June/July 2013 - Community Connections

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Community Connections Page 16 June/July 2013 Citizenship Ceremony Begins Intercultural Week at LTMHS Story and Photos by Gordon Wetmore Twenty-nine candidates from 14 different countries became Canada’s newest citizens April 15 in a dignified and welcoming ceremony at Lake of Two Mountains High School in Deux- Montagnes. The ceremony began a week of intercultural activities at the school. P r e s i d i n g o ffici al M s. Barbara Seal, a Member of the O r d e r o f C a n a d a , commended the candidates for their courage in making such a significant change in their lives and for their wisdom in choosing Canada. They would gain from Canada’s democracy and opportunities and add richness to its diversity. Ms. S eal invited the guests and students from LTMHS to join the new Canadians in affirming their commitment to Canada by repeating the Oath of Citizenship with them. All rose, raised their right hands, and repeated the Oath together. The new Canadians then were called one by one to receive the citizenship certificates from Ms. Seal, a red and gold maple leaf pin from MP Laurin Liu, and a cloth Canadian flag from Constable Veronique Joly, resplendent in the Royal Canadian Mounted Police red dress uniform. Ms. Stephanie Vucko, Director General of the Sir Wilfrid Laurier School Board, and LTMHS Principal Eric Ruggi, in the opening welcomes both alluded to their parents being immigrants to Canada. In her closing address, Ms. Liu said that her parents came to Canada from China. When student Meagan Simon sang “O Canada” to conclude the ceremony, lined up across the stage were Ms. Simon (Mohawk and a member of North America’s First People), Ms. Vucko (child of Slovenian immigrants), Mr. Ruggi (child of Italian immigrants), Ms. Liu (child of Chinese immigrants), Ms. Seal (anglophone), Ms. Joly (francophone), and clerk of the ceremony Ms. Nadia Hamidi (child of Moroccan immigrants). The second major event of Intercultural Week happened the next day, a symposium on multiculturalism, with seven prominent representatives of cultural communities giving workshops. Each student attended two workshops. MP Laurin Liu opened the symposium with an address to the student body about the troubles, triumphs and contributions to Canada of the Chinese community. She concluded with the message from the old story of four blind men trying to identify an elephant. Because each touched a separate part, they argued whether the beast was a hose, a tree, a wall or a fan. From partial knowledge, each drew a wrong conclusion, as people can misjudge cultural groups. In his workshop, Imam Salam Elmenyawi, president of the Muslim Council of Montreal and Muslim chaplain for McGill and Concordia universities, carried the theme a step further. As he learned the story, he said, the four men had been blindfolded. When the blindfolds were removed and they perceived the entire animal, they finally understood what ‘elephant’ meant. Other speakers included Manjit Singh, a Sikh chaplain at McGill, Steve Alexandre on the Haitian community, Asif Iftikhar on stereotyping and Muslims from South Asia, Keeton Clarke on the Afro-Caribbean community, Michael Farkas on being a black Canadian and on the Rastafarian faith, and Sebastian Alakatusery, president and founder of the Afro- Asian Foundation of Canada. The Comm unity Connections congratulates the staff, students and all participants for hosting the citizenship ceremony and holding the week of intercultural activities at LTMHS. The week opened on the Monday of the bomb attacks on families at the Boston Marathon. When could there have been a more appropriate time to focus on understanding and acceptance?
Community Connections Page 17 June/July 2013 KANESATAKE SEEKS RESPONSIBLE GOVERNMENT By Michael Kanentase Rice “You Rotiianer (Chiefs) will receive many scratches and the thickness of your skins shall be seven spans. You must be patient and henceforth work in unity. Never consider your own interests but work to benefit the people and the generations not yet born. Let not anger nor fury find lodging in your minds and hearts.” Tekanawita, founder of the Iroquois Confederacy, date unknown. Tekanawita, a Huron-Wendat, brought the Great Law of Peace and ended civil war amongst the Mohawks. His words offer a possible solution to political divisions in Kanesatake. The Great Law is the social, political and spiritual constitution of the Six Nations, the Mohawks, Oneida, Onondaga, Cayuga, Seneca, and Tuscarora Nations. Tekanawita’s words have been passed down orally and become part of the cultural fabric of Kanienkehaka (Mohawk) people. This system of traditional government and chiefs exists in most Mohawk communities. However, it is not recognized nor supported financially, politically or legally by the Canadian government. It is recognized in most Mohawk communities as the legitimate Mohawk government by the majority. The only First Nations government recognized by the Canadian government is the elected band councils. Band councils are a British colonial creation designed in the 1840s to undermine indigenous systems of government and substitute them with a municipal form of government. Band councils are composed of a grand chief and a number of chiefs depending on the population of the band. The Grand Chief is essentially the mayor and the chiefs are councillors. The term “chiefs” are only cultural icing for a municipal council. The Canadian government supports band councils financially, legally and politically to deliver programs, services and information to First Nations peoples. Band councils may pass municipal by-laws only, subject to the approval of the Minister of Indian Affairs, provided they are not considered unconstitutional and do not violate the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms. This is democracy according to Canadians, their leaders and the media. It is not democracy according to First Nations people. The Dominion of Canada’s’ intentions in 1867 were to thrust “democracy” on Mohawk communities and implement it by force if necessary. The Dominion Police, the RCMP, provincial police forces and Federal law provided the force that attempted to abolish First Nations forms of government. Those that refused “democracy” were branded and treated as “criminals and hotheads;” thus creating the stereotype of the Native Peoples as threats to “law and order” when they resisted the coercive policies of the Government, the churches, and the law. As hard as the Federal government, police and church ran residential schools, trying to suppress First Nations social, cultural and political structures, our people secretly kept our languages and cultures alive. Part of that cultural transmission was that chiefs were chosen to represent their people. That included consulting the wishes of the people and making decisions in their best interest. If a chief or chiefs ever lost the esteem of their people, the people could ask the clan mothers to remove the offending chiefs from office. Mohawk society is matrilineal and women pass on their clan and citizenship to their children. Once a chief was removed from office, he never regained it as his removal was considered a disgrace. This is responsible government according to Mohawk society, as their leaders remained leaders as long as they worked for the welfare of their people and held the popular support of their people. Once they no longer worked for the welfare or lost the esteem of the people, the horns of a chief’s office were removed and they were forced to step down as a chief. The band council system introduced by the Indian Act of 1876 changed this to chiefs being elected by popular votes, with the candidates winning the most votes becoming elected leaders. Consensus in Mohawk society was replaced with the creation of opposing parties. The party having the quorum or majority of seats has the political power and recognition of the Department of Indian Affairs to pass by-laws. Once the chiefs have been elected, there are no legal obligations for the party having power to consult with their constituents. Thus, a handful of “chiefs” can negotiate an agreement with the Federal government, without obtaining the approval of the opposing party of chiefs and the people living on the reserve. And this is the root of the political problems in Kanesatake. The people living in Kanesatake want a responsible government that listens, consults and follows the wishes of the community. And if its ruling party fails to do that, they want the right to call for a non-confidence vote to remove their leaders from power. Défi Deux-Montagnes June 9, 2013 at Parc Centreal Register at : www.ventusdxm.org
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June/July 2013 - Community Connections

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