Category: Featured

Indian Day School Settlement Information Kiosks are on the way, The Mohawk Council of Kahnawà:ke making the announcement that the Kiosks will be held at the Kahnawake Business Complex (KBC) main entrance/foyer, adjacent to the Canada Post Office, on the next 4 Wednesdays: July 12^th, 19^th, 26^th and August 2^nd. The hours for the Kiosks will all be from 9am until 4pm.

Indian Day School Settlement Coordinator Louise Mayo will be present to answer questions and assist anyone who requires help with their Indian Day School claims. You can reach out to Mayo directly at: 514-793-0662 or via email at louise.mayo@mck.ca.

If you want to speak directly with the Deloitte Claims Centre to confirm or check on the status of your claim, you can reach out to the Deloitte Call Centre, that is open Monday to Friday from 8am-8pm at 1-888-221-2898.

A rendering of the new cultural arts center in Kahnawake has been released by the architects. Charleen Schurman is the owner of PlanIt Consulting and Communications which is behind the fundraising efforts:

“After a long wait we do have brand new illustrations from the architects of the new Kahnawake Cultural Arts Center and we’re really excited. The building committee has been working long and hard on this there were a lot of amendments that had to be made in order for it to accommodate the new budget. I’m sure that everybody who sees it is going to agree that it’s going to be an amazing building.”

The plans have changed somewhat over the years, especially due to a significant increase in costs brought on by inflation and the pandemic:

“People will be really happy to see the outdoor amphitheater which was not on the original plan, it kind of came a little bit later, and then it was uncertain because the budget went up so much, post-Covid. But the architects and the building committee were able to figure out a way to do it and it looks wonderful.”

Schurman says they plan to officially break ground in the fall:

“Shovels in ground this fall and the estimated time for construction is 2 years, so it’ll be the Fall of 2025, barring any major problems with construction.”

A pending class action lawsuit settlement against the Government of Canada for the implementation of the Indian Boarding Home Program. The program, according to The Mohawk Council of Kahnawà:ke, placed children from First Nations and Inuit communities with private families (usually non-Indigenous) to stay for the purpose of attending school, was found to create an environment where children were abused, harassed, and suffered other harms. The prolonged absence from family and community caused loss of culture, language and community bonding. Those included in the proposed settlement include, the Primary Class: those individuals who were placed in private homes, during the period of September 1^st, 1951, and June 30^th, 1992, for the purpose of attending school, not including placements for post-secondary education. Individuals placed after June 3^rd, 1992, are eligible if Canada was responsible for their placement. And the Family Class: members of the individual’s family who lost the guidance, care, or companionship they could expect from the individual.

Although this class action suit is not related to the Indian Day Schools Settlement, Louise Mayo is available to answer questions and/or assisting anyone who wants to participate and receive compensation from the lawsuit. Mayo can be contacted at 514-793-0662 or via email at louise.mayo@mck.ca.

Looks like the waters okay again. An unsafe water advisory for Recreation Bay has been lifted. On Wednesday, the Environmental Health Services (EHS) of Kahnawà:ke Shakotiia’takehnhas Community Services water test results showed E. coli bacteria levels to be above the safety threshold for safe use. Follow-up tests have proven that the bacteria levels are now within acceptable limits. As the water in Recreation Bay is now deemed safe for use, the Sports and Recreation Unit of the Mohawk Council of Kahnawà:ke (MCK) is re-opening the beach. Ratsénhaienhs Ryan Montour was the guest on Tetewatharen, the Partyline talkshow on MCK Friday’s, today on K1037, announcing the good news live on-air and in time for the weekend’s Pow-Wow. The Public Safety Division (PSD) of the MCK saying that the area remains as: ‘swim-at-your-own risk.’ With the community’s health and safety paramount, ongoing sampling of the water quality will continue until the fall.

