Movement on Seigneury of Sault St. Louis

04/26/2023

The Mohawk Council of Kahnawà:ke wishes to inform the community of developments on the Seigneury of Sault St. Louis (SSSL) Land Grievance and discussions with Canada.

In 2022, at our request, the Minister of Crown Indigenous Relations Marc Miller appointed a Special Ministerial Representative (SMR), Deborah Corber, to lead Canada′s discussions with the MCK to restart joint work on the SSSL and Kahnawà:ke/Canada Relations (KCR). Starting with the initial visit in November of 2022 and discussions with the Portfolio Chiefs for SSSL and KCR, the MCK is optimistic that a renewed mandate to the SSSL file is within reach.

"Getting over the hurdles of agreeing on a renewed Negotiation Protocol has always been the challenge in the past," said Ratsénhaienhs Mike Delisle, Jr. "Now that we′re making progress, we′re reviving previous public education materials, and some new, which will be shared with the community. When there is significant movement on discussions, our community will be fully informed to help advance the file even further."

A renewed mandate to negotiate will allow the MCK and Kahnawà:ke to move discussions forward with the end goal of resolving Kahnawà:ke′s 340-year Grievance. In the future, the MCK will update the community on progress and plan future engagements with the community on potential resolutions.

Included in the public education phase of the SSSL is the Old Mill Site - a small tract of land (approximately 1 acre) in the municipality of Delson, which is formally and continues to be known as Kahnawà:ke land. This land tract is within the eastern boundary of the SSSL.

The SSSL technical team and the Ratitsénhaienhs have an open-door policy for community members to learn more about the Seigneury and to provide their important feedback. Additional engagement opportunities and informational activities for Kahnawa′kehró:non to access are upcoming. All information will be posted to the Kahnawà:ke Claims website (www.kahnawakeclaims.com) and posted to the Mohawk Council of Kahnawà:ke Facebook page.

"As a Council table, we′re excited that we can begin taking steps to move this challenging file forward," continued Delisle. "There is still a long journey ahead of us, but one that we′re now moving on."

In 1994, the MCK and Canada engaged in a joint process to clarify and resolve the longstanding Grievance. In 2003, Kahnawà:ke accepted a formal offer from Canada to negotiate SSSL. Following a 2014 SSSL Community Consultation on Lands, feedback collected at that time guided how the MCK negotiates with Canada on the Grievance. Shortly after, progress on discussions with Canada began to stall until the SMR appointment.