Alvin Delisle and Pauline Labelle marked Valentine's Day Sunday celebrating nearly 10 years together, while confronting a threat that could tear them apart.

Mr. Delisle is a Mohawk Indian. Ms. Labelle is not. As a result, Ms. Labelle was told this month she would have to leave Mr. Delisle's home on the Kahnawake reserve near Montreal, Canada.

The eviction notices sent to non-natives like Ms. Labelle by the Mohawk council have ignited a firestorm over how far first nation communities can go in applying racially based membership policies. In all, about 25 non-natives in Kahnawake received the notices this month and were given 10 days to get out.

The move has drawn criticism not just from outside the reserve but within - including from Mr. Delisle, who is a former Kahnawake council chief.

"No one's going to tell me who I can bring into my house and who I go to bed with," said the 66-year-old Mr. Delisle, who is ready to challenge the expulsions as a Canadian human-rights violation.