Kevin Ka’nahsohon Deer is Revitalizing Mohawk Traditions

Kevin is lives in Kahnawake Mohawk territory situated on the south shore of Montreal, and has been employed as a school teacher at the Karonhianonhnha Mohawk Immersion School since 1989. In the older traditional teachings in the Longhouse as a Faithkeeper, he is a resource person on Iroquoian world view, philosophy, treaties, land claims, and native-European historical perspectives. He has been deeply involved in the Mohawk language and spiritual revitalization of his nation for the past thirty six years.

During the 1990 Oka Crisis he was involved in peace negotiations to try to bring the dispute to a successful resolve between the Iroquois Confederacy, and the Federal and Provincial Government representatives. From the years 2003 to 2006 he was involved with the First Nations Chiefs of Police Association as an Elder. He sat as a community representative on the police commission known as the Peacekeeper Services Board for the past ten years. As a motivational speaker he tries to instill into the younger generation the hope that they can succeed in whatever their goals are in life provided that they remain spiritually grounded and maintain the concept of the “Good Mind.”

“We’re at a crucial time in history where indigenous wisdom of this land now is rising up. And what’s happening is prophecies fulfilling, and it says ‘a time would come where we would help our brothers and sisters that came into our house to wipe their tears so that they could see different, open their ears so they could hear different, to remove that lump in their throat so that they can speak and together and we would put our best collective thinking forward for the benefit of those future generations coming.”

In September 2015 was deeply involved in the Bretton Woods iv convocation performing a ritual to help all participants who gathered to try to see, to hear, and to speak more clearly about matters of global financial concern from a native First Nation perspective.

In February 2016 made a presentation at United Nations in New York for World Interfaith Harmony Week on native spirituality.

Kevin enjoys discussing life and is always open to learning new ways of knowing.