Anonymous account targets local women

Women from Kahnawake, Akwesasne, and Kanesatake may be victims of a disturbing campaign of sexual harassment, after an individual came across indecent images of her and others posted non-consensually online.

Konwawennawi Nicholas, who is from Kahnawake but lives in Kanesatake, said she had noticed an unfamiliar account viewing her Instagram stories for some time, and recently came across a link to an account on X (formerly Twitter) linked to that Instagram account’s profile.

To her horror, the account on X featured numerous posts of women from Kahnawake, Akwesasne, and Kanesatake. She said that there were multiple videos that featured men masturbating to ordinary images of women and girls from the communities.

Nicholas said she instantly recognized many of the women, and alleges that some of the photos posted were of minors.

“There were people who are now of age, but someone I know from high school was on there and I could tell personally that the photo was from middle school so she would be 12 or 13,” she said. “It’s just disgusting.”

Upon finding the account, Nicholas called the Peacekeepers in Kahnawake to file a report. She was distressed to learn that she would be unable to file a report because she doesn’t live in the community, and the Peacekeepers advised that she file a report with the Surete du Quebec (SQ) instead.

“I just can’t believe the distance that I had to go to for them to hear what I was saying,” she said.

Nicholas had posted on Facebook about her experience with the Peacekeepers, as well as details about what she had found out about the accounts. Her post prompted widespread community outrage, and since then Nicholas and many other women affected have been able to file reports with the Peacekeepers.

Peacekeeper’s spokesperson Kyle Zachary said that while he couldn’t comment on a specific case, the issue would have been one of jurisdiction.

“The way jurisdiction works is that we can only respond to calls within Kahnawake so if something has occurred outside of Kahnawake we can’t investigate it,” Zachary said.

Since Nicholas’ post, many other victims have come forward with their story, and the names of three community members have been widely shared online as potential suspects for perpetrators of the crime.

However, Zachary said that no arrests have been made, and no one has been charged, in relation to the posts, and the files are still under investigation.

One arrest has come about as a result of the outrage, though not in association with any social media posts. On the afternoon of August 7, the Peacekeepers arrested Joseph So:se Montour at his residence on North Creek Road, after community members who were protesting outside his home were shot with a pellet gun.

His arrest saw Peacekeepers tactically enter the residence and perform a high-risk arrest, and he was formally charged with two counts of assault with a weapon, two counts of uttering death threats, possession of a weapon and an imitation of a weapon for the purpose of committing an offence as well as breach of a release order.

Zachary said that Montour has not been released out of custody and his next court appearance will be scheduled at a later date.

Blue Sky and her mother, Molly Sky, were part of a group of four in attendance when Montour first exited his house and began uttering threats. Video footage of the event taken by Molly and viewed by The Eastern Door, shows Montour holding what appears to be a large knife, uttering threats at community members, including one point where he states, “I’ll fucking stab you.”

Both Blue and Molly were hit by the pellet gun, which left bruising. Blue was hit directly between her brows.

By the time police arrived, a large crowd of community members had gathered, angry about the social media posts.

“We’re fed up. Everybody’s fed up of this. It’s about time that we become united,” Molly said.

She alleges that Montour has been threatening to women and others in the community before, including in late 2024, when he was charged in relation to two shooting threats at the Kateri Memorial Hospital Centre (KMHC).

Seeing Montour with the pellet gun and holding the knife was evidence of just how serious the situation is, the women said.

“These girls are at work, they have to have eyes behind their head, is he going to kill them? Will he threaten to kill them? Is he going to hurt them somehow?” Molly said. “Our Mohawk girls are so beautiful, and to belittle them and to do stuff like that to them is unbelievable.”

Blue and Molly said it’s imperative action be taken by the community now to ensure that future generations are protected, and called for the banishment of anyone found to be involved in the accounts.

“That’s why we’re fighting for it. It’s our future. We’re always talking seven generations ahead, and we’ve got to think of them,” Molly said.

“Hopefully them seeing us fight for them means they know they don’t ever have to back down, they can keep fighting and not be afraid to stand up for what they believe in,” Blue said.

Blue and Molly went to the Peacekeepers’ station to file a report after the incident, but it’s understood from other community livestreams that the crowd of community members went to the residence of another suspected perpetrator. At that residence, Zachary confirmed an individual was escorted from the premises for his safety, but was not charged or arrested.

