Mohawks evict non-natives

Saying there are too many non-natives living in Kahnawake, the local band council has issued eviction notices to 25 residents, giving them 10 days to leave the Indian reserve on Montreal's South Shore.

About 25 non-natives -- mostly white people involved in relationships with Mohawks -- are being asked to leave the reserve because Mohawk law does not allow them to live there, said Joe Delaronde, spokesman for the Mohawk Council of Kahnawake. According to Mohawk law, non-aboriginals have no residency rights, he said.

Band council chiefs began hand-delivering the strongly worded letter on Monday and continued Tuesday.

"There have been numerous complaints regarding individuals contravening Mohawk law by residing in the Mohawk territory of Kahnawake without a right to do so. You were identified in these complaints," the letter says.

"We trust that you understand the seriousness of this letter and that you will govern yourselves accordingly."

If the non-natives can't move by the deadline, they must contact the band council to make further arrangements, Delaronde said.

"We are not heartless," he added. "We know that not everyone has a brother or a parent in (nearby) Chateauguay they can stay with."

In 1981, the community announced a moratorium on mixed marriages, which meant that non-natives who married Mohawks after that year would no longer have the right to live on the reserve.