KMHC’s 40th Anniversary

The Kateri Memorial Hospital Centre will be celebrating a milestone anniversary tomorrow. 40 years ago, April 24^th, 1984, was the day of the signing of the historic agreement between Kahnawà:ke and Quebec resulting in the construction of a new hospital. It replaced the original facility that was opened in 1905. The document was signed as a nation-to-nation agreement after intense political negotiations between the Mohawk Council of Kahnawà:ke (MCK) and Quebec’s Parti Québécois government headed by Premier René Lévesque. On Tetewhatharen today original signatories to the deal, Franklin Williams and Donald Horne along with Wendy Skye were in studio with host Joe Delaronde discussing the significance to the signing. Horne on the importance of the agreement for the community:

“That was the beginning of showing that we deserve the best, just like any other municipality. Just because we are a Native community, people talk, ‘well, you know we didn’t have to have the same kind of facilities,” but we deserved it and we should keep that in mind that we never accept 2nd best.”

Wendy Skye on what the 40^th anniversary means to her:

“I don’t know where the time went, but it means that in all of the years since, a lot of things have changed, we moved from being more treatment oriented to health prevention and promotion, all the services that we have extra that we didn’t have before, it’s just to celebrate that and all the work that the people put in through all the years, it’s a huge celebration and a nice time to put that into history for all, especially for the younger people, to know.”

Williams on persistence and perseverance:

“You have a dream, pursue it, be persistent be patient but have confidence in yourself and work as a team. I know when we fought with some of the bureaucrats and even some of the ministers saying, we’re here, we’re going to  be here forever. you guys are temporary, you’ve got a 2 or 3 year mandate then you’re gone. So, confidence, confidence in ourselves confidence in our community, we have the strength to carry forward our institutions into the future. We may die, but the institutions carry forward, it’s got the history, it’s got the dynamics behind it, the strength of our community is there and all our institutions.”

Kim Martin, KMHC Chairperson of the Board of Directors saying that: “The 1984 Hospital Agreement is a cornerstone to everything that has followed, not only did it provide the community with a brand-new hospital, but it created a new and better working relationship with the province that continues to this day.”