Category Archives: Kanehsatake

MCGILL MCCCORD MUSEUM: STOLEN WAMPUM BELTS

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Please post & circulate.

Women’s Nomination Belt authorizes the women to nominate and

guide the male members of their clans and the Rotinoshonni Confederacy

MNN. Mar. 22, 2024. Time for “rematriation.” First of all, wampum belts are not agreements. They are broken promises. These are not “collections”. They are stolen objects. The images displayed at the McCord Museum of McGill University are meant to remind us of what the invaders had agreed to do in order to stay on our land, which they did not do. 0ur agreements are still on our minds. We are honest, practical and just have to think about them to remember their essence. Together our honesty will bring back our words and thoughts.  Wampums encapsulate our principles.  https://www.musee-mccord-stewart.ca/en/exhibitions/wampum-beads-diplomacy/

Cadwallader Colden, a writer in the American colonies in the mid 1700s, said about wampum: “Wampum is a system of memory and recall far more advanced than anything we have ever seen in Europe”. The fraudsters stole the wampum thinking it was money and now have it on display at McGill, telling utter lies about wampum. We wonder how much money McGill paid for the stolen wampum. They can never take away our memory. Our message will never be diminished. 

An elder from eastern turtle island said the wampum between his people and the Vatican were the “Keys to heaven!  Canada is a Christian country”. This is not possible as only we indigenous people belong to the land and no one else. The foreigners said that, “Someone higher than us has to settle our differences”. We are always ready to settle up with the colonialists.  ‘They throw the French language in our Faces so we don’t understand what they are saying. The elder’s people agreed to let the church build missions in five of their communities. He said, “Miraculously, we agreed!”.

The women made the belts because they have the duty of peace. They  appoint the male leaders. McGill interprets that the straight line in the middle of the wampum was the rule to govern! This is contrary to our sovereignty. If colonial settlers think they have any power, they better watch out for the massive truths that will soon be rolling out and the kaianerekowa, the great peace, will apply.  Ready or not, here we come!

The meanings of the wampum were not part of the display. When we get them back we will read them  properly and debunk  the false narrative of our opponents. We have no judges as we are mainly concerned about whether we are violating our earth mother and the sun that helps her give us life.

Canada says they want a new relationship with us so they can figure out how to break them just like before. These belts at McGill are mostly agreements between church and state while keeping us as bystanders. They broke every promise they ever made to us.  All belts have to be traced to the source people who made them, otherwise they are clearly stolen. They bought them off a thief. Now McGill is taking care of stolen goods, including our lands and resources, plus the meanings. They should immediately hand over the booty to us right now. The beading displayed can be interpreted to mean anything they want. To many settler colonialists all over the world our wampum were valuable objects of fashion by people they killed off and use as symbols of status. They were taken right off the dead bodies of those they murdered throughout turtle island and then sold them. They wanted to have a souvenir to hang on their wall to remind them of murdering us. They did not lift a finger to stop the slaughter so they can have this.

The Mohawk Mothers have offered to meet with the McCord Museum, which is on kanienkehaka Mohawk land, to discuss the return of indigenous property at 11.00 am. on April 1, 2024. 

The problem is that McGill curators make up meanings such as “the white shells are eating the purple shells! White beads win over war or death!” Most of the thousands of wampums on display have no descriptions. The criminals say they cannot be returned to us because they don’t know who they stole them from. The thieves do not get to keep theml Give us all our property right now. They admit they stole them. McGill, return all the wampum to the MohawkMohers of Kahnawake and they will find the original owners. McGill needs to explain why there is no depth analysis for each belt. Why is information being deliberately left out. The belts look lonely and misunderstood like they want to come home.  

Notably, in an alcove at the museum are displayed with great honor paintings of the Sisters of Providence who were in charge of the “Pig Sty Cemetary” where thousands of non-native and native children who were kidnapped by them, many at birth, taken to St. Jeanne de Dieu Hospital to be mistreated, sold, sent to McGill ‘s Allan Memorial Institute to be experimented upon. They either died or were sent back to the nuns, who disposed of them by chopping them up and making the other children feed their remains to the pigs. A nun told the story to an inquiry. 

The only depiction in the exhibit of indigenous is showing three men sprawled around their tent dead drunk. But they did not have any of  the drunken white men brawling on the streets of Montreal.  This is McGill cheap shot to portray a deplorable image they have always tried to reinforce as their stereotype of us. 

McGill ignores the Longhouse people and natural kanienkehaka who are the majority of the indigenous people. Government of Canada want band councils to interpret for them, who have no authority to speak for us. Only original people have that knowledge. Band members are a creation of Canada. These traitors have forfeited their birthrights when they went into the Canadian system, who have a huge bias against us. We will never ever say anything good about Canada, the church, the band councils and all the institutions responsible for benefitting from the genocide.

Everyone has their own way of talking. Like Robbie Robertson said, we all got a song: God gave us each a song.Thats how we know who we are. Everyone has a song. We have come. Beat the drum. The land trembles with dancing. We have come. Bang the drum. Making a noise in this world. Making a noise in this world. You can bet your ass. It won’t go quietly. Making a noise in this world. I don’t want your promise. i don’t want your whisky. I don’t want your blood on my hands. I want only what belongs to me. I think you thought I was gone. i think you thought I was dead. You won’t admit it that you was wrong. Ain’t there some shit that should have been said. Making a noise in this world. Making a noise in this world.

