Remembrance Day tomorrow

As the community prepares to mark Remembrance Day, the Royal Canadian Legion Mohawk Branch 219 is leading a full week of activities to honour local veterans. For Legion president Ray Deer, the upcoming week is a time to remember, visit, and celebrate those who served.

The main remembrance parade takes place this Saturday, November 8. The day begins with a community breakfast for veterans at the Legion starting at 8 a.m., sponsored by KSCS Spirit of Wellness and provided by The Rail.

At 10 a.m. is Legion cemetery services, and the Remembrance Day parade forms at 12:45 p.m.

The march will start at 1 p.m. from the Cenotaph.

“That’s where we lay a wreath. We pay respect to all our veterans that had passed within the last year since the last Remembrance Day so our veterans in the Spirit World can hear that we’re still thinking about them,” Deer said.

Supper will be from 4:30 p.m. to 5 p.m. There will be a DJ after supper until closing.

“We do our parade prior to Remembrance Day because everybody goes to Montreal for the real Remembrance Day ceremony,” he said. “So, we’ve always done it the Saturday prior so we would be able to get all the other legions to come down and participate, and it’s a big thing.”

On November 11, a smaller group will gather again at the Cenotaph for the traditional two minutes of silence at 11 a.m.

Then on November 13 at 9 a.m., the Legion will visit Kateri School, where students and teachers will put together a program to honour the veterans, sing songs, and welcome community members.

For Deer, these gatherings carry deep cultural significance. “Within Mohawk society, our warriors, which nowadays we call veterans, have always been put on a pedestal by the people, because we defend the land, we defend the people. And that’s been carried on traditionally here in Kahnawake,” he said.

“That’s how powwow started,” he added. “Powwow started when the veterans came back home and they would have a big celebration. It used to be like a social gathering for the whole community to honour those warriors that were coming back home.”

While Legion Branch 219 continues to receive support from Veteran Affairs Canada and community donations, Deer said the heart of the event remains spiritual.

“The most important thing is to remember our veterans in the Spirit World,” he said. “We don’t fight because of the Canadian flag or the US flag. We fight because this is our land, this is our territory, and we’ll defend Turtle Island. That’s what we’ve always done traditionally.”

Throughout the week, Legion members will also visit neighbouring schools, including Mary Gardner, Centennial Park, Saint Willibrord School, Harmony School, Howard S. Billings High School, and John Abbott College.

At John Abbott, veterans from Kahnawake will take part in the land acknowledgment, reminding students that the land that John Abbott College is on in Montreal is part of Mohawk Nation territory.

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