MCK approves and passes Return to State of Normalcy

05/02/2022

The Mohawk Council of Kahnawà:ke wishes to inform the community that it has passed a Mohawk Council Executive Directive (MCED) that will formally conclude the State of Recovery at 11:59pm tonight. This current State of Recovery has been in effect since February 22 of this year. Previous to that, Kahnawà:ke had been in a State of Emergency.

The MCED was passed by consensus at today’s duly-convened Council Meeting after Kahnawà:ke’s Public Safety and Public Health had determined that the situation regarding the COVID-19 pandemic has reached the point where a state of normalcy can be declared. Please note that the declaration does NOT declare the pandemic over. Because of this, masking and distancing are recommended to continue for the time being, and businesses and organizations that choose to maintain preventive measures should be supported.

By entering the state of normalcy, the power, authority, and responsibility of the Commissioner of Public Safety, and Public Health, have concluded the directives under the Kahnawà:ke Emergency Preparedness Law end, and the entities that exercised authority pre-pandemic will resume their full mandates. Moving forward, these entities will determine their own safety protocols within their respective organizations.

“Today’s decision is an important one,” said Ohén:ton Í:iente ne Ratitsénhaienhs (Grand Chief) Kahsennenhawe Sky-Deer. “There is no doubt that the various incarnations of the COVID-19 virus will be with us for a long time to come, but it is time for us to move forward. Our Public Health and Public Safety teams – along with the former Task Force – have done an incredible job of keeping Kahnawà:ke safe and healthy throughout the pandemic. We thank them while also saluting the thousands of community members who did their part by taking responsibility to get vaccinated and adhering to the measures put forth to protect all of us.”

“We are all looking forward to the return towards normalcy,” said Ratsénhaienhs Ryan Montour, who is the lead on the Public Safety Portfolio. “But the virus is still with us and, therefore, we need to remain on our guard. No one wants to go through what we did for the past couple of years again.”

Please note that COVID-19 will continue to be closely monitored by Public Health and, as needed, in conjunction with Public Safety. Details will be announced on Facebook Live broadcast tomorrow (Tuesday) afternoon.