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Icebreaking operations are now getting underway in Kahnawà:ke on the St. Lawrence Seaway.

“The Icebreaker is scheduled sometime today to come through Kahnawà:ke and it’s very important for community members to realize that once it goes through the ice will become unstable especially in the Bay area,” said Atiesa Foot, the Emergency Management Technician Officer with the Public Safety Division. “We are requesting that Kahnawà:keron:non refrain from going out on the ice.”

The icebreaker, which is in St Lambert now (11:30 am), travels very quickly during its operation. The Hovercraft icebreaking vessel is currently working in Chateauguay.

The Seaway is scheduled to begin full operation next Thursday.

After a two year absence the Echoes of a Proud Nation Pow Wow is returning to Kahnawake. The final decision was made at a Tuesday night meeting of the organizers. According to Lynne Norton, secretary of the organizing committee, there has been a lot of interes, both inside and outside of the community, in reviving the Pow Wow.

“I’ve been getting numerous enquiries about it. A lot from town wondering if we would have a Pow Wow or not.”

The answer we now know is, yes. and according to Lynne Norton it should be relatively unrestricted.

“If masking is still mandatory then yes we will be asking people to wear their mask. Other than that, it would be optional.”

Nevertheless Norton says the decision was not automatic.

“I thought it would be more clear cut but people do have concerns. People are still leery. They know the virus is still around. and we realize it’s going to be around for awhile. So we had to talk it through.”

The Echoes of a Proud Nation Pow Wow. July 9 and 10. On Tekakwitha Island.

Less than a day after announcing that 90 rain barrels will be given away to community members, the Kahnawake Environment Protection Office says they are all accounted for.

Marina Gosselin is the Environmental Projects Coordinator for Climate Change at KEPO, she says they received over 260 applications for the rain barrels which they gave away on a first come first served basis. She says the benefits of collecting rain water off your roof are immeasurable.

“By collecting rainwater we conserve ground water. We save energy,” Gosselin said. “We can use that water for gardening. Some people use it during drought conditions. It’s just a better way to promote sustainable gardening. And sometimes it helps encourage people for gardening to promote food sovereignty.”

Five days after the recycling truck was taken off the roads for emergency repairs, it is now back on the road as of this morning.

“The truck is back on the road,” Iotshatena:wi Reed, Communications at the Waste Management Department, told K1037  News. “Everyone can put out their blue bin, if it’s full. A reminder to put your bin out at 7 in the morning with the logo facing the road. That way it is easier for the truck to pick up your bin.”

Be prepared to lose an hour of sleep ‘springing forward’ Saturday night into Sunday morning. Daylight saving time comes to an end at 2am Sunday and this marks a perfect opportunity for you to think about safety. According to the Kahnawake Fire Brigade it is a great reminder to think about fire safety. Whishe Stacey is a Captain with the KFB:

“I think a lot of times people assume that it’s on there, it’s on the ceiling, it’s fine as long as it’s not making any noise, there’s absolutely nothing to do with it. It’s one of the things that I try to educate people on, it’s more than just a ceiling ornament. It’s important to make sure that they work. We had a fire over the winter where it was proven that it saved this family’s life. Simply because it went off and woke-up one of the individuals in the room in time for him to notice what was going on and do something about it and in all likelihood that’s what saved the house as well.”

The Kahnawà:ke Peacekeepers, in partnership with the Kahnawà:ke Fire Brigade, retired officers, and the National Hockey League Player’s Association (NHLPA), have announced the ‘By the Rapids River Hockey Project,’ geared towards improving the mental and physical health of Kahnawake youth.

The NHLPA donated 25 sets of hockey equipment that will be presented to successful applicants. Applications will be distributed to Kahnawà:ke schools with completed applications needing to be returned to the child’s school before April 1^st. Eligible candidates must have the desire and the willingness register for minor hockey in the 2022/2023 season, be under the age of 18 and be a resident of Kahnawà:ke.

