Crucial role filled at the Kanesatake Council

After several attempts, the Mohawk Council of Kanesatake (MCK) has finally onboarded a new lands and estates manager following the resignation of Amanda Simon nearly a year ago, who long held the role.

The new addition is Niioieren Caroline Gélinas, who will pursue mandatory training to become certified in the job while immediately stepping in to provide crucial services to community members.

“After it was posted a few times, I finally decided to apply. I was very, very happy to be offered the position,” said Gélinas, who is Kanehsata’kehró:non.

“In my view, land is everything for First Nations, certainly, maybe Indigenous Peoples at large. I think it’s foundational to self-governance or self-determination. Participating in strengthening our management in the area of lands allocation, land transfers, land management in general, was very motivating for me because I feel like I’m doing something concrete, and it has results that you can see and hear, and I appreciate that.”

While she has a lot to learn, four weeks in she is already enjoying the work, including meeting directly with community members.

“I’ve had numerous people come to see me, email me, phone me. It was about a year or so that the position remained empty, so there’s a lot of catching up to do. That backlog needs to be addressed,” Gélinas said.

“I have a lot of new people who have lands-related issues and concerns that require some research on my part or require a meeting with the federal department that supports the lands management program here. I like that because I’m meeting a lot of people, and it’s always nice.”

Gélinas has a background working in government on Indigenous issues, with her first job in the federal government coming straight out of university.

“I had no idea what a policy was or how to go about it, so I studied really hard. I learned all the terminology and the processes that lead to that, because it was a policy analyst job,” she said.

As she progressed, she found herself working on Indigenous community and social development. “I was able to touch on many different subjects, one of them being the creation of the regional land and environment management program. It’s not that I created them individually, but I brought them together,” she said.

She also took multiple leaves of absence from her work in the government to pursue related experiences, such as working with the Assembly of First Nations as an advisor, even getting to go to the United Nations in Geneva during work on the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples (UNDRIP).

Her experience in these areas has helped prepare her for her new role, she said.

“All of this gave me a very good understanding of programs relating to land management that were managed at the federal level, so I could distinguish what the different possibilities are in terms of land governance under the federal government, and what is required to move away from that and become self-reliant and self-governing on our lands,” Gélinas said.

Her experience in government also helped her experience a bird’s eye view of funding supports that flow to programs in First Nations communities, she said.

According to MCK chief Brant Etienne, who leads the lands and estates portfolio, Gélinas’ familiarity with government is an asset.

“So far working with her has been good. She’s on top of everything, and having that prior experience working with ISC on lands really is a help,” he said.

Etienne acknowledged it has been difficult to attempt to assist community members with their needs relating to lands and estates since the position has been vacant, with chiefs not always sure who to contact, and requests piling up.

“We’re very happy that she’s joined the team,” said Etienne. “She’s doing very well, and I think the community’s very happy to have somebody in that position again.”

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Marcus Bankuti, Local Journalism Initiative Reporter