A Voice from the Eastern Door
A Voice from the Eastern Door
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Akwesasne - The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service has awarded a $278,315 contract to the Water Resources Program of the Saint Regis Mohawk Tribe’s Environment Division. The purpose of the contract is to conduct research on threatened and endangered species of fish in the tributaries to the St. Lawrence River. “We appreciate the fine work that Tony David and his staff have done in securing this important grant,” said Ken Jock, Director of the Tribe’s Environment Division. “This study is an important part of preserving environmental resources...
Companion planting is the planting of different crops in proximity (in gardening and agriculture), on the theory that they assist each other in nutrient uptake, pest control, pollination, and other factors necessary to increasing crop productivity. Good luck with your garden! Onion – plant with parsley to keep away onion fly Celery – plant with cabbage, broccoli, or cauliflower to deter butterflies (grows well with beans, tomatoes, and leeks) Asparagus – plant with tomatoes, parsley, or basil Swiss Chard – plant with cabbage, broccoli, caulifl...
For the past decade, the Haudenosaunee Environmental Task Force has held workshops at Universities, Government Agencies, and other Areas of Concern where environmental issues take place, to reaffirm our relationship between the Haudenosaunee and Governmental Agencies using a document developed by the Haudenosaunee referencing an agreement recorded by the creation of the two row wampum. “This document has been produced to help build the relationship between federal and state agencies and the H...
There are helpful “critters”, bugs that can help your garden. Bees need little encouragement to come around your garden or your home – just a few flowers will bring the bees. There are other helpful “critters” such as hummingbirds, butterflies and ladybugs that are also helpful. • Butterflies: your garden loves butterflies because pollen sticks to their legs as they fly from flower to flower. The butterflies help both flowers and vegetables grow. Invite the butterfly to your garden by making a mud pie. Male butterflies are salt lovers. Put...
The snapping turtles are up on the roads and lawns laying eggs. Tell the people to be aware of the turtles and to watch the children and small pets from getting close. The snapping turtles will bite if bothered. Norman Peters...
On the Friday before Memorial Day, a beginning gardening class was held in the Turtle Room in the Anowarakowa Arena. Nola Benedict, from Economic Development, as well as Peggy Pyke-Thompson, from the Department of Environment, and Sweets Jacobs, from Community Health, organized the event. The first presenter was Mark Leahy from the Indian Agricultural Program of Ontario. Leahy interfaces with natives in Ontario in agricultural matters. During the class, Leahy gave a presentation about basic...
Author: Monica Peters The third week of May is a good time plant broccoli, kale, mint, mustard greens, parsley, and sorrel. Of course you can grow dark leafy greens inside your home in containers any time of the year too. The fourth week of May is a good time to plant Asian greens, beets, Brussels sprouts, cantaloupe, carrots, celeriac, celery, cress, cucumbers, dill, endive, fennel, melon, pickling cucumbers, pumpkins, radishes, rutabega, turnips, watermelon, and winter squash. To start your se...
Listen up: Our food is responsible for a substantial source of Methane – a greenhouse gas with 21 times the global warming potential than carbon dioxide. Food waste makes up nearly 15% of all municipal waste, which weighs in at 33 million tons. Not only that, but wasted food contributes to ozone destroying greenhouse gases lying in the landfill, but during the preparation of food as well. In North America we make the most food waste on the planet, this may also coincide with the highest obesity rates, in that we prepare more, to eat more, a...
In the US, eagles are a federally protected species; in fact, you cannot remove feathers you find on a dead one without proper permits. With the Bald and Golden Eagle being considered sacred by many nations throughout the country, it poses a special challenge to obtain feathers for ceremony. A program of the United States Fish and Wildlife Service, named the National Eagle Repository, is the place where aboriginal people can acquire eagles for traditional ceremonies from the federal government....
If you are planning to plant a tree now is the time to do it, unless you want to wait for fall when the conditions are good as well. Newly planted trees need moderate temperatures and rainfall. In order to grow good, their roots need to be established before the heat of summer or the cold of winter. Just like with a regular plant, but even more important, you need to carefully plan where to plant your tree. Recognize sun and shade patterns and know the maximum height and width of the tree. Is...
A joint project between the Toronto Zoo, MCA Tehotiienawakon Environment Program and the Anishnabek is called the Turtle Island Conservation Program. The object was to preserve turtle species in our joint territories. One portion of the program was to design turtle crossing signs that were in Mohawk and Anishnabe. This resulted in the production of turtle crossing signs that are a Mohawk version (using Tyendinaga linguistics) of the more familiar English/French pancake turtle signs that...
Many traditions and ceremonies are also practiced to help Onkwehonwe perform annual cleansing that helps to protect them from illness of any kind. In fact, every group in the world has traditional practices that help to protect them from illness by working with the plants that grow locally. Onkwehonwe elders teach us that Creation always provides whatever it is we need to be healthy. Jewel Weed usually grows near Poison Ivy and provides fast relief from the painful burning that happens when our...
