Project seeks persons with knowledge of history of our people’s presence at Tiotiake

07/08/2020

An important project to increase knowledge on the Indigenous presence in the Montreal region, the greater St. Lawrence Valley and the Adirondacks is now underway, with the Kahnawà:ke team announcing today its search for persons in the Territory who have information, or know of someone who has information, that would help advance knowledge about our people’s history in the region.

The Tiohtià:ke Project is a collaboration between the Mohawk Council of Kahnawà:ke, the Universite de Montreal and the Pointe-a-Calliere Museum, with a stated goal of synthesizing and consolidating existing research and to compile archaeological evidence and oral histories that can be used to help defend Kahnawà:ke’s rights and jurisdiction. More specifically, it will be used to advance the knowledge with respect to the traditional territory of the Kanien’kehá:ka people in relation to Quebec and other jurisdictions. The Kahnawà:ke team consists of Ratsénhaienhs Ross Montour, Christine Zachary-Deom, Trina C. Diabo and Gaetan Nolet.

The Oral History component of the research will be conducted throughout the summer and continuing through the fall. It will involve locating, collecting, and analyzing stories and other forms of knowledge Kahnawa’kehrò:non may have about our people’s presence and occupation in this region during the pre-contact through 1760. The team has acquired the services of Gerald Taiaiake Alfred as the Project Manager of the Oral History component. He will be assisted by Brandon Montour.

“It cannot be disputed that Tiohtià:ke has been a part of our history for hundreds of years,” said Ratsénhaienhs Montour. “While there are those who continue to promote the idea that we are newcomers to this area, we assert that Tiohtià:ke has been part of our territory for far longer.”

“There isn’t a comprehensive document that lays out the facts as we know them,” he continued. “So we must rely on our oral tradition to gather the facts in order to recreate a timeline to put the misinformation to rest. We have been fortunate to have respected Kahnawà:ke professor, historian and author Taiaiake Alfred on board to assist us in this important work.”

Anyone wishing to contribute to this research is encouraged to contact the Project manager via email at gerald.alfred@mck.ca or phone at (250) 532-0492.