[Indigsol] March 1 - Rethinking Indigenous Citizenship: Perspectives on Kahnawa:ke “Mohawk Only” Policy

Tue Feb 23 20:10:04 PST 2010

La citoyenneté autochtone en question: Que penser de l’expulsion des
non-‐Mohawks de la communauté de Kahnawa:ke?

Rethinking Indigenous Citizenship: Perspectives on Kahnawa:ke “Mohawk
Only” Policy

Lundi, 1er mars 2010 12.00 – 13.30
Monday, March 1, 2010, 12:00 – 1:30 pm

Pavillon Desmarais 3102
Demarais Bldg. 3102

Speakers:
Sébastien Grammond, Doyen, Faculté de Droit Civil, Université d’Ottawa
Martin Papillon, professeur, École d’études politiques, Université
d’Ottawa

Présentations en français, discussion en anglais et Français
Presentations in French, discussion in English and French.

Presented by FASR/ FERA  Forum for Aboriginal Studies and Research -
Faculty of Social Sciences University of Ottawa

***** ARTICLES RELATED TO THE ISSUE *****

QNW is troubled with the decision taken by the Mohawk Council of
Kahnawà:ke (MCK) to evict non-Native residents from the community of
Kahnawà:ke

QNW is troubled with the decision taken by the Mohawk Council of
Kahnawà:ke (MCK) to evict non-Native residents from the community of
Kahnawà:ke, a decision which ruptures the family unit and the community as
a whole.  It is imperative that clarification be made regarding Mohawk
customs as a huge misconception has been conveyed by the MCK that
misrepresents all Mohawk people to the public.

According to Mohawk customs, women are the titleholders of the land, a
tradition that was undermined by the Indian Act which was originally
created to define who was an “Indian” and to keep “white men” from living
on “land reserved for Indians”.  In fact, adoption of non-Mohawks in
Mohawk communities was and still is a common practice and includes
ceremonies to welcome new residents, reinforced by an adoption belt
thereby securing the individuals rights to live on the territory.  But
adoption also comes with responsibilities which include learning the
language, honouring and upholding the laws and traditions of the Mohawk
people and obligations to the adopted clans.

However, since the creation of the Indian Act every effort has been made
to oppress the customs and rights of all Indigenous peoples.  Even now,
all membership codes must still be approved by the Minister of Indian and
Northern Affairs.  The 4 types of membership codes identified by Stewart
Clatworthy and Anthony H. Smith in 1992 are in one way or another based on
blood quantum either explicitly or by being tied to Indian Act status
rules and do not follow any Indigenous peoples laws or customs.
Consequently, it is important to clarify that the eviction notices do not
follow Mohawk customs or tradition.

To read the open letter (pdf) >>>
http://www.faq-qnw.org/documents/LetterMCKevictionKahnawakeFEB2010.pdf

'Traditional' law creates waves across Turtle Island
By: [1]Jessica Yee
Created Feb 16 2010 - 11:50
Published on rabble.ca (http://www.rabble.ca)

Summary

The Mohawk Council of Kahnawake (MCK) asking 26 non-Natives to leave the
community has been making waves of discussion, debate and dialogue for and
against this measure across Turtle Island.
The situation of the Mohawk Council of Kahnawake (MCK) asking 26
non-Natives to leave the community based on so-called "traditional" law
has been making waves of discussion, debate, and dialogue for and against
this measure across Turtle Island. Our three Mohawk communities
(Kahnawake, Kanasatake, and Akwesasne where I'm from) are fairly close
together so this is an issue that has particularly hit home for me --
amongst other members of our closely-knit communities. Ellen Gabriel,
spokeswoman for Oka (Kanasatake) and now the president of the Quebec
Native Women's Association issued an open-letter to the council, which is
worth reading in its entirety here [2], where she calls down the council's
actions based on what it actually means to be Kanien'kehá:ka/Mohawk
traditionally, and today.
My dear friends and colleagues Tracey Deer and Steve Bonspiel, who own and
write for the Kahnawake community newspaper called The Eastern Door [3]
wrote the following two-part editorials to the community. With their
permission, I've re-posted it below because I really believe we ought to
take into account ALL of what they're saying. Many of you know what it's
like to get flack for writing online -- but it is totally different when
so much of your own community is impacted by a PHYSICAL paper, not to
mention people knowing where you live, who your family is, and the fact
that they see you on a daily basis if you live in a small one. I think
it's particularly important to remember this type of real activism on the
ground and the strength it requires to speak your truth -- which is
something we sometimes neglect to mention about this type of lateral
violence that can happen in the offline world.

To continue reading:
http://www.rabble.ca/columnists/2010/02/traditional-law-creates-waves-across-turtle-island

Links:
[1] http://www.rabble.ca/taxonomy/term/326
[2] http://www.faq-qnw.org/documents/LetterMCKevictionKahnawakeFEB2010.pdf
[3] http://www.easterndoor.com/
[4]
http://www.rabble.ca/news/bridging-two-worlds-mohawk-filmmaker-tracey-deer
[5]
http://www.rabble.ca/babble/aboriginal-issues-and-culture/kahnawake-fn-evicting-non-natives

Thanks,
IPSMO

-- 
Check out IPSMO's Videos:
http://ipsmo.wordpress.com/video-archives/

IPSMO's Facebook page:
http://www.facebook.com/home.php?#/group.php?gid=120142932547&ref=ts