A minute of silence for Kahnawake Grand Chief Joe Norton in Montreal

This morning Montreal Mayor Valérie Plante noted the city’s moment of silence for longtime Mohawk Kahnawake Nation Grand Chief Joe Norton, who passed away on Aug. 14 from injuries suffered during a fall in his home. He was 70 years old.

“This morning, the elected officials of @MTL_Ville dedicated the City Council’s minute of silence to Joe Norton, Grand Chief of the Mohawk Nation and Montreal’s great ally on the road to reconciliation. Mr. Norton passed away on August 14, but his work will continue.”

—Valérie Plante

Ce matin, les élu•es de la @MTL_Ville ont dédié la minute de silence du conseil municipal à Joe Norton, Grand Chef de la nation Mohawk et grand allié de Montréal dans le chemin vers la réconciliation. M. Norton nous a quittés le 14 août, mais son oeuvre se poursuivra. #polmtl https://t.co/JTYQntWyW3

— Valérie Plante (@Val_Plante) August 25, 2020

Joe Norton had been Grand Chief for Kahnawake since 1982, serving 13 consecutive terms. He won a National Aboriginal Achievement Award for Public Service (now called Indspire) in 2002, founded a company called Turtle Technologies and was the CEO of Mohawk Internet Technologies.

Hundreds of people assembled in Kahnawake for Norton’s funeral last Wednesday. Following his death, the Mohawk Council of Kahnawake issued the following statement: “He will surely be welcomed to the Spirit World by those who walked Turtle Island before him.” ■

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