"Making A Noise In This World"_500 Nations United_Robbie Robertson

“Making A Noise In This World”_500 Nations United_Robbie Robertson

Symposium - Autour des wampums : histoires et perspectives - Jour 1

Symposium – Around the wampums: stories and perspectives – Day 1

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GET YOUR “COSMIK DEGREE” AT INDIGENOUS MCGILL

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MNN. Mar. 3, 2024. There’s only one rule when you are in a fight. WIN! As you read “Indigenous McGill”, listen to the maestro, Frank Zappa, who eerily mimics what’s been going on: 

Lyrics

The Mystery Man came over
An’ he said: “I’m outa-sight!”
He said, for a nominal service charge
I could reach Nirvana t’nite
If I was ready, willing ‘n able
To pay him his regular fee
He would drop all the rest of his pressing affairs
And devote His Attention to me
But I said
Look here brother
Who you jivin’ with that Cosmik Debris?
Now what kind of a mask man are you anyway?
Look here brother
Don’t you waste your time on me
The Mystery Man got nervous
An’ he sorta, fidget around a bit
He reached in the pocket of his Mystery Robe
An’ he whipped out a shaving kit
Now, I thought it was a razor
An’ a can of foamin’ goo
But he told me right then when the top popped open
There was nothin’ his box won’t do
With the oil of Afro-dytee
An’ the dust of the Grand Wazoo
He said
“You might not believe this Pancho, but it’ll fix up that war paint for you too”
An’ I said
Look here brother (thank you mask man. thank you)
Who you jivin’ with that Cosmik Debris?
Ah, mask man is a faggot
Look here brother
Don’t you waste your time on me
I’ve got troubles of my own, I said
An’ you can’t help me out
So take your meditations an’ your preparations
An’ ram it up yer snout
“BUT I GOT A KRISTL BOL!”, he said
An’ held it to his horse
So I snatched it
All away from him
An’ I showed him how to do it right of course
I wrapped a newspaper ’round my head
So I’d look like I was Deep
I said some Mumbo Jumbos then
An’ told him he was goin’ to sleep
I robbed his rings
An’ pocket watch
An’ everything else I found
I had that sucker hypnotized
He couldn’t even make a sound
I proceeded to tell him his future then
As long as he was hanging around
I said
“The price of pajamas has just gone up
An’ yer ol’ swarmy have just gone down”
Look here swarmy
Who you jivin’ with that Cosmik Debris?
(Now is that a real poncho or is that a Seattle poncho who can tell anymore?)
Don’t you know
You could make more money in sindication
So don’t you waste your time on me
Ohm shonty, ohm shonty, ohm shonty-ohm
Source: Musixmatch
Songwriters: Frank Zappa
Cosmik Debris lyrics © Munchkin Music Co

Frank Zappa - Cosmik Debris (Visualizer)

NOW READ THE STORY ABOUT “INDIGENOUS MCGILL”:

 

Indigenous McGill

hang-around-the-court-indian thahoketoteh@ntk.com

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kahnistensera@riseup,net

box 991, kahnawake que. canada J0L 1B0 Continue reading →

SYRACUSE COURT: IROQUOIS PEOPLE IGNORED AGAIN IN NEW YORK STATE-US LAND GRAB

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Re: Regarding Canadian St. Regis Band of Mohawk Indians, et. al, v. State of New York, et al., Case No. [5:82-CV-0783, 5.82-CV-114,5:89-CV-0829]

EDITORIAL NOTE: We are the original people placed in this part of the world as caretakers. We have always been here and we have covenant relations with everything living here. Everything belongs to our mother, the earth. We acknowledge, respect and give great thanks to her. This makes us all brothers and sisters. This bond never ends. We are the land and the people of the land. Every onkwehonweh knows this. The basis of the kaianerekowa Great Peace is to find the truth.   

Presented Feb 26, 2024 in Syracuse NY:

“We are Kanienkehaka and are here to make a public record of our duty to tell you that whatever happens in that court today is invalid. We are telling you that it is invalid because we object and they do not represent us, the Kanienkehaka.

