No consensus reached in Membership Law Community Consultation

12/04/2013

The Mohawk Council of Kahnaw�:ke would like to inform the community that no consensus was reached in last evening�s 16th Community Consultation on proposed amendments to the Kahnaw�:ke Membership Law.

The discussion centered on the proposed definition for �great-grandparent,� as the lack of a clear definition in the current Membership Law is problematic. Several options were discussed, from �very strict� to �lenient� interpretation for the definition.

�While there was no official consensus, both groups came to the conclusion that there seems to be no other option but to use blood quantum in the definition,� said membership Portfolio Chief Kahsennenhawe Sky-Deer. �Even those who were against using blood quantum were unable to come up with an acceptable alternative. But it�s clear that there is a wide spectrum of opinion on how strict this should be, and there�s work to be done before we reconvene in the New Year.

�In particular, one group wanted to use criteria that would see the need for all four great-grandparents to have at least fifty percent (50%) blood quantum, which would actually be more strict than the requirements from the old 1984 law,� she concluded.

Fourteen community members participated.
   
No date has been set for the next Community Consultation, though it was confirmed that it would be in 2014.  Last evening�s meeting was the final Community Decision Making Process event for this year.