02/17/2024
https://youtu.be/Za-xdVAQHnA?si=zyQoyBX_vf9ilGzb
When I first started working in Archeaology, I uncovered an artifact that was around 5,000 years old, not long after, Ancestral Remains were uncovered. I was still very young at the time, but I knew I had to tell someone what happened on site. I called up the council and they told me to speak with Christine. We talked for hours, figuring out what to do, moving forward. That night I had a dream/vision of what our Ancestors went through and it was rough and traumatizing. I told Christine, what I dreamed of and how I felt. She told me to always remember how I felt in that moment and to use that as my fire to fight for what's right. Fast forward to 2020, we were able to rematriate those Ancestors, along with others. Bringing them back, so they could rest again, undisturbed for eternity.
Throughout the years that I was able to work along side Christine, she took me under her wing. She showed me the ropes and she always reminded me to stand up tall and strong and fight that hard fight. When i first started working at the council, Christine would always ask me to heat up her big pots of soup. I'd always make sure it would be ready for our lunch break, her soups were always the best. The soup would smell so good, people would come into the kitchen and be surprised that there was a working stove down there. My favorite memories with Christine was sitting around and telling stories in Kanien'keha, about history. Weather it was history of Kahnawake, the Zachary Farm, Tiohtia:ke or her own personal history, we would discuss everything. We would break up words and find the root word and work backwards to fully understand places and thing. We would travel the world with our stories.
When we had to fight the hard fight together, to have the Ancestral Remains returned home. We fought hard and with grace. All we wanted, was to be able to could care for them, as we did in the past. To show the Ancestors the respect they deserve, and when we did. It felt like we had an army of Ancestors keeping our heads held high, and our spirits strong. I was always in awe with the knowledge Christine held close to her heart. For the love she had for everyone and everything. For the passion she had burning inside of her, like a council fire from the olden times.
Christine achieved so many accolades in her life time. From changing the Tiohtia:ke Flag to have us right in the center, to changing the road name to Atateken, to spread heading the Multi-Purpose Building. Just to name a few. She always loved sharing her knowledge. She made sure people understood that they are dealing with a strong Kanien'keha:ka woman. They couldn't beat around the bush with her. Her intuition was so strong, she could change people's worldviews to match with her own.
I'm sure she's looking at all my gramatical errors and getting her red pen ready, haha. She definitely had eagle eyes for that. Everything she did, she did with style and grace. She was a force to be reckoned with, she had the power of Mother Nature and the knowledge from our Ancestors. Christine was one of a kind and she will be greatly missed. The void she left is huge for our community, but the knowledge and love she shared with everyone will live on through, those she took under her wing.
Not only was Christine my Co-Worker, my Mentor, a Knowledge Keeper, a Teacher, a Lawyer and Judge, a former chef, she was one of my close friends. I will do my best to keep her dreams going, while I work in the Archeaology Unit at MCK. Hopefully we will get those slick jackets she wanted us to wear that had "The Archeaology Unit", written across the back in Kanien'keha, English, and French.
As she starts her new journey to Skyworld, all of us down here will look for her in the stars and feel her strength and passion in times of need. Now she can enjoy her time with all the Ancestors she helped throughout her life, probably dancing and telling stories, gaining more knowledge.
From your Kido Katsi'tsahén:te, E:so Tsi Konoronhkwa Katsi'tsenhawítha!
On Tuesday, April 10, Ietsénhaienhs Christine Zachary Deom was honored for her role in the creation of the new Montreal City Flag and KTV was there.
