Atikamekw baby Maxime's remains identified after 72 years; reburial planned for Manawan

Baby Maxime Ottawa, an Atikamekw boy who died on October 5, 1954, at just six months old, has been identified after more than seven decades, his family confirmed this week.

Maxime was evacuated from Manawan to a Quebec City hospital for medical treatment in 1954 and spent 43 days hospitalized while his parents were not permitted to accompany him. His parents learned of his death two years later and were never able to hold a funeral or burial according to their traditions. Maxime was placed in a common grave at Saint-Charles Cemetery in Quebec City.

The family discovered his burial location decades after his death. Quebec Superior Court authorized the exhumation on October 1, 2025, to allow forensic testing to confirm identity and enable reburial in Manawan if confirmed. Exhumation work took place October 14–19, 2025, and was complicated by the presence of several other Indigenous people buried in the same and neighbouring plots. One body was transferred to Quebec's Laboratoire de sciences judiciaires et de médecine légale for testing. The family received confirmation of identity in late September 2026.

"On October 26, 2026, baby Maxime will finally return home to Manawan to be with his mother, his father and his brothers and sisters," said Manon Ottawa, a family member. "Even though we cannot erase the past, today we can offer him the dignity, respect and rightful place he deserves among his own people."

Jacqueline Flamand-Ottawa added: "After years of tireless work, we finally have an answer today, and we are also looking forward to bringing baby Maxime home."

Olivia Malenfant, the lawyer representing the family, noted the broader context: "This lack of information concerning the fate of a loved one, most often a child, is a reality that many Indigenous families have faced." The exhumation from the common grave marks the first of its kind authorized by Quebec Superior Court.