In 1892, Charles Hill-Tout did extensive excavations at the site for the Art, Historical, and Scientific Association of Vancouver, stimulating study of other middens in the region.

[4][5][6] American Museum of Natural History archeologist, Harlan Ingersoll Smith, participating in the Jesup North Pacific Expedition from 1897 to 1899, mined the Marpole site for skeletal remains.

In March 2012, members disrupted planned digging, claiming there was no consultation prior to the permit being issued in December, and in protest over the continued lack of dialogue.

Musqueam is pleased that the proposed development is no longer authorized by the permits issued by the Province and that the ancestral remains are to be restored to their original condition.

Their disturbance caused great anguish to the community and the proposed development would have desecrated an ancient and sacred burial place and destroyed a site precious to the Musqueam as representing one of the few links to our heritage extending back thousands of years.