Everyone knows pesticides are bad for the environment in some way. If there isn’t a direct impact on a non targeted insect or creature, there is almost certainly going to be an impact on the food chain if taken too far. The problem anyone with a garden can readily tell you is that pests can destroy much of your garden, without providing any alternative benefit. So what is an effective way to combat garden pests and minimize any external impact on plants or animals outside your garden? Well, y...
Before the Nursery Before you go to the nursery know what they have in stock. Know your plots and pots! Plan your garden as much as you can. Measure your garden so you can estimate about how many plants will fit and you can even take a picture of your garden. Think of the height of plants, not just the color of the flowers. Think about how much sun/shade your garden gets. Make a shopping list so you can attempt to avoid impulse buying. Clip pictures from magazines to give you ideas. At the Nurse...
Today, environmental issues are at the forefront of the news. From tragic oil spills destroying wildlife and habitat, to the toxic remnants of closed production facilities literally in our back yards, one issue that has been gaining a lot of attention lately is Hydrofracking. Recently Haudenosaunee, and all other indigenous people, were left out of federal decision-making involving the establishment of rules on hydrofracking. What is hydrofracking? Slick Water Hydraulic fracturing, or simply hyd...
Raised bed gardens have many benefits. Their walls keep slimy bugs like slugs and snails out of your garden. During a hard rain their walls keep your garden soil and all those great soil amendments in. You also have more control over the soil conditions. They do not have bottoms so they have good drainage, allow deep rooted plants to root in the ground and keep soil from being compacted. Because you do not need to step between plants, you can have more plants in a smaller space. There are...
Mix a liter of vinegar Add a quarter cup of salt And 2 tablespoons of dish soap Mix together and pour into a spray bottle Kills the weeds but not the flowers…....
On April 22nd the world will observe Earth Day. Earth Day is a day designed to inspire awareness and appreciation for the Earth’s environment. What a tremendous, sacred gift we have been given to live in this beautiful world! Do we truly hold it dear to our hearts, or do we take it for granted? “In all things of nature there is something marvelous.” -Aristotle- What has happened in our world? I am sad and dismayed when I read in the newspapers that ethics have been put aside in favor of greed and financial gain. Our Earth was created as a sac...
With the assistance of the Environmental Protection Agency, The HETF has taken on the task of creating a Haudenosaunee Environmental Education Curriculum (HEEC). The goal of this project is to use the foundations of Haudenosaunee traditional teachings to establish an environmental curriculum that will also fit within US and Canadian education standards. The time frame for the HEEC development is two years, with a completion date set for December 31st, 2012. HETF will be organizing several focus group discussions throughout the Six Nation’s t...
Earth Day is a day in which events are held to increase awareness and appreciation of the Earth’s natural environment. It is a day in which millions of people around the world will participate in events and activities that bring environmental issues to the forefront. It is a day that shouldn’t be regulated to a single day, but rather everyday. In communities around the world, the events that usually take place on this day include roadside cleanups and tree plantings. Our community is no exc...
Spring is certainly in the air and although we are still bothered by occasional night frosts there is one thing you can do to get your green thumb working: composting. Having a backyard compost pile or bin has so many benefits including saving you money. Composting involves transforming materials that would otherwise be waste, into a rich soil amendment through decomposition. It’s easy to do and you only need as big a space as you want. You can use or build a compost bin or just make a pile. Y...
Hydraulic Fracturing, commonly referred to as Hydro-fracking is a process used to push high volumes of water and chemicals into deep vertical wells to break up the shale to release the natural gas pockets and extract them to the surface. Drilling companies are using this technique with horizontal drilling to reach more of the gas pockets in deep shale. This technique has raised major questions about the environmental and social impacts in other areas of Turtle Island including Colorado, Texas, Ohio, Pennsylvania. Drilling companies have bought...
Ganondagan Seneca Historic Site hosted the Haudenosaunee Seed Workshop on March 24th of this year. It was well attended from farmers and seed growers across the Confederacy. The workshop started with Pete Jemison doing the Ohenton Kariwahtekwen or Ganiono in his Seneca language since it was hosted by the Western Door. Our main mission is to share the knowledge and keep our main food source growing like Hegowa, the main corn needed for our ceremonies. Pete wanted to share with everyone what is...
Cycle of Life Once a year in the springtime after the fish mature, the walleye will go on a journey back to where they were spawned out. This action completes their cycle of life, so that their species may live another generation. This seems simple; however, this doesn’t take into consideration the human influence on this cycle. There is an ongoing interruption of the life cycle of the walleye due to over spawning and/or over netting on the spawning beds. This interruption ultimately d... Full story
ATTENTION: Black-Legged Ticks and Lyme Disease are becoming a big concern for the MCA Tehotiienawakon—Environment Program with the warm weather we have been having lately as the ticks become more active when temperatures are above freezing. We have already sent a few ticks off to the lab to be tested for Lyme disease due to the fact that some people have been finding them on their children and pets. A test result from a tick taken off a pet has come back with positive results (the tick had Lyme... Full story
