The Mohawk Council of Kahnawà:ke (MCK) Council of Chiefs wishes to inform the community that a formal letter was sent to Quebec Premier François Legault to express opposition to Bill 84, An Act respecting national integration.
The letter states that the proposed law threatens the inherent rights of the Kanien’kehá:ka of Kahnawà:ke and other Onkwehón:we Nations, and demands the province clarify that the bill is not intended to, and will not, apply to the Kanien’kehá:ka of Kahnawà:ke or any other Onkwehón:we people on unceded territories
The MCK raises serious concerns over the lack of consultation regarding this bill, which imposes measures to enforce a singular culture, language, and set of values on Quebec’s diverse population. The bill offers only a vague acknowledgment of Onkwehón:we rights in the preamble, making it unclear whether the province intends for this bill to apply to Onkwehón:we people.
“Our community is not a minority, nor are we immigrants in our own land and we will not be treated as such,” said Ohén:ton Í:rate ne Ratitsénhaienhs Cody Diabo. “This bill aims to erase different cultures, languages, and histories, and we will not sit idly by and while this government attempts to erase a culture, a language and a people that has been here since time immemorial.”
The MCK is particularly concerned how this may affect the lives of Kahnawa’kehró:non when off the Territory and they also identified the potential for imposing this law through membership requirements to professional orders and the identification of ancestral remains or artifacts as Quebec “cultural heritage property.”
“The time for meaningful consultation and respect is long overdue,” said Ratsénhaienhs Jeffrey Diabo, Kahnawà:ke/Quebec Relations lead. “We are opposed to this law that seeks to strip away our identity or force our community to assimilate.”
A full copy of the letter can be viewed here and will be further discussed at the March Community Meeting.
