We are very excited to undertake a pro-bono project with the Mohawk Council of Kahnawà:ke and the Kanien’kehá:ka Onkwawén:na Raotitióhkwa Language and Cultural Center to gather, record and share the oral histories of Kahnawà:ke elders.

This community driven project is designed to preserve and present an essential part of the cultural heritage of Kahnawà:ke to community youth who are in danger of losing the knowledge, wisdom, and sources of identity that are contained in the life stories of elder’s remembrances of families, the land, and community life.

“It is crucially important that the roots of our Kahnawà:ke heritage and identity are passed down multi-generationally so that the younger generation has the tools they need to maintain the cultural and political strength of our people,” said Gerald Taiaiake Alfred, the project manager. “They will gain the psychological resilience needed to create positive futures for the generations to come.”

The first phase of the project will run through February 2022 and record approximately forty interviews with elders. These interviews will be used to develop a short film and an accompanying interpretive interactive educational toolkit that can be accessed and used by the community youth in English and, with the cooperation of the KOR in Kahnawà:ke Kanien’keha.

Gerald Taiaiake Alfred, Skylee-Storm Hogan, Trina Diabo, and Annette Jacobs.

Image: Gerald Taiaiake Alfred interviewing Billy Two Rivers. KH associate Skylee-Storm Hogan is recording the interview.