Code of conduct officially approved

Following a feedback period with community engagement sessions and in-person meetings, the new Code of Conduct for Mohawk Council of Kahnawake (MCK) chiefs has officially been approved.

A full feedback report is available for viewing on the MCK website, which outlines the type of feedback given by community members - feedback was primarily given at kiosk sessions on September 3 and 4, as well as online.

“When you get different people looking at things, they might pick out things that you maybe didn’t see or notice right away,” said MCK grand chief Cody Diabo.

Some of the feedback comments were positive, with one individual stating “This is cool and I liked the steps,” and another stating that they were “Happy to see ‘Kanien’kehá:ka of Kahnawake’” used in the documents.

Several comments were made about tattoos - the original code stated that “Tattoos must be covered, to the extent possible,” but some community members expressed concern that this rule leaves little leeway for those with traditional tattoos.

Another mentioned that they felt individuals should be able to have sentimental tattoos on display, and another added that they felt it was unfair to ask individuals to cover them up.

“Tattoos are, for some people, a way of self-expression,” one individual had commented during the feedback. “It’s almost censorship to make them cover them up.”

A new section was added to accommodate the feedback, with the wording changed to clarify that any tattoo with words or imagery that might be interpreted to be offensive, sexual, or supportive of alcohol or any illegal activity must be covered.

“When we’re out there, we’re representing the community, so it’s about trying to make any effort possible to cover up tattoos,” Diabo said. “We know how we should be dressing if we want to represent the community.”

Other feedback included slight changes to wording and grammar for ease of interpretation.

The feedback sessions were coordinated by the Governance Advisory Team, made up of Darlene Alfred, Heather Jacobs-Whyte, Marnie Jacobs, Carrie-Layne Marquis and Shotehra Rice. The team made initial amendments prior to the public feedback phase.

“We are pleased of the feedback received during the engagements with the community,” said GAT member Marnie Jacobs in a press release. “Further amendments were made as a result of the perspectives we heard from Kahnawa’kehró:non and it really fine-tuned the initial amendments made by our team.”

The full document was approved on Tuesday and is available to view on the MCK website.

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