AGSEM condemns McGill’s removal of the Great White Pine (Haudenosaunee peace tree)

At the 16 November 2023 General Assembly, AGSEM members passed a Motion in solidarity with the Mohawk Mothers/Kahnistensera. In this motion, the assembly voted to stand “with the Kahnistensera in their struggle for dignity, truth, and reconciliation.” Almost a year later, McGill’s morally reprehensible actions remind the McGill community of the pertinence of AGSEM’s position and the need for solidarity with the Kanien’keha:ka Kahnistensera (Mohawk Mothers). 

On the morning of 17 November 2024, over a hundred members of the McGill community gathered for the planting of a Great White Pine—a powerful symbol of peace for the Kanien’keha:ka, since time immemorial—on “McGill’s” Lower Field. Kanien’keha:ka leaders gathered peacefully on their own unceded land—not McGill’s—and planted the sapling. At a beautiful, solemn ceremony, speakers called for a true peace on Tiohtià:ke (so-called Montreal), on Turtle Island (so-called North America), and around the globe, including in Palestine. 

Within less than 24 hours, McGill had removed the pine, under cover of night. It seems that McGill is well aware that their actions are shameful.

Actions speak louder than words. McGill cannot claim its commitment to truth and reconciliation and then deface offerings of peace and reconciliation. 

Speakers at the planting made clear the connections between the centuries of ongoing genocide on Turtle Island and the ongoing genocide in Palestine. McGill’s actions must also be understood as another instance in a disturbing ongoing trend of suppressing Palestinian voices and activists on campus. 

AGSEM condemns in the strongest terms McGill’s violent removal of the Great White Pine.