoti

Nestled in Montreal’s north end, along the Rivière des Prairies between the island of Montreal and the North Shore, lies the neighbourhood of Ahuntsic. It’s graced with beautiful walking trails and parks, including the northernmost section of the Ville de Montreal Trail, a section of the Trans Canada Trail.  

For those looking to explore the area, an immersive experience awaits: a self-guided audio walking tour that follows the river, taking listeners through several local parks — and a reflection on the island’s Indigenous history. 

We spoke with Wendat playwright and author Jocelyn Sioui about Skawanoti — which translates as “river behind the island” — an audio journey along sites of interest, and an interactive website and map, which explores the neighbourhood’s history as the site of the last Indigenous village on the island of Montreal. 

Photo credit: Amy Schwartz

A personal journey for the author to bring Indigenous stories to life 

“Skawanoti is a story of the First Nations people along the Rivière des Prairies. We’ve made the Indigenous people invisible, but I told myself that it’s not because we don’t see ourselves that we don’t want to be heard,” explains Jocelyn. 

“I wanted to make the invisible visible. I wanted to explore the history that I didn’t learn about at school or in my family. A lot of important Indigenous stories are not common knowledge — most people have heard of Louis Hébert or Jeanne Mance, but very few people have heard of Indigenous leaders from the same era.” 

Jocelyn says that although it’s been established for the past 300 years that there was a First Nations village in what is now the neighbourhood of Ahuntsic, we don’t talk about it, and it’s not widely known.  

Photo credit: Amy Schwartz

Delving into history and storytelling along the Rivière des Prairies 

Blending history, storytelling and reflections, the Skawanoti experience begins at Parc Nicolas-Viel, along the Trans Canada Trail. The park is the site of the island of Montreal’s first Catholic mass, on June 24, 1615, in the presence of Samuel de Champlain. A monument in the park marking the occasion also notes that in 1625, the missionary Nicolas Viel and his companion Auhaïtsic, (the namesake of the neighbourhood of Ahuntsic) accidentally fell into the river and drowned. 

 As Jocelyn Sioui explains in the first audio clip, some believed “Auhaïtsic” was a young Wendat man who was travelling with Nicolas Viel, while others believe he was French but whose name was given to him by the Wendat.  

Farther on the tour, at Parc Jeanne Sauvé, the author explores traces of Indigenous history dating back 4,000 years along the river — or to put it in context, at the time the pyramids were being built in Egypt. As the audio segment states, “Witness to commerce, politics and war, Skawanoti is the place that ties these stories together, for better or worse.” 

Photo credit: Amy Schwartz

An opportunity to reflect and imagine 

At each of the sites of interest included in Skawanoti, you’ll find a sign identified by a symbol of a yellow perch. Each sign includes a short explanatory text, along with a QR code that links to an audio clip, ranging in duration from one to ten minutes. Narrated by the author, the audio tour explores Indigenous history, storytelling and culture, along with a look at the neighbourhood’s — and the island of Montreal’s — centuries-long history, from its history as an Indigenous settlement to the times of New France and to the present.  

The full Skawanoti audio tour includes 12 stops over approximately three kilometers, which takes listeners along scenic waterfront trails and historic spots in the neighbourhood. 

It offers listeners a chance to not only reflect on the area’s less-known Indigenous history, but also to question how history comes together — who decides what we learn in school and in popular lore, and why? 

An audio tour is “a great medium,” says Jocelyn. “I wrote these vignettes after having seen the locations. We talk about Quebecois heroes — as would be expected — but we also have to talk collectively about our Indigenous heroes, as a part of our history.” 

Photo credit: Amy Schwartz

Catch Skawanoti along the Trans Canada Trail until October 2025 or listen to the full audio tour on the Skawanoti website. Please note it is only available in French. 

Explore our interactive map

Main photo credit: Amy Schwartz