Kahnawake 'repulsed' by Quebec's response to Montreal Canadiens' land acknowledgement
An Indigenous land acknowledgement from the Montreal Canadiens last week sent shockwaves through Quebec, with bipartisan backlash from politicians who called the Habs' statement false.
On Thursday, the Mohawk Council of Kahnawake wrote, in a scathing public statement, it was "repulsed by Quebec’s attempt to politicize a genuine reconciliatory action."
The story began last Saturday, when the Canadiens performed their first territorial acknowledgement before puck drop.
For those who don't know, a land acknowledgement is a statement, usually spoken or displayed before a public event, which identifies which Indigenous nation was present on the land before Europeans arrived.
As of last Saturday, the Montreal Canadiens will perform the acknowledgement before each home game, which states Quebec was founded on unceded territory. "Unceded" means the Indigenous people who were here before Europeans arrived never signed the land away.
"The Montreal Canadiens wish to acknowledge the Kanien'kehá:ka, also known as the Mohawk Nation, for their hospitality on this traditional and unceded territory where we are gathered today," reads the statement, first delivered by announcer Michel Lacroix last week.
Quebec's Indigenous Affaires Minister Ian Lafrenière called the acknowledgement a "mistake" during a press scrum on Wednesday, adding it's unclear which Indigenous community was first to live in the area now known as Montreal.
"It's important to recognize that the First Nations were here before us and that we live together, but now we're getting into a debate between historians who don't agree, so maybe it was a mistake."
Parti Québécois leader Paul St-Pierre Plamondon said "if it is historically wrong to say that this is unceded Mohawk territory, I am sorry, but the truth is important. Rigour, facts matter."
The Mohawk Council of Kahnawake (MCK) supported the acknowledgement, calling it "an example of true reconciliation between Canadians and Indigenous Peoples" in a statement issued Thursday.
However, it said, "the media commentary from Quebec insist that it may be a mistake to refer to specific nations when acknowledging the people to which the unceded territory belongs."
The council invited politicians to speak with Kahnawake leaders to better understand their relationship to the land beneath Montreal.
“When we talk about land, it is an essential part of who we are as Kanien’kehá:ka,” said Ohén:ton Í:iente ne Ratitsénhaienhs (grand chief) Kahsennenhawe Sky-Deer.
"Opinionated commentary that challenge and discredit our presence are not only insulting, they are taken as displaced attacks on our existence,” she said.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
'It could be catastrophic': Woman says natural supplement contained hidden painkiller drug
A Manitoba woman thought she found a miracle natural supplement, but said a hidden ingredient wreaked havoc on her health.
After hearing thousands of last words, this hospital chaplain has advice for the living
Hospital chaplain J.S. Park opens up about death, grief and hearing thousands of last words, and shares his advice for the living.
WHO likely to issue wider alert on contaminated cough syrup
The World Health Organization is likely to issue a wider warning about contaminated Johnson and Johnson-made children's cough syrup found in Nigeria last week, it said in an email.
WATCH Video shows dramatic police takedown of carjacking suspects chased through parking lot north of Toronto
Police have released video footage of a dramatic takedown of a group of teens wanted in connection with an attempted carjacking in Markham earlier this month.
Canada, G7 urge 'all parties' to de-escalate in growing Mideast conflict
Canada called for 'all parties' to de-escalate rising tensions in the Mideast following an apparent Israeli drone attack against Iran overnight.
'It was all my savings': Ontario woman loses $15K to fake Walmart job scam
A woman who recently moved to Canada from India was searching for a job when she got caught in an online job scam and lost $15,000.
Families to receive Canada Child Benefit payment on Friday
More money will land in the pockets of some Canadian families on Friday for the latest Canada Child Benefit installment.
After COVID, WHO defines disease spread 'through air'
The World Health Organization and around 500 experts have agreed for the first time on what it means for a disease to spread through the air, in a bid to avoid the confusion early in the COVID-19 pandemic that some scientists have said cost lives.
American millionaire Jonathan Lehrer denied bail after being charged with killing Canadian couple
American millionaire Jonathan Lehrer, one of two men charged in the killings of a Canadian couple in Dominica, has been denied bail.