Language barrier, lack of culturally appropriate services kept people from accessing provincial help

CBC Indigenous: Ionkwatahónhsate means “we are all listening” in Kanien’kéha, or the Mohawk language, and is at the heart of a new service in Kahnawà:ke to help victims of crime.

The Kanien’kehá:ka (Mohawk) community south of Montreal recently launched Ionkwatahónhsate Victims Services to provide culturally appropriate support services and raise awareness of victims’ rights and remedies.

“Just having that actual person to tell what happened and how is it affecting you, that is the first step in the healing for 90 per cent of the people that I worked with so far,” said Iris Montour, a victim advocacy worker.

The new service is part of the justice services division of the Mohawk Council of Kahnawà:ke (MCK) and has been in the works since 2019.

The services include education and awareness of the criminal justice system and court processes, assistance accessing financial support, court preparation and accompaniment, and help with paperwork.

The service is available to anyone who identifies as a victim — regardless of whether charges were laid — and their families. “Imagine being a victim and … like you’ve never been to a courthouse,” said Montour.  “You don’t know where the room is or how are you supposed to act. That’s all very intimidating for people.”

A ‘bridge’ for services to Kahnawà:ke

Montour said there are many resources within the community to help victims heal, such as traditional Kanien’kehá:ka teachings, but residents of Kahnawà:ke have not been accessing provincial and national resources. “The way I see it is this service is going to kind of act as the bridge between those services and people in Kahnawà:ke,” she said.

Ietsénhaienhs (council chief) Tonya Perron said the service is long overdue. “We realized that there was this gap in the services for the victims and they were required to go outside,” she said, meaning outside of Kahnawà:ke in neighbouring municipalities.

Perron said those external services haven’t always been culturally appropriate and may have language barriers, and that many in the community weren’t even aware they existed.  “We knew we really had to have something that was built for us, by us,” she said. 

One of those external services is Quebec’s Crime Victims Assistance Centre, or CAVAC, which offer front-line services to any crime victim or witness. 

Karine Mac Donald, CAVAC’s communication and public relations co-ordinator, said victims in Kahnawà:ke rarely use its services. “Certain challenges are present in creating bridges and a relationship of trust with Indigenous victims,” said MacDonald via email.

“We have a great desire to work in collaboration with Indigenous organizations throughout Quebec; we want to adapt our tools to Indigenous victims. It is important to offer a culturally safe environment to victims.”

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Last month, the centre released a socio-judicial support guide for First Nations and Inuit. Mac Donald said collaborations such as with Ionkwatahónhsate are essential to improve current challenges.

MCK Commissioner of Justice Services Kevin Fleischer said there are plans to expand the program in the new year to offer front-line services such as post-traumatic support and short-term socio-emotional support.

For Montour, the bottom line is about providing support so that victims of crime can heal. “I hope that one person at a time, we’re going to make like a healthier, stronger community because it’s all about healing,” she said.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Ka’nhehsí:io Deer, Journalist

Ka’nhehsí:io Deer is a Kanien’kehá:ka journalist from Kahnawà:ke, south of Montreal. She is currently a reporter with CBC Indigenous covering communities across Quebec.