A Voice from the Eastern Door
Sorted by date Results 151 - 175 of 588
The St. Regis Mohawk Tribe announced the official list of candidates who will appear on the ballots this Saturday for the chief and sub-chief positions, as well as for two traffic court judges and one chief judge position. The official candidates for chief are incumbent James Ransom, Randy Hart and Ronald LaFrance. The official candidates for sub-chief are Agnes Terrance, Shelley Jacobs, Maggie Rourke-Bay, Wade James McDonald, and Jennifer StandingArrow. The nominees for the two traffic judge...
The St. Regis Mohawk School spent Wednesday morning honoring and remembering two little girls who died 19 years apart while students at SRMS. Katsitsientha Barnes, daughter of Brian and Amie Barnes, died at the age of 10 on August 18, 2009 in an All-Terrain Vehicle accident. She would have been in the fifth grade this year and Wednesday, June 2 would have been her 11th birthday. Kristen Cree, daughter of Rob and Terri Cree, died on August 15, 1990 in a vehicle-pedestrian accident. She would...
On June 1, 2009 Akwesasne entered crisis mode as a result of a politically charged battle between the Mohawks of Akwesasne and the Canada Border Services Agency and their plan to arm guards stationed at the port on Kawehno:ke (Cornwall Island.) The port on Kawehno:ke was closed and the bridge corridor was subsequently closed to through traffic for six weeks, sending Akwesasne into emergency mode. With the only road route to and from the island portion of the Akwesasne territory closed down,...
In less than two months blues and rock fans of Akwesasne and the North Country will welcome one of music’s most talented and acclaimed stars, George Thorogood (and the Destroyers). The singer will take the Jacobs Tobacco Company stage on July 31. “I’m excited to have him coming to Akwesasne, I know he has tons of fans here,” said JTC manager Tisha Thompson who coordinates their concerts. “We went for George because we had a lot of requests for him, not to mention my husband is his #1 fan! Ther...
A group of concerned citizens gathered earlier this month for the first of several anti-Oxycontin abuse meetings. The group is bringing awareness to an epidemic that’s affecting communities across the continent. Oxycontin/Oxycodone and other prescription drugs are being sold on the black market or are being manufactured illegally and distributed quickly as the number of users addicted to the drug increases. Just this week, Akwesasne Mohawk Police began an investigation into suspicious activity and conducted a traffic stop. As a result, 195 p...
An Akwesasne couple has been arrested by St. Regis Mohawk Tribal Police and charged with several offenses related to an alleged scam involving their 4-year-old daughter. Frank Laughing Jr. and his wife Jennifer Jackson-Laughing were taken into custody on May 24. Police say the couple organized an elaborate scheme to defraud, which unraveled when a civilian notified police of their suspicions. “The arrests are based on information forwarded to police that the Laughing’s were allegedly soliciting donations from community members for medical treat...
As the anniversary of June 1 approaches many community members are asking how the bridge and border crisis can remain unresolved a year later. Although the bridge has remained open since mid July of 2009 after being closed for six weeks (see sidebar on page 2), residents of Akwesasne have continued to file complaints of harassment and mistreatment by CBSA employees at the temporary port of entry in Cornwall and negotiations between CBSA and the Mohawk Council of Akwesasne have been almost...
A Sudbury man is on trial this month in Cornwall for the double-homicide of two Akwesasne men, Peter Benedict, 34 and Jade Benedict, 27 who were found shot to death on July 16, 2005. James Maestrello, now 34 is charged with two counts of first-degree murder. On the morning of July 16, both bodies were discovered outside a mechanic’s garage on Tenth Street in the city of Cornwall. The same morning, a third victim, Andy Paul, was found semi-conscious near an abandoned farmhouse in St. Andrews, outside of Cornwall. He had been shot behind the e...
For three years, RCMP Cpl. Cynthia Lord has gotten to know the people of Akwesasne and the workings of the Akwesasne Mohawk Police Service, Mohawk Council of Akwesasne and many different organizations and committees around the community. Lord was assigned to be the RCMP – Akwesasne liaison person in 2007, a position held for many years by Cpl. Al Bennett until his transfer. In response to recent concerns from community members regarding the RCMP, Lord and AMPS Chief of Police Jerry Swamp have s...
Owners of Mohawk International Raceway as well as police are searching for an individual or individuals responsible for burning a building at the racetrack in Frogtown early Sunday morning, breaking into each concession booth and eventually stealing a racetrack vehicle. Cameras at a nearby business show an explosion taking place at around 4:30 a.m. at the track’s one-year-old administrative building that housed offices, the ticket counter as well as the bar. The building was a total loss and o...
Two policemen on trial for their roles in a 2008 police chase that ended with three fatalities took the stand this week in a Cornwall courtroom. Constable Michael Biron and Sergeant Kenneth “Kuy” Chaussi of the Akwesasne Mohawk Police Service have been on trial for the past month and both testified this week about their memory of the night of November 14, 2008. Biron and Chaussi were charged with criminal negligence causing death when a suspect vehicle Biron was pursuing on Kawehno:ke (Cornwall Island) crashed into a vehicle occupied by an eld...
Having just completed his freshman year in Algonquin College’s Theatre Arts program, Ross LaFrance, 19, is excited to be starring in an upcoming youth play in Ottawa. “The Sorting” will play during the Youth Infringement Festival – a five-play festival promoting theatre amongst young people. To act in any of the five plays, actors must be between the ages of 15 and 25. LaFrance plays Michael, a new toy in a box full of toys. The half-hour long production follows Michael in his toy box adventu...
