The Olympic torch, held by Alwyn Morris of Kahnawake, passes demonstrators opposed to its presence on Native territory. (Montreal Gazette/Peter McCabe)
There were mixed emotions as the 2010 Vancouver Olympics torch relay made its way through the Kahnawake Reserve in Canada yesterday.
The torch was carried by Kahnawake Mohawk member and Olympic medal winner Alwyn Morris, who told the crowds, “This is a torch to light your dreams … and in 20 years, you could be holding your own,” according to this Montreal Gazette story.
Some people wept as the torch passed. And a few turned out to protest the torch run, and its presence on the reserve was only guaranteed after negotiations that kept the Royal Canadian Mounted Police (who usually accompany the torch) off reserve land. The Mohawk Peacekeepers accompanied it through Kahnawake instead.
But Rhonda Kirby, part of the Mohawk Spirit organizing committee, tells the Gazette that “that controversy was the voices of a few and not the opinion of the community.”
Gwen Florio
Tags: 2010 Vancouver Olympics, Alwyn Morris, buffalo post, First Nations, Kahnawake, Mohawk, Mohawk Peacekeepers, Native American news, Royal Canadian Mounted Police
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on Wednesday, December 9th, 2009 at 9:41 am and is filed under First Nations, Kahanawake, Vancouver Olympics.
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