Graeme Hamilton, National Post
February 10, 2010
MONTREAL -- Federal Indian Affairs Minister Chuck Strahl said he is "uncomfortable" with a Mohawk reserve's decision to evict non-natives but insisted there is nothing illegal about the band's actions, even as a prominent Mohawk advocate said the practice goes against native customs.
"It is important for people to realize that whether I like the decisions or not, these are decisions made by First Nations people on their own land," Mr. Strahl told reporters in Ottawa. "It is not for me to make those decisions, or the Government, and we are not going to be making those decisions."
Last week the band council on the Kahnawake reserve, southwest of Montreal, delivered letters to 26 people identified as non-natives living with their Mohawk spouses or partners. The recipients were told they had 10 days to leave.
Mr. Strahl said Kahnawake has the "constitutional basis" to set its own membership rules and kick out non-members. "They can do it legally," he said. Under the Indian Act, First Nations bands may assume control of their membership as long as membership rules are in accordance with the law and are approved by a majority of eligible voters in the band.
However, the band is supposed to submit the membership rules to the minister for his approval, something Kahnawake never did with its 2003 membership law.
Geneviève Guibert, a spokeswoman for Indian Affairs, said Ottawa has no "Indian Act residency bylaw on record" for Kahnawake because none was ever submitted. "It would be for a court to determine if their bylaw is valid or not," she said.
Ellen Gabriel, a Mohawk who heads Quebec Native Women, said the planned evictions run counter to centuries-old customs. "It is important to clarify that the eviction notices do not follow Mohawk customs or tradition," she wrote in an open letter on behalf of her organization, which represents Quebec aboriginal women living on and off reserves. She noted that adoptions of non-Mohawks remains a common practice in Mohawk communities, and those adopted are expected to learn the language and uphold Mohawk laws and traditions. "In many First Nations communities across Canada, the presence of non-native people has not eroded indigenous customs or traditions," she said.
Ms. Gabriel, who is from Kanesatake, another Mohawk community near Montreal, emerged as a leading spokeswoman for the Mohawk cause during the 1990 Oka crisis. In an interview on Tuesday, she said she wrote the letter because she feels the Kahnawake chiefs are giving Mohawks a bad name.
"I didn't like how we're all being categorized as racists and that people think that this is Mohawk law, when it's not," she said. She understands that people in Kahnawake feel threatened because their reserve is small and surrounded by urban development.
"There is a line that needs to be drawn, and you do need to protect what little land we do have left, but these are Mohawk people who have chosen non-native spouses or partners," she said. "I don't think it's hurt our people yet. We still have the family unit, and we still have the language. Identity is really about language, culture, customs and traditions."
Joe Delaronde, the political press attaché for Kahnawake, said the chiefs have not had a chance to study Ms. Gabriel's criticism. But he said old customs do not necessarily apply in the modern context. "Back in the day, when it was old history, we had a heck of a lot more land. Now we're squeezed onto a postage stamp, and that affects every decision that gets made," he said.
Mr. Delaronde said all the eviction letters were delivered last week. He could not say whether anyone has heeded the notice yet. The band council plans to publish the names of anyone who has not left by next week, he said.