Ietsénhaienhs Christine Zachary Deom to attend Swearing In ceremony

11/16/2017

The Mohawk Council of Kahnawà:ke wishes to inform the community that Ietsénhaienhs Christine Zachary-Deom will be attending the swearing-in ceremony this afternoon for Montreal’s new Mairesse, Valerie Plante.

She, along with Grand Chief Joseph Tokwiro Norton, was invited to attend the event, which will take place at 4 pm at Montreal’s City Hall. Grand Chief Norton is away from the office and will not be able to attend.

Kahwennaieri Courtney Rice, who has been working on archaeological projects in Montreal on behalf of Kahnawà:ke, will also be present and is expected to speak briefly at the ceremony.

“First, we wish to congratulate Mme. Plante on her historic victory,” said Ietsénhaienhs Zachary-Deom. “For the first time, Montreal has not only a female mayor but also a majority of women on the city council. Additionally, there is an Aboriginal included, with Marie-Josée Parent amongst those elected.”

Ms. Parent has Mi’gmaq heritage and was very much involved in Montreal’s reconciliation efforts during the previous term.

“The relationship with outgoing Mayor Coderre was very positive, with some very tangible results,” added Ietsénhaienhs Zachary-Deom. “We look forward to continuing to build bridges that, a few short years ago, didn’t exist between Kahnawà:ke and Montreal.”

Ietsénhaienhs Zachary-Deom was part of the committee that worked on creating the new City of Montreal flag that now includes the Tree of Peace symbol at its center.