The US forms agreements with parties within our nations that support its’ interests, and then they suppress everyone else’s voice. This is why they will not allow us into the court room and we are silenced.
We are in Syracuse today with other Onkwehonwe people.
We are all wearing T-shirts that say, “relevant decision maker”. The federal court today is meeting with a group called the ‘Tricouncil’ of Akwessasne’, who have identified themselves as representing the Kanienkehaka.
The Tricouncil do not represent the Kanienkehaka people because their legitimacy comes from outside of our Tekantiokwenhakstah, which is the circle of families that make up the RotInosaunee Confederacy, described in our Great Peace, the Kaienerekowa. You know us as the Six Nations Iroquois Confederacy.
Legitimacy only comes from decisions that are made within our Clans following the consensual decision making protocol. Decisions that come out of this process are transparent and fully vetted, and understood by the people. This has not been followed.
Also, the events taking place in the court today which we think concern a land settlement, uses the 1796 Seven Nations Treaty as its foundation for legitimacy. This treaty was signed between individuals and the United States, and attempted to remove inherent ownership of over 9 million acres of the original Kanienkehaka territory which includes but is not limited to the Adirondacks, the Catskills, and the Mohawk Valley.
The Seven Nations Treaty was illegitimate because it was signed by individuals who did not have the authority to do so. Specifically, Colonel Louis Cook, whose name O’tia:to karonkwen, which means “what identifies him is hung around the neck” , indicates his status as a newcomer to the Confederacy. These newcomers sit against the wall, watch and learn, and make a commitment to the Confederacy, and can never themselves be given full responsibilities. In this understanding, Louis Cook would have never been given the responsibility to negotiate and sign such an agreement. William Gray and Thomas Williams (Teharagwanegen) were also signatories to the Seven Nations Treaty.
The Seven Nations were a confederacy of trading partners consisting of separate villages along the St. Lawrence river valley. They were given the name nations by the English, who had no other frame of reference to understand the economic relationship of these communities. Their Wampum Belt was made by the Catholic Church, identifying them as adherents to their religion. They had no authority to sign away Kanienkehaka lands.
Despite trying to make it known through traditional and legal processes that the Tricouncil does not have the authority to sign away our lands, we have been ignored, and most of our people have been deliberately excluded from the discussions going on right now.
Whatever decision or deal that is made between the United States government, the State of New York, and any other entity and the Tricouncil is invalid. This is for public record”.
—————————————————————
BACKGROUND
THE HAUDENOSAUNEE – MOHAWK -ONEIDA, ONONDAGA, CAYUGA – SENECA – TUSCARORA -TITLEHOLDERS OF THE KANIEN’KEHAKA NATION MADE THE FOLLOWING DECLARATION CONCERNING AKWESASANE LAND CLAIM SETTLEMENT Declaration of Kanien’ke’keha:ka Titleholders concerning Akwesasne Land Claim Settlement. – U.S. District Court – N.D. of N.Y. Filed Feb. 26, 2024, At !0. O’clock 00, John M. Domurad, Clerk. -Syracuse.
This declaration is being stated before the court on behalf of several condoled Rotiiane [chiefs] of the Mohawk Nation Council of Chiefs {MNCC}.
This hearing today has been called by the Magistrate in order to settle any outstanding issues related to the ongoing settlement negotiation. We wish to tell you, the Mohawk Nation council has numerous outstanding issues and concerns regarding the draft settlement, ranging from the Nations implication with the 1796 treaty to the use and occupancy provisions contained in the internal agreement. These concerns have yet to be addressed or seen as relevant to present Mohawk Nation legal council, Alexlandra Page [esq.]. Legal counsel was asked several times to include all condoled leadership as attendees to this hearing, but Alexandra Page [esq] outright denied our request to be present.
Since 2005, the Wolf, Bear and Turtle clan families have not been in agreement regarding Mohawk Nation Council of Chiefs participation in the litigation and settlement. MNCC cannot and should have not proceeded due to our lack of Ska’nikon:ra [our ability to come to one mind]. However, despite this  impasse, certain individuals of the Mohawk Nation Council, along with its representative lawyer, have decided to move forward with settlement negotiations, without the full consensus of the condoled council and “the People of the Longhouse.” We believe this has wrongly given the impression to the court and the rest of the settlement legal council that the Mohawk Nation is a willing party and active participant before this. court.
The Kanien’keha:ka are not American citizens nor are we a “Dependent Domestic Nation”. We are  people who continue to adhere to principles and philosophies entrenched within our very own existence, that. of which is the Kaianere’ko:wa or the constitution of the Rotinonshon:ni. We will forever continue to uphold our responsibility of protecting the land and water for the use and enjoyment of our future generations – as long as the sun shines,  the grass grows and the water flows. Our law preempts any and all paternal orders/law imposed, imagined or written.
Federal courts are an unfit negotiation forum for the Kanien’keha:ka Longhouse People and we are not to be subjects of the US court system – as the Kanienkeha:ka Longhouse People the nation-to-nation framework laid out by the Teiohate Kaswentha [Two Row Wampum]. Two Row Wampum, a treaty of non-interference between two sovereigns, the Rotinononhsion:ni and the federal government. The sovereignty of the United States government came from the Original People of the land, they did not declare independence from the original people of this land. We did not sign a doctrine with Europeans, they signed them with us.
Additionally, we carry the Sewatokhwatshera [One Dish, One Spoon]as our understanding of our relations to and with the land held in collective with all Onkwehon:we. This treaty bars us or any others  from exclusively claiming the lands along the Great  St. Lawrence River. These Onkwehon:we lands and its resources are to be held in common.
The Kanien’keha:kia are able to choose to emancipate from the United States government, tribal government or any entity. We are the host nation. The Kanien’keha:ka, as a nation, has never surrendered jurisdiction through a treaty of surrender agreeable by law in 1948 under Statutes 28 USC 232 and 233 to the State of New York or United States of America. Subsequently, the United States is motherless and cannot exert authority over a mother nation.
The Kaianere’ko:wa, the constitution of the Rotinonsion:ni Confederacy, clearly identifies the women of each clanship within our nations to be the progenitors of the soil and sole titleholders of Kanonhsionni:keh – Country of the Rotinonhsionh:ni. Only the Clanmothers and women of the Rotinonshion:ni have the authority to make important decisions relating to Rotinoshonni lands, whereas the Rotiia:ne and warriors of the Rotinonhsion:ni have the mandate from the women to act in the protection of our territory and to assert our sovereignty.
As One Mind, in consideration of the facts, history, and the welfare of A:se Tahitikonhsontankie, The Faces Yet to Come, of which we are bound by duty to act in their best interest – we cannot agree to any agreement, settlement or treaty that threaten our claim to the land in Kanien:ke, the Mohawk Valley, or to Atirontaksne, our nine million acres in the Adirondacks, of which the Kanien’keha:Lka Nation has never ceded, quitclaimed, extinguished nor relinquished and of which we will maintain the absolute aboriginal title.
The Kanien’keha:ka, as a Nation, reaffirms its position against any and all proposed settlement of our ancestral lands. Having absolute aboriginal title, we shall maintain and exercise our inherent Right to the Land and Right upon it, including but not limited to, travel and sustenance by hunting, fishing, planting and gathering food or medicine and we shall maintain and exercise our Right to live in Peace where we wish upon our land, free from taxation. Furthermore, we shall maintain and exercise our Duty to Keep and take care of the Earth and strive to be in harmony and balance with her. We shall maintain and exercise our Law of Peace, to exist in peace with creation and people.
Tho
Sharenho:wane
Condoled Wolf Clan Roia:ne”
New York State looks at this trial as a prize fight but they don’t know we have Tiger Man McCool on our side. He’s had a  lot of fights. Bobby Bare sings about being a winner:

