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The Office of the Kahnawà:ke Kanien’kehá:ka Registry (OKKR) is inviting the community to attend two (2) upcoming information sessions that will provide a detailed overview of the application process for both recognition and residency on the Kahnawà:ke Kanien’kehá:ka Registry (KKR). The following sessions will be held at the Okwari Room, located on the second floor of the Kahnawake Services Complex: Session One on Wednesday, October 2^nd, from 1:30pm to 3:30pm; and Session Two to be held on Tuesday, October 29^th, from 6pm to 8pm.

The focus will be on the process for applying to be recognized on the KKR; obtaining Approved Kahnawà:ke Resident authorization; and applying for Residency Permits. Attendees will receive information about the upcoming launch of the ‘Complaints Process’ for eviction of an individual in violation of the Kahnawake Residency Law.

A special flag football clinic in collaboration with the Canadian Football League’s Montréal Alouettes has been announced for the community. The Sports and Recreation Unit of the Mohawk Council of Kahnawà:ke event is a unique opportunity to experience the excitement of flag football and meet the stars of the Montréal Alouettes at the Kahnawà:ke Sports Complex field on Monday, September 23^rd at 5pm.

The event schedule will include the Al’s arriving in town and a few welcoming speeches. There will be a warm-up, small stations for skills and drills, team selections and preparation and finally the flag football matches. After the games are done, the Al’s players will be available for autographs and photos.

All local youth are welcome to participate with registration starting today until 4pm in-person at the Sports and Recreation Unit Offices in the Sports Complex. Office hours are Monday-Friday 8:30am to 4pm.

After decades of service at the Kateri Memorial Hospital Centre, the hospital is bidding adieu to a familiar face. Valerie Diabo is the Executive Director:

“Shawn Montour is retiring after 47 years at KMHC. He has worked in every building throughout Kateri’s history.”

Diabo stating that with forty-seven years of dedication, Montour is beyond appreciated:

“Shawn is the person that we go to. If there’s anything with the building, we go to Shawn because he knows the history, he has the knowledge and he’s going fix it for us. We’re going to miss that about Shawn.”

Diabo saying that Montour shown incredible loyalty to KMHC, and has been a stalwart throughout the years. He began his career in the original building and moved on to the trailer and, finally, the current facility:

“Shawn didn’t want anything to celebrate, so he’s agreed to put out this statement in acknowledging his 47 years of KMHC, which were very happy. We’re going to sign a card for him and wish him well on his retirement.”

The ramp to the 20 east towards downtown Montreal after the Mercier Bridge will be closed tonight from 10pm to 5 am Wednesday. One of 2 lanes on the 20-west ramp towards the airport will be closed during the same time period. On the Montreal side before and after the span, the roadway will be reduced to one lane in either direction for road markings. That closure will run from 11 pm until 5 am Wednesday morning.

The Native Women’s Shelter of Montreal and Resilience Montreal, in response to the deaths of six Indigenous people across Canada in the past 2 weeks will be holding a vigil in their memory As the National Day for Truth and Reconciliation approaches, and the 10th anniversary of the release of the ‘TRC’ findings, the groups say that progress towards change remains insufficient.

In response to these recent deaths, the vigil will be held tomorrow, Wednesday, September 18^th, at Place du Canada starting at 6pm. The vigil will honor the lives lost and to demand an end to the violence. The event aims to highlight the urgent need to stop the rising violence against Indigenous people and break the unacceptable silence surrounding it. Renowned activist and filmmaker, Ellen Gabriel, from Kanehsatà:ke, will be one of the speakers at the event.

The vigil organizers are asking for other communities in the BIPOC communities to stand in solidarity.

The commencement  Construction of Phase I of the Covered Rink Project. The Sports and Recreation Unit of the Mohawk Council of Kahnawà:ke making the  announcement, stating that the work is underway as of today, with Rice Mohawk Landscaping serving as the General Contractor for this phase. Roiatate Horn is the Director of Sports and Recreation:

“Today we have Rice Mohawk Landscaping on-scene, they are delivering fencing and cones and they’ll be starting the mobilization with the expectation that work will be commencing soon thereafter, probably this week or early next week to actually have construction starting.”

Horn on the short-term plans:

“For Phase I, the delivery goal is to have a rink delivered by March 31st, 2025, possibly earlier. We want the community to be aware that there will be some parking issues, but we’re working with our contractor to deal with those. We’re excited to get this started up!”

The project is expected to be completed within eight (8) to ten (10) weeks.Initial construction activities will include securing the work site through the installation of fencing and appropriate signage, followed by the clearing of the area, which involves the removal of tree stumps and brush disposal. Soil testing results have confirmed that all samples meet A-quality standards, ensuring environmental safety. Parking at the Arena rink will be limited throughout the construction period.

The agenda items for the Summer Community Meeting taking place tomorrow, Wednesday, September 18, 2024, at the Golden Age Club has been released by the Mohawk Council of Kahnawake. On the agenda: Land Allotments; Portfolio Allocations; Community Meeting frequency; Launch of Priority-Setting Survey; Media Relations –  Confidentiality; and File Updates. The Summer Community Meeting will begin at 7pm.

The Lockdown at KSS has been lifted. It was lifted at 11:37 am. Students are being sent home as part of early dismissal. The Kahnawake Peacekeepers told K1037 News that they were on scene at Survival School after a call came in to them at 10:29 this morning about a safety concern. A short while later, the lockdown was put in-place. The peacekeepers working on a threat made by a student, conducted a room-by-room search and determined that all was clear and safe. The student was immediately located and detained in a secure place. KEC will work alongside the Peacekeepers to determine any necessary discipline or legal action with counselling services now offered by the KEC for both students and staff. KEC saying that the Elementary schools were unaffected.

46 years ago, today, Kahnawàke students walked out of their classes at Howard S. Billings. It led to community-based education and the eventual creation of Kahnawake Survival School. Keith Leclaire remembers the day in 1978:

“I was in CEGEP, so we came back and we started doing the walk-back from Howard S. Billings to ‘Survival.’ It was a very remarkable day, because we remember the discussion walking back and more importantly Bill 101 was starting, the French language issue began in 1976 and this was 1978 and Kahnawàke made a stand. The bottom line is that we asserted ourselves the way we always do.”

The KMHC is hosting a Blood Drive on October 8th. It will be an extension of the Eastern Door’s Annual Blood Drive. Steve Bonspiel is the Publisher of the Eastern Door. He says it was time:

“I think it was time, when it was started, this would have been it’s 21st annual, so, when it was started way back when, Kenneth Deer and Charlene Sherman were instrumental to get a blood drive, a regular blood drive here in Kahnawake. For a newspaper to run it and that was 2 times a year and to organize it and to offer everything that comes with it is a lot of work, it just made sense. The hospital is equipped for that, the hospital is always dealing with health issues every single day.”

Donations will be collected on October 8^th between the hours of 1:30 and 7:30 pm at the Bingo Hall off of the 138. Walk-ins will be accepted, but you are encouraged to call Hema Quebec at: 1-800-343-7264, to book a time for your donation.