mothers select chiefs from clans with hereditary leadership responsibility. Clan mothers made the selection and could remove their support from a chief whose actions displeased them, causing him to step down. Like the other Iroquois nations and many other Native American tribes, the Mohawk had a matrilineal kinship system, with inheritance and property passed through the maternal line. In the late 20th century, the Mohawk renewed a land claim case to recover their property at Kanesatake. The courts ruled against them on technical issues. The settlement is surrounded by the city of Oka, Quebec. In 2001 Parliament passed S-24, to clarify the relationship between Kanesatake and the federal government, and make the band's relationship with provincial and federal governments comparable to those of the governments of reserves. Different members of the community have disputed the interpretation of the intent and implementation of this act. Disagreements over this legislation added to internal tensions among different groups on the reserve. Oka crisis Kanehsatà:ke is the oldest continuing Mohawk community today and existed pre-European contact. It was the first community to accept kaianera'kó:wa (the 'great law of peace'), and is mentioned in the condolence ceremony (hi hi) of a chief and clan mother. The town of Oka developed along the Lake of Two Mountains through the fraudulent sale of land of the Mohawk community of Kanehsatà:ke by the Sulpician order. The Sulpicians sold off land to French settlers and were the biggest landowners in the region. Since 1717, when the Sulpician priests arrived with their Mohawk, Nippising, and Algonquin Christian converts, the Mohawk have contested the Sulpician land claim. They argue that the King of France, Louis XIV, never owned the land and thus the Crown did not have the right to grant the land to the Sulpician Order. Included in this territory is a pine forest and cemetery that was long used by the Mohawk. It is still accessible, although it is not part of the Kanesatake reserve. The Mohawks of Kanesatake have tried many times to resolve the land dispute (as part of their land claim against the government and Sulpician mission), but were rejected by the Crown on technical issues. In 1990, the town of Oka unilaterally approved plans to expand their 9-hole golf course to an 18-hole course and related buildings. The Mohawk protested formally because the development would affect the historic cemetery, and they considered the land to