When my 6:00 am alarm went off, I was already awake. I had barely slept through the night, stirring every half hour out of a fear I would miss this moment. I was already set to leave, my lazy morning gaze set out the window on a silver-grey morning, achromatic as it reflected off glass towers. ‘FIRST DAY AT WORK’ my alarm flashed, in case I had forgotten.
With my passport in my glove compartment, I drove two hours west of Montréal to arrive into Akwesasne, a self-governing Mohawk community, taking me through US Customs. While it would be incorrect to say Akwesasne is in the US, one part of it is. Akwesasne territory borders New York state, Ontario, and Québec, and it is cut through by an international US-Canada border that runs in part along Kaniatarowanenneh / the St. Lawrence River. To travel from one side of the territory to the other requires a border crossing inspection with either US or Canadian Customs. To those living in Akwesasne, the border can represent a daily frustration of long lines, scrutiny, invaded privacy, and imperial impositions of sovereignty.
Having passed the border patrol officer’s interview, I followed the main road as Google Maps led me past several offices of the Mohawk Council of Akwesasne, a Community Government responsible for the administration of services such as education, healthcare, public safety, and justice. The Akwesasne Justice Department, the focus of my internship, is responsible for four different functions: 1) legislative services; 2) Child and Family Services advocacy; 3) community justice; and 4) an independent court.1
As is the goal of every law student on their first day on the job: I was early! It was a bit of a miracle considering I first drove to the Finance building, then to the ‘new’ Justice Department, which was not yet moved into, and then to the ‘old’ Justice Department.
I waited until I met my supervisor, after which I was taken around to meet many of the staff of the various sections of the Justice Department. The staff were more than welcoming, and only further warmed up as we became acquainted over the summer. I was the only non-Indigenous person working in the Justice Department, and to my knowledge one of few who had been to law school. (The necessity and utility of a law degree became questions that kept me good company this summer. I’ve come to the conclusion it doesn’t hurt to have it. In Canada, it’s a necessity to play ball.)
The approach of the Akwesasne Justice Department is to provide services that help Akwesasne and its people heal and flourish, and it draws inspiration from its traditional ways. Akwesasne broke barriers when it established the first independent Indigenous court structure in Canada.2 It also set the standard on how an Indigenous community can advocate for cultural continuity through its Child and Family Services advocacy.3 While I met the staff of its various sections, I began to appreciate how the Akwesasne Justice Department’s efforts targeted supporting their people wherever they were involved with a justice system.
For a long time, Akwesasne has sought to manage its own territory and its own people on its own terms. I anticipate that the reconciliation process will continue to grapple with difficult questions of what Indigenous sovereignty and self-governance can become in Canada. For the reconciliation process to continue, it appears that the Canadian government must continue to return control of Indigenous communities back to their governing bodies. I am heartened by some developments in this area, such that, for example, Indigenous communities can legislate on the provision of Child and Family Services to the effect of a federal law, though much work remains.4 While this pivotal moment of reconciliation unfolds, Akwesasne is leading the way on self-government, and I would keep an eye on which path they break next.
I drove home that day excited to come back for the next. I found myself lucky to be in my current position: a law student at a law faculty that encourages legal pluralism, taking on an internship where I would get to learn about the daily impacts of law. Though I write this entry through the view of my first day of work, I publish it on my last. This summer has given me a fragmentary view into how Indigenous communities struggle through the impacts of colonization, but also how hope, humour, ingenuity, grit, and a love for the community power efforts of its resurgence. I feel grateful to have had this experience in Akwesasne (“the land where the partridge drums”) and to have learned there is a role for lawyers in community-led reconciliation efforts.
- To learn more about this important work, please see the MCA website. ↩︎
- Via CBC: ‘Akwesasne creates first court in Canada for and by Indigenous people‘. ↩︎
- The Akwesasne Representative Advocacy Program is an outstanding organization that merits much more discussion. ↩︎
- See An Act respecting First Nations, Inuit and Métis children, youth and families (S.C. 2019, c. 24). ↩︎