A Voice from the Eastern Door
A Voice from the Eastern Door
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One of the agenda items at the just concluded UN Permanent Forum on Indigenous Issues was “Combating violence against Indigenous Women and Girls.” The title was a bit counter-productive, using a violent word like “combating” to end violence. A better word would have been “eliminating.” Other than that, the session dealt with a very important and saddening reality. Participants heard a litany of examples of how Indigenous women and girls globally are victims of violence from spousal abuse to forced prostitution to rape and murder. And the per...
Here we are, another Tribal election. Another opportunity to straighten out another year’s misdeeds. To be clear, we are talking about Council. The Tribe, I am not worried about. The programs and services and with minor exception in the legal and finance departments, the Tribe pretty much runs itself as long as you can keep the greasy fingers of the lawyers and finance out of the way. Over the last three or so years I grew tired of the campaign process. Tired of the predictability of the campaign process. Tired of the disappointment after t...
On April 26, 2012, the Senate passed S. 1925, the Violence Against Women Reauthorization Act of 2012, with broad bipartisan support. Title IX of the bill would restore concurrent tribal criminal jurisdiction over non-Indians who commit certain misdemeanor crimes involving domestic violence, dating violence, and violations of protection orders and who have significant ties to the prosecuting tribe. If enacted, Title IX would be a small, but historic step forward in restoring safety and justice to Native women−women subjected to epidemic l...
I was watching SportsCenter the other day and some news hit me right between the eyes: Junior Seau, Samoan phenom, committed suicide. Seau was always one of my favorite players for a few different reasons: 1) Seau was Samoan, and I consider all Polynesians to be Indigenous brothers and sisters, having had similar experiences to many Native people here on the mainland, 2) He was a grown man named “Junior,” and I always thought that only happened in Indian communities, so I appreciated his Ind...
One of the more remarkable things about Mohawk culture and its teachings are the set of teachings referred to as prophecies. From the formation of the Haudenosaunee Confederacy to the present time there have been those who possess the ability to see beyond their time and witness events, which, if correct, will affect not only the Mohawks but all of humanity. That we are in a time of profound social and technological change is certain. That our current resource-exploitative lifestyles are affecting the planet in dramatic ways is also beyond...
As May approaches, with it comes the imminent closure of the First Americans First IGA. The Saint Regis Mohawk Tribe said, “Continuing to subsidize the IGA operation is no longer feasible.” Simply put, it was too big and too expensive. “I paid less for nearly all my family’s groceries by driving to Massena.” When I would shop there I would spend $19.75 and be ineligible for the give away. It isn’t hard to see why though. In Massena are national chains with the buying power and often low prices that national chains bring. Well, now it’s too la...
Some people may have thought what Kanietekeron did was extravagant. You could say he took the saying “actions speak louder than words” to heart. But allegedly driving a backhoe through a fence to dig up a shallow grave of toxic waste was an action that will most likely produce the desired effect-publicity. In fact, one of the most effective ways to stop corporate crimes is the use of publicity. If there is one thing as important as profits to a corporation it is their public image. Of course this is because public image correlates with pro...
When I sat down to write this column, I wanted to tell you about how well ICTMN is doing in promoting our (Indigenous) interpretation of the world through presenting our view of news, events and thoughts. But that will have to take a back seat. Richard Milanovich passed away. The Onondaga nation lost a Clan Mother of Clan Mothers. And a handful of grannies and grandpas did their part out in Lakota country, slowing the progression of the Killer Pipe Line that the Americans call Keystone Pipeline XL. First, I want to clarify my ethnicity. My...
Reprinted with permission from Indian Country Today It seems like no one realizes that Tekakwitha lived a full life of learning and practicing our traditional culture and knew how to survive before she became a Catholic. There were missionaries who had learned our language and dialects among the Iroquois and she learned their prayers. At the age of 20, a Mohawk woman is very strong in her ways and determined when making a decision. Consider my remarks for those people that might want to imply that Tekakwitha was abused or forced by the...
When Onondaga Nation Clanmother Audrey Shenandoah-Gonwaiani passed into the spirit world on March 15 not only her family and community mourned but the entire Haudenosaunee Confederacy was cast into sorrow. For the past four decades she was a steady, reliable and dignified presence at Onondaga, ever ready to speak on behalf of the people while welcoming visitors to the capital and central fire of the world’s first united nations. As a clanmother (Iakoiane in the Mohawk dialect of the Iroquois language) Gonwaiani accepted the responsibilities a... Full story
When we examine Mohawk history as it involves Akwesasne we think about those individuals who had the most impact upon us. Names like Louis Cook, the ambitious political operative Joseph Brant, the patriot Ernie Benedict or the great teacher Ray Fadden come to mind but there is one person who has affected our culture, language and even our health in the most dramatic of ways. That person is Robert Moses. Other than a name hung on the St. Lawrence Power Dam on our property at Niionenhiaseko:wane, the man is virtually unknown among the Mohawks...