Expect a complete ramp closure from the 138 east from the Mercier bridge for the 20 west and the airport. Expect lengthy delays. Then Saturday at 7 am until Sunday at 11pm, the 138 east will see 2 of 3 lanes closed from Clement to the Ville-St-Pierre interchange, with the Clement entrance closed completely from Friday at 11:59 until Monday at 5am.

A couple of professional goalies from Kahnawake are coming back to the community to help groom the next generation of stars defending the Lacrosse nets. Angus Goodleaf, along with Teioshontathe McComber of the Georgia Swarm, and Club 24 are holding a free goalie clinic on Saturday at the Kahnawake Sports Complex. Neil McComber is an advisor for the Kahnawake Mohawks Minor Lacrosse Association:

“Angus Goodleaf, one of our hometown professional players is coming back to give lessons for our young goalies in the minors system, Club 24 is sponsoring this event and they approached the Kahnawake Mohawks Minor Lacrosse Association with this initiative. They’re hoping to get all the young goalies out there to take some lessons from Angus Goodleaf as well as Teioshontathe McComber’s going to be present.”

The clinic schedule runs from: 9:00 am -10:00 am for U7 -U9; 10:00 am -11:30 am for U11-U13; and 12:00 pm -1:30 pm for U15-U17.

This might not help this weekend’s Pow Wow. Highway 138 towards Kahnawake will be completely closed from Clement to the span starting this Friday at 11:59 pm to Saturday at 7 am. Then again Sunday at 11 pm to Monday at 5 am. The Clement entrance will be completely closed all weekend. As well, the ramp from the 138 west for the 20 west  will close completely at 11:59 pm Friday until Monday at 5 am.

The Public Safety Division of the Mohawk Council of Kahnawà:ke says that Kahnawà:ke Shakotiia’takehnhas Community Services’ Environmental Health Services have tested and detected elevated levels of E. coli in Tioweró:ton and now at Recreation Bay. KSCS announcing midday that Recreation Bay Beach is closed for reasons of health and safety due to high levels of E. coli. Recent water sampling by technicians has revealed a rise in E. coli and is recommending the closure of the beach until levels return to what is considered acceptable for swimming and recreation. There are always certain levels of bacteria in water, but today’s high levels currently make it unsafe for swimming. Although technicians will be testing a second time this week in preparation for Pow-wow weekend, improvements to the water quality are only expected once there has been a significant amount of rainfall.

As a result of previous tests in Tioweró:ton, health Services is advising that people should not swim in the area of the First Bridge, Second Bridge, or Falls Area until further notice. The Campsite Bridge Area is still considered safe to swim at this time. The water will be re-tested once there has been a 24-hour period with no rainfall.

Cadaver dogs’ findings of potential human remains at Montreal’s old Royal Vic on June 15th, were presented to Quebec Superior Court Justice, Gregory Moore, yesterday. The discovery is a huge development in the Kanien’kehá:ka Kahnistensera’s opposition to construction on the site since 2015. The search was conducted as part of an agreement between the group and McGill, to investigate the potential presence of unmarked graves in an area the university wants to redevelop. One of the Mohawk Mothers, Kahentinetha, that there’s a lot of work left to be done:

“It’s a long fight, it’s going to go on for a while and we got a tremendous decision from the judge. He does tale into account the way we present the case which is through the Kaianerekowa (or Great Law of Peace)  and the way we see things. We told him, we need to find these children and we ask the spirit of these children to help us, to guide us, to find us.” 

Kahentinetha says there’s more there than people may realize:

“No argument about it, there were human remains found, at least so far. We now have to go beyond that, so, that’s where we’re at right now.”

The Kanien’kehá:ka Kahnistensera will be back to present their next steps on July 14th.

The 138 ramp for the 20 west will be completely closed this weekend from 1 am Saturday to 5 am on Monday. As well, the 20 west ramp that heads from downtown towards the 138 and the Mercier bridge will be closed from 1 am to 8 am on Saturday.