The hulk of a man with a beer in his hand                                                                                                                                                 He looked like a drunk old fool

And I knew if I hit him rightWell, I could knock him off of that stoolBut everybody, they said, “Watch outHey, that’s Tiger Man McCoolHe’s had the whole lotta fightsAnd he’s always come out the winner”Yeah, he’s a winner
But I had myself about five too manyAnd I walked up tall and proudI faced his back and I faced the factThat he had never stooped or bowedI said, “Tiger Man, you’re a pussycat”And a hush fell on the crowdI said, “Let’s you and me go outside and see who’s a winner”
Well he gripped the bar with one big hairy handThen he braced against the wallHe slowly looked up from his beerAnd, my God, that man was tallHe said, “Boy, I see you’re a scrapperSo just before you fallI’m gonna tell you just a little‘Bout what it means to be a winner”
He said, “Now you see these bright white smilin’ teethYou know they ain’t my ownMine rolled away like ChicletsDown the street in San AntoneBut I left that person cursin’, nursin’ seven broken bonesAnd, uh, he only broke, uh, three of mine andThat makes me the winner”
He said, “Now behind this grin I got a steel pinThat holds my jaw in placeA trophy of my most successful motorcycle raceAnd each morning when I wake and touchThis scar across my faceIt reminds me of all I got by bein’ a winner
Now this broken back was a dyin’ actOf a handsome Harry ClayThat sticky Cincinnati night, I stole his wife away (beat it)But that woman, she gets uglierAnd she gets meaner every dayBut I got her, boyAnd that’s what makes me a winner”
He said, “You gotta speak loud when you challenge me, son‘Cause it’s hard for me to hearWith this twisted neck and these migraine painsAnd this big ole cauliflower earAnd if it wasn’t for this glass eye of mineWhy, I’d shed a happy tearTo think of all that you gonna get by bein’ a winner
I got arthritic elbows, boyI got dislocated kneesFrom pickin’ fights with thunderstormsAnd chargin’ into treesAnd my nose been broke so oftenI might lose if I sneezeAnd, son, you say you still wanna be a winner?
Now, you remind me a lot of my younger daysWith your knuckles a-clenchin’ whiteBut, boy, I’m gonna sit right here and sip this beer all nightAnd if there’s somethin’ that you gotta gain or proveBy winnin’ some silly fightWell, okay, I quit; I loseYou’re the winner”
So I stumbled from that barroomNot so tall and not so proudAnd behind me, I still hear the hoots of laughter of the crowdBut my eyes still see and my nose still worksAnd my teeth are still in my mouthAnd you know, I guess that makes meThe winner
Box 991 kahnawake que. canada J0L 1B0

DISCOVERING DEAD CHILDREN FED TO PIGS UNDER QUEBEC LIQUOR BOARD WAREHOUSE

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 MNN. Feb. 6, 2024. The Duplessis Orphans have been standing with the Kahnistensera Mohawk Mothers over the issue of unmarked graves of native and non-native children. SAQ is the Quebec Societe des alcools du Quebec which is a government department that distributes wine, beer and spirits to over 400 stores in Quebec.  The SAQ warehouse site is known as the “pigsty cemetary” where dead native and non-native children were allegedly fed to the pigs.
[Translation from French.]
“GRAVES ON SAQ LANDS?   
Nathaëlle Morissette La Presse, February 6, 2024
The possible presence of anonymous graves of orphaned and aboriginal children in a former cemetery located on current SAQ grounds could extend the $300 million expansion of the liquor distribution center, which has been suspended since the beginning of January 2024.

WHAT YOU NEED TO KNOW. 

The SAQ stoppage of the expansion and modernization of its liquor distribution center was at the request of the Duplessis Orphans and the Mohawk Mothers,l which suspect the presence of graves of native and non-native children. A portion of the SAQ’s land is located on a former cemetery. A meeting is expected to take place between the Crown corporation and the two groups to discuss the setting up of a protocol.

The SAQ suspended the excavation at the request of the Comité des orphelins et orphelines institutionnalisés de Duplessis and Kanien’keha : ka Kahnistensera, a group of aboriginal activists commonly referred to as the “Mohawk Mothers”.  In a January 8 letter they requested the crown corporation to suspended the construction so that “basic precautions” can be put in place.The SAQ liquor distribution center and head office is located in the eastern part of Montreal, near the Louis-Hippolyte-La Fontaine bridge-tunnel.The expansion and automation of the center is scheduled for completion in 2027  and is estimated to cost around $300 million. This includes a new 192,000 sq. ft. building. The SAQ will expand its online offering to 20,000 products, increase warehouse processing speed and offer 24-hour delivery, which is presently not the case. 

