Loyola students choose Kahnawake

The holiday season is always a busy time for the Kateri Food Basket, but for the past two years, it has gotten some extra help, all thanks to students from Loyola High School.

The Food Basket has been the recipient of the last two Christmas Food Drives organized by students, with a full trailer of non-perishable food and toiletries being given this year.

“It feels really good when surrounding communities help out our community,” said Cory Rice, the coordinator for the Kateri Food Basket.

He said that some of what was donated will be going into the Christmas baskets given out next Monday, while the rest will be used in the upcoming months.

Last year, Mohawk Council of Kahnawake (MCK) chief Arnold Boyer got in touch with his old guidance counsellor from when he was a Loyola student, father Leonard Altilia, asking if the Kateri Food Basket could be one of the potential organizations to be a recipient of the school’s Christmas Food Drive.

Although Altilia was no longer in charge of the food drive, he was still at the school. He got in touch with Loyola’s campus minister, Louis Félix Valiquette, who currently oversees the food drive, although it has now largely been handed over to a select group of students, who organize it themselves.

“We are trying to get them involved in some activities of our community, but it’s also for them to develop their leadership,” said Valiquette.

Valiquette said that the Kateri Food Basket was one of several organizations to reach out to the school, but the students decided it would be the recipient after an explanation of what it does for the community.

“The student’s decision was, ‘let’s choose an organization that is helping a population that our Catholic community had been hurting in the past,’” said Valiquette.

“We want to work with them, to show them that we want to be a partner in reconciliation.”

Valiquette said that the school wants to do more for Kahnawake than the food drive in the future.

He explained that the school has seen a steady increase of students from the community, they hold an Indigenous awareness week for students, and workshops and conferences done by Indigenous people, including from Kahnawake; all part of a desire to form a partnership between the Jesuits and Kahnawake.

“What we really want is for our students, not only to give, but to really understand everything that led to the need for the food drive. Why do we now need, in 2025, to be collecting food for a community while, if everything was working well, they would have the food that they need?” said Valiquette.

“I think there’s this kind of relation between the two communities that is building right now.”

Boyer gifted the school an art piece depicting the creation story, which will be displayed in the school, Valiquette said.

Altilia, who was present when Rice, Boyer, and Curtis Diabo came to collect the donations at the school, was the one presented with the creation story print.

“He was very honoured to take this print. He told me that he’s going to put it in the school chapel, with a story behind it: How it got there, and what the story says about our community,” said Boyer.

He was grateful to the students and the faculty for making these kinds of efforts towards reconciliation. He also said that it was important for students to get an education at a young age about the wrongdoings of the government and the church towards Indigenous people.

“It teaches respect for Kahnawake,” said Boyer.

The food basket will be closed on December 24, 25, 26, 31, and January 1. Tuesday food deliveries and giveaways will be paused until January 6.

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