Letter to the editor

October 28, 2012

Letter to the Editor

Unilingual, Bilingual, Trilingual!

In the Onkwe’take issue for September 2012, there is a letter from the Grand Chief Michael K. Mitchell to the newly elected Premier of Quebec, Pauline Marois.

I take exception to his notion that not one of the 16,000 community members of Akwesasne speaks French. There are many people from Akwesasne that have two or three languages that they communicate in. French is one of the languages that I personally can communicate in.

My education began at the St. Regis Mohawk School and I only spoke Kanienkeha, luckily for me my teacher was a Kanienkeha speaker also. I learned English in school and I began to learn French in Grade 4. I continued through with the French language until my senior year of high school. I taught at the Kahnawake Survival School for 18 Years and lived in and around the community for those years. Knowing the French language was an asset to me in communicating with the public.

My youngest daughter was in the Mohawk Immersion program in Kahnawake until Grade 6, she was also taught the French language. Students in Kahnawake and Kanesatake learn a minimum of 3 languages.

Out of my personal family members, there are at least 3 of us who have a command of the French language.

Just because we are Mohawks of Akwesasne it does not mean that we are unilingual or bilingual but trilingual! Many of our brothers and sisters in Kahnawake and Kanesatake are trilingual.

Has the position of a French translator ever been posted in the community?

Language is an important asset to have as we communicate on a daily basis with many different people with a variety of abilities.

In regards to the need for long-term employment on the territory, I agree whole heartedly!

It is well know with psycho-educational consultants that many aboriginal people have a high performance ability with a lower verbal ability. With this knowledge we should promote development that reflects this aspect of learning. Promote the iron working trade as well as other hands on occupations.

I have reason to question the idea of a Tobacco Strategy Working Group. Should this not have been dealt with prior to our youth ending up with criminal records?

Walk into the court rooms in Cornwall and Valleyfield on a Monday and you will find Akwesasne people in the system. We jokingly say that it is Indian Day.

Some youth have been faced with financial decisions in regards to funding their post-secondary education. The easy way at times is to run a load of contraband to support their educational endeavors, when they have been denied funding by the Board of Education.

I feel that as long as a person expresses a desire to continue with post-secondary education, that no one or entity should deny them.

It is up to the people to make a change for our youth! It is on our shoulders to ensure that every opportunity for gainful employment and educational opportunities are available for all of our community members.

Beverly Pyke