The Mohawk Council of Kahnawà:ke (MCK) wishes to advise Kahnawa’kehró:non who plan to hunt in the traditional territories of other First Nations to be aware of the following issues:
- Over the last few years, some Mohawk hunters have been stopped by provincial and/or First Nation conservation officers
- Some were charged with hunting without a license or a letter of acknowledgement from the First Nations
- Charges have also included “being in possession of illegally obtained moose”
- There is currently one court case pending
- Other Mohawk hunters have been stopped, but not charged, because they were accompanied by a hunter, or had a letter, from the First Nation whose traditional territory they were hunting in
Conservation officers may ask you to provide a letter from the host community, acknowledging that you are hunting in their territory. Please note that anyone who is not a resident of that community may be subject to arrest and seizure by the conservation officers.
Now that hunting season is upon us, we felt it was important to remind hunters that there is a process that should be followed, whereby you should contact the host community to advise them of your intent to hunt in their territory and request a letter of acknowledgement from their office. This ensures that our principles of Respect, Responsibilities, and Rights are adhered to.
Ratsénhaienhs Barton Goodleaf currently is a co-chair of the Iroquois Caucus Harvest Working Group, which addresses these hunting issues. Any questions should be sent to Ratsénhaienhs Goodleaf by email at barton.goodleaf@mck.ca, or Dennis Diabo, the MCK technician working on the file, at dennis.diabo@mck.ca.
