A Voice from the Eastern Door
A Voice from the Eastern Door
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By Doug George-Kanentiio. I was pleased to see the displays of support for the missing Native children across Canada, the victims of the residential school era. Now that 215 of these children have been located at the former Kamloops Residential School in British Columbia, I am hopeful the grounds of the Mohawk Institute, the notorious ‘mushhole’, will also be examined by professional forensic investigators to see if the stories told by the former residents will be verified. That there were missing children at that place is certain but what hap...
By Doug George-Kanentiio One of the fundamental teachings of Skennenrahowi was that we have a duty to ensure our descendants unto the seventh generation have the things they need to live in peace and freedom on lands which are clean and fertile. This is a prime directive, a lawful obligation which compels us to think seriously about the effects our collective and individual actions have on the unborn, those who faces are yet in the earth. That phrase is a powerful one for who among us would scar the faces or our grandchildren or deny them...
By Doug George-Kanentiio (November 11, 2019) The music of America was rightfully indigenous for thousands of years prior to the arrival of the immigrants from the east. Not only drums and flutes but the power of the human voice drifted across the plains, through the forests, across the mountains and back into the thousands of communities emanating from the millions of Native people who defined pre-contact Anowara:kowa-the Great Turtle. The music produced by the first peoples could be as complex as a symphony or as simple as a personal chant...
By Doug George-Kanentiio Canada’s Truth and Reconciliation Commission, that $60,000,000 effort designed to address the “cultural genocide” we, the former ‘inmates’ of the residential schools experienced is a failure. Since it began operations in 2008 the Commission has crossed Canada, heard the testimony of 6,500 people and published two volumes of its findings. It has made recommendations and is now an entrenched part of the federal bureaucracy. Its representatives continue to make appearances and have job security doing so. These individuals,...
By Doug George-Kanentiio Under traditional custom when an issue is presented to the people requiring their approval or denial everyone, regardless of gender or age, has a right to be heard. However, it is not enough to oppose an issue but to have an explanation as to why and to, when asked, provide an alternative. Through this means we may understand other perspectives while respecting the right to dissent but with the intent of reaching consensus. When I witnessed this at the Longhouse among the former generation, I was impressed with the...
By Doug George-Kanentiio Some years ago, when I was a member of the Mohawk Nation Land Claims Committee, the State of New York, then led by Governor Mario Cuomo, offered us a deal to resolve the theft of our lands by that entity. Cuomo’s lead attorney was Robert Batson, an amicable guy who resembled the actor Stanley Tucci (from the Hunger Games movie among many other roles). Batson submitted one proposal which consisted of the entire Brasher State Forest, about 24,000 acres. Also, forthcoming would be a cash settlement and the return of the St...
Rahiá:tons: Doug George-Kanentiio Kanón:no Ohstoronón:ke Tsi Thonten'nikonhroria'táhkhwa nahé:'a ié:keskwe tánon takahsetánion iahá:khewe ónhka ne Onkwehón:we rón:nehre kwáh aonhá:'a thatihsennowá:nens ne 20th teiohsénhseronte. Kwáh í:ken tsi ion'wé:sen ahsatahónhsatate tánon ahshehshennarónnion. Wa'kheri'wanón:tonhse ne sha'orì:wa Ononta'kehá:ka, Shotinontowanen'há:ka, Onenio'te'á:ka, Kaia'khó:no, Kanien'kehá:ka tánon Tehatihskaró:roks. Ókia'ke iokwenhrá:ron ronwatiia'tarákwen, tánon ókia'k...
By Doug George-Kanentiio I was at the New York State Fair recently and took an informal poll as to who the Onkwe think are our great heroes of the 20th century. It was most interesting to listen and write down the names. I asked Onondagas, Senecas, Cayugas, Oneidas, Mohawks and Tuscaroras the same question. There were regional selections, but others seemed to be universal. My only qualifier was that the heroes were those who have gone into the Spirit World, so we would have a clear summation of their lives. That we have heroes is critical to...
By Doug George-Kanentiio, Akwesasne Mohawk When current US Rep. Claudia Tenney began her campaign for national office there was hope among many Native people that she would become an advocate for those concerned about the lack of human rights on tribal territory. Most Americans would be appalled to learn that the Bill of Rights, those entrenched freedoms for which many have died to protect, are not applicable to Native residing on lands designated as “Indian Country” by the US federal government. This means the right to free speech, to peaceabl...
By Doug George-Kanentiio During the weekend of June 16-17 many Akwesasnorons took to the area’s waters to enjoy the early summer by swimming, fishing and cruising the rivers and touring the islands. They may have noticed the absence of indigenous birds like the egret, heron, loons and terns, all driven from their nests by the double breasted cormorant, an invasive animal with no place in our region. These birds are greedy, homely and aggressive. They devastate the fish, destroy trees and contaminate the soil wherever they colonize. Their d...
When the Creator - Sonkwaiatison (in Mohawk) - planted the trees of the world a decision was made to make Wahta (the Maple tree), the chief of all trees. Not only did the maple carry the words of humans to his relatives but to that species was given another task. In this part of the world the winter months may be long and cold, the land covered in heavy blankets of snow which makes food difficult to come by and would push the Mohawk people closer to their longhouse fires. The Creator noticed that the people would become ill for lack of fresh...
Who was Harry Anslinger (1892-1975) and how did he come to have a deep effect on the Mohawks of Akwesasne? To begin with we need to understand the product Mr. Anslinger director of the US Federal Bureau of Narcotics (now the Drug Enforcement Administration) from 1930-1962. Director Anslinger hated blacks, he hated jazz, he hated Mexicans. He believed their music and culture was polluting the rest of the United States and that the use of marijuana by musicians was the mark of a degenerative people, particularly African Americans who he accused...
