Eastern Door Volume 5 Number 11

Volume 5 Number 11

April 12, 1996

Mohawks Take Novice B Regionals
By: Harley Delaronde

It would be a tough task trying to outdo the week that the Kahnawake Mohawks Novice B squad just had. The Mohawks nearly pulled off an impressive double by first winning the Lac St. Louis regional Novice B championship last Friday night, and then losing a squeaker in the finals of the prestigious Dollard Novice tournament on Sunday.

The Mohawks, led by head coach Howard Rice, cruised through the regionals and finally defeated the Lachine/West-Luc Blackhawks 5-3 on Friday evening at the Sports Complex. The final saw a raucous crowd of over 300 supporters treated to one of the more exciting games played at the local arena this year.

Both squad of eight and nine-year-olds put on a spirited show right from the initial dropping of the puck. It was the overwhelming spirit and desire displayed all year by the Mohawks which eventually led to their being crowned 1996 champions.

Midway through the game, the Kahnawake skaters appeared to have a solid 3-1 lead on goals by Ryan Abraira, Curry Rice, and Wahsontiio Stacey, but the spunky Lachine/West-Luc squad tightened the collar a few notches, at least for the local fans, with two late second-period goals to even the score at three and set up the final stanza.

Using some choice inspirational words, coach Rice and his assistants called on their changes to dig down deep for that little extra. As had happened numerous times throughout the season, the team responded as Nicky Albany buried the winner three minutes into the period and Dusty Leclaire untied the collar four minutes later.

Well, after the wild celebration and banner-parading, the coaches talked about how proud they were of this bunch and how much the entire team deserved the credit for bringing Kahnawake its second consecutive regional Novice championship. Tempered with smiles and back-slapping though, was the realization of the tough task that still awaited them, the Dollard tourney.

In that one, Kahnawake had to post five consecutive triumphs over some very tough hand-picked competition in a tournament which is billed as the largest Novice event in the world! Games on Wednesday, Thursday, two on Saturday and then on Sunday morning eventually took the Mohawks to the championship final on Sunday against the Perth-Andover, N.B., Little Devils.

The opponents, with five Native youngsters from Tobique in their lineup, posed a formidable challenge. The Mohawks, though, came out inspired in the first period, just failing on a number of chances including two breakaways.

Early in the second, the New Brunswick squad struck first on a nice shot from the slot that the Kahnawake netminder had no chance on. Less than a minute later, the Mohawks responded and lifted their supporters out of their seats as Nicky Albany whistled a shot past a befuddled Perth goalie on a breakaway.

With Kahnawake missing a few more chances in alone, Perth finally responded with a power play marker midway through the second period to reestablish their one goal lead.

Hope still sprung eternal for the Mohawk fans who had, all year, seen their team come back in the final minutes. This time though, a very strong Perth defense and the obvious telling effect on the Kahnawake team, of having played eight big games in six days, combined to leave the hometown squad coming up just a step short.

Although disappointed, the Kahnawake youngsters showed, throughout the week, what champions they were, win or lose. Throughout the tough stretch they obviously gave 100 per cent effort and displayed top sportsmanship in all aspects of the game. A tip of the cap to everyone involved.

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Nina L. McComber nominated for 'Personality of the Year'
By: Kenneth Deer

Le Soleil newspaper of Chateauguay has nominated Nina L. McComber of The Eastern Door and Richard Beauchamps of Beauchamps Insurance for "Personality of the Year" for their work in organizing the Peace Exchange between Chateauguay and Kahnawake last year.

Le Soleil holds an annual event to honour individuals who have contributed to the well being of the communities the paper serves. McComber and Beauchamps will be competing against other nominees from Chateauguay and Mercier in areas of recreation, sports and community involvement.

An annual gala event is held by SODER, Regional Economic Development Society, which includes all the surrounding communities in Quebec's southwest region. For five years SODER has been giving awards to businesses which have shown superior performance. Le Soleil has decided to add its "Personality of the Year" presentation at this gala. The paper selects personalities of the month throughout the year and these selections compete for the "Personality of the Year". The entrants will be judged by the reporters on the staff.

