Category: Featured

After 23 years, Lynn Jacobs is wrapping-up her final day as Director of Kahnàwake Environment Protection Services (KEPO) today:

“I’m really proud and it was really a team effort, what we’ve achieved, what we’ve accomplished up to this state was just a testament to all the great people that are working at KEPO and what we’ve been able to work towards together with the same goal and initiative to protect Our Mother, The Earth.”

Jacobs says that KEPO has grown by leaps and bounds especially in the last 5 years:

“We were a tiny team of 3, 4 people for many, many years under the Lands Unit and we’ve been fortunate to build-up the unit since 2018 and now we’re 14 staff currently doing many different projects and initiatives and really working hard to protect the environment in the community.”

Jacobs is moving on to become the Director of Programs for the Jane Goodall Institute of Canada. Focusing on programs related to climate change, bio-diversity, environmental inequities and Indigenous issues.

The Kanien’kehá:ka Onkwawén:na Raotitióhkhwa Language & Cultural Center and its partners say that preliminary work at the site for the new Multi-Purpose Building that will house the Cultural Center, Museum and Theatre will begin next week. Ietsénhaienhs Jessica Lazare who is on the Heritage Portfolio, MCK Technician Trina Diabo and KORLCC Executive Director Lisa Phillips were all guests on Tetewathara today. Diabo discussed the project’s timeline:

“This project began in 2016, it began with just discussing if this project, getting a new building for the cultural center and the museum. It grew and the theatre became a partner and in 2018 we did a one year extensive feasibility study and since then, in July 2019, we started putting in financial proposals for the capital costs of the building and tourism has become an integral part of the project.”

Work is being done in preparation at the site adjacent to the Kahnàwake Survival School for the official ground-breaking and construction, which could begin as early as next spring.  Trees and brush will be removed starting the week of September 26 and completed by end of October. Lazare saying the site needs to be ready to start the construction and gives props to Trina’s efforts to this point:

“There’s no waiting for us, we work and especially Trina, she puts in the work: there’s no waiting for her. She pushes everything, she makes sure that everything is done properly, there’s no waiting on anything to get anything done, if something can be done while we’re waiting on something, let’s do it. She’s been really, really good and working really, really hard on all the different pieces up until this point before I got on and while I’ve got on, all of the applications for funding, all of the different communications with funders and trying to secure funding from the different proponents, she’s very humble.”

The Team has approached knowledgeable community members to assist in identifying plans and uses for the trees to be removed, to carry out ceremonies required for tree removal, and to help identify medicinal or invasive plants. If medicines are found, they will be required to be dug up and re-planted elsewhere.

In the spirit of encouraging community members to compost, The Waste Management Department of the MCK is holding a draw for those who participate in the Community Compost Collection. Each week, one participant that is composting with the ‘CCC” will be entered to win a $50 Shop Kahnawà:ke gift certificate. And there’s a creative way to enter while helping the environment: you are asked to simply write your name and number on a piece of paper, tape it to your compost bin and when it’s your collection day your name will be put into a draw.

Making a dent in garbage disposal, Waste Management says you can enter each week. Winning names will be drawn every Friday.

A soil sampling campaign will be conducted throughout the territory to better understand the concentrations of naturally occurring metals in the soil. The Kahnawà:ke Environment Protection Office (KEPO) saying that the sample areas will be distributed across common lands with the work set to include the digging of shallow test pits with a hand auger or shovel along with soil sample collection. All pits will be restored before the end of each workday.

Inspection and maintenance work will require the closure of the right lane on the Montreal-bound Mercier Bridge, between the second superstructure and the Lasalle side of the span. According to MCK and Transports Quebec, the lane closure will take place tonight (Tuesday) between 9pm until 5am on Wednesday morning.

Darris Jones, Chaz Norton, Stone McGregor and Bear Martins of Kahnawake helped the Haudenosaunee team capture the Under-16 World Lacrosse Championship.  They beat Canada 12-9 in the Gold Medal final in Cattaraugus on Monday. Al Jones of Kahnawake was the team’s Defensive Coach. “Oh wow, I’m still on a championship high with a smile on my face this morning, Al Jones, of Kahnawake, said. “It’s just a great honour to be part of the whole organization and to win it on home soil of  Cattaraugus it felt really good. The fact that we beat Canada or even the United States and Poland is just great because our player pool is nowhere near theirs because we pick from our Six Nations and we came out victorious.”

Jones says that the future of Lacrosse in Kahnawake looks bright.

“That’s huge,” Jones said. “That just shows the development of Kahnawake’s Lacrosse and the youth and how far it’s coming and how guys in town, we have a small population and we still compete at the highest level.  It is great to see these boys come together with other Onkwehonwe boys and win a title, a world title.”

The Mohawk Council of Kahnawà:ke administrative offices will be closed on Monday, September 5th for the Labour Day holiday. Regular household Recycling pickup service and Compost collection will continue as usual and you are asked to have your bin curbside by 7am. As the Town Garage will be closed, all cardboard drop-offs will be postponed until Tuesday, September 7^th. The Transfer Depot will be open with all essential services remaining in operation. As for regular business hours, they will resume as of Tuesday, September 6^th at 8:30am.

The 138 East from the Mercier, that ramp heading towards the 20 East and downtown Montreal will be closed completely at different intervals this weekend, with a detour in-place via the 20 West for 1st avenue, where you will be able to make a detour and return to the 20 east. Clement entrance to the 20 will close at the same timeframe with a detour via Lafleur. The 138 East starting at the Clement Exit, the closure will take effect tonight at 11:59 pm until tomorrow, Saturday at 8am. Sunday’s closure begins at 11pm and will last until 5am labour day, Monday.

The former Senior Policy Analyst for the Environment, Lands & Waters Branch of the Assembly of First Nations. Is now the person set to lead KEPO. The Mohawk Council of Kahnawà:ke announcing the appointment of Benjamin Green-Stacey, selected for the position of Director of the Kahnawà:ke Environment Protection Office (KEPO). Green-Stacey is continuing his ongoing efforts to learn more Kanien’kéha and will officially begin his new role on Tuesday, September 6th. There will be a cross-over period of four days, during which he will receive an orientation by outgoing Director Lynn Jacobs, who is leaving the position on Friday, September 9th, after a stellar career.