Land Allotment process changes announced

05/16/2016

The Mohawk Council of Kahnawà:ke (MCK) would like to inform Kahnawa’kehrò:non that changes to the Land Allotments Policy of Kahnawà:ke (‘The Policy’) are being implemented in regard to the process used for people applying for Land Allotments.

The official list of those applying for Allotments will now be published at www.kahnawake.com/landallotments , though the list will continue to be publically announced to the local media for a brief period of time.

“The MCK is always looking for ways to improve its processes, especially when it comes to those that directly affect community members,” said Lands Portfolio Chief Clinton Phillips. “This will allow for direct access to the list of applicants, as not everyone purchases the newspaper every single week.”

Applicants are still required to make their communal request at a Community Meeting in order to receive a land allotment, though there is a change to that process as well.

“We need to make it absolutely clear that the Land Allotment Administrator is extremely thorough in terms of due diligence,” Chief Phillips continued. “Because the Administrator leaves no stone unturned, we will no longer ask whether people have objections to any applicants at the final stage of the process at the Community Meeting. It has been our experience that this has been problematic, as some participants have used this as an opportunity to engage in unacceptable behavior toward some applicants.”

“Therefore, any community member who has an objection must now submit a written complaint within 30 days of the communal request at the Community Meeting,” he concluded. “Any complaint will be addressed in a timely manner, in accordance with the Policy.”