“…the SAQ warehouses on Rue des Futailles is a former cemetery that once belonged to the Sœurs de la Providence, [Sisters of the Providence]” according to the notice sent to La Presse . “The site served as an informal cemetery for unclaimed bodies of patients who died at Hôpital Saint-Jean-de-Dieu. It’s possible there are burials of anonymous children, or some named from the Duplessis Orphans, and a strong probability that aboriginal children were also buried on the site.”

The letter from the Duplessis Committee and Mohawk Mothers point to a high probability of anonymous burials of Aboriginal and non-Aboriginal children on the site. Both parties would like to establish an archaeological and forensic protocol with the SAQ to ensure the protection of human remains prior to excavation. They have requested a meeting with the company’s management. The SAQ confirmed that it would like to discuss the next steps with both groups. “Upon receipt of [the] letter [from the Duplessis Orphans and Mohawk Mothers], SAQ decided not to undertake excavation on the proposed expansion, while establishing a plan of action.”

For the moment, no meeting date has been set.”Official exhumation measures were […] undertaken on this property in the late 1960s, before it was owned by the SAQ,” the Crown corporation stated in an official statement by email to La Presse.

BY THE BOOK. 

According to anthropologist, Philippe Blouin, who works closely with the Mohawk Mothers and acts as their French interpreter, the signatories were only notified of the work stoppage late on Friday February 2nd, a few hours after La Presse had questioned the SAQ about the matter. “It was registered as a cemetery,” says Blouin, who is also a lecturer and doctoral candidate in anthropology at McGill University. “Unofficially, it was called the “pigsty cemetery”. Unclaimed bodies, mostly of children who were at Saint-Jean-de-Dieu, were buried there. Many of the bodies were exhumed and transported to Saint-François-d’Assise Cemetery. By accident, in 1999 during the expansion projects [of the SAQ] some bones were found.”

Their letter stated, “As representatives of the Duplessis orphan and Mohawk communities, we do not wish to see such accidental discoveries happen again,” reads the letter. In 1999 and today, the SAQ asserts that the were “animal remains”.

Regarding the distribution center, Hervé Bertrand, president of the committee representing the Duplessis orphans, is convinced that human bones were involved. If the SAQ won’t cooperate, he won’t hesitate to go to court, he told La Presse.

A ROYAL VICTORIA, TAKE 2? 

The SAQ case is not the only one of interest to the aboriginal group, whose role in Mohawk law is to ensure the preservation of traditional territory. The Mohawk Mothers have gone to Quebec Superior Court and forced a halt to the work planned at the Royal Victoria Hospital for McGill University to expand its campus. The Mohawk Mothers fear that excavation work will destroy possible native burials and clandestine graves. In October the Superior Court forced McGill University and the Société québécoise des infrastructures (SQI) to reinstate the Panel of Expert Archaeologists to carry out proper excavations. A few weeks ago the SQI and the university appealed the ruling. The appeal will be heard on June 11.

The brilliance of this song is because it is being sung by the spirit of our buried children, by The Band Perry: “If I die young , bury me in satin. Lay me down on a bed of roses. Send me on the river at dawn. Send me away with the words of a love song. Or make me a rainbow and I’ll shine down on my mother. She’ll know I am safe with you when she stands under my colors. And life ain’t even gray but she buries her baby. The sharp knife of a short life. Well I have had just enough time. If I die young bury me in satin . . . .”
Kahnistensera@riseup.net
box 911, kahnawake, que. canada J0L 1B0

AIR PRODUCTS & CHEMICALS INC. WASTE TO BE DUMPED INTO ST. LAWRENCE RI.

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MNN. THE FOLLOWING REPORT WAS READ ON KRK1:30 RADIO KAHNAWAKE @ 12:35 PM MON. FEB. 5/24. 

“Feb 5, 2024: as read on K103 Radio, Kahnawake at 12:35

Time Sensitive: Let’s talk about Air Products & Chemicals Inc. 

Nine years ago, I began working in Akwesasne as a family physician. One of the strong currents underlying the health of Akwesasro:non is that the environment is heavily polluted and that many of the people are sick. The high levels of PCBs, lead, mercury, benzene, fluoride, dioxins, arsenic, and cyanide have been documented in many research studies in Akwesasne and are felt to be responsible for the elevated levels of cancers, diabetes, mental health illnesses like dementia and depression, developmental disorders in children, and endocrine and autoimmune disease.

The corporations responsible for this air, water, and soil pollution have done extensive remediation to decrease these chemicals in the environment. But it is never enough. People are still asked to eat only a small amount of fish, garden in soil that is brought from elsewhere, not pick medicines in certain areas, and of course not to drink untreated water from the Kaniatarawenen:en, or the St. Lawrence River. We have a responsibility to be on constant vigilance, stewarding the lands against further damage, so that our ‘Coming Faces’ will be able to live in a healthy environment.

In July 2022, the United Nations officially recognized that a clean, healthy, and sustainable environment is a human right. Both Canada and the United States have also recognized this right. At the same time, to mitigate Climate change, both countries are looking for energy solutions that do not emit carbon into the atmosphere. One company, Air Products and Chemicals Inc., aims to make hydrogen fuel in a facility that will be built in Massena, NY, adjacent and upriver from Akwesasne. I have read all the available documentation.

