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CONTESTED SOVEREIGNTIES @ RVH/MCGILL UNIVERSITY

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A cool young kanienkehaka [Mohawk] McGill student wrote this. Pictures were added by MNN:

TITLE: “A Landscape of Contested Sovereignties: Fissure Points Arising from the Archaeological

Investigation at the Old Royal Victoria Hospital in Montreal, Quebec

 by Dallas Karonhianoron Canady

ID: 260987251

Dr. Peter Johansen

ANTH 450: Archaeology of Landscapes

10 December 2023 Canady 1

TIME FOR INDIGENOUS TRUTH

“We shall resist by every means any aggression, any violation of the treaties, any disturbance of our people in the free use and enjoyment of our land, any usurpation of our sovereignty, any encroachment and oppression. We pledge that the noise will be heard from one end of the world to the other.” — Louis Karoniaktajeh Hall (2023:167)

“[The] — David M. Schaepe (2009:244)

Ohèn:ton Tsi Karihwatéhkwen, Matters Before All Else

It is the summer of 2022. I’ve just finished my third year of undergraduate studies in anthropology at McGill University, but any sense of accomplishment I could have experienced was done away with following the death of my father on Easter Sunday. I’ve been bombarded with the responsibilities of handling his estate as his only child, just twenty-one years old. I spend most of my days at home, enraptured in a violent cycle of reminiscing on what used to be and catastrophizing about what my life could possibly become. Somehow, I managed to pick up a job working as a research assistant despite all of this. A professor in my department tasked me with reviewing and annotating some thirty-years worth of archaeological publications as it concerned the discipline’s engagement with Indigeneity, Indigenous peoples, and the concept of reconciliation. I finished my work in August, and it was around this time that I was put in touch with the Kanien’kehá:ka Kahnisténsera– also known as the Mohawk Mothers. They were preparing to file an injunction in Quebec’s Superior Court to stop a construction project that was going to take place on the northwestern sector of McGill’s downtown campus (Mohawk Nation News 2022).

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Figure 1. A screenshot of a model of the Société québécoise des infrastructures (2023) buildings of the Old Royal Victoria Hospital complex.

Known as the New Vic Project, this endeavor is framed as a collaborative effort between McGill University, the City of Montreal, and the government of Quebec to refurbish the shell of a hospital in the downtown core that has been partially abandoned since 2015. “Classic patient wards and medical facilities will be reimagined and completely reinvented,” notes the university’s website (McGill 2023), as classrooms, dormitories, research labs, restaurants and green spaces. The former Royal Victoria Hospital is considered a cultural heritage property (un immobilier de patrimoine culturel) belonging to the settler state. Further, the land that the hospital was built upon– in fact the entirety of what is now called Mount Royal– is itself considered a heritage site (Culture et Communications Québec 2023). Pursuant to Quebec’s Loi sur le patrimoine culturel (2011), this means that any and all construction taking place was to be subject to, and only to, provincial oversight.

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The Kanien’kehá:ka Kahnisténsera raised three potent issues in their application for an injunction: 1) that the land encompassing the Royal Victoria Hospital and Mount Royal fell under Mohawk jurisdiction; 2) as such, in accordance with the Kaianereh’ko:wa (Great Law of Peace) the Kahnisténsera are endowed with the responsibility of protecting the land for the future generations; and 3) also in accordance with the Kaianereh’ko:wa, the Kahnisténsera are entrusted with protecting any and all children of the past, present and future– dead or alive. They came forth with hundreds of articles of evidence detailing horrific crimes that took place at the site of the Royal Victoria Hospital throughout the 20th century, including the now infamous CIA-funded MK-Ultra brainwashing experiments (Burton 2023). Most damning is eyewitness testimony provided by a former patient, Lana Ponting, who alleges that she was institutionalized alongside Indigenous children at the hospital’s psychiatric institute and had reason to believe some of them were buried on the grounds (Annable 2020). In calling for a halt to construction, the Kanien’kehá:ka Kahnisténsera also demanded that there be an Indigenous-led archaeological investigation to protect any potential unmarked graves on the site.

The role of archaeology in this situation is a complex one. The investigation itself sits on a fragile border between historic and forensic, raising the question of how far in the past must a crime be committed in order to be considered archaeological and not punishable under state law. It is also unique in that it is the first search for unmarked graves of Indigenous children within the province of Quebec, in addition to the fact that this search is taking place at a hospital and not a former residential school site, as is the case elsewhere in Canada (Cooper 2023). But what I will focus on for the remainder of this paper is the way in which the Royal Victoria Hospital– as an archaeological site– has acted as a medium through which contested sovereignties are articulated, imagined and reified. I argue that in mobilizing the concept of, as well as legislation

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relating to cultural heritage, the settler-colonial state of Quebec is in fact making a claim to territoriality and political legitimacy. This is consistent with the historic weaponization of archaeology against the Mohawk nation, which has and continues to be used as a means to usurp our authority and belonging to Land.

A History of Archaeology in Quebec

There are very few scholarly publications concerning themselves with the history of archaeology of Quebec, as compared to the plethora of literature available on the history of archaeology within Canada as a whole. This is despite the fact that the oldest archaeological collection in Canada consists of slate arrowheads found by early 18th-century laborers near Trois-Rivières, Quebec in the town of Bécancour (Clermont 2001:1079). What research does exist primarily concerns itself with the recent development of commercial archaeology in the province (Arpin and Bergeron 2006; Zorzin 2010; Zorzin and Gates St-Pierre 2017; Gates St-Pierre 2018). These academics have largely endorsed the view that there was simply no formal discipline in the province prior to the secularization that took place during the Quiet Revolution of the 1960s (Gates St-Pierre 2018:3; Clermont 1999:8-9). Prior to this, it is argued that archaeology was an intellectual domain restricted to the interest of Catholic clergymen (Gates St-Pierre 2018:3-4), anglophone elites and foreigners (Martijn 1998:165-168).

