Open letter sent to Carney

The Mohawk Council of Kahnawake (MCK) has sent an open letter to Canadian prime minister Mark Carney, arguing that comments he made in a speech last week erased the history of Kanien’kehá:ka people by suggesting that Canada is a society built by the French and the British.

“If you don’t know where you came from and you don’t know what happened in the past, you’re doomed to repeat it, and you don’t want to repeat that history,” MCK grand chief Cody Diabo told The Eastern Door. “It’s no surprise to me that the First Nations aspect of it is always excluded.”

Carney’s speech was given in Quebec City at the Plains of Abraham, the site of the 1759 Battle of Quebec, where the British defeated the French.

Carney categorized the battle as the moment where Canada made a choice to collaborate and build together, commentary that has not only angered Indigenous leadership, but also provincial political figures, with Parti Quebecois (PQ)  leader Paul St-Pierre Plamondon telling attendees at a PQ convention that the prime minister’s comments are effectively launching a new referendum campaign for Quebec independence.

In the two-and-a-half page open letter signed by Diabo and sent to Carney yesterday, January 29, multiple battles including the Battle of Chateauguay, the Battle of Crysler’s Farm, and the Battle of Lacolle Mills, were pointed to as times in which Kanien’kehá:ka people were instrumental figures in Canada’s history.

“The Kanien’kehá:ka and other First Nations are not merely, as you stated in your speech, the former stewards of this continent, we are nations and we are partners who are in treaty relations with Canada because of our blood sacrifices and the instrumental role we have played,” it reads.

Diabo said he felt compelled to send the open letter given Carney’s recent comments on the international stage, especially in light of his well-received speech at the recent World Economic Forum.

“If you’re going to be bringing things up at an international level and trying to talk about the new world order and how it’s changing with American diplomacy right now, then this is an opportunity for them to start recognizing actual history, but they didn’t,” Diabo said.

“Canada doesn’t thrive because they’re Canadians, Canada thrives because of the blood and sweat of First Nations at the end of the day.”

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