Gerald R. Alfred

An interesting perspective on Mohawk nationalism from the point of view of an academic of the Kahnawake nation. I enjoyed the historical analysis of the relationship between the Canadian government and the people of Kahnawake, particularly in regard to the various crises of the mid- to late-twentieth century - the St Lawrence Seaway construction in particular - and their impact on the rise of traditional ways of living.

I was intrigued by the attitude towards the change of status of women who married non-Natives in 1985 with Bill C-31. I had not realised that this was such a contentious issue in native communities as up to now I have only heard about the change as a good thing, from a Mohawk friend who had been previously unable to live on reserve after marrying a European man. From the Kahnawake perspective, the change was a bad one, likely to put huge pressure on community resources. As a result, they imposed their own membership rules, insisting that mixed marriages would result in a loss of status and residency rights (whatever the gender of the Mohawk party) and that only people with at last 50% Mohawk blood would be able to join the community.

This seems harsh and in many ways contrary to Mohawk tradition (and I'm still not sure I'm comfortable with it) - but as the man points out, it should be up to the community to determine its own membership criteria. But for a group that seems to pride itself on being at the vanguard of native politics, it does seem to be a remarkably conservative approach.

At times I got a bit bogged down in the overly academic language of the book. I don't know why, but the word 'hegemony' gets on my nerves after a while. But generally this was an interesting read about a group of Mohawks I previously knew nothing about.… (altro)