A pillar in the history of archaeology in Quebec and Canada generally, is the re/discovery of the historic Indigenous settlement of Hochelaga in downtown Montreal circa 1860. Named the Dawson site after John William Dawson, a trained geologist and then-president of McGill University, archaeology was mobilized in this instance to “search for traces of […] Jacques Cartier’s voyage up the St. Lawrence River in 1535-1536” (Waselkov 2009:617). The existence of Hochelaga, and whether or not Cartier encountered Hochelaga or another site, have been

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debated at-length since the 19th century. Adding another degree of complexity to the Dawson site is the fact that Samuel de Champlain allegedly found, upon his return to the island of Montreal in 1603, that the village Cartier identified as Hochelaga “had disappeared entirely, leaving no trace of [its] existence” (Hale 1894:2). Dozens of archaeologists, over more than a century, have devoted exorbitant amounts of time and energy in an attempt to identify the ethnic identity of Hochelaga’s inhabitants. Unable to agree on any singular interpretation, this resulted in the creation of the mythic “St. Lawrence Iroquoians” (Trigger 1968). This ethno-historical label describes a group of Indigenous peoples who share traits with contemporary Indigenous nations, but indeterminately so. As described by James F. Pendergast (1975:50):

“[…] There was a large group of Iroquoians in the St. Lawrence River Valley above Hochelaga, present-day Montreal, who were not Onondaga, Oneida, Mohawk, Huron, or any of the other historic Iroquoian tribes to which they have been attributed. It is postulated that this distinct group of Iroquoians, the St. Lawrence Iroquoians, are the result of an in-situ development in the upper St. Lawrence River Valley during the period A.D. 1250-1575 [emphasis added].”

This narrative profoundly usurps any kind of modern-day claims to political authority and belonging to land made by Indigenous peoples, particularly as it concerns the Mohawks who have insisted that much of the St. Lawrence Valley was known and inhabited by our ancestors (Hall 2023; Gabriel-Doxtater and Van den Hende 1995; Delaronde and Engel 2015). By establishing the St. Lawrence Iroquoians as an entity separate and distinct from contemporary First Nations, and therefore non-existent in the present, archaeologists have created an imagined landscape. This landscape can be understood as res derelictae– that is, abandoned by its original inhabitants. Unoccupied territories fall under the domain of the Doctrine of Discovery: “the legal means by which Europeans claimed rights of sovereignty, property, and trade in regions they allegedly discovered” (Truth and Reconciliation Commission of Canada 2015:192). This blatant, yet unchallenged denialism has formed the roots of archaeological theory and practice in the

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province of Quebec, and beyond. In the next section, I will outline the ways in which archaeology has affirmed the authority of the settler-colonial state following its absorption into the Quebec government post-Quiet Revolution.

Archaeology, Colonialism, and the Codification of Heritage

Due to time and page constraints, I’m unable to discuss the particularities of the Quiet Revolution. However, there are two primary outcomes of the Revolution that are relevant to my endeavor here. The first of which concerns secularization and the centralization of public services under the provincial government, and secondly, the rise of Quebecois ethnonationalism. Both of these factors were influenced, in part, by growing anxieties about Quebec’s ability to determine its own place within Canada and an increasingly globalized world. It is within this socio-political milieu that archaeology came to be seen as an exploitable resource, one that politicians in particular needed to draw upon were they to advance their claims of a culturally distinct and/or sovereign Quebec (Zorzin and Gates St-Pierre 2017:415-16). Additionally, the government’s investment into archaeology as an institution manifested as a form of ‘speaking back’ to the minority of anglophone elite that dominated in the realms of politics and the economy since Quebec came under the jurisdiction of the British Crown in 1763. In many ways, the Quiet Revolution signaled the commitment of a majority of Quebecois to securing the right to self-determination.

1961 saw the establishment of a provincial archaeological regime in the creation of the Ministry of Cultural Affairs and its Service d’archéologie et d’ethnologie (Martijn 1998:150). L’Université de Montréal and McGill University founded their departments of anthropology soon thereafter, in 1961 and 1968, respectively (Gates St-Pierre 2018:3). The first piece of legislation to be passed concerning archaeology and cultural heritage in Quebec was the Loi sur les Biens

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culturels (“Cultural Property Act”) in 1972. This, alongside the concurrent Loi sur la qualité de l’environnement (“Environmental Protection Act”) mandated developers in the private and public sectors to investigate the archaeological potential of sites prior to construction or demolition, and report their findings back to the Minister of Cultural Affairs (Zorzin and Gates St-Pierre 2017:414). This included the newly incorporated infrastructure conglomerate, HydroQuébec. In fact, commercial archaeology largely developed in response to the overwhelming number of hydroelectricity projects taking place in Northern Quebec throughout the 1960s and 70s– projects that the provincial Service d’archéologie et d’ethnologie was ill-equipped to finance (Martijn 1998:171). Ultimately, archaeologists working in the province throughout the late 20th century were tasked with identifying and protecting aspects of cultural heritage while navigating the intense infrastructural demands associated with nation-building and modernization.

