Hochelaga (village) Archaeological Site

Hochelaga was a pre-contact Iroquoian village on the Island of Montreal recorded by the French explorer Jacques Cartier in 1535. It is significant as one of the earliest Indigenous settlements on the island documented in European accounts.

There are no visible remains to visit on site; understanding of Hochelaga comes from Cartier’s account and later archaeological research. Interpretive displays and exhibits about the village and the Indigenous history of the island are available at Montreal museums, notably the Pointe-à-Callière Museum in Old Montreal.

Cartier’s 1535 visit is the main historical anchor for Hochelaga in written records; the village was inhabited at the time of European contact and disappeared from the historical record later in the 16th century. Scholars have proposed causes such as population movement and disease, but the exact reasons and timeline remain matters of research.

Hochelaga’s location is within the footprint of modern Montreal, on the Island of Montreal near the slopes of Mount Royal and the present-day downtown area.

• First European account: First recorded in European sources during Jacques Cartier’s 1535 voyage to the St. Lawrence, when he visited the site and described the settlement.
• Site condition: No visible village ruins survive in the modern urban fabric; its location is under present-day Montreal and is reconstructed mainly through historical records and museum exhibits.

Hochelaga’s reputed location is within modern Montreal; to visit sites and museums dealing with the history of Cartier’s visit, start from downtown Montreal or the Maisonneuve district and consult local museum listings (Pointe-à-Callière, McCord Museum) for exhibitions.

• When reading about Hochelaga, look for primary excerpts from Jacques Cartier's 1535 accounts-his descriptions are the closest contemporary record of the village.
• Combine historical reading with a walk through present-day Hochelaga-Maisonneuve to sense how colonial mapping erased and repurposed Indigenous landscapes.