©By Doug George-Kanentiio In September of this year Indian Country Today, a weekly online information entity, announced it was suspending operations after 36 years in business, first on the Lakota territory under the ownership of Tim Giago before being purchased in 1998 by the Oneida Nation of New York, Inc. and moved from South Dakota to New York. As the former editor of Akwesasne Notes (1986-1992) I have strong opinions as to why ICT failed. Primarily it was the contrast between a community based news publication such as Akwesasne Notes and...
From the beginning, when the Iroquois emerged as a distinct people thousands of years ago, they played lacrosse. It was a sport influenced by the observation of the natural world, of those species of birds and animals, which are engaged in contests for food, territory and for joy. The Iroquois taught the game to other Native nations until it became widely popular throughout North America long before the arrival of the immigrants from the east. It was the ideal means to channel the energy of the young into games in which they won individual...
Consider this: the Peacemaker had to have had formal training as an astronomer and mathematician. How else could he have managed to time the birth of the Confederacy with the total eclipse of the sun? And that was, perhaps, at 2:29 pm on August 22 in 1142 ACE. How could he have coordinated, planned and effected so many variables to come together at one time, at one place at that exact instance? Is there any other example of any enlightened teacher, anywhere on the planet, who managed to do something similar? Not just mark an eclipse but to have...
I had the great fortune to know A. Paul Ortega, the Apache musician and traditional healer who died on May 17 at his home in Mescalero Territory, New Mexico. Paul was a legendary musician who gave three historic albums to the world: Two Worlds (1964), Three Worlds (1969) and Loving Ways (1992). The last was with my wife Joanne Shenandoah and from that came a deep friendship characterized by humor, creativity and respect. Paul was one of the few Native musicians from the past generation who had their songs heard across the country, primarily by...
The General Real Estate Company (www.generalrealestate.us), with an address on Frogtown Road in “Hogansburg” NY has a curious, and controversial property listing with the cite of MLS #158999. The property for sale is described as 240 acres of “investment and development” land within a few hundred feet of the Akwesasne Mohawk Casino (it is actually further away) with “tribal water and sewer” (not connected but implied it could be). Besides the suggestion that the land could be a business site, the summation also notes that the property is...
For two days, April 27-28, my wife, Joanne Shenandoah, and I attended the United Nations Permanent Forum on Indigenous Issues in New York City. There were a number of events to mark the 10th anniversary of the passage of the UN’s Declaration of the Rights of Indigenous Peoples (UNDRIP) which has now been endorsed by most nations of the world. UNDRIP was the culmination of decades of work by indigenous peoples to secure a permanent presence before the United Nations and its predecessor the League of Nations. From the time of the inception of t...
Over 875 years ago Skennenrahowi, the Peacemaker, brought his instructions to the warring Iroquois in an effort to persuade our ancestors to abandon violence and revenge as a response to disputes. He codified his message in an oral constitution by which a great abiding peace might be achieved. He also introduced rituals to initiate healing and to remove those emotions, which cloud rational thinking. But Skennenrahowi was not passive in the face of adversity. He did not become prone when confronted by threats. He did not retreat when his...
Last week’s History Summit chaired by Peter Garrow was one of those unique opportunities to share information and ideas as to one of the most important elements of Mohawk life. More so than most communities, Akwesasne had shown that a strong identity rooted in a common history can hold the people together despite what most would consider a people hopelessly divided into competing factions caused by the imposition of artificial boundaries and jurisdictions. There is no more divided Native community than Akwesasne, but it is this factor that caus...
On February 14 Ontario Superior Court Justice Edward Belobaba made a historic ruling by holding Canada responsible for the pain and suffering endured by over 16,000 Native children taken from their communities and placed in foster homes across the province and into the United States. The federal government took an active role in ripping the children from their families resulting in psychological, spiritual and physical harm. The children were placed into non-Native residences and stripped of their heritage. In many instances the placements...
Seneca Falls, NY is located within the ancient boundaries of the Cayuga Nation, a member of the Iroquois Confederacy, the Haudenosaunee. It is also the birthplace of the movement towards securing the right to vote by American women, a decades long struggle beginning at the first national conference in 1848. Most of those in attendance at that time would not live to see the passage of the 19th Amendment to the Constitution in 1920 which codified the right to vote by women. There were few instances in western European or Asian history where...
Our Iroquois people have decades of experience living through political and social crisis whether in stand offs with the police or organizing protests on a national and local scale. We have been, like those intrepid protectors at Standing Rock, tear gassed, arrested, beaten and jailed. We have picked up arms as a last resort but have also relied on the wisdom of our traditional leaders to get us out of very dangerous situations. As one example, in June of 1980 my home community of Akwesasne was under siege by contingents of the New York State P...
Beyond most predictions the worse candidate for the US presidency in the nation’s history has emerged as the victor, elected by an American people who voted against their own interests and in utter defiance of common sense. Power has been given to Donald Trump and to a Republican controlled Congress which will now make an all out assault on Natives, on women’s rights, on blacks, Latinos, on the earth itself. This alliance will eviscerate the Environmental Protection Agency, thrust women back into back alleys, take away medical care for mil...
Over the years there have been many non-Natives, enamored by aboriginal culture, who have posed as Natives. Some have done so with sincerity and others for personal gain. While many of these imposters have been exposed with little residual harm there are instances when they have caused serious problems. In our own Mohawk society there is a procedure to become “naturalized” regardless of the circumstances of one’s birth. To become a citizen of the Mohawk Nation required formal sponsorship by a family, a commitment to learning the culture, a com...
