
About Kahnawake Voices
Kahnawake Voices is an interactive community project where individuals can share their personal stories, thoughts and experiences on the issues of identity and membership. People may post their stories as notes on the bulletin board, listen to audio recordings, follow the progress of the issue in the blog and view editorial cartoons by artist Jesse Bochner.
The website was inspired by the Mohawk Council of Kahnawake’s delivery of eviction notices to non-native partners residing in the community in February 2010. The current Kahnawake Membership Law and a 1981 moratorium on mixed marriages do not allow non-natives to reside in the community. The Membership Law is now being reviewed and Council is calling on the community for input on the matter. With the delivery of the eviction notices, a local issue quickly became national news but the stories and voices of many went untold. This site is a space for those voices to be heard.
The goal of the project is to create a dialogue and aid in community building by focusing on personal accounts rather than debating a position on the issue.
Although anonymous contributions are welcome, everyone is encouraged to include their name, own their voice and be proud of the story that they choose to share.
The long-term vision of Kahnawake Voices is to further develop the site as a place where Kahnawake:ronon can create and share audio/visual content about their lives, history and culture.
To participate, click Submit at the top of the bulletin board or leave a message at (514) 394-1654. Alternatively, you can mail your submission to:
Kahnawake Voices
P.O. Box 801
Kahnawake, QC J0L 1B0
Kahnawake Voices was created by Courtney Montour, a Mohawk from Kahnawake, now residing in Montreal. She has a BA in journalism from Concordia University and currently works as a multimedia producer at Mushkeg Media, a production company specializing in documentary films about the Native experience. She conducted video interviewers for the Canada-wide Urban Aboriginal Peoples Study and was selected as the CBC News Online correspondent for the 2009 ImagineNATIVE Film + Media Arts festival in Toronto. She also coordinate’s McGill University's new Aboriginal Field Course, held in Kahnawake.
Acknowledgments
Developed in association with NFB and
STUDIO XX’s
First Person Digital Program
with generous support from Canada’s Cultural Development Fund
Producers
Kat Baulu (NFB)
Paulina Abarca-Cantin (STUDIO XX)
With special thanks to:
Julie Desforges & Julien Desrosiers, Website Programming
Julie Lapointe - Datcha Web, Website Design
Skawennati Fragnito & Aboriginal Territories in Cyberspace,
Project Consultant
Jesse Bochner, Illustrator
Akwiratékha Martin, Mohawk Translation
Tracey Deer, Project Consultant
Mushkeg Media
(George Hargrave, Paul M. Rickard, Janice Benthin & Cherri Low Horn)
Online:
Click Submit
Voice Message:
(514) 394-1654
Mail:
Kahnawake Voices
PO Box 801
Kahnawake, QC
J0L 1B0