Nina L. McComber and Richard Beauchamps were named personalities of the month of July last year for their combined efforts in The Peace Exchange. The initiative came from a meeting between the Kahnawake and Chateauguay Chambers of Commerce which were looking for ways to bridge the gap between the two communities since the events of 1990. McComber suggested the event and was supported by Beauchamps. The Peace Exchange had young children from the two communities exchange gifts as a symbol of peace and brotherhood. The event was held at the Kahnawake Sports Complex and was well attended by people from Chateauguay and Kahnawake. There was massive press coverage, perhaps the most since 1990. The exchange made local and national news and was also reported internationally.

Nina L. McComber feels that it's an honour just to be nominated. "The success was due to the fact that we received a very positive response from decision makers on all levels in both the MCK and Chateauguay City Hall. As a result, Kahnawakero:non and Chateauguay people came together to prove to everyone that we can indeed co-exist for the common good of our children and our future generations," said McComber.

McComber also feels that her work experience and civic mindedness has led her to a career as a promoter of the Kahnawake business community. She is currently the Sales and Promotions Representative for The Eastern Door. The SODER Gals will be held at the Rustik on May 8.

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Editorial

Is Kahnawake ready for tourists?
By: Kenneth Deer, The Eastern Door

No matter what kind of discussion that seems to take place in Kahnawake, the topic sooner or later comes around to the state of our economy. While we see in the outside news, companies closing or moving to Toronto, the impact of the threat of Quebec separation is still being felt. Such news just adds to the depressing economic mood in Kahnawake.

However, there are activities in Kahnawake that are trying to turn around the economic depression. One of them is the idea of reviving the tourist trade in Kahnawake. Most people of the older persuasion can remember tourist buses rumbling down our streets to the St. Francis Xavier Mission where they were met by young children selling souvenirs and singing Indian songs. The Mission was a main attraction, where the tourists were given a rather slanted view (they heard the Jesuits side of our story) of the life and times of the Mohawks of Kahnawake. The lectures given were for the consumption of the tourists, however residents would sometimes cringe when they sat in to listen to what the tourists were being told about us.

The Shrine of Kateri Tekakwitha is still an attraction that draws people from all over the world. The potential will grow if Kateri is ever canonized a saint, but until then her Shrine still keeps tourists coming here. Her story is interesting and well documented and add another dimension to our very historic village.

The other attraction that those old buses visited was Chief Poking Fire's Indian Village. Here tourists at least met Mohawks and were entertained and were able to buy crafts from local vendors. Tourists were generally, but not always, welcome to wander around our community.

The tourist industry fell on hard times and the buses stopped coming. But now, as people are looking to revive our economy after the collapse of the cigarette trade, tourism is taking on a new life. Its not like tourism was totally ignored. There have been several economic development workshops and think tanks that have all recommended the development of tourism but very little was done to stimulate it.

There were also some negative activities that discouraged tourism. During the heyday of cigarettes, while tobacco customers were welcome, any visitor wandering around town was considered suspect, possibly an undercover police officer. Questioning or outright harassment of guests did not give Kahnawake a positive image on the outside. To say nothing of images and propaganda during and since 1990.

Which brings us to the point of community acceptance of Tourism. Kahnawake is where we live. Its not Disney World. Are our people prepared to see occasional groups of strangers walking down our streets between visits to the Catholic Church or the Indian Village?

If this community wants to have a rejuvenated tourist industry, then the community must be prepared to accept tourists in Kahnawake. Making them feel welcome, helping them when they ask for help and treating them with respect. Kahnawakeron:non have traveled to other tourist areas such as Lake Placid, Stowe or Cape Cod and have experienced communities that are centered on tourism. Kahnawake may not go that far but the idea is the same: tourists bring in revenue, be nice to tourists.

This, of course, does not mean putting up with obnoxious, rude individuals. These kind of tourists should be dealt but there's one thing about tourists, they always leave at the end of the day. We're not inviting settlers.

The Pow-Wow gets bigger each year, the old Indian Village is being revived, the Cultural Center hopes to build a new, larger facility and there are other projects being planned. In isolation, each one of these projects are a positive addition to our community, but tourism will only work if the community itself is willing to change some of its attitudes and make our visitors feel welcome. Is Kahnawake ready for tourists?

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Comics

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