Kanesatake app launches

A new Mohawk Council of Kanesatake (MCK) app, MCK Connect, launched this week for iPhone and Android, promising community members a new way to communicate with Council and stay up to date on announcements and job opportunities.

“This was like my baby, so it feels like I’m a mother all over again, kind of. I’m very proud of the fact that I’ve seen it come to fruition,” said MCK chief Amy Beauvais, who focused on ideas to improve MCK’s communications when participating in a First Nations Executive Education (FNEE) program at HEC Montreal in 2023.

“I did run a campaign of how are we going to fix our communications problem, and this addresses that issue,” Beauvais said. “The community was crying that we have a need to get information, we’re not being kept in the loop. This is the answer, this is the solution. This is how you will be kept in the loop.”

MCK departments will be able to provide information and important dates to community members through the app, and new features could be added depending on feedback.

“This is an additional channel of communication with our members that is lightning fast. It also has the safety that Facebook doesn’t,” said Beauvais, referring to conflicts that frequently arise on the platform. She also referred to the hostility that often arises at community meetings as a reason that Kanehsata’kehró:non need an alternative way to express their views on the community’s needs.

“It has the potential to give every single community member a voice that can be heard without it being smothered by intimidation,” Beauvais said.

In addition to allowing for two-way communication, Beauvais said, the app will be used to survey community members, providing data that could then be used to inform Council decisions.

The app is a white label of Communikit by AIVIA Inc. The same technology is used by other First Nations band councils, such as Six Nations of the Grand River, to bolster communications with their community members.

Six Nations of the Grand River’s public relations coordinator Darryl Smart told The Eastern Door last year that in Six Nations the app complements conventional forms of communication, such as handing out flyers, that are still in use.

“There are so many different platforms out there and so many ways to get the message out. If you can spread that message to as many people as possible, I think that’s the big one,” he said at the time.

MCK Connect is available for download on the App Store and Google Play Store.

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Marcus Bankuti, Local Journalism Initiative Reporter