For students attending outside schools, applications can be picked up and returned to the Peacekeeper station.

One of the principal fundraisers for the Kateri Memorial Foundation (KMF), has been delayed by a month. Originally scheduled for this coming Saturday, March 12th, the Golden Ticket raffle has been pushed to Saturday, April 16^th. Carla Skye, the President of the KMF Board of Directors says COVID-19 restrictions have delayed ticket sales.

“We only had half sold. As of, when everything just started opening back up we still had to sell half the tickets,” Skye said. “But our volunteers have come out to help and they are doing amazing. Tickets are being sold every day at Tewatohnhi’saktha lobby from 10 am to 2 pm. There’s a volunteer sitting there selling tickets.”

$50 000 dollars is being given away, including the top prize of $25 000. Skye says more details are still being worked out. All tickets that were sold previously will be honoured for April’s draw.

The MCK’s Housing Unit has released the results of two recent surveys for public viewing. The surveys were conducted in December 2021 and January 2022, with a notable high participation rate, with a 358 total for both surveys. The survey summaries showing that 63% of respondents want access to housing services within three (3) years while 50% want home ownership via building or rent-to-equity programs. Additionally, the majority of respondents – at 70% – indicated that they could afford a minimum of $500 – $650 per month for housing. Survey results show that past housing clients rated the programs and client service received with a generally fair overall rating with a correlation between the quality of the program based on the quality of service that was provided by the employee.

The data provided by the surveys will guide the Housing Unit re-structuring strategy moving forward with the overall goal of continuing the improvement of services for the community. Survey results can be accessed at www.kahnawake.com/housing.

The Mohawk Council of Kahnawà:ke is seeking a community member who will serve on the Kahnawà:ke Peacekeepers Ethics Committee.  The mandate for the Peacekeeper Ethics Committee role requires that it: “consider complaints made by any person against one or more members of the Kahnawà:ke Peacekeepers and to resolve those complaints using principles and processes set out in the Kahnawà:ke Peacekeepers Law, and any regulations derived from the Law.”

The MCK saying that any interested Kanien’kehá:ka of Kahnawà:ke must be at least twenty-one (21) years of age and reside within the Territory. All candidates will be required to sign a waiver to permit a criminal background check. The members will be selected by the Mohawk Council of Kahnawà:ke based on written nominations/recommendations no later than 4pm on Friday, April 8^th, 2022. Applications can be sent to (the):

Peacekeepers Services Board,

Public Safety Office

P.O. Box 1933

Kahnawà:ke

J0L 1B0.

The selected member will be required to meet on a monthly basis, as well as attend other meetings and activities that may be necessary to fulfill the mandate and they will be compensated for loss of any income associated with the role.

A community update from The Kateri Memorial Hospital Centre Public Health Department and the Public Safety Commission on the current Public Health Measures in the community. Under the Kahnawà:ke Emergency Preparedness Law, Directive #65, the KMHC testing site in Kahnawake remains available only for essential service workers and people who are being admitted for surgery who provide a negative test result prior to admission. Community members can still access PCR testing at testing sites in surrounding communities such as: Chateauguay, Kirkland and Lachine.

The KMHC reminding Kahnawá’kehró:non that if you have COVID-related symptoms, you must assume that you have COVID-19 and isolate for 5 days, where on day 5, if you no longer have symptoms or your symptoms are lessening and you have not had a fever for 24 hours, you are released from isolation but must take precautions for the next 5 days. You are asked to continuously wear a medical-grade mask everywhere, maintain a minimum 2-meter distance from others, avoid all vulnerable people and if you are returning to work, you must work away from all others and not share any common spaces. If you have COVID-related symptoms and/or are positive from a rapid test and are not vaccinated or vaccinated with only 1 dose, the isolation time remains at 10 days.

Public Health recommends that individuals use their judgment, knowledge, education, and acceptable level of risk when deciding about distancing in their personal indoor and outdoor home environments.