How exactly is cultural heritage defined under the provincial legislation? Under the Loi sur les Biens culturels, there was no definition of cultural heritage per se. Rather, a bien culturel (literally, “cultural good”) was defined as “a work of art, a historic property, a historic monument or site, an archaeological property or site, or a cinematographic, audiovisual, photographic, radio or television work” (1985 [1972]:3). In contrast, the act that succeeded the original 1972 legislation, the Loi sur le patrimoine culturel (2011) elaborated on several heritage-related terms. An objet patrimonial is classified as “a movable property […] that has archaeological, artistic, emblematic, ethnological, historical, scientific, social or technological value, in particular a work of art, an instrument, furniture or an artifact” (2011:5). Further, paysages culturels patrimonials (“cultural heritage landscapes”) are defined as lands “recognized by a community for [their] remarkable landscape features […] and are worth conserving and, if applicable, enhancing because of their historical or emblematic interest, or their value as a source of identity” (2011:5).

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It is never explicitly stated whose heritage or culture is being referred to in the act. Legally speaking, objects and sites of cultural heritage themselves are stated to “belong to the owner (whether private or public) of the land where they are found” (Gates St-Pierre 2018:5). This is a reflection of the Quebec government’s disengagement with the management and implementation of archaeological practice since the 1990s, wherein it has relegated more and more power to municipalities and private corporations. This does not, however, reflect a diffusal of Quebecois ethnonationalism or a disinterest in cultural heritage. Rather, I would argue that Quebec’s release of much of the control it originally allotted itself in the Loi sur les Biens culturels signifies two things– one being a certain comfortability/air of stability with narratives surrounding Quebec’s history and Quebecois identity, and the other being the implication of private entities in the protection/enforcement of the province’s authority and claims to territoriality. In other words, neither colonialism nor archaeology have disengaged from their reliance on each other– their relationship has merely transformed to fit the demands of capitalist settler-colonial realities.

Kahentinétha et al. vs. Société Québécoise des Infrastructures et al. (2023)

My historical overture of archaeology and heritage law in Quebec serves as a framework that one can use to understand in greater depth the situation that has arisen at the site of the Old Royal Victoria Hospital in Montreal, which I described briefly in the introductory section of this essay. Here, I aim to dig into the specificities that make this archaeological site a landscape of contested sovereignties. Given that the parties involved remain in court and fieldwork is on-going, my analysis should be taken with a grain of salt, insofar that the situation could develop significantly from now (December 2023) onwards. The case brought forth by the Kanien’kehá:ka Kahnisténsera is precedent-setting in the context of Quebec, and even more so

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for First Nations across Canada who are engaged in on-going searches for missing and murdered Indigenous women, children and two-spirit folks. As the New Vic Project is taking place within a site registered as a heritage property (the Old Royal Victoria Hospital), which itself sits within the context of a greater heritage landscape (Mount Royal), it is subject to the oversight of the government of Quebec. This includes the Ministry of Culture and Communications, which is responsible for approving archaeology and construction permits, as well as the Société québécoise des infrastructures (SQI), an intergovernmental entity that acts as a property manager for the province. Under the Loi sur le patrimoine culturel, public and private institutions alike have no requirement to notify or consult Indigenous peoples about infrastructure work, archaeological investigations, or changes to heritage legislation/status. Rather, the Minister of Culture and Communications is merely entrusted with the power to “enter into agreements […] with a Native community represented by its band council” should such an agreement lead to the development of “knowledge of cultural heritage and protect, transmit or enhance that heritage” (2011:26). This framework is problematic for several reasons: 1) it establishes the acknowledgement of Indigenous presence and authority as optional; 2) the only Indigenous political body that could possibly be acknowledged or collaborated with is the federally-imposed band council system, and; 3) such agreements should only be drawn up if they are perceived as being beneficial to the settler state.

McGill University (2023), as a party leasing land from the SQI for its portion of the New Vic Project, alleges that it “engaged Indigenous communities” as early as 2019, in an effort towards “making the New Vic welcoming and culturally safe for the entire Montreal community.” This included, among other things, notices sent to the three Mohawk band councils surrounding the island of Montreal– but no notice was sent to the Kanien’kehá:ka Kahnisténsera,

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whom I will reiterate are the traditional title holders under the Kaianereh’kó:wa (Hall 2023; Hill 2017). In my personal experience working with the Kanien’kehá:ka Kahnisténsera, I’ve come to conclude that Indigenous involvement in the New Vic Project was either an afterthought, or a thought given very little critical attention. For example, McGill University, the SQI and its contracted archaeological firm Arkéos, proceeded with archaeological fieldwork during the two days that the Kanien’kehá:ka Kahnisténsera’s motion for an injunction was being heard in Quebec’s Superior Court in October 2022 (CBC News 2022).

Only after the judge mandated collaboration did McGill and SQI enter into negotiations to do so. This resulted in the creation of a settlement agreement between the parties in April 2023. A legally enforceable contract, the agreement outlines the nature of the parties’ collaboration as well as the parameters that the archaeological investigation must follow. Crucially, this included the following: 1) the investigation must be Indigenous-led; 2) must conform to Indigenous laws and protocols; 3) must be in accordance with archaeological best practices, as outlined by the Canadian Archaeological Association; and, 4) must be undertaken in the spirit of reconciliation (Falconers LLP 2023a). Additional safeguard measures were put in place by the settlement agreement to ensure these articles were followed, including the establishment of a third-party expert panel of archaeologists and a body of Indigenous cultural monitors to survey fieldwork as it progressed.

A degree of collaboration took place in the summer of 2023, especially after the allegations of unmarked graves were verified by historic human remains detection dogs in June (Fournier 2023a) and ground-penetrating radar in July (Grewal 2023). However, any trust that existed between the parties was shattered after the Kanien’kehá:ka Kahnisténsera and Indigenous cultural monitors were assaulted on-site by an SQI-hired security guard in July (Fournier 2023b).

