A Voice from the Eastern Door
A Voice from the Eastern Door
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As a Mohawk historian who uses wampum belts to tell our story, I have always loved the Two Row Wampum Belt and its metaphor of the native canoe and European ship sailing side by side down the river of life. Nothing pleases me more to see this acted out in modern times on the Hudson River this summer, with parallel rows of canoes, kayaks and watercraft—including an impressive, newly-carved dugout canoe serving as flagship. The principles of peace and friendship are exactly what the original wampu...
As Mohawks we are taught from infancy to honour our elders, abide by the traditional teachings and accept our ancient values as given to us across the generations. One of the most profound instructions, which should be the foundation for all of our laws, is to do no harm to the rights of the unborn unto the seventh generation. This means our descendants have the legal right to the basics of life: clean air, pure waters, and fertile lands. It also gives us the obligation to preserve that which makes the Mohawk people distinct. It includes not...
Long before the arrival of the Europeans to Anowara:kowa (Turtle Island or “America”) the Iroquois had established rituals to welcome individuals and groups to their territory. These rituals were to form the basis for diplomatic relations, which in turn could lead to formal agreements and treaties with foreign nations. It was vital to the Iroquois to define their home territory by asserting sovereignty as they extended hospitality through the sharing of resources and the alleviation of physical, intellectual and spiritual burdens. Through the...
The Tonto and the Lone Ranger movie features Johnny Depp playing a Comanche native but the first actor to play the role was a Mohawk of the Six Nations territory in southern Ontario. His stage name was Jay Silverheels and this is how he came to be a performer in Hollywood movies. In the 1930’s the sport of lacrosse was very popular, particularly those games played in hockey arenas during the summer. The sport was sponsored by the Montreal Canadiens hockey team, which led to the formation of a professional box lacrosse league. Its high speed, e...
As the War of 1812 dragged on through the spring of 1813 many Iroquois were uncertain as to which side they should fight. The British forces had suffered defeats when the colonial capital at York (now Toronto) was captured and burned on April 27 followed by the loss of Ft. George to the American forces on May 25. These victories placed the Iroquois at Ohsweken and the Mohawks of Tyendinaga, Akwesasne and Kahnawake in a delicate, vulnerable position. The American strategy was initially designed to attack the British garrison at Kingston thereby...
No Nation may exist when its claim to sovereignty is contradicted by its refusal to abide by its legal and moral principles. Canada and the US have entered into binding contracts with the aboriginal people by which they accept certain obligations while acknowledging the existence and legitimacy of indigenous nation states. It is the duty of the people to remind the various state institutions, including their own, of their obligations to administer to the well being of the citizens. No state may exist without the active, demonstrable support of...
Alcoa and General Motors announced March 27th that an agreement had been reached regarding their culpability in destroying the environment and undermining the traditional lifestyles of the Mohawk people. Of that, $8,400,000 is earmarked for strengthening the culture of Akwesasne. This money should not be given to one single council since the damages to our heritage are not restricted to the border or one agency, but has been of profound impact on every family within our territory-which includes all of our aboriginal lands in the region regardle...
The case of Roger Thomas should be of great interest to all Mohawks. If an inferior court in St. Lawrence County is allowed to qualify, if not outright eliminate, the aboriginal hunting, fishing and gathering rights of our people then we lose not only those activities, but our outstanding claims to those territories stolen from our ancestors by New York State. The argument out forth by Mr. Thomas’s lawyer was, unfortunately, backwards. First, there is no logical reason to use the Seven Nations of Canada as a defense since the leadership has l...
Throughout the autumn and winter of 1812-13 the residents of Akwesasne were being drawn into the war between Britain and the US. Since the controversial Seven Nations of Canada treaty of 1796 there had been restrictions on the movement of the Native people living on the “reservation” but the international border had not yet become internally divisive. Both English and American authorities recognized the importance of the St. Lawrence River as vital to the movement of troops and supplies from the ports of Montreal into the interior. If the...
There are good reasons for Canada’s Native people to be at the point where frustration, impatience and anger rush together in a blend of powerful emotions bordering on rage. It is to the credit of Native people that they have adopted peaceful, non-confrontational tactics as they march across highways and bridges or gather in malls and city centres in flash mobs to let the nation know they will no longer accept the dictates of the federal government, that the time has come to compel Canada to abide by its treaty obligations and remove the s...
There is still a political and social fight for the VAWA. Although it is at a stalemate in US Congress, last week congressmen introduced H.R. 6625, a new stand-alone House version of VAWA, which contains language to address tribal court jurisdiction and judicial parity in prosecuting non-Indian defendants. Meetings were held last week and they are a sign that progress is being made. Native women are murdered at 10 times the national rate; 1 out of 3 Native women will be raped in her lifetime, and 3 out of 5 physically assaulted. Even worse,...
By Mark Kawesoton Light Reprinted with permission from Indian Country Today I haven’t written anything in a long time. This time of year is always hard on our family. I want to take some time to remember my son, Sky Light. September 8 was six years since the Creator decided it was his time to go. It seems like it was just yesterday I heard his motorcycle flying down the road at four in the morning and then a loud pop. I ran outside to find Sky and Devon both lifeless. Devon was a young man who was crossing the street at the wrong time and w...
By Beverly Cook Reprinted w/ permission from Indian Country Today Our determination to survive as distinct Indigenous peoples comes from the will of our ancestors. They suffered unspeakable crimes to their spirits and bodies, and we still struggle to beat back this legacy of genocide. To outsiders, it might appear as if the Indian wars are over. We know that is not true. Our battle today is with historical oppression and generational trauma. Seeds of doubt and shame planted hundreds of years ago continue to take root in the darkness of each...
