Old Montreal to Kahnawà:ke

In 2014, Prof Sara Terreault and I organized the first “Old Montreal to Kahnawake” pilgrimage/walk. For several years we took students from the summer Theo 234 Pilgrimage class, along with a few interested others, to explore the terrain, history, culture of the neighbourhoods between two pilgrim centres: Notre-Dame-de-Bons-Secours church in Old Montreal, and St-Kateri’s shrine in Kahnawà:ke Kahnawakehró:non (Mohawk) territory.

In 2019 Professor Christine Jamieson (Boothroyd-Nlaka’pamux First Nation) and I took a “walking territorial recognition” starting at the Kanien’kéha:ka Onkwawén:na Raotitióhkwa Language and Cultural Centre at Kahnawà:ke, and ending at Concordia in Montreal, in time for our conference. The Concordian student newspaper published about this walk here. Together with Ken Wilson, I presented at a conference about the advisability (or not) of such walking recognitions, and you can see the presentation here.

We thank our hosts on Haudenasaunee territory, especially Kenneth Atsenhaiaton Deer, Thomas Teiowí:sonte Deer, and Orenda Konwowennontion Boucher and we recognize that we walk on Indigenous territory.