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Tensions were further exacerbated that same month when McGill University and the SQI signaled their intent to dismiss the expert panel and most, if not all, of their recommendations for best practices (Falconers LLP 2023b). Additionally, throughout my time working as a cultural monitor at the New Vic site, I either experienced firsthand or witnessed service providers’ (archaeologists, GPR technicians, among others) open hostility to any questions or concerns raised about their methods and/or analyses. Then in October 2023, the SQI stated that they were no longer going to allow the Kanien’kehá:ka Kahnisténsera to be present on the site, regardless of whether or not archaeological digs were taking place. With the safeguards they had fought so hard for made void by McGill University and the Société québécoise des infrastructures, they turned once more to the court for help. On November 20th, 2023, a judge once again ruled in their favor, finding McGill and SQI in breach of the settlement agreement (Falconers LLP 2023b). But no degree of punishment or enforcement of the law has been seen since, even as archaeological work has increasingly given way to full-on construction and demolition efforts.

Conclusion

What the case put forth by the Kanien’kehá:ka Kahnisténsera does in this instance is disrupt the normative assumptions that Quebecois political authority and territoriality are inherent, unquestionable and absolute; and further, that a landscape or aspects of a landscape are ‘things’ that can be owned. In demanding to not only be consulted but to lead the archaeological investigation, the Kanien’kehá:ka Kahnisténsera are asserting Mohawk sovereignty and their unrelinquished title to land. The inability of colonial institutions such as universities and governments to recognize Indigenous political authority outside of the band council system, and therefore, the inability to recognize Indigenous authority as existing beyond the confines of the reserve system, reflects an inability to accept Indigenous peoples’ rights to self-determination

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and sovereignty. These profound disconnections, notes David Schaepe (2009:244), “remain as points of contention and conflict” so long as the same relational dynamic exists between colonial and Indigenous bodies, and/or as long as one continues to assert an existence that negates the life of the other. At the site of the Royal Victoria Hospital, divergent understandings of landscapes and sovereignty has resulted in an almost complete divergence from the Kanien’kehá:ka Kahnisténsera’s mandate: to find and protect the unmarked graves of children.

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References Annable, Kristin 2020                                                                                                                                                    Winnipeg Woman Brainwashed in Montreal Psychiatric Hospital Hopes New Year Brings New Compensation. CBC Investigates, January 2nd, 2020. Accessed December 7th, 2023. https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/manitoba/mkultra-allan-winnipeg-cameron-1.5410817.

Arpin, Roland and Yves Bergeron 2006                                                                                                                                        Developing a Policy on Cultural Heritage for Quebec. Museum International 58(4): pp. 70-76. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1468-0033.2006.00585.x.

Burton, Orisanmi 2023                                                                                                                                                                                  New Docs Link CIA to Medical Torture of Indigenous Children and Black Prisoners. Truthout, June 22nd, 2023. Accessed December 7th, 2023. https://truthout.org/articles/new-docs-link-cia-to-medical-torture-of-indigenous-childrenand-black-prisoners/.

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Mohawk Nation News 2023 Mohawk Mothers File Case August 25th, 2022. Webpage, accessed December 7th, 2023. https://mohawknationnews.com/blog/2022/08/27/mohawk-mothers-file-case-aug-25-22/.

Pendergast, James F. 1975                                                                                                                                                                          An In-Situ Hypothesis to Explain the Origins of the St. Lawrence Iroquoians. Ontario Archaeology 25(1): pp. 47-55.

Schaepe, David M. 2009                                                                                                                                                                      Identity and the Cultural Landscape of S’ólh Téméxw. In Be of Good Mind: Essays on the Coast Salish, edited by B. G. Miller, pp. 234-259. UBC Press, Vancouver.

Société québécoise des infrastructures 2023                                                                                                                      Requalification du site de l’ancien Hôpital Royal Victoria. Webpage, accessed December 7th, 2023. https://projetroyalvictoria.com/.

Trigger, Bruce 1968                                                                                                                                                                        Archaeological and Other Evidence: A Fresh Look at the ‘Laurentian Iroquois.’ American Antiquity 33(4): pp. 429-440. https://doi.org/10.2307/278594.

Truth and Reconciliation Commission of Canada 2015                                                                                                              Honouring the Truth, Reconciling for the Future: Summary of the Final Report of the Truth and Reconciliation Commission of Canada. Library and Archives Canada: Ottawa.

Waselkov, Gregory A. 2009                                                                                                                                                                    French Colonial Archaeology. In International Handbook for Historical Archaeology, edited by Teresita Majewski and David Gaimster, pp. 613-628. Springer Publishing, Cham.

Canady 16

Zorzin, Nicolas 2010                                                                                                                                                                      Archéologie au Québec: portrait d’une profession. Archéologiques 23(1): pp. 1-15. https://proxy.library.mcgill.ca/login?url=https://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=t rue&db=ahl&AN=56518674&scope=site.

Zorzin, Nicolas and Christian Gates St-Pierre 2017                                                                                                                                The Sociopolitics of Archaeology in Quebec: Regional Developments within Global Trends. Archaeologies 13(1): pp. 412-434. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11759-017-9328-4.”

This is celebration time. So come on. Bring the good times.  Stand up and move your feet with Kool and the Gang: 

mohawknationnews.com

MohawkMothers.ca 

kahnistensera@riseup.net

kahentinetha2@protonmail.com POBox 991, kahnawake Que.  Canada. J0L 1B0

MCGILL MAMBO APPEALS JUDGE’S ORDER

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MNN. Jan, 1, 2024. The McGill Mambo is very similar to the Toronto “two-step” where the provincial and federal governments dance amongst each other while absolutely ignoring the indigenous ways and court procedures.

McGill is not following the rules of the court. Judge Moore’s direction is being ignored. Also they are not giving us the data on their excavations of the Indigenous-owned McGill landscape. We must investigate every shovelful they take looking for our babies.