The race for two St. Regis Mohawk Tribal Council positions is now on and Saturday’s tribal caucus showed new faces emerging into the public world of tribal politics. With the chief position held by James Ransom and sub-chief position held by Ronald LaFrance both up for re-election this year, a shuffle is set to take place at the Council table - in at least one of the two positions tribal members will vote for next month. Incumbent Ransom will seek re-election as chief while Sub-Chief LaFrance wa...
An Akwesasne man who admitted to killing his 20-month-old son in 2007 was sentenced this week to 15 years in prison. He was additionally sentenced to 7 years for the attempted murder of his girlfriend, the toddler’s mother, to be served concurrently. Carson Day, now 23, will serve at least 12 more years behind bars before being eligible for release. Day pleaded guilty in December to 2nd degree murder in exchange for dismissal of a 1st degree murder charge. Ontario Justice Johanne Lafrance-Cardinal made details of the pre-sentencing report p...
Community members wishing to support local cancer patients and their families made the 2nd Annual Akwesasne Cancer Support Group 5-Mile Walk/Run twice as popular as it was in it’s first year. Approximately 160 people walked the 5-mile route around Tsi Snaihne (Snye) after leaving from the main headquarters at the Snye Recreation. By 11 a.m. more than $10,000 had been raised. Final tallies won’t be calculated until next week. The Akwesasne Cancer Support Group formed about three years ago and...
Two Franklin County Jail employees have been suspended with pay pending the outcome of an investigation into the pregnancy of a Mohawk woman, Rhonda Amber Dufoe, 24, who has been incarcerated since November 2008. Dufoe, from Tsi Snaihne (Snye), Akwesasne is reportedly five to six months pregnant. A corrections officer and a deputy sheriff responsible for his supervision have both been suspended pending the outcome of an investigation by the New York State Police’s Bureau of Criminal I...
A group of Akwesasne community members traveled by boat to the U.S. Border Patrol’s Massena headquarters last week and delivered a notice to them that they are no longer welcome in Akwesasne by land, air or sea. The incident was sparked by controversy surrounding the April 12 river tragedy during which two Akwesasronon were chased in their boat first by RCMP officials, and then later by the U.S. Border Patrol and U.S. Coast Guard. The Coast Guard vessel crashed into the Akwesasronon boat and both men were severely hurt with life-altering i...
The St. Regis Mohawk Tribe will hold a caucus on May 1 and an election on June 5 for one chief and one sub-chief position on Tribal Council, as called for by their staggered election procedures in which one of three chiefs and one of three sub-chiefs are elected every year to 3-year terms. However, incumbents Chief James Ransom and Sub-Chief Ron LaFrance will run for the same position of chief this June. “Yes I am running for chief,” said LaFrance. “It’s just time I’ve moved on and moved up. I’d...
A police sergeant and constable both endured the beginning of a controversial trial against them this week in the city of Cornwall. Sgt. Kenneth Chaussi and Cst. Michael Biron of the Akwesasne Mohawk Police Service face charges of criminal negligence causing death when a high speed police chase in 2008 lead to the deaths of three people. An external investigation by the Ontario Provincial Police following the accident resulted in the criminal charges against Chaussi and Biron. Biron faces an additional charge of dangerous driving causing...
Two Akwesasne men remain hospitalized with severe back injuries after they were allegedly hit in their boat by a U.S. Coast Guard vessel that was pursuing them on the St. Lawrence River. The incident occurred on Monday, April 12, near Loran’s Marina off of Racquette Point; The Royal Canadian Mounted Police said they initiated the pursuit when members of their Cornwall Regional Task Force were patrolling the river. “RTF officers attempted to stop a vessel for a violation,” the RCMP said. “The...
The Canada Border Services Agency announced last week that they have now opened a third lane at their temporary port of entry in Cornwall that is for travelers who are coming only from Kawehno:ke (Cornwall Island). The “Domestic Travel” lane, at the far right, is meant to make reporting faster for those travelers who haven’t left Canada but must pass through Canada Customs as a result of CBSA’s move off the island last summer. “This new dedicated lane for domestic travelers to the City of Cornwall from Cornwall Island (Kawehno:ke) demonstra...
After being closed for some time, the Country Kitchen Café on Route 37 has reopened under new ownership and management. Tassie Rourke along with her husband and daughter Cara Diabo, are now operating the diner, located adjacent to the Mohawk Bingo Palace. “This is what I’ve always wanted to do and I’m finally doing it,” said Rourke, a retired teacher who spent 22 years fulfilling her first dream and is now on to her second. “My daughter (Shar-lan) and I looked at some places before, and when t...
St. Regis Mohawk Tribal Court Judge PJ Herne issued an order on April 2, 2010 directing authorities to remove all alcohol from the All Inn Lounge on Route 37. According to the tribe, the establishment was initially ordered to cease operation in January of this year following an alleged drunk driving accident in the community in which a 21-year-old pedestrian was killed. The tribe said after-hours consumption of alcohol at the All Inn Lounge was a factor in the accident. The tribe’s compliance officers and police observed the All Inn to still b...
The Salmon River Board of Education passed a resolution last week to develop a school hall of fame that will recognize achievements in all areas of the school, from academics and athletics to volunteerism and service. A committee is currently being formed and community members interested in being involved are asked to submit letters of interest. Last year, the school board withdrew their support of the Salmon River Sports Hall of Fame, which had not been an officially endorsed school program. School administrators, staff and board members...
St. Regis Mohawk Tribal Chief James Ransom said Tuesday that Tribal Council supports the United States Census 2010 – the counting of all people – and that tribal programs depend on accurate numbers for funding they receive. The Census is 10 questions long and asks every individuals his or her name, address, date of birth, male or female, single or married, own or rent, phone number, race and ethnicity. While Native Americans are not required by law to complete the survey, the SRMT is enc...