Next Membership Law Community Consultation scheduled for Wednesday, April 16, 2014

04/15/2014

The Mohawk Council of Kahnawà:ke (MCK) would like to inform the community that the 18th Community Consultation on proposed amendments to the Kahnawà:ke Membership Law will proceed tomorrow (Wednesday, April 16, 2014).

The Membership Department will present options to Section 20.1 on the ‘Suspension of a Member’ for discussion. Participants may suggest additional options on the subject matter and, through consensus, give their direction on suspension of a Member in the Membership Law.

The options for consideration on Suspension of a Member are: (a) Married or commenced a common-law relationship with a non-Indigenous person after May 22, 1981, or (b) Commences after May 22, 1981 to co-habit, in a conjugal relationship, with a person who has no Kanien’kehá:ka or Indigenous lineage for a period of more than six months ( or another suggested amount of time), or (c) Who allows a non-Indigenous person(s) to reside on their property.

“There have been many complaints made by the community implying that the law is not strong enough in addressing the issue of marriages or common-law relationships with non-Indigenous persons,” said Membership Portfolio Chief Kahsennenhawe Sky-Deer. “There is support for additional restrictions in the Membership Law in this regard. This is what we’ll talk about on Wednesday evening.”

The Consultation will be held from 6 to 8:30pm at the Golden Age Club. Participants are strongly urged to arrive on time in order for the meeting to begin promptly.