It is now over a month since the judge of the Quebec Superior Court made the order to restore the Expert Panel to find our murdered children, the victims of MKUltra and other experiments. McGill pays no attention. They fired the expert panel on July 6, 2023.

We have worked very hard to bring this application to the court and how duplicitous are McGill and SQI. In court on December 1 they said they were not applying it. In fact, they were appealing it! We want a court order to stop all work right now or they will land in jail!

McGill is taking the tuition fees of the students to stop us from finding our murdered children.

This investigation must be put back on track as soon as possible. This situation Is chaotic and shameful. They show no respect for us indigenous women.

It looks like they will do anything to stop the investigation and to prevent the expert archaeological panel from investigating.  We won the appeal. We have no money nor lawyers to deal with this. Breaking the court order indicates to us that they are delaying any legal procedures that would delay their renovation of our lands, Mount Royal, Montreal and McGill University.   

It’s detrimental for them to continue their ‘denialist’ approach. They dismiss what the search dogs found. Then they used mechanical sifters to break up the soil so that the bones could not be identified so it cannot be established as to whether they are human or animal. The material is now too fine to identify.

We have to go to court again on January 16, 2024.

Nobody has ever heard of this kind of treatment of human remains except for Jimmie Rodgers who was out in the field looking to get mules to skin for his family: “Good morning, Captain. Good morning to you, son.  Do you need another mule skinner out on your new mud line. yodelayhee”…..[Sing along with Jimmie, “mule skinner blues”]:

Mule Skinner Blues Jimmie Rodgers with Lyrics

CONTACT:

Thohoketoteh@ntk.com Court Communications

MohawkMothers.ca

kahnistensera@riseup.net

mohawknationnews.com

box 991. kahnawake que. canada J0L 1B0 kahentinetha2@protonmail.com

Mohawk Mothers unveil ongoing genocide of indigenous people of Canada

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MNN.  Aug. 8/23.

The Proximate Aspect; Mohawk Mothers unveil ongoing genocide against indigenous people.

C A N A D A  PROVINCE OF QUEBEC, DISTRICT OF MONTREAL.                        
No.500-17-120468-221
 KAHENTINETHA-and-KARENNATHA-and-KARAKWINE-and-KWETIO-and-OTSITSATAKEN-and-KARONHIATE                         Plaintiffs
V.
SQI SOCIETE QUEBECOISE DES INFRASTRUCTUES-and-ROYAL VICTORIA HOSPITAL-and-MCGILL UNIVERSITY HEALTH CENTER-and-MCGILL UNIVERSITY-and-CITY OF MONTREAL-and-ATTORNEY GENRAL OF CANADA      Defendants
-and-
ATTORNEY GENERAL OF QUEBEC                Mis-en-cause
-and-
OFFICE OF THE INDEPENDANT SPECIAL INTERLOCUTOR ON MISSING CHILDREN & UNMARKED GRAVES & BURIAL SITES ASSOCIATED WITH INDIAN RESIDENTIAL SCHOOLS     Third Party Intervenor 
As the story goes, the first land out of the water was turtle island. All four races were created here on turtle island. All living things have the same mother. She is the earth. We all have the same source energy as father who shall survive and co-exist as brothers and sisters living on our mother. In each of our minds is a piece of the source energy which makes each of us a sovereign creator being. The peace comes when all of us put our minds together based on the good message that we are all earthlings. All you people who are just opening your eyes and seeing the true horror story called ‘Canada’ listen to Rod Stewart and Jeff Back sing “People Get Ready”. 
People get readyThere’s a train a-coming . . .  .

 MNN Court Reporter thahoketoteh@ntk.com

box 991, kahnawake quebec canada J0L 1B0 mohawknationnews.com

kahentinetha2@protonmail.com

Information:: www.mohawkmothers.ca

FRANCIS BOOTS, WAR CHIEF OF THE MOHAWKS, DIES

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MNN. July 8, 2023. Ayonwaehs – War Chief of the Mohawks, Ateronhiatakon – Francis Boots, Snipe Clan, 73, peacefully passed away on July 5th, 2023. He will be presented at the Kanienkehaka Kaianerehkowa Kanonsesne [longhouse] located at 570 Route 37 in Akweswasne, starting on Tuesday, July 11, 2023 at 2pm, until the funeral service on Thursday, July 13, 2023 at 10:00 am. Burial will take place at the Jocks Cemetery on 136B Jock Road in Akwesasne [NYS]. Funeral arrangements are with Donaldson’s Funeral Home. Donations can be made to the Kanienkehaka Kaianerehkowa Kanonsesne. 

He was born October 27, 1948 at the home of his maternal grandparents Katie and Paul Caldwell. He grew up on Cornwall Island of Akwesasne. He married Lisa Thomas, and was later in a relationship with Margie Marquis. He is survived by his children, Kawenniiosta (Joe), Teioronhiate (Crystal), Mandaque, Sohahiio, Karatohon (Cheryl), Konwanietawi (Zane), his grandchildren, Kai, Nora, Reese, Lita Jane, Odessa, Mskwaa-desiinh, Cala and Kanerahtine. He is survived by his siblings, John, Diane, Harvey, Anna, Yvonne, Jake, Emily and many nieces, nephews and cousins. He was predeceased by his siblings, Peter, James (Julia), Joseph (Barbara), Catherine-Lena (Ray), Margaret (Peter), Elizabeth-Betty (Carl), Fredrick, Richard, Angus (Harriet) and Stephen (Beverly) and in-laws, Harriet, Patricia and Beverly.

