LETTER FROM Rotinonhseshá:ka of Kanehsatà:ke.

Dear Minister Nathalie Roy, Minister Sylvie d’Amours and Minister Marc Miller;

The Rotinonhseshá:ka of Kanehsatà:ke object to the proposed archeological digs by the Municipalité d’Oka and Mayor Pascal Quevillon’s proposed construction of a new Parrish Hall/Cultural Center for the Municipalité d’Oka.

The Rotinonhseshá:ka of Kanehsatà:ke remind you that no consultations were undertaken by the Municipalité d’Oka: consultation as well as the free prior and informed consent is required for any projects that have serious and long term affects upon the human rights of Indigenous Peoples. The Supreme Court of Canada stated in the Haida decision that all Crown Actors; municipal, provincial and federal government representatives, must uphold the Honour of the Crown and they must be generous in their dealings with Indigenous Peoples.

The long standing historical issues of Kanehsatà:ke have been exacerbated by the criminalization of the Rotinonhseshá:ka traditional government under Kaianera’kó:wa by Canada in 1924. This has remained the principal excuse for the negligence by Canada and Quebec for not addressing the thefts of Rotinonhseshá:ka (People of the Longhouse) lands. Consequently, the Kanien’kehá:ka of Kanehsatà:ke have suffered severe consequences in access and use of our Homelands; social development and to the peoples’ health and well-being. Institutionalized racism and negligence have also increased tensions between Quebecois settlers and Kanien’kehá:ka. This colonial praxis underpinned the 1990 Kanehsatà:ke Siege, commonly known as the Oka Crisis of 1990; and which exacerbated the fraudulent sales of our Homelands in Kanehsatà:ke.

We hereby adamantly state our Disagreement with your decision to grant the Municipalité d’Oka any permission to break soil on Kanien’kehá:ka Homelands in Kanehsatà:ke. This refusal also applies to the sales of lands purportedly owned by Grégoire Gollin and Collines d’Oka. The construction of homes is also denied without the free, prior and informed consent of the Kanien’kehá:ka Rotinonhseshá:ka of Kanehsatà:ke.

We also would like to state that the Mohawk Council of Kanesatake (sic) does not have the authority to negotiate on the traditional Homelands of the Haudenosaunee/Rotinonhseshá:ka. Our traditional government existed pre-European arrival and has survived colonization. Despite Canada creating laws to make Indigenous traditional governments illegal, as Rotinonhseshá:ka, we are obliged under Kaianera’kó:wa to uphold our laws and customs in protecting our Homelands.

The issue of land theft and endangering the cultural heritage of the Kanien’kehá:ka of Kanehsatà:ke is not a provincial matter as federal representatives have stated. Nor do the federal or provincial governments have authority and jurisdiction over our Homelands.

The theft and fraudulent sales of the lands of the Kanien’kehá:ka of Kanehsatà:ke remains an urgent matter.

Therefore as we approach the 30th anniversary of the Kanehsatà:ke Siege on July 11th, we insist that you halt all land dispossession caused by development: that no permits of any kind be granted to Oka, St. Joseph, Ste. Marth sur-le-lac, Pointe-aux-Anglais and other neighboring municipalities; and that you halt any proposed archeological digs on Kanehsatà:ke, lands of the Haudenosaunee.

We have fought long and hard to protect our unceded Homelands and must remind you that the conflicts are principled in myths and legal fallacies; conducted in a violent and disrespectful manner threatening the human rights of the Kanien’kehá:ka of Kanehsatà:ke under the Kaianera’kó:wa, for over 300 years.
We must remind Quebec, Oka and Canada that your claims upon our unceded lands are founded on legal fallacies such as the Doctrine of Discovery, Doctrine of Conquer, and Terra Nullius all of which have been condemned by the United Nations.

A prerequisite to begin discussions to resolve the land theft in Kanehsatà:ke must be based in an atmosphere of peace, security: without any threats to our lands and its peoples.

Respectfully and in the spirit of Peace