About Kanehsatà:ke
OUR PEOPLE. OUR LAND. OUR STORY.
Discover the people, culture, history, and traditions that shape Kanehsatà:ke. Explore our connection to the land and the values that continue to guide our community.
Ontionkwe’taó:kon
Our People
We are the Kanien’kehá:ka, one of the founding nations of the Haudenosaunee Confederacy, the People of the Longhouse. Our ancestors have lived on and cared for this land for countless generations, guided by the Kaianere’kó:wa | the Great Law of Peace.
Kanehsatà:ke has existed long before European contact, and has always been a place of gathering, learning, and resilience : It is mentioned in the Rotinohseshá:ka Condolence Ceremony as a Turtle Clan village, confirming our longstanding presence. In 1613, people from “Cachneghsattakegy” participated in the Two-Row Wampum Treaty, establishing principles of mutual respect and coexistence.
Our history is also part of the broader Rotinohseshá:ka Confederacy, which combines political and cultural governance among the Kanien’keha, Oneida, Onondaga, Cayuga, and Seneca nations. Ceremonies, councils, and traditions have guided decision-making and reinforced community cohesion throughout generations. Today, our community is made up of families connected by kinship, memory, and a shared responsibility to future generations.
Colonial policies disrupted traditional governance structures in an attempt to erase recognition of our sovereignty. The imposition of the Indian Act, band council system, and municipal authorities limited community control over local affairs, creating ongoing tensions in governance, policing, and economic development. Today, asserting autonomy and maintaining traditional practices are central to protecting community cohesion, territorial rights, and responsibilities tied to land stewardship.
Despite colonial impositions, Kanehsatà:ke maintains its traditions, language, and governance practices. Community life is shaped by these systems and by a commitment to cultural continuity. Elders provide guidance, and youth carry knowledge forward, ensuring that the values and responsibilities of the Kanien’kehà:ka remain central to life in Kanehsatà:ke.
Tsi niionkwarihò:ten tánon onkwahronkhá:tshera
Our Culture and Language
Culture in Kanehsatà:ke is grounded in Kanien’kehà knowledge, practices, and responsibilities. It includes ceremonies, language, governance, arts, and daily practices that sustain community life, evolving while maintaining continuity with tradition. Traditional arts, including beadwork, quillwork, and crafts, are practiced by skilled artisants and reflect both our identity and knowledge. Culture is integrated into governance, environmental stewardship, and social life, ensuring that the community remains connected to its heritage while addressing contemporary challenges.
The ongoing effects of colonization have deeply affected Kanehsatà:ke and our ability to maintain and transmit our language, culture, and knowledge. Colonial systems attempted to erase our culture and language, creating lasting impacts, intergenerational trauma, affecting health, wellbeing, and social cohesion.
Knowledge systems, including the understanding of medicines, land stewardship, and clan responsibilities, were interrupted, forcing our community to rebuild and reclaim practices over time.
Language is a foundation of Onkwehón:we | Indigenous identity : it carries traditional knowledge, ancestral teachings, and our connection to land and community. Languages are living systems, sustained through daily use and cultural practice, and revitalizing it requires dedication, understanding of its value as a gift, and the resources necessary to keep it alive.
Conveying Kanien’kéha knowledge, relationships, and cultural values, our language, carries our worldview. Due to colonial instruments and policies, it has been marginalized, leading to the erosion of its use over time. Each year, our community loses some of members who speak the language.
Those who speak the language are invaluable to its revitalization and survival.
Despite these challenges, Kanehsatà:ke continues to preserve and transmit cultural knowledge and traditions. Language programs, ceremonies, and teaching of traditional arts and ecological practices are vital to maintaining identity and community resilience. Through cultural and language revitalization, Kanehsatà:ke is committed to promoting cultural pride and ensuring that our traditions are taught, lived, and celebrated.
Tsi Ronterihwanónhnha ne Kanien’kéha
Language and Culture Center
Through efforts in Cultural and Language revitalization, Kanehsatà:ke is strengthening Kanien’kéha learning, promoting cultural pride, and ensuring that our traditions remain at the heart of community life. Our Cultural Center is the heart of our community’s culture and language work. It is where the language breathes and grows, through classes, cultural workshops, and events that help all generations reconnect with the language, ceremonies, and each other.
Ontionhón:tsa
Our Land
Kanehsatà:ke | The place where the crusty sand dunes are, is located along the Ottawa River. Long before borders or towns, our people walked here, lived here, and protected the land for future generations. Our ancestors managed the land according to sustainable practices, including hunting, fishing, and gathering, and we continue to protect our lands and waters for those yet to come, with gratitude and determination. Sacred sites remain important for ceremonies and community activities: the land is recognized not only as a resource but as a foundation of identity and well-being. It provides food, medicines and other resources, and continues to hold cultural and spiritual significance. We honour the relationship between people and the natural world through care, respect, and stewardship.
Land Claims: Recognising the Unceded Territory of Kanehsatà:ke
In 1613, the Dutch and the Rotinonhseshá:ka struck a treaty called the Two-Row Wampum treaty. Kanesatà:ke is also mentioned in an ancient Condolence ceremony as a Turtle Clan village who was present and participated in its creation: proof that Kanehsatà:ke has existed in this area since Time Immemorial.
Our lands were never surrendered, ceded or bought away.
The lands of Kanehsatà:ke remain unceded, yet colonial authorities systematically transferred, subdivided, and exerted their control over our territory. Under the Sulpicians and successive colonial governments, much of our ancestral land was sold or administered without our consent. As a way to further divide the community while denying our historical claims to our lands and resources, colonial authorities renamed and claimed our territory and the Sulpicians and the Province of Quebec imposed the name of Oka. However, it remains to be said: Kanehsatà:ke predates Oka.
Conflicts over land are not historical anomalies, and sacred sites, waterways, and forests remain under threat from external development today. The 1990 Kanehsatà:ke Resistance, which was formed over the threat of a golf course expansion and residential development project on our unceded land, demonstrates how colonial encroachment continues to threaten our territory. Nearly three decades later, a 2019 conflict echoed the same pressures that led to the 1990 standoff, a reminder that these issues remain unresolved and all Kanehsatá:ke lands remain at risk whenever decisions are made without the participation or consent of Kanehsatakehró:non.
As of 2026, federal and provincial governments still fail to address these long-standing land grievances. Land continues to be sold, developed, or falsely claimed without recognition of our jurisdiction, and negotiations remain stagnant.
The ongoing struggle for recognition is about asserting jurisdiction, responsibility, and self-determination. By reclaiming governance, protecting land, and asserting our rights in all spheres, Kanehsatà:ke continues to challenge the structures of colonial control while working to create a future where our laws, culture, and authority are respected.