Ateronhiatakon, attended Cornwall Island Day School, East Front Public School, St. Lawrence High School and Mater Dei College. In the 1960’s he travelled with the “White Roots of Peace”. He was always prepared at a momen’t notice to help the people. He shared his vast knowledge and experience, teaching our language, and officiating ceremonies. He was a true gift to the people. His kindness and his way of communicating made everyone comfortable, even in uneasy situations.

Francis honored all his teachers, people of the Confederacy, elders and community members with whom he shared his deep knowledge of our traditional ways. 

Aterionhiatakon was always optimistic, “I’m confident that we will survive. In the future I believe that we will not allow our way of life to be tampered with by the colonial powers. The settler peoples have got to understand they too have these instructions to be kind to Mother Earth, to be kind to the rivers, to be kind to the trees and all life. They seem to have forgotten that, and that’s where the conflict is. They too have to come home now. From”The Mohawk Warrior Society – A Handbook on Sovereignty and Survival, Louis Karoniaktajeh Hall”.

OFFICIAL NOTICE OF CEREMONIAL BURIAL OF A WAR CHIEF:

https://mail.proton.me/u/1/inbox/UibxM8b94JsYKQfaknMXdZzqs4lF2dir_tb_Yex8amyg0683xo61hrv_D_zeZVpbwR1PfWS3Ry8wEsIQDeiODQ==

Aterionhiatakon was a great aserakowa whose role at all times is to maintain the peace. Another great Mohawk, Robbie Robertson has something to say about Francis:

The general rode for sixteen daysThe horses were thirsty and tiredOn the trail of a renegade chiefOne he’d come to admireThe soldiers hid behind the hillsThat surrounded the villageAnd he rode down to warn the chiefThey’d come to conquer and pillage
Lay down your armsLay down your spearThe chief’s eyes were sadBut showed no sign of fear
It is a good day to die (It is a good day to die)Oh my children dry your eyesIt is a good day to die
And he spoke of the days before the white man cameWith his guns and whiskyHe told of a time long agoBefore what you call historyThe general couldn’t believe his wordsNor the look on his faceBut he knew these people would rather dieThen have to live in this disgrace
What law have I brokenWhat wrong have I doneThat makes you want to bury meUpon this trail of blood
It is a good day to die (It is a good day to die)Oh my children don’t you cryIt is a good day to die
We cared for the land and the land cared for usAnd that’s the way it’s always beenNever asked for more never asked too muchAnd now you tell me this is the end
I laid down my weaponI laid down my bowNow you want to drive me outWith no place left to go
It is a good day to die (It is a good day to die)Oh my children don’t you cryIt is a good day to die (It is a good day to die)
And he turned to his people and said dry your eyesWe’ve been blessed and we are thankfulRaise your voices to the skyIt is a good day to die
Oh my children don’t you cry (don’t you cry)Dry your eyesRaise your voice up to the skyIt is a good day to die

Contact.  kanonsesneh@gmail.com

Mohawk Nation News. kahentinetha2@protonmail.com

TWO ROW TIMES: “AND SO THE PEOPLE ARE AFRAID”

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MNN. Wed. July 5, 2023. This is a discussion with the men’s fire about standing up to the HCCC [Haudenosaunee Council of Chiefs] and HDI [Haudenosaunee Development Insttute] which are private incorporated companies. This is the intervention by the men’s fire against HDI and HCCC to settle all the Ontario and Canada land claims by Canada. They did not ask the people if they could do this because they know all the land is not for sale. The onkwehonweh [natural people of creation] have been given all the land of Turtle Island. The people discussed the responsibilities under the kaiaerekowa of each and every one of us.  

How the corporation system is suppose to work!

https://tworowtimes.com/editorial/and-so-the-people-are-afraid-a-discussion-with-the-mens-fire-about-standing-up-to-the-hccc-and-hdi/

The Weather Girls are giving us some insight into the coming storms on the horizon:

For more information on the court case see :  MohawkMothers.ca

Contact: thahoketoteh@ntk.com MNN Court Correspondence, box 991, kahnawake quebec canada

kahentinetha2@protonmail.com

NEW/OLD BAND COUNCIL HUSTLE

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MNN. June 27,  2023.

Here’s how it goes. A band council entity is set up. They offer to help their people. Somebody or a community group get some monies to “benefit the community”, but the band council or its nominee own all the assets from it and can tell us what we can or cannot do. The band council and its entities use our funds to ingratiate,  enrich themselves, get into conflict of interest situations and possible fraud.

Remember, the band councils are corporate agents of Canada that were set up on Oct. 25, 1924 to help Canada take and control our land and resources.

                            Said the onkwehonweh to the canadien!

For example, an incorporated community association [the band council] invites a so called non-profit society in to build a community hall for the people. In the end it benefits mostly them and Canada, not the people.

The meeting is held at a band council building. The main host is a guy who works for the band council, who is directly involved with the process. Canada and the provinces have millions of dollars in program funds they offer to support projects they deem will ‘benefit’ the community!  

As a part of the band council corporate apparatus, the  nominee employee helps push the grant application forward. He gets their documents together and registers them to be a not-for-profit society in order to receive the funds.

The host suggests they build a structure that would cost $500,000. There will be taxes for each household because this incorporated association is no longer indigenous. 

The mentor asks for $300,000 for the logs; $800,000 for the lock up; then another $200,000 for the construction of the building, then transportation and putting it together on the site, plus expenses to hook up the water, electricity, and sewage. If they do not get the initial grant, then the costs for the project somehow rise to $1.5. to $2 million which has to be borrowed by the villagers.  In most cases most of these enterprises are not needed.

When the mentor, on behalf of the association gets the grant, he owns and leases it to the society for $1 a year. The purpose is not to benefit the community as mostly they never see the money. 

