MCK unveils Membership Law plans at well attended Community Meeting

09/17/2014

The Mohawk Council of Kahnawà:ke (MCK) wishes to inform the community that the plan for community engagement in regard to the residency requirements of the Kahnawà:ke Membership Law was announced at last night’s Community Meeting.

The MCK announced that a series of panel discussions is being planned to allow persons representing the various positions an opportunity to be heard in a respectful forum. Various local media are being approached to gauge their interest in providing theses forums, whether on radio, cable television, the Internet or other forms of media.

Additionally, a discussion forum is being looked into for those persons wishing to propose or provide possible alternatives to the current residency requirements of the Kahnawà:ke Membership Law. A date has been set for the first such meeting, which will take place on Tuesday, September 30th at the Knights of Columbus Hall.

“We’re very impressed by the number of people who turned out for the meeting,” said Grand Chief Michael Ahríhron Delisle, Jr. “Considering the topic of discussion, I was very pleased by the tone of the meeting which was, for the most part, very respectful. Both sides had the opportunity to express their views. And both sides agreed that more dialogue and discussion is needed.

“While it was very clear that the majority of those present continue to support the law, we have the obligation to provide a forum for discussion and debate,” he added. “The more information that people have – and the more viewpoints that we are collectively exposed to – the better the decisions that we’ll make when the time comes.”