Mohawk history not for the faint of heart

Page 27

Review

Heeding the voice of our ancestors:

Kahnawake Mohawk politics and the rise of native nationalism

By Gerald R. Alfred

220 pages, $24.95 (Pb.)

Oxford

The relevance of a book of this type for me is based on two points. First, the perception of the writer and his understanding of the topic. Second, the writer's ability to communicate that understanding and help the reader comprehend, analyze and evaluate the information contained in the book.

With this in mind I began to read the much-touted and praised Heeding the voices of our ancestors by Gerald R. Alfred. I didn't ask who was praising this expose on Kahnawake Mohawk politics. I just began to read.

I was assigned the review of this book in part because I was an outsider and would have the least bias as to the information being presented. From the beginning, I felt I was in over my head.

To quote the preface, this book began as Alfred's Ph.D dissertation, and it shows. From page one this book can overwhelm.

I persevered, however, and eventually felt drawn into Alfred's Native history prior to contact with European society and Iroquois-Mohawk relations.

This book is in-depth in its coverage of the changing structure of Mohawk society and the pressures that shaped the modern day community. From the introduction of Christianity to the betrayal of trust through land expropriations, the reader learns, in detail, the psychology of Mohawk nationalism.

Each period is presented as essential in the transformation of a people from that which openly accepted other cultures and races to one labeled as unyielding in its hard-line policies of exclusion of those not Mohawk.

My favorite part of the book is chapter five in which interviews with three Kahnawake chiefs, from 1960 to the early '80s, demonstrate changing perceptions of Mohawk identity and the relationship with the federal government and the Indian Act.

Upsetting, however, is the way Alfred tries to single out Kahnawake as a unique Aboriginal cultural community. He indicates that no other community has been forced into a position to develop policies motivated solely to protect their own individual culture from outside sources.

The content of this book provided discussion on criteria to determine band membership and changes in the Indian Act regarding C-31. Alfred does not propose any solutions himself, but explanations as to why Kahnawake Mohawk policies should not be condemned when they are formulated in direct response to views made outside of natural Mohawk politics.

For those who care to understand the changes in Mohawk society, this book presents relevant historical information. However, it will not appeal to the general reading population. The writing is complex and not for the faint of heart.