Kahnawake Residency Law enacted

06/17/2019

The Mohawk Council of Kahnawà:ke (MCK) wishes to inform the community that the Council of Chiefs have formally Enacted the Kahnawà:ke Residency Law (“the Law”) at today’s duly-convened Council meeting.

The Law was passed unanimously by all twelve (12) Council Chiefs in accordance with the Will of the People.

Under the Law, there are three categories of residents: Kanien’kehá:ka of Kahnawà:ke; Approved Kahnawà:ke Residents; and Permit Holders. Anyone not falling under one of these will be considered illegally residing on the Territory.

The next steps will be to create the Regulations by which the Law will be administered and enforced. More detailed information will be forthcoming in the weeks ahead on this important matter.

“For extra clarity, the Law will only come into force once the applicable Regulations have been enacted,” stated Ietsénhaienhs Kahsennenhawe Sky-Deer.

“We’d like to thank all of the community members who participated in all of the phases of the process, from consultation to the actual decision-making,” she added. “The creation of this Law addresses a major issue – by removing the residency provisions from the Kanien’kehá:ka of Kahnawà:ke Law (formerly the Kahnawà:ke Membership Law) we should be better able to administer, enforce and defend the community’s position on who should be able to reside on our Territory, which was problematic in the past.” 

The Law entered the Community Decision Making Process (CDMP) via the Urgent Process in 2017 due to the impending impacts expected by the passage of Canada’s Bill S-3 amendments to the Indian Act.

Since the Law was passed using the Urgent Process, it will have to re-enter the regular CDMP within one year of enactment.

Please note that everyone recognized as a Kanien’kehá:ka of Kahnawà:ke (those already appearing on the Kanien’kehá:ka of Kahnawà:ke Registry) has entitlement to reside on the Territory (provided entitlement has not been revoked). A more detailed explanation of other categories and the application process is provided within the Law itself, which can be viewed at www.kahnawakemakingdecisions.com .