Resurgence: Brandon Montour, ‘Beyond the Indian Act: Restoring Traditional Government in Kahnawà:ke through Haudenosaunee Law’, Osgoode Hall Law Journal, 63, 1, 2026

28Oct26

Abstract: The Kanien’kehá:ka of Kahnawà:ke have been subjected to the Indian Act since 1889. Its forceful imposition has eroded ancestral governance systems and severed vital threads of cultural and social life. In 2024, the Mohawk Council of Kahnawà:ke—the Indian Act band council—declared its intent to restore traditional governance and unilaterally end the Indian Act’s reach within the territory. This work is presently underway in Kahnawà:ke. Against this backdrop, and in light of generations of collective experiences of trauma brought on by the forces of settler-colonialism, this article considers what role Haudenosaunee law can play in bringing community members together to build inclusive governance and law-making practices beyond the Indian Act. This article suggests that Haudenosaunee law, and more specifically, Kaienerekowa – the Great Law of Peace, can serve as a constitutive and guiding legal framework for Kahnawà:ke at this critical juncture. More broadly, the article explores how the resurgence and practical application of Indigenous laws can offer a path forward for Indigenous communities seeking to restore traditional governing practices that are grounded in the collective wisdom, knowledge, and legal traditions of our ancestors.