Specifically, Air Products & Chemicals Inc., will take water from the St. Lawrence River, clean this water using treatment chemicals called ‘biocide’, and then subject it to an electric current, called ‘electrolysis’, and break the water molecules into its component parts of hydrogen and oxygen. The oxygen will be released into the atmosphere, and the hydrogen will be dried, liquified, stored in tankers, and then driven by trucks 500 miles away to be used in the travel industry as clean fuel. It is considered clean because the energy used to make the hydrogen is hydroelectric. The effluent, or waste from the plant, will consist mostly of water, and at 90-degree F will be disposed of into the nearby Grasse River via the Massena Canal. Right now, Air Products & Chemicals Inc., are applying for aState Pollutant Discharge Elimination System (SPDES) Permit to discharge this waste into the river.

There are concerns about many aspects of this project: there are wetlands to be disturbed, trees to be clear cut, and the homes of endangered species like the Northern Long Eared bat and the Monarch butterfly may be affected. Would 90 degrees F water cause thermal pollution to the Grasse River? Would the armoured and sediment cap that has been placed over the riverbed of the Grasse River, sequestering the previous pollution, be affected, and breached? Is it safe to drive hydrogen fuel through our community? Are there truly no archeological sites in the area? The documents that I have read are very detailed, and using science and regulations, Air Products & Chemicals Inc. have done their due diligence and answered most of these questions.

However, we should have a persistent concern. Air Products & Chemicals Inc plans to send its effluent into the Massena Canal. The Massena Canal was built in 1893, flows into the Grasse River, previously provided hydroelectricity to the Alcoa plant, and is no longer in use. The Massena Canal was NOT part of Alcoa’s remediation plan. Will this effluent from the Air Products & Chemicals Inc. discharged into the Massena Canal disrupt the sediment on the canal’s bottom? What is the depth and the flow rate of the canal waters? What does its sediment contain? Does this sediment contain high levels of PCBs that will then be carried to the Grasse River, over the riverbed armoured cap, right to the waters of Akwesasne?

The Air Products report says, “No significant socioeconomic impacts are expected, and the proposed project is not anticipated to result in disproportionately high or adverse impacts to low income and/or minority populations. Subsequently, no mitigation measures are proposed”. The proposed site is also described as ‘previously undeveloped with no history of industrial activity’. These statements are not true. We are downwind and downstream of three Superfund sites in the adjacent areas of this proposed project. There are many research studies that have shown the deleterious effects of contaminants from these Superfund sites on the health of the people of Akwesasne. Superfund sites are polluted locations in the United States requiring a long-term response to clean up their hazardous non-usable material. The Grasse River remediation project was only completed in 2021, but the area has never been remediated to its natural state.

Akwesasne was not listed as a special interest group. Akwesasne was not officially invited to any information and consultation sessions. Notices were only posted in the Watertown and Massena newspapers. Akwesasne community members who attended the July 12, 2023, meeting were reassured that Air Products & Chemicals Inc. would hold an information session in Akwesasne later. Despite many attempts to contact Air Products & Chemicals Inc., this meeting never happened, and the information was eventually obtained through a freedom of information application to the Department of Environmental Conservation (DEC).

Given that we are downstream, adjacent to Massena, and have a very public, historic, ongoing, adverse, distrusting relationship with the corporations responsible for the three Superfund sites, we wonder why our people were deliberately kept out of the plans for this project. We became substantively aware of this project two weeks ago. We have until February 8, 2024, to make our concerns known to the DEC who evaluate the SPDES Permit of Air Products & Chemicals Inc.

I would add at this moment that we, as stewards of our mother, as Okwehonwe — we don’t rip apart the molecules of our mother’s water. We protect the water, give thanks to the water- industrialism no matter how it’s advertised as being “green”, it’s painted, and is about money. They will always have the underlying desire to separate us from the relationships we have to the air, water, and plant life. We must make our voices heard and protect ever acre of wetlands we have. We must make our voices heard and not allow the sleeping waters that contain the contaminated sediment to be awakened.

As it stands, the SPDES permit must be denied or at least delayed. Your voice matters. Please- write, email, or call the DEC and urge them to deny Air Products & Chemicals Inc. the SPDES permit. 

Miranda Gilgore, NYSDEC Region &  Headquarters

State Office Building – 317 Washington St, Watertown, NY 13601

Phone: (315) 785-2245

Email: DEP.R6@dec.ny.gov

 

Ojistoh Horn, MSc, MD, CCFP”

 

Deep Purple sang about this. “Smoke on the water”. “We all came out to Montreux on the Lake Geneva shoreline to make records with a mobile. We didn’t have much time. “Frank Zappa and the Mothers” were at the best place in town. Until some stupid with a flare gun burned the place to the ground. Smoke on the water, fire in the sky. Smoke on the water, fire in the sky… 

thahoketoteh@ntk.com

MohawkMothers.ca

kahnistensera@riseup.net

mohawknationnews.com 

box 991, kahnawake, quebed canada. J0L 1B0

kahentinetha2@protonmail.com

DENY “AIR PRODUCTS” PERMIT BY FEB. 8/24.

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MNN. January 31, 2024. There are questions about “Air Products”. We need to know if their product is safe. Please post & distribute this. niawen kowa. MNN.

