Delisle resigns from Council
MCK chief Iohahí:io Delisle officially departed the Council table as of last week. Courtesy Mohawk Council of Kahnawake
Mohawk Council of Kahnawake (MCK) chief Iohahí:io Delisle has resigned as a Council chief – no by-election will be held for a replacement, with his resignation coming more than halfway through the Council term.
“It’s happened in the past that there’s been Council chiefs who have resigned or whatnot past the midway point in the term, so we just have to finish off the term with 11 chiefs and reallocate the files,” said MCK grand chief Cody Diabo. “We’ve already had people show interest, but we’ll look next week at who exactly is taking over what.”
He anticipates the transition being relatively smooth.
“We’re well aware of all the different files happening there, so we won’t have too much of a delay,” he said. “If anything, it’ll just be more workload for individual chiefs, which could maybe slow down other files.”
Delisle did not respond to THE EASTERN DOOR’s request for comment. His last day as a Council chief was Thursday, March 19.
He was first elected to Council in a 2022 by-election, securing a seat to take over the space left vacant by Alan John Rice, who had vacated his position to become MCK’s executive operations officer.
He was then re-elected in the 2024 MCK election in summer 2024, and since then has been the lead portfolio chief on a number of files, including the regulatory boards/commissions and labour portfolio as well as the social supports and development portfolio.
He was also a portfolio chief for the external government relations portfolio, the lands and territories portfolio and the economic development portfolio, often attending events like Assembly of First Nations (AFN) gatherings and meetings with figures like the Chateauguay mayor, whom he met with to address traffic tension back in November.
His responsibilities as part of those portfolios will be distributed between the other MCK chiefs at the Council table at a meeting on Monday, with announcements to follow about who will lead his responsibilities for the remainder of the term.