While the investigation into the case is still ongoing, swaths of community members have spoken out in support of the women who have been harmed by the accounts. A community fire was held the day after the confrontation at the residences, which was attended by some Mohawk Council of Kahnawake (MCK) chiefs.

There, various topics were discussed, including the topic of banishment. MCK grand chief Cody Diabo said that it was important to hear different community perspectives at the gathering.

“Like most people in the community, we were in shock and just trying to figure out the situation while we wait for information to come in,” Diabo said. “We understand that the community was really upset and that they wanted something done immediately, but the Peacekeepers are looking into it and we have to support them and whatever resources they need.”

He said he acknowledges community outrage at the incident, but advocated for people to avoid taking justice into their own hands, and particularly to avoid violence. In a similar vein, a recent post on the Peacekeepers social media page stated that “Vigilante justice WILL NOT be tolerated,” causing more upset for community members who believe that not enough is being done by law enforcement.

Diabo said that when community members take justice into their own hands, it can obstruct due process.

“We need to have the counselling and support there for the victims, and from a former policing background I can understand the emotional trauma this whole process may cause, but we have to have due process and innocent until proven guilty,” Diabo said.

MCK chief Jeremiah Johnson was also at the gathering, and said he discussed with community members the prospect of creating a community law related to banishment, which could be formed via the Kahnawake Community Decision Making and Review Process (CDMRP).

“Ultimately a banishment law would have to be based on actual charges prosecuted by the law, it couldn’t just be an angry mob with so-and-so said this, we would have to have court proceedings backing this up,” he said.

“In my opinion, the most important thing we can do is coming out openly and talking about these issues. We can’t keep these things hidden anymore. I know there’s shame and trauma but people have to come out and heal, and seek justice.

“I think it’s very important that people can come out and discuss these things that happen and hold the people that have done these things to account.”

In the meantime, community members who are both directly and indirectly affected by what happened may be in need of support. Kahnawà:ke Shakotiia’takéhnhas Community Services (KSCS) is offering direct, trauma-informed support to anyone affected, including one-on-one counselling, facilitated talking circles, and access to intake services. They’ve also compiled an extensive list of other resources including helplines, victim services, legal supports, and cybersafety tools which can be found on their social media channels and website.

“Our supports are open to anyone who is feeling the emotional impact of these events, regardless of whether they have been personally targeted,” said KSCS spokesperson Tish Pungartnik. “The recent events have resonated widely, and we recognise the importance of making our services accessible to all who need them.”

She said KSCS also wants to make sure community members are able to support one another through addressing sexual violence long-term.

“Community members can play a critical role by contributing to safer environments both online and offline. This includes reporting harmful or non-consensual content to the appropriate platforms or authorities, addressing harmful behaviour in a respectful and constructive way, and offering support to those affected,” she said. “KSCS offers programming on healthy relationships, consent, and active bystander skills, and we are exploring expanded training focused on online safety, digital literacy, and prevention.”

For community members who have either made or are thinking about making a report with the Peacekeepers, help is also available in navigating the legal aspects of the situation. Bobby Patton is a court worker supervisor with Native Para-Judicial Services of Quebec and said that he and his team can support individuals with writing victim impact statements, accessing external resources, and understanding the court system.

“This is a stressful situation so we want to make it as easy as possible and give them the greatest support that they need,” he said. “We want to take some pressure off them, at least to have someone in their corner to take the stress away.”

He said that those who have discovered that their pictures were featured on the account will likely face a range of emotions, and it’s important that community members give themselves grace as they process what has happened.

“They’re traumatized, seeing this type of behaviour has a really big impact on people. It can lead to post-traumatic stress disorder, they might feel embarrassed and not want to be in public or be seen,” he said. “It’s very difficult on a victim to retestify and relive the situation over and over, so we want to be there to help lift them up and give them their power back.”

To access support from Patton and his team, victims are advised to contact 514-623-9521 for intake, and support from KSCS can be accessed by reaching out to their intake line at 450-632-6880.

Nicholas said that she’s been touched to see so many community members stand by her and fellow survivors, and equally found strength in supporting other women who are in the same situation as her.

“It’s nice to see that people aren’t just brushing over this, it’s not just outrage for 12 hours and it’s done, it’s nice to see people are actually taking steps to make this better,” she said.

“People are realizing this isn’t right and they’re finally calling them out for it.”

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