“Air Products in Massena – the SPDES permit must be denied.

Akwesasro:non have been largely unaware of the plans to open an Air Products and Chemical Incorporated facility in Massena, NY. Massena is located a few miles upstream of Akwesasne on the St. Lawrence River, or Kaniatarawenen:en.

Air Products is advertised as a ‘green’ hydrogen facility. It will use subsidized hydroelectric energy of the Moses Power Dam to run an electrolysis reaction to divide water molecules into their oxygen and hydrogen components. The hydrogen will be stored in tankers, transported by trucks, and sold to large commercial entities as an alternative energy source. This is described as a ‘green’ climate change solution. The facility is currently applying to the Department of Environmental Conservation (DEC) for its State Pollutant Discharge Elimination System (SPDES) Permit.

These are important details of Phase one of the Air Products Massena facility:

Once operating, the facility will consume 3 million gallons of water daily from the St. Lawrence River.

In its SPDES permit application, the facility is requesting to discharge water at 90 degrees Fahrenheit into the Grasse River. Will this cause thermal pollution?

Hydrogen is highly flammable (recall the Hindenburg transport balloon?) and an estimated 25 trucks per day will transit east to Interstate Highway 87, straight through Akwesasne Territory.

An undisclosed type and amount of Biocide and Disinfectant will be discharged into the Grasse River, which flows downstream into the St. Lawrence River. What will happen to the plants that were placed in the Grasse River for remediation?

Approximately 80 acres of forestry and wetlands behind Alcoa will be clear-cut – a process that has already begun. These wetlands currently house endangered animals and plant life.

Additionally, the wetlands filter water and their roots strengthen the soil, preventing erosion. These wetlands are in proximity to Alcoa West’s Potliner Disposal Sites, lagoons and landfills containing fluoride, cyanide, PAHs, PCBs, and metals. Destroying these wetlands risks the integrity of our natural ecological barrier between these industrial waste zones and the Kaniatarawenen:en. 

The chemicals listed underlie the incredible contamination of the lands, waters, air, plants, medicines, trees, animals, and fish surrounding Akwesasne. In the 1970’s, Maclean’s magazine described Cornwall Island, a district of Akwesasne, as an island “Unfit for Man or Beast”. Many studies have linked this pollution to serious health problems in the people in Akwesasne. There are anecdotal high rates of cancers, autoimmune, liver, endocrine, diabetes, mental, and other health issues seen by the health workers of the community. These wetlands are integral to our health, as well as those of endangered species of wildlife, plants, insects, and fish. We have a responsibility to steward these forests and wetlands. Chemicals and thermal pollution are not safe for our fish, wildlife, or plant life. We have not been reassured that the integrity of the caps over the Grasse river bed will not be damaged by this proposed industry.

The community of Akwesasne has not been consulted about Air Products’ plans. If this is Phase 1, then what is Phase 2? There has NOT been free, prior, and informed consent of our people to this project. We have a right to know what is happening in proximity to our territory. We should not have had to get this information by a Freedom of Information process. We have a responsibility to steward the land, water, and the air. We must ensure that the historical impact of industrialization does not happen again. We need more information to make informed decisions for the future of ‘The Coming Faces’ and our environment.

As it stands, the SPDES permit must be denied. The due date is February 8, 2024.

Please- write, email, or call the DEC and urge them to deny Air Products the SPDES permit.

Miranda Gilgore,                                                                                                                                                                                  NYSDEC Region 6 Headquarters,                                                                                                                                                            State Office Building – 317 Washington St., Watertown, NY 13601                                                                                                  Phone: (315) 785-2245, Email: DEP.R6@dec.ny.gov

Ojistoh Horn, MSc, MD, CCFP

 

Sarah McLachlan and Robbie Robertson englightened us.  [World on Fire] “Hearts are worn in these dark ages. You’re not alone in this story’s pages. The light has fallen amongst the living and the dying. And I’ll try to hold it in, yeah I’ll try to hold it in. The world is on fire, it’s more than I can handle. I’ll tap into the water, try to bring my share. I’ll try to bring more, more than I can handle. Bring it to the table, bring what I am able. I watch the heavens but I find no calling. Something I can do to change what’s comin’. Stay close to me while the sky is falling. I don’t wanna be left alone, don’t wanna be. alone. The world is on fire, it’s more than I can handle. I’ll tap into the water, try to bring my share. I’ll try to bring more, more than I can handle. Bring it to the table, bring what I am able. Hearts break, hearts mend, love still hurts. Visions clash, planes crash, still there’s talk of Saving souls, still the cold is closing in on us. We part the veil on our killer sun. Stray from the straight line on this short run. The more we take, the less we become. The fortune of one man means less for some. The world is on fire, it’s more than I can handle. I’ll tap into the water, try to bring my share. I’ll try to bring more, more than I can handle. Bring it to the table, bring what I am able. The world is on fire, it’s more than I can handle. I’ll tap into the water, try to bring my share. I’ll try to bring more, more than I can handle. Bring it to the table, bring what I am able.”

 

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POSTED BY:

MohawkMothers.ca

kahnistensera@riseup.net

mohawknationnews.com

Box 991, kahnawake que.canada J0L 1B0 kahentinetha2@kprotonmail.com

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

CONTESTED SOVEREIGNTIES @ RVH/MCGILL UNIVERSITY

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MNN. Jan. 24, 2024. Please Post & Distribute.

