Kahsennenhawe Sky-Deer

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Kahsennenhaw Sky-Deer is a Canadian Mohawk political figure, born in the Mohawk community of Kahnawake in 1979. ^[1]

On Saturday July 3, 2021, she became the first woman^[2] and the first LGBTQ+ person^[3] to be elected as the Grand Chief of the Quebec Mohawk community of Kahnawake.

Biography[edit]

Kahsennenhawe Sky-Deer, born 1979, is known for making history as the first female LGBTQ grand chief.^[3] Sky-Deer was elected in 2021 following the death of former chief Joe Norton in 2020^[4], and before winning the election on July 4th, 2021, she had served as a chief on the band council of the First Nation south of Montreal for 12 years^[4], demonstrating her devotion to her community.

Sky-Deer is not only an advocate for Indigenous communities across the country, but has also been a long-time advocate for women, youth, and 2SLGBTQ+ rights. She is particularly focused on healing within the Indigenous community from the repercussions and impacts of the injustices done, which have produced intergenerational trauma and continue to wreak havoc on Indigenous communities and their healing process. ^[5]

Sky-Deer is also actively committed to addressing the disparities that Indigenous communities experience including housing and income inequalities as a direct result of the core causes of intergenerational traumas such as residential schools, the Sixties scoop, and cultural genocide.^[5] In addition to her other aspirations as chief, she also wants to work toward bridging or rebuilding the gap that has been left untethered between indigenous communities and the Canadian government to continue the promotion of healing and working towards a fair and partnered relationship to ensure that injustices like they have experienced never happen again.

Education and Career[edit]

After attending and graduating from Vanier College where she played flag football, she moved to attended the University of Central Florida and played for the Daytona Beach Barracuda's as a quarterback in the Professional Woman's Football League. After graduating college with a Bachelors of Arts degree in psychology from the University of Central Florida, she worked in a tobacco factory up until her decision to enter politics in 2009, serving as a council chief. ^[3]She was then re-elected in this role in 2012 for the first time, and again in 2015 and 2018.^[6]

On July 3, 2021, she was elected as the Grand Chief of the Kahanawake Mohwak community, replacing Joe Norton who passed away in 2020. She is the first LGBTQ+ and female grand chief, identifying as a lesbian. On April 26, 2023, she won the Visibility prize, awarded on lesbian visibility day for her work as grand chief. ^[7]

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