Chiefs to attend War of 1812 commemorative event

09/13/2012

The Mohawk Council of Kahnawà:ke (MCK) wishes to inform the community that Chiefs Christine Zachary-Deom and Kenneth McComber, along with former grand chief Andrew T. Delisle, will be attending a special ceremony commemorating the Bicentennial of the War of 1812.

Prime Minister Stephen Harper is scheduled to speak at the event.

A ceremony will take place at 12:30pm tomorrow (Friday) at the Fort Lennox historic site at St. Paul de l’Ile aux-Noix. The event will commemorate the building of an alliance between the British and the Mohawks, in which Fort Lennox was a focal point which set off a series of battles that had a major impact on Canadian and American history.

Fort Lennox is located near Lacolle, which was the site of the first successful military engagement in which an American force was repelled at the First Battle of Lacolle. A contingent of 230 Kahnawà:ke Mohawks fought alongside the British and was among a force of approximately 1,200 soldiers involved in the engagement.

Kahnawà:ke Mohawks played an important role in the War of 1812. Mohawks from ‘Caughnawaga,’ Grand River, Tyendinaga, Kanesatake and Akwesasne participated as allies of the British.  Tomorrow’s event is one of many that commemorate the Bicentennial.