Battle for support follows ouster

Moving to take the reins of the narrative in the wake of a Mohawk Council of Kanesatake (MCK) Ethics Commission ruling that the grand chief has vacated his seat, the remaining MCK chiefs brought their case to the media this week.

External governments that refuse to recognize the authority of the decision are spurning Kanesatake’s right to self-governance, they argued at a press conference Wednesday at Oka Park.

“It’s important to get the message out there that that matter’s been decided, and he is no longer on Council,” said MCK chief Brant Etienne of Victor Bonspille, who was ousted from his position as grand chief in the March 26 decision.

Bonspille has continued claiming the office, however, even appearing at an official event the same morning of the press conference. He attended a ceremony at the Kahnawake Legion, where he was photographed with member of Parliament Marc Miller.

On Thursday, Bonspille doubled down, announcing he was meeting with Parks Canada representatives about the repatriation of ancestral remains.

“I still maintain that title and that position,” said Bonspille in an interview with The Eastern Door on Wednesday. “I was elected by my members. The only way I’m going to leave that and be removed from that is by a vote of non-confidence by my members, until they don’t want me there, and that hasn’t happened.

“In fact, they want me to stay, finish my mandate, and I’ll take my chances in the new election in July.”

The Kanesatake Custom Electoral Code gives the MCK the prerogative to create the Ethics Commission, the body to which appeals are sent in the case of dismissal. The committee was assembled in response to an appeal by Victor and Valerie Bonspille after they were sanctioned in February 2024 by the Council majority for allegedly missing over 50 Council meetings - sessions that are typically held each week, but which Bonspille insists can only be called by the grand chief.

Indigenous Services Canada (ISC) continued to recognize decisions taken at these meetings by a majority of Council.

The Ethics Commission was put together late last year by First Peoples Law and is comprised of lawyers from outside the community, including one Indigenous lawyer, Kathleen Lickers, who is Seneca from Six Nations.

On Wednesday morning, Victor Bonspille said that when he launched his appeal, he had believed the Ethics Commission would be made up of community members.

“They just did it themselves, hired non-Natives, hired outside members, outside persons to come in and decide on my fate and chief Valerie’s fate,” he said.

A letter sent to the commission ahead of the hearing by Robert W. Lord, a lawyer representing Victor and Valerie, outlined their decision to boycott, advancing Victor’s contention that the rest of Council was removed from office twice at community meetings in 2023, making their actions illegitimate.

Fewer than 50 community members approved the motions of non-confidence at each of these meetings.

With an Ethics Commission decision rendered against Victor, MCK chief Serge Otsi Simon suggested at the press conference this week that Victor is breaking the law by purporting to continue speaking for the community.

“It’s actually a crime under the criminal code, falsely representing himself to be a peace officer or a public officer. I think there’d be a good case to be made for criminal charges if he continues to do so in violation of law. He can do so at his own peril,” said Simon.

However, far from staring down criminal charges, Victor has met little resistance from external governments, which have proven reticent to entangle themselves in Kanesatake’s governance turmoil.

“Indigenous Services Canada is aware of the Kanesatake Ethics Commission’s decision and is reviewing the information. We will follow up with an update soon,” said ISC spokesperson Jacinthe Goulet on Wednesday.

Quebec’s Indigenous affairs minister Ian Lafrenière suggested he will continue to deal with both sides and pointed to the upcoming MCK elections. His primary concern for Kanesatake, he said, continues to be security and the presence of organized crime.

“I’ve never hidden it; I’ve always been in communication with the two groups that were created on the Council,” said Lafrenière in a statement.

“My priority is and will remain the well-being of the community members who have the right to live in safety. Now, I’m going to let them manage their internal issues, but I remain available to support them and talk to them, as I always have.”

Kanesatake’s sister community of Kahnawake has also been non-committal.

“I mean, at the end of the day, they’re going through some issues in their community. We’re not really getting involved,” said Kahnawake Council grand chief Cody Diabo, noting that Victor was invited to the upcoming Iroquois Caucus.

“I will share information with everybody, so if there’s anything that’s needed, we’ll share it with Victor and with their whole council. I’m not really going to say we’re picking any type of sides at this stage. We have work that needs to get done, so we’ll let their community decide in the near future,” he added, referring to the upcoming election. At the press conference, Simon said the Assembly of First Nations Quebec-Labrador has conveyed to Council it will respect Kanesatake’s governance rules. However, the AFNQL would not confirm this to The Eastern Door.

“The AFNQL chief must respect the local governance of the First Nations governments that sit at the AFNQL Chiefs and Grand Chiefs table,” said Julianne Gagnon, an AFNQL spokesperson. “For this reason, he will not comment on this situation in further detail.”

Victor insists an election should be held as soon as possible.

“These individuals who continue to call themselves chiefs, give the people what they want. Call an election,” he said.

Controversy over the election and the Ethics Commission decision has simmered on social media, with many voices critical of the Council majority.

However, MCK chiefs have dismissed this as not being representative of community sentiment.

“I think the lack of consensus is coming from a very small group, otherwise there would have been a lot more of an upheaval, from our perspective,” said MCK chief Amy Beauvais.

Simon echoed this.

“Facebook is a tool you could use to measure some of the discontent in the community or favorability, but it’s not the right tool,” he said, adding that the loudest voices do not necessarily represent the community’s feelings.

“I think this election is going to be the ultimate tool.”

Following the announcement of the Ethics Commission’s decision that the Bonspilles have vacated their seats - made on the basis not only of missed Council meetings but also “wrongful conduct,” citing the chaining of the band council, an injury sustained by MCK chief Denise David, and Victor’s request for Kanesatake to be put into third-party management - the remainder of the MCK hosted a virtual community meeting on Saturday morning.

Kanehsata’kehró:non Wanda Gabriel, who attended the virtual meeting, found it unproductive.

“I believe they should all resign. They have all broken trust,” Gabriel said, referring to everyone who has been elected for this term.

“Their abusive behaviour towards each other and the community, lack of communication, or rather pretend community consultation,” she said in enumerating the ways she feels they have failed the community.

“The community put faith in all of them when they were voted in,” Gabriel said.

The next election will take place July 31, according to the MCK.

The electoral code dictates elections be held the second Saturday of June, but it also dictates that terms are four years long. With the previous election held July 31, 2021, because of the COVID-19 pandemic, Council chiefs have said they are erring on the side of a full term, at least in part to avoid uncertainty about who is eligible to run for grand chief.

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Marcus Bankuti, Local Journalism Initiative Reporter