 Public funds are being used to enrich the corporate non-native band council entity. Out of the $1.5 million or more granted or loaned, the building costs $500,000 and who knows where the rest goes.

The band council cannot be part of any community since they are a foreign for-profit crown corporation.  The employee/mentor dupes the people. 

The conflict of interest is because the band council employee cannot have anything from this grant application process for himself.  It was his idea and he has been working with his ‘band council superiors’ to push this project  through.

The Supreme Court [Beverly McLachlan] unanimously ruled that the tsilhqot’in does have a claim of 750 sq. Km [680 sq. mi.] of land. This decision is a precedent for all turtle island.

The colonial Supreme Court held that aboriginal title constitutes a beneficial interest in the land, the underlying control of which is retained by the Crown. Why? We are caretakers of turtle island. Indigenous people are sovereign and have all duties and  responsibilities to decide everything. Also, to proactively use and manage the land, including its natural resources. But the foreign entity, the Crown, gave themselves the right to override aboriginal title in the so called “public interest”!!

This scam is practiced on every native until all our land is completely taken from us. Everything the intruders do is void as no land can be conveyed. A foreign for-profit private crown corporation does not have any right to deal with the “general public”, including band councils. A private company can only deal with their own employees, property and dependants. “Public” funds are used to enrich themselves by requisitioning this legitimate native property without using their own assets to do it. In fact, the funds could be coming from our “Indian Trust Funds”.

The band councils work dilligently for Canada. 

Sections 35/52 of the Constitution Act of Canada 1982 and its band councils do not exist according to our way. Original people are caretakers and sovereigns of all turtle island for all future generations. The Crown has no claim on anything.

This is a new way to genocide us by “reconciliation ” with Canada through forced citizenship without physical slaughter as they did in the past.

Rumormillnews 224893 CGI’S empyyreal:CRD in Sook BC, Canada engaged in money laundering, unjust enrichment and fraud with proof. Sat. 24-Jun2023H

Lester Flatt and Earl Scruggs had an insight into the goings on of Indian reservations in Canada in the “The Ballad of Jed Clampett”: 

Come and listen to a story ’bout a man named JedPoor mountaineer barely kept his family fedThen one day he was shooting for some food,And up through the ground come a bubbling crude(Oil that is, black gold, Texas tea)
Well the first thing you know old Jed’s a millionaireKin folk said Jed move away from thereSaid California is the place you oughta beSo they loaded up the truck and they moved to Beverly(Hills that is, swimming pools, movie stars). . .  .

 MNN Court Correspondent thahoketoteh@ntk.com 

Box 991, kahnawake, que. canada MNN kahentinetha2@protonmail.com 

MOHAWK WARRIOR SOCIETY: HANDBOOK ON SOVEREIGNTY & SURVIVAL Podcast

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MNN. June 20, 2023. The Kahnistensera, Mohawk Mothers of kahnawake, kanesatake, and akwesasne knew Louis karonhiaktajeh Hall, and were greatly influenced by his stories, philosophy and farsightedness. This podcast reveals many of his past, current and future insights into what lay ahead for the Mohawks. 

 

Mohawk Warrior Society

 

The Mohawk Warrior Society is one of the most successful militant organizations in North America. Their predecessors were key to the defeat of the French in Quebec and the United States in the War of 1812. Today, the Warriors are best known for their role in the 1990 Oka standoff against the Canadian army. In the new book, The Mohawk Warrior Society: A Handbook on Sovereignty and Survival, the movement for the first time tells its own history.

We are joined by the editors of this unique anthology of resistance, Philippe Blouin, Matt Peterson, Malek Rasamny and Kahentinetha Rotiskarewake and also by Kwetiio and Karennatha who, along with Kahentinetha, are members of the group Kanien’kehà:ka Kanistansera, the Mohawk Mothers.

Louis will always be honored by the people. The world will never forget the warrior flag he designed. Even the Kingsmen back in the 60’s honoured Louis: Ah Louie Louie. Oh no, Said we gotta go. Yeah yeah yeah. Yeah yeah. Baby. Louie Louie. Oh baby. Said we gotta go. A fine little girl. She waitin for me. Catch a  ship, across the sea. Sail that ship out all alone. Me never think how. I’ll make it home. I’ll make it home. Ah Louis Louie. No no no no. Make it home. . . .  

The Kingsmen Louie Louie (Enhanced)

Episode: 034 Mohawk Warrior Society
Date: 18 June 2023 | Length: 70:23
Briefing Notes

 Karoniaktajeh Louis Hall. The Mohawk Warrior Society: A Handbook on Sovereignty and Survival. (PM Press 2023)
 The Native and the Refugee. (Electronic Intifada 2015)
 Jon Elmer on Mohawk blockades (Al Jazeera June 2010)
 Jon Elmer on the Mohawk Warrior Society and the Canadian military (Inter Press 2007)
 see also The Brief Podcast 023: 500 Years of Indigenous Resistance with Gord Hill

Contact thahoketoteh@ntk.com ,

MNN Court Correspondent

Mohawknationnews.com Box 991, kahnawake que. canada J0L 1B0

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CANADA WILL SOON BE DISSOLVED

