It was a big weekend for women in leadership.
The Mohawk community of Kahnawà:ke, elected its first-ever woman and LGBTQ2S member as Grand Chief on Saturday.
Kahsennenhawe Sky-Deer won with 573 votes against her four other opponents including fellow council chief Gina Deer, a police officer, and entrepreneur, who received 368 votes.
Sky served on the Mohawk Council for 12 years and said before the election that she favoured a return to a more traditional council, a long-standing wish of many in the community.
She’ll be promoting "economic development, affordable housing and all while trying to bridge two sides in the community, some who favor traditional governing and those who support the elected council."
Sky-Deer succeeds late Grand Chief Joe Norton, who died in 2020 while in office. Norton held the position from 1982-2002, and returned to politics in 2015 when he was reelected.