At the meeting held by the EPA last Thursday, November 15, Remedial Project Manager Young Chang behaved disrespectfully and made what was a gesture of indifference obvious to anyone present. I am referring to her hand motions to David Kluesner in an effort to hurry along people exercising their given right to comment on the proposed remediation strategy. Chang’s impatience was seething, as well as the nature in which she delivered her portion of the presentation. I know because I sat next to her between the rest of the EPA contingent and the A...
October 23, 1812: The Skirmish at St. Regis Two hundred years ago today, one of the early skirmishes in the War of 1812 took place, but there are no re-enactments taking place where the clash occurred. That’s because it happened in the village of Kanatakon, or St. Regis, here in Akwesasne...and it might not be a great idea to have hundreds of non-native reenactors sneaking around Akwesasne with rifles in hand at five o’clock in the morning. Due to its location on the border between the US and Canada as well as on the St. Lawrence River, Akw...
By Ray Cook, Opinion Editor Reprinted with permission from Indian Country Today Media Network October 8, 2012 I am trying to write this day without mentioning the lost European’s name. There are store sales in his honor. That’s a distinctly American thing; if you are a dead white man that did something spectacular, you would know because they create sales offers in your name. Never heard of a John Doe sales event, have you? Trying to go about my day without mentioning his name. I am attempting to decolonize my mind; it is a hard job and it tak...
I remember looking through a book on Massena (Akwesasne Mohawk Territory) history, studying the pictures and seeing my uncle, Noah Cook. It was 1922. Uncle Noah had to have been 18 or so years old at the time. He was pictured in a blacksmith shop with a very old sod that was showing Noah the ropes. How young Noah looked. He worked many years at the “plant” and, as many did then, also worked the family farm. He retired decades later, when there were no more horses or metal wheels to maintain. It was the industrial age and Massena and Akw...
August 23, 2012 In 1942, the renowned legal scholar Felix Cohen famously wrote about the Spanish origin of Indian rights in the federal Indian law conceptual system of the United States. The two concepts of a “trust relationship” and “plenary power” are aspects of that system that find their origin in domination. Let us begin with the idea of a “trust,” which is typically and habitually invoked by Indian country, usually without developing a deeper understanding of that concept and its origin historically. When we follow Cohen’s suggestion and...
Some years ago the late Ernie Benedict told me a story about a group of Mohawks from Akwesasne and Kahnawake who had paddled west many generations ago. They were expert canoeists and trappers hired by various fur companies including the Hudson’s Bay and Northwest firms who were in fierce competition for animal pelts and needed the Mohawks. Our ancestors would undertake the long journey across the Great Lakes and then head south to the Mississippi and up the Missouri or go northwest, across Lake Winnipeg and then follow the North Saskatchewan R...
Given that a capitol dome is part of what constitutes domination of and by “the State,” it makes sense to talk in terms of ‘The Domeland,” rather than ‘The Homeland.” If we were living a science fiction story—and often these days it feels as if we are—the narrative could easily include “the Department of Domeland Security.” Curiously, two news articles appeared within days of each other that deal with recent developments regarding what is typically termed U.S. homeland security. The first was pu...
After attending the Gathering of Condolence, Peace & Strength in Cass Lake, Minnesota on June 18 – 23, Sahonwese Elijah, a Mohawk of Akwesasne, set out to accomplish his own dream to participate in the Peace and Dignity Journey 2012. A young man who is well known for his gift as a runner, and whose bloodline, through his Oneida ancestry, traces many well-known runners throughout Haudenosaunee history has participated in cross-country races throughout elementary, junior and high school, w...
June 18, 2012 marked the 200th anniversary of the War of 1812, a war all but forgotten in American history books. But what did that war mean for this country’s Indigenous Peoples? The War of 1812 formally began on June 18, 1812 when President James Madison signed the Declaration of War against the United Kingdom. The war was fought for a number of reasons including trade restrictions, the impressment of American merchant sailors into the Royal Navy, the United States trying to annex Canada, but also because the British were supporting Native A...
Decision in Favor of Winnebago Tribe Was Overdue By Charles Kader June 29, 2012 - On June 18, 2012, in a New York courtroom, in picturesque St. Lawrence County, a decision was reached in a legal matter that pitted belief against regulation, rural against urban, and small versus large. The decision rendered in this case, involving a native tobacco seizure case (HCI Distribution, Inc. v. New York State Police, et al) heard by New York State Supreme Court Justice David Demarest, resulted in the order to the New York state troopers to return all...
The Mohawk territory during the 17th century was over 11,000,000 acres or 17,200 square miles in size. It consisted of that land south of the St. Lawrence River (including present day Montreal) to the west branch of the Delaware River, east to the Lake Champlain-Richelieu River corridor, west to the West Canada and Unadilla creeks. This, according to the determination of the Mohawk Nation based upon centuries of active occupation and territorial enforcement. The capital region of the Mohawk Nation was in the Mohawk Valley area. Their clan...
Radio CKON was designed to serve the needs of the Akwesasne Mohawk community, to encourage the growth and retention of our culture, to provide a Mohawk perspective on historical and current events, to promote aboriginal entertainment, to become a primary means of expression using Mohawk language and to enhance the region’s understanding and appreciation for the Nation. The Akwesasne Communications Society was formed in the spring of 1982 to oversee a radio broadcasting facility including the drafting of rules and procedures designed to i...
