Thursday was the deadline for some non-native residents of the Kahnawake Mohawk reserve to begin leaving the community, but some are fighting the order.
The ten-day period has elapsed for the first of 26 people who are receiving eviction letters from the band council.
It stems from a 1981 law that bars non-status people from living in the south-shore community.
The idea is to try to preserve Mohawk bloodlines but some say that it's wrong to legislate affairs of the heart while others contend the policy is racist.
Cecile Charlie, a native who was forced out of Kahnawake in the mid-70s after marrying a white man, said the band council is stirring up a lot of strong emotions.
She has since returned to the reserve with her children, and believes in keeping families together.
"It's gonna be a lot of conflicts on this thing now that they're really pushing it (…) It's a very touchy issue," she said.
Conflict on horizon
Three non-natives have already moved from the reserve, while three others have asked for more time to pack up.
Another two people have appealed their cases to the band council.
Grand Chief Mike Delisle told CTV Montreal reporter Herb Luft that follow-up letters will be sent to other non-natives next week, and the council may reveal their names as a way to pressure them to leave.
The band council began handing out eviction notices last week.
Non-natives who were living with a Mohawk prior to the introduction of a moratorium in 1981 will be allowed to stay, but the band council says all others have to leave.
