The Old Mill Site: Part of Kahnawake
Written by Jeremy Zafran on 10 May 2023
There have been some new developments in the Seigneury of Sault St. Louis (SSSL) Land Grievance, with attention focused on a parcel of land of approximately one (1) acre in size, within the town of Delson. “The Old Mill Site,” lot exists within the eastern boundary of the SSSL adjacent to the Turtle River and is recognized as belonging to Kahnawà:ke under the SSSL. In 1774, a mill was built at the site, later torn down in 1897. The land was leased to a neighbor by Kahnawà:ke Chiefs from the 1850s to 1897 with Indian Affairs requesting a surrender twice being refused on both occasions. Portfolio Chief Michael Delisle, Jr.:
“It’s a beautiful, pristine parcel of land that is part of Kahnàwa:ke, within the Seigneury and we’re taking steps to ‘activate it’ again and make it ours in terms of usage, again.”
In 1897, Indian Affairs leased the lot until the early 1900s, then the MCK leased to a neighbor into the 2000s, to which the MCK was receiving a symbolic $1 per year amount from the lease, a move that shows Kahnawà:ke’s long-standing tie to the lot. Delisle jr. saying he’s not sure when the breakdown of actual ownership of the land got lost in the shuffle:
“Honestly, we don’t know. We’ve asked the questions and haven’t gotten any answers yet, we had a legal search done and continue to do the research ourselves, but we’re asking both the municipality as well as the Federal and Provincial government how this ‘changed name’ and we’ll get to the bottom of it at the end of the day, but in essence it is ours and will continue to be ours, it’s never been surrendered.”
The MCK is engaging with Delson representatives on the use to the lot, including greater accessibility:
“The acceptability of it through the Mayor of Delson and the municipality is, I’ll say, ‘good’ at this point. We are looking to have people utilize it and have the area cleaned-up: it’s very hidden behind the old driveway and it needs to have a little bit of groundwork to make it accessible to our people, but overall the impression from the municipality is good.”
A possible widening of the road, installation of signage and an environmental site assessment to ensure the soil, vegetation, and water are safe for recreational activities. Once complete, the community will be invited to a ceremonial opening.
To hear more about the Old Mill Site, you can join Ratsénhaienhs Delisle Jr. and File Technician Rose-Ann Morris here, on K1037’s Tetewathá:ren, the Party line talk show on Thursday, May 18th with further information.
