Akwesasne/Kahnawa:ke Mohawk Territories- November 2, 2016, Eight children, four from each Mohawk Territory, took an unforgettable trip to Walt Disney World, through the Dreams Take Flight program; which targets children who have never been to a Walt Disney theme park, who are between the ages of 7-11, and who have social, physical, and/or mental challenges. More than one hundred children in total were selected in Canada’s Dreams Take Flight, which is a charity and volunteer based program created by employees of Air Canada out of Toronto. Dreams Take Flight has now expanded to cities across Canada.
The children arrived for their flight at the Montreal Trudeau Airport around 5a.m. with their families, Chiefs from both Territories, and ACFS staff, and were welcomed with a going away celebration as they entered the airplane hangar. Pilots, Firemen, and Police Officers had their planes, trucks, and cars on display for the children, while Disney characters greeted the kids with hugs; making the excitement build even further. The children are flown to Orlando, Florida and back in the same day. They spend the day like royalty at the Magic Kingdom; skipping all the lines for rides and food, and are also given free vouchers to spend in the Disney Workshops.
Along with the dozens of volunteers making this day trip to the Magic Kingdom, in attendance in-flight were doctors, nurses, and aids; for any unforeseen circumstances, for health, well-being, and of course peace of mind for parents.
The Territory of Kahnawa:ke has been participating in Dreams Take Flight for the past 14 years. A few weeks prior to takeoff the organization announced that there was a bigger plane to include more children. Kahnawa:ke Chief Bobby Patton then contacted the Mohawk Council of Akwesasne Chief’s April Adams-Phillips, Troy Thompson, and Tim Thompson to invite the Akwesasronon children to participate. Working with Akwesasne Child and Family Services (ACFS) staff, they were able to identify four children meeting the criteria.
ACFS Program Manager Rae Cook said that her staff felt privileged to be able to help coordinate this trip for four children within the community. “I would like to commend our staff who worked quickly as a team to ensure that these children would be able to participate in this exciting opportunity. We would also like to thank the Mohawk Council of Kahnawa:ke for including Akwesasne in this initiative.â€
Akwesasronon children chosen to take this magical flight were Meesha Sylvester, Ruckus Gray, Iehrakwas Peters, and Memphis Johnson Thompson. Iehrakwas’ mom, Ronkwas Peters said that, “it was hard keeping it a secret from her for ten days, and her face was incredible when she found out. What was harder was how she turned around and said ‘Later!’, and got right on the plane!â€
Akwesasne and Kahnawa:ke Mohawk Chiefs have been putting in collaborative efforts, recently having travelled to Standing Rock together and in organizing the Akwesasne-Kahnawa:ke Coat Drive for Standing Rock upon their return.
Kanatakon District Chief Tim Thompson stated that, “We are already planning to get more kids from Akwesasne and Kahnawa:ke involved each and every year. We anticipate having golf tournaments in both communities to raise funds for this terrific initiative. I personally wish to be involved moving forward and welcome Akwesasne TV to join us. To see the excitement and happiness on the kid’s faces is truly awesome! I personally believe that initiatives like this will bring the communities closer together. We are only an hour away and sadly our relationship with Kahnawa:ke is very minimal. We need to build a stronger relationship with them. Both communities will benefit from it greatly. There are many ways that we can combine efforts, including Economic Development, environment, archaeology, housing, etc. Now more than ever, First Nation communities need to work together.â€
BY: Ohseraseia:hawi