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/.

CBC News 2022                                                                                                                                                                          Kanien’kehá:ka Elders Win Fight for Injunction to Stop Work at Montreal’s Old Royal Victoria Hospital, October 28th, 2022. https://www.cbc.ca/amp/1.6632734.

Clermont, Norman 

1999 Archéologie: La préhistoire québécoise. In Québec 2000. Multiples visages d’une culture, edited by Robert Lahaise, pp. 57-75. Éditions Hurtubise: Montreal.

2001 Quebec. In Encyclopedia of Archaeology: History and Discoveries, edited by T. Murray, vol. 3, pp. 1079–1083. ABC-Clio: Santa Barbara.

Cooper, Anderson 2023                                                                                                                                                                    Canada’s Unmarked Graves: How Residential Schools Carried Out ‘Cultural Genocide’ Against Indigenous Children. CBS News, February 12th, 2023. Accessed December 7th, 2023. https://www.cbsnews.com/news/canada-residential-schools-unmarked-graves-indigenous -children-60-minutes-2023-02-12/.

Culture et Communications Québec 2023                                                                                                                                               Site patrimonial du Mont-Royal. Webpage, accessed December 7th, 2023. https://www.patrimoine-culturel.gouv.qc.ca/rpcq/detail.do?methode=consulter&id=93313 &type=bien.

Delaronde, Karonhí:io and Jordan Engel 2015                                                                                                                                Montreal in Mohawk [map]. Decolonial Atlas, February 15th, 2015. https://decolonialatlas.wordpress.com/2015/02/04/montreal-in-mohawk/.

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Falconers LLP 2023a                                                                                                                                                                           Historic Deal in Search of Indigenous Children: Mohawk Mothers Succeed in Holding McGill and Quebec Accountable. Webpage, accessed December 10th, 2023. https://falconers.ca/historic-deal-in-search-of-indigenous-children/.

2023b McGill/SQI Found in Breach of Court Ordered Settlement for Firing Expert Panel at Royal Vic Redevelopment. Webpage, accessed December 10th, 2023. https://falconers.ca/mcgill-sqi-found-in-breach-of-court-ordered-settlement-for-firing-exp ert-panel-at-royal-vic-redevelopment/.

Fournier, Emelia 2023a                                                                                                                                                                          Cadaver Dogs Sniff Out Potential Human Remains Near Old Royal Victoria Hospital Site. Webpage, accessed December 10th, 2023. https://www.aptnnews.ca/national-news/cadaver-dogs-sniff-out-potential-human-remainsnear-old-royal-victoria-hospital-site/.

2023b Video Shows Security Guard Confronting Mohawk Mothers at University Site in Montreal. Webpage, accessed December 10th, 2023. https://www.aptnnews.ca/national-news/video-shows-security-guard-confronting-mohawk-mothers-at-university-site-in-montreal/.

Gabriel-Doxtater, Brenda K. and Arlette Kawanatatie Van den Hende 1995                                                                                           At the Woods’ Edge: An Anthology of the History of the People of Kanehsatà:ke. Kanehsatà:ke Education Center: Kanehsatà:ke.

Gates St-Pierre, Christian 2018                                                                                                                                                          Quebec Archaeology. In Encyclopedia of Global Archaeology, edited by Claire Smith, pp. 1-9. Springer Publishing, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-51726-1_2632-1.

Government of Quebec 1985 [1972] Loi sur les biens culturels. Webpage, accessed December 7th, 2023. https://www.legisquebec.gouv.qc.ca/fr/document/lc/B-4.

2011 Loi sur le patrimoine culturel. Webpage, accessed December 7th, 2023. https://www.legisquebec.gouv.qc.ca/en/document/cs/p-9.002.

Grewal, Jasjot 2023                                                                                                                                                                                McGill Reports Nine Potential Grave Zones at New Vic Site a Week After Security Verbally Assaulted Mohawk Mothers. Webpage, accessed December 10th, 2023. https://www.thetribune.ca/news/mcgill-reports-nine-potential-grave-zones-at-new-vic-site -a-week-after-security-verbally-assaulted-mohawk-mothers-04092023/.

Hall, Louis Karoniaktajeh 2023                                                                                                                                                          Mohawk Warrior Society: A Handbook on Sovereignty and Survival, eds. Philippe Blouin, Matt Peterson, Malek Rasamny and Kahentinetha Rotiskarewake.. Between the Lines Ltd., Toronto.

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Hale, Horatio 1894                                                                                                                                                                                      The Fall of Hochelaga: A Study of Popular Tradition. Journal of American Folklore 7(24): pp. 1-14. https://doi.org/10.2307/532956.

Hill, Susan 2017                                                                                                                                                                                          The Clay We Are Made Of: Haudenosaunee Land Tenure on the Grand River. University of Manitoba Press, Winnipeg. https://mcgill.on.worldcat.org/oclc/1027127440.

Martijn, Charles A. 1998                                                                                                                                                                              Bits and Pieces, Glimpses and Glances: A Retrospect on Prehistoric Research in Quebec. In Bringing Back the Past: Historical Perspectives on Canadian Archaeology, edited by Pamela J. Smith and Donald Mitchell, pp. 163-190. University of Ottawa Press: Ottawa.

McGill University 2023                                                                                                                                                                                The Site: The New Vic Project. Webpage, accessed December 7th, 2023. https://www.mcgill.ca/newvic/site.

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.

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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:

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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