Kanesatake, October 21st 2020 – The Mohawk Council of Kanesatake would like to issue the following statement relating to the Municipality of Oka’s plans to designate the Pines, the same grounds where 1990’s tragic events unfolded, as Oka’s Heritage site.
To begin and for clarity, certain terms must be understood within this press release.
First, the term ‘owner’ when it comes to the disputed titles:
The Mohawk council has always believed that the non-Native title is an artificial purchased title that was imposed on top of the real title of inherent historical occupation of the Mohawk people.
Second, the term ‘consultation’:
The term “consultation” with First Nations must be implemented as per Supreme court directives under Haida or other related legal proceedings as well as sections 35 and 25 of the constitution.
Oka’s Public ‘Consultation’ about unilaterally turning the Pines into a Municipal Heritage Site
On October 19th 2020, the Municipality held what they consider a public ‘consultation’ on their YOUTUBE CHANNEL about a by-law they are proposing that would site the Pines Forest as a municipal heritage site under the Province’s Cultural and Heritage Act.
MCK shares the ‘consultation’ in its full version since the municipality of Oka has seen fit to remove the comments section, where, comments made from both indigenous and non-indigenous people were virtually unilateral in their criticism of Oka’s proposed project.
Many impressive jumps in logic and misinformation were vehiculated by the mayor, as well as many facts and precisions which seemed to be deliberately left out of the conversation, most notable were :
Oka’s ‘noble’ intent
The Municipality claims to be acting in ‘good faith’ to preserve the land, all while not addressing the fact that the Mohawks are presently engaged in an Environmental Protection effort with the owner of the lands and Environment Canada.
Additionally, it was only in March 2019 that Oka had given its consent to GDB CONSTRUCTION to build a residential development within the small commons.
No consultation offered – A process overflowing with systemic racism
During the said ‘consultation’ of October 19th, the mayor asked that: “Tonight’s “ ‘consultation’ process is also linked to the process of “consulting” members of the community of Kanesatake, because we agree that the people of Kanesatake are part of Oka territory, so Kanesatake is part of Oka territory ” (see 27:00 Youtube ‘Consultation’ Publique d’Oka).
This was done rather than first engaging with the Mohawks in a transparent and separate forum, knowing full well that Kanesatake has a Protection project of the Pines on the table, and doing so in a hasty manner during a pandemic. The circumstances of the so-called ‘consultation’ lead to a violation of the decision of the Constitutional and Supreme Court.
The Pines do not belong to Oka
During the ‘consultation’ about the by-law affecting the Pine Forest, the mayor alluded to the fact that the Mohawks of Kanesatake should not “come and tell us in our sandbox what to do and what not to do”. The Mohawk Council wonders where the municipal sandbox is, because the Kanesatake sandbox spans 260 square miles.
The mayor here attempts to deliberately ignore that the Mohawks of Kanesatake have a long-standing historic claim to roughly 260 square miles of land pledged under the 1760 treaty. The way the municipality wants to move this project forward is steeped in systemic racism and can only be interpreted as another way, a disguise to dispossess the Mohawks of their land governance.
In addition, to calm things down, instead of the mayor blaming the Mohawks for the tensions, the mayor should instead refrain from making inflammatory comments towards the Mohawks as well as stop engaging in actions that threaten Mohawk lands and sovereignty, particularly the Pines … this is the lesson we should all have learned after 1990.
Municipal of Provincial Heritage Site … Same Difference
The Mayor claimed on October 19th that the Mohawk Council of Kanesatake was attempting to disinform its members by stating that the designation of the Pines as a Heritage Site will be Municipal and not Provincial. Yet, the municipality will have to go through the Provincial Heritage and Culture Act in order to cite the Pines as a heritage site for the municipality … this is a simple play on words to divert from the real and obvious issue that Oka wants to remain in full control of those lands.
The private interest ‘owner’ is not in support of the municipality’s motion
During the ‘consultation’, the mayor falsely affirmed that Mr. Gollin who holds the artificial title on 2/3 of the land targeted by the by-law “… is aware of our steps, Mr. Gollin did not object, and nor will he oppose either this zoning change or this draft by-law ” (see 36:50 Youtube video ‘Consultation’ Public Oka).
The fact is that Mr. Gollin has been proactively engaged in discussions for more than 2 years and is meeting with all concerned parties including various levels of government in order to understand the issue at hand, and has decided to withdraw his title purchased in the field to ALL KANESATAKE MOHAWKS.
When asked if the municipality would revoke its plan to adopt its by-law if the private owner wrote Oka a letter expressing his disapproval of the by-law, the mayor evasively answered the question (see attachments for this letter). It must also be said that the private owner ’has recently seen its taxes significantly increased on this land, which could be interpreted as abuse of power and malicious intent.
Oka’s mayor falsely claims that if Canada listened to the Mohawk, they would have to give back the City Hall keys and return by boat to Europe
That is one looooooooong jump in logic. The Mohawk Grand Chief Serge Otsi Simon has repeated countless times publicly that “No one is going anywhere. We (Mohawks) are here, and they (Non-indigenous) are here. Our paths are braided and we have to find a way to work together and live in peace”.
Such comments and behaviors being displayed by the mayor and the municipal council of 9 non-indigenous members towards the Mohawk people, all while trying to unilaterally misappropriate Mohawk Heritage will only lead to more tensions.
Such blatant and contemptuous displays only stokes racism between our people, leaving many feeling frustrated and powerless about the fairness and imposition of such processes. The Mohawk people as well as all other First Nations in Canada have witnessed this same story again and again for over 300 years, and worst of all, it is happening again today, in 2020, on the same exact lands where the 1990 tragedy ensued.
The mayor states they’ve been here for 300 years
As opposed to our 2000 years+ occupation in the region, as proved by the artifacts found in Oka park. The fact is, the Parish of L’Annonciation was created only after 1874, before the creation of Oka, in this sense, the mayor’s claim of 300 years makes no sense.
The Mayor also states that because of this they have as much right as we do, when point of fact they do not entirely have the same rights. If any rights exist, they were acquired through dishonest dealings since 1840.
No racist comments during the broadcast
Knowing full well that the comments would be erased from the Youtube video and the public record once the ‘consultation’ was over, the mayor claimed on multiple occasions that there were racist comments being made towards him and the committee, which is another false statement and further proof of the mayor’s true intents. The only racist comments were those articulated by the mayor, which he has a long public record of making them. (see Youtube ‘Oka Public Consultation)
Why the hurry all of a sudden?
So, why is the mayor in such a hurry to push through with this project, during a pandemic, without proper ‘consultation’, when the lands are already considered ‘environmental protected area’, and only after learning that the Mohawk Council of Kanesatake was involved in its own efforts to protect the lands that the mayor set-out to undermine Mr. Grégoire Gollin’s efforts to right a historical injustice?
In peace and friendship,
Niawenhkó:wa
Grand Chief Serge Otsi Simon