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MNN. March 31, 2023. OCTOBER 25TH, 2024, IS THE 100TH ANNIVERSARY OF THE PLANNED EXTINCTION OF THE INDIGENOUS PEOPLE. INSTEAD IT WILL BE THE CELEBRATION OF THE FAILURE OF THE PLAN TO “SOLVE THE INDIAN PROBLEM”.
The Pope announced that the Doctrine of Discovery has been recinded. He acknowledges and affirms the genocide happened in Canada. Canada supports the Pope’s comments through Sections 35 and 52 of the Constitution Act of Canada 1982 that the kaianerekowa is the law of the land and and that all Canadian laws are “null and void”. This is at odds with the enforcement of the “Indian Lands Act” and the “Indian ACT. The illegitimate government of Canada has plead guilty to all the genocide, i.e. residential schools, land theft, destruction and rape of our mother, ad nauseum. 
We were always a natural part of turtle island. We have been blocked from taking care of our mother. The Doctrine underlies all the land transactions throughout Canada. It lead to the increased wealth and power of Europe which was the foundation for the industrial revolution, increased globalization, capitalism and neo capitalism. The colonial power Canada is Corporation # ISO CA 3166-1 registered in the Vatican, as are all corporations, based on the fraudulent Doctrine of Discovery.  Indian Affairs is a department of the army and the war will never end until the military government of Canada is neutralized. Canada is a corporation owned by a few banking families that claim to own every municipality throughout turtle island and through the birth certificates of every child born in Canada.  
The greatest form of slavery is when the slaves believe they are free. 500 plus reserves were created as prisoner of war camps on October 25, 1924 [Indian Lands Acts]. The end of the 100 year plan of our demise is now over! We will be free and Canada will be dissolved. Canada is a corporate operation masquerading as a country. The Montevideo Convention of 1932 sets out the criteria for a true country, which must have its own language, culture and land. Canada has none of these. They’ve here to exploit all our natural resources. 
All these criminals and their families who take oaths to the King of England must be immediately arrested and excommunicated from our land. We never invited them here. All immigrants must ask us for our permission to come here and live amongst us under the law of the land, as caretakers of all of turtle island for future generations through nature, truth and justice. The multi generational invaders can never become indigenous to this land they call Canada.  They must adhere to the indigenous law of peace.   
The kaianerekowa is the law of the land. The usurpers rely on the law of the water, Admiralty laws. All courts in Canada are private corporations under Admiralty law.of the seas.  
KAIANEREKOWA WILL NEVER RECOGNIZE CANADA. This law has been applied in Canada militarily to hold indigenous people in place and forcefully assert their admiralty jurisdiction on us so the Crown can plunder our resources.   
THEY NEED TO HALT THEIR ECOCIDAL ASSAULT ON OUR MOTHER EARTH NOW! Canada is going to be accountable for the crime of genocide. In other words, Canada is an illegal entity that is based on genocide and theft and the penalty must be dissolution of Canada. Our planned celebration of the end of Canada will be  October 25, 2024, exactly 100 years after the Minister of Indian Affairs proclaimed the “100 Year Plan to be Rid of the Indian Problem”. Germany and the world did not reconcile with the Nazis.  Kaianerekowa can never reconcile with genocide. 
These are truths. Canada must account for these truths. 
Donavan sings about the first land out of the water, onowarekeh, turtle island. and the first humans to come on the earth, us.   
The continent of Atlantis was an island
Which lay before the great flood
In the area we now call the Atlantic Ocean.
So great an area of land,
That from her western shores
Those beautiful sailors journeyed
To the South and the North Americas with ease,
In their ships with painted sails.
To the East Africa was a neighbour,
Across a short strait of sea miles.
The great Egyptian age is But a remnant of The Atlantian culture.
…..The antediluvian kings colonised the world
All the Gods who play in the mythological dramas
In all legends from all lands were from far Atlantis. Knowing her fate,
Atlantis sent out ships to all corners of the Earth.
On board were the Twelve:The poet, the physician, The farmer, the scientist,
The magician and the other so-called Gods of our legends.
Though Gods they were –
And as the elders of our time choose to remain blind
Let us rejoice
And let us sing
And dance and ring in the new Hail Atlantis! . . . 
Mohawknationnews.com  contact thahoketoteh@ntk.com Mohawk Nation News correspondent

 

MOHAWK MOTHERS COURT VICTORY Oct. 27, 2022

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MNN. 31st October 2022, 

Just got the judgement from the Quebec Superior Court:  

Decision of the Superior Court of QuebecDownload

Kahnistensera@riseup.net

IMPORTANT NOTICE REGARDING SOLIDARITY

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IMPORTANT  –

MOHAWK NATION NEWS NOTICE –

SOLIDARITY ACTIONS –

KAHNISTENSERA

SHEKON

MNN. Oct. 16, 2022. Sego. This is an important notice regarding the solidarity actions with the Mohawk Mothers that happened this week and the demonstration tomorrow. We knew nothing about this. 

The SQI has written to the Judge reporting that the offices of Arkéos were vandalized this week by people claiming to act on behalf of the Mohawk Mothers.

We are being held accountable legally of all such actions at this time, as the opponents are trying to construe us as criminals before the Judge with less than two weeks remaining before the hearing at the court on October 26, 2022.

As the plaintiffs in this matter we are being falsely considered as prime suspects in organizing these actions, thus risking police searches and prosecution, even though we have absolutely nothing to do with any of this. We remain in Kahnawake and work full time on court matters. We were not even aware that a demo was being organized. We greatly appreciate tokens of solidarity and demonstrations, but we ask you to be mindful of the dire legal repercussions for us, and the high risk of jeopardizing all the work we have invested for more than one year to obtain an injunction, which could be ruined, as well as the hope of our families to know the truth and get justice.

We invite you to consult our statements on Mohawk Nation News since last November 2021 to understand our position of peace and respect. We remind you all that skennen, peace, is one of the three pillars of the Kaianerehkowa (Great Peace), which has been and remains the way of Anowarakeh (Turtle Island) since time immemorial. It would harm us a lot if anyone was hurt, because our one and only objective as onkwehonwe and kahnistensera is to caretake the land and find our children in accordance with the Kaianerehkowa Kanien’keha:ka

Kahnistensera@riseup.net