Kanesatake radio station looks back and ahead
Mohawk MultiMedia (MMM), the nonprofit that oversees Reviving Kanehsatà:ke Radio (RKR) 101.7 FM, hosted a general meeting last week to give community members a chance to catch up with the station’s activities and plans.
“It was a meeting in lieu of an annual meeting,” said Karahkó:hare Syd Gaspé, president of MMM, who explained there had been several delays.
The postponements are attributed to difficulties finding an auditor for the financial statements and deaths in the community. “We’re just trying to get everything back on track,” said Gaspé.
At the meeting, Gaspé presented a summary of the station’s activities from 2022 through August 2023, such as broadcasting a slew of local events, including the job fair, powwow, Orange Shirt Day walk, and Christmas parade.
“This is just a taste of what we can do,” Gaspé said. “We haven’t done that many. Some of them are listed there because we think it’s important. It’s to show there’s a good potential.”
The report also summarized programming notes, the memorandum of understanding with the Kanesatake Health Center (KHC) to set up a studio at the Riverside Elders Home, a planned local job training project, fundraising and funding agreements, and the completion of a grant that enabled the station to improve its Kanien’kéha offerings.
In part thanks to the Reviving Our Language project, funded by Quebec’s culture ministry and the Mohawk Council of Kanesatake (MCK), the station introduced Kanien’kéha weather forecasts, produced original programming, and documented first-language speakers.
Another grant involved a study that’s wrapping up now to survey listeners about the station’s Kanien’kéha content, which got around 145 respondents, according to Gaspé.
Some of the other updates relate to infrastructure, like a tower project that will strengthen RKR’s signal and a new building at Riverside. “We don’t have an office space. We’re working from home, virtually,” said Gaspé
He outlined some of the station’s activities since September as well, such as collaborating with Ratihén:te High School on a podcasting studio. The community can also expect new programming soon.
“We’re producing a lot of content we haven’t aired yet. What’s coming up is a lot more different programming in Kanien’kéha,” said Gaspé.
The station has also obtained pre-existing Kanien’kéha-language programming to air from sister communities. Five seasons of Totáhne Wà:ke, produced in Kahnawake, will soon be broadcast on RKR’s airwaves. “That is a little skit,” said Gaspé.
RKR has also obtained the rights to an Akwesasne Kanien’kéha show.
One disappointing update is that radio bingo has been put on hold while the corporation reevaluates its strategy to make the fundraising stream more profitable. In the meantime, the station is looking for new revenue streams as others wind down.
“We’re continuing on looking for funding to produce the Kanien’kéha content,” said Gaspé, who said the station is currently in a good financial position. Members of the nonprofit are able to consult the current financial statement, he said.
Thirteen people came to the meeting to learn more about the station’s activities in the 2022-2023 fiscal year. Four signed up as new members of MMM, bringing the total to about 22.
While Gaspé said he would have been happy to see higher attendance at the meeting, he feels it’s also a sign of confidence that the station is on the right path. “I see it as something good that we’re doing,” he said.
An annual assembly should be held by the end of February 2025, within six months of the end of the current fiscal year.
marcus@easterndoor.com
Marcus Bankuti, Local Journalism Initiative Reporter, The Eastern Door
