Commissioner comes to Kahnawake

Mohawk Council of Kahnawake (MCK) chiefs and community representatives had the chance to speak with representatives from Australia this week, who visited Kahnawake as part of a trip organized by Australia’s national human rights institution.

Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Social Justice commissioner Katie Kiss and Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Social Justice director Nick Devereaux visited the MCK on Monday, having previously connected with community member Kenneth Deer during his years of ongoing work at the United Nations.

Deer has known Kiss for around two decades, and said she made it a priority to visit his home community during her trip to Canada.

“Our relationship with Aboriginal Australians has been very, very good over the years, we’re like-minded in many ways because we’re all Indigenous people that have been oppressed and dispossessed,” Deer said. “Over the years we’ve talked about the various situations they’re in and we’re in, and compared that to ours and given our advice.”

Kiss and Devereaux were given a tour of the community and taken to the 207 Longhouse, and the group were also able to visit Kanatahkwèn:ke, Kahnawake’s new Cultural Arts Centre.

“They were quite impressed with the facilities,” Deer said.

The duo also sat down with MCK chiefs to discuss the role of the United Nations Declaration of Indigenous People (UNDRIP) and the Council’s position that Canada has failed to meet its obligations under the declaration.

MCK chief Melanie Morrison said that it was productive to share their experiences with Kiss and Devereaux, and compare how both communities navigate the role of the colonial government, as well as how their organizations interact with the United Nations.

“It was a very bountiful conversation,” Morrison said. “It’s really important that we can meet with these levels of commissions so that we can combine our concerns and bring them forward at a higher level. The UN is definitely something we need to focus on, because Canada is not doing what they should be doing with UNDRIP.”

She added that it’s always meaningful to interact with other Indigenous people from around the world.

“They have a lot of the same issues in Australia with Indigenous people now being recognized, and not having the rights we should have,” Morrison said. “We told them any time they want to come back we’re more than willing to make time for them, because there’s always so much more we can share.”

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