Bank of Montreal replaces plaques commemorating killing of Iroquois chief

A plaque is seen on the Bank of Montreal building in Montreal, on August 3, 2017. (Paul Chiasson / THE CANADIAN PRESS)

Two stone markers on the facade of a Bank of Montreal building in the city's tourist district that commemorated the murder of an Iroquois chief in 1644 were replaced on Tuesday.

Members of Montreal's First Nations community had been calling for the removal of the stones for years because they felt they negatively depicted Indigenous Peoples.

One English-language and one French-language plaque were located on the BMO building in the historic Place d'Armes square, across from a statue of Paul de Chomedey de Maisonneuve, founder of Montreal.

The markers told the story of how Maisonneuve killed the Iroquois chief with his own hands in March 1644.

Workers had removed the old stones around noon today and were getting ready to replace them with new, less provocative plaques.

The new stone markers now say the city's founders first met the Iroquois around the Place d'Armes area and defeated them in 1644.