In December of 2010 I made a presentation to the Mohawk Nation Council of Chiefs followed by one to the Mohawk Council of Akwesasne in April of last year. I spoke at length about the need to establish a Mohawk Nation Department of Motor Vehicles as a natural, logical and badly needed extension of our status as a indigenous nation. Both councils listened with interest as I explained how this can be done and why other entities, such as Canada and the US, had no choice but to acknowledge our inherent right to do this. Other native nations in the... Full story
February 17th was a warm sunny day, a far cry from what we have come to expect for a winter day here in the northeast, and I should have been out enjoying it. Instead, I spent most of the day indoors, within a darkened conference room on the University of Albany campus, observing the second Annual Bioarchaeologists’ Northeast Regional Dialogue Conference, or B.A. NeRD as they ‘cutely’ refer to it. I was there for the simple reason that I know the legacy of anthropology; I know that when the guns were put away, having served their objec... Full story
A Haudenosaunee orator and representative to Nations has said that, “Sovereignty is the act thereof.” Sovereignty is action, and it’s through our actions that people come to understand our sovereignty (our original free and independent existence). In a state of liberty, individuals choose what actions will define their personal existence. But, governments do not have that luxury. Governments are not free, nor endowed with liberty and are not individuals. They make way for freedom and clear the way for individual liberty… or, they get in the... Full story
One of the privileges of being from Akwesasne is the ability to attend, and witness, the conducting of the 13 communal ceremonies, which mark the lunar year. This, rather than the Gregorian calendar, was how the Mohawk people have always observed the passing of the seasons and is an extension of the Skywoman epic in which a part of the body of Tekawerahkwa (the daughter of Iotsitsisen (Skywoman) was elevated into the nighttime sky. This event is not simply myth but the description of a physical act. Our native ancestors somehow knew that the... Full story
The children of the West (Americans) are fighting amongst themselves (again) over distribution of a wealth that does not belong to them, a wealth derived from Indigenous lands. The opportunity to redefine wealth based on a more realistic view of the earth and an understanding of man’s place may be now. There is a very old Iroquois prophecy called the The Two-Headed Serpent. Stuart Myiow of the Mohawk Traditional Council of Kahnawakeh told this prophecy, as did our ancestors. He’d say, “This is the Two-Headed Serpent Prophecy. We must remem...
When Skennenrahawi, the Peacemaker, walked among the Iroquois over 800 years ago his plan was to create the world’s first united nations entity dedicated to the idea that human beings may live in a world without war. To accomplish this he created a set of rules called the Kaienerakowa or the Great Law of Peace. This code provided the Iroquois not only with a constitutional form of government but also directed them to reach out to other nations to present them with an opportunity to join the league. The resulting Haudenosaunee Confederacy w...
On July 19, I gave a lecture at the Kanatakon Recreational Centre regarding the events that caused the War of 1812, the War of the Rivers. That conflict had a profound effect on Akwesasne since it affirmed the international border now dissecting our community, provoked conflict among the Mohawk people and provided New York State with an opportunity to remove additional territory from the original reservation while establishing the “trustee” system as a colonial administration despite vigorous internal opposition. I traced the origins of the...
Indian Preference; it’s the law. By Harold Monteau The Tribal Human Resource Department (HR) of a Theoretical Tribe advertises in nation-wide media and on its website that the position of Chief Judge is open and solicits application from qualified candidates. The position announcement also states that the position is subject to Tribal and Indian Preference. Theoretical Tribe is a “compacted” tribe under P.L. 93-638, the Indian Self-determination and Education Assistance Act, meaning it has “contracted” with the United States Governmen...
Today Canada celebrates “National Aboriginal Day”--Canada’s affirmation of the rights of Indigenous People. On June 13, 1996 Governor General Romeo Leblanc declared June 21 “National Aboriginal Day.” Though the media claims the date was selected after the Governor General consulted with Indigenous leaders there is clearly an historical reason for choosing the first day of summer as Canada’s day to honour Indigenous People. On June 21, 1880 Indigenous leaders on the Six Nations Indian Reserve adopted the Indian Act. On that day Canada beca...
During this time of changes it is helpful to take a look back and recall who we were as Native people. Much of what we believe has been somewhat distorted by the media, formal educational systems, books, movies and popular music. We now identify with symbols of our Indian status rather than actually living according to our ancestral values. But it was only a generation or two ago when the American Indian defined life by its beauties rather than its material potentials. An important book to read which summarizes Native society was written by...
Two of the most creative Mohawk artists of our generation have now passed into the spirit world but not before leaving a powerful legacy of their life’s work. Peter Blue Cloud Willams-Aroniawenrate and Salli Benedict-Kawennotakie were exceptionally creative and gifted individuals whose writings and communal work deeply affected their generation and brought honour to the Mohawk Nation. Both exercised their skills in many mediums but it was through their poetry that they were able to express the e...
Calling Upon The “Editor-In-Chief” Submitted By: Tim Johnson Included in the millions of people throughout the United States and around the world who welcomed the demise of Osama Bin Laden were American Indians. Not since Adolph Hitler has there been such a universally despised figure, so replete with immoral sentience. Death was the only fitting end to a man who had dispensed death on a massive and virtually indiscriminate scale. He was a man without a country and his killing reflected the same. His victims included citizens of numerous nat...
It Is Not Simply Climate Change It Is A Climatic Revolt ©By Doug George-Kanentiio A casual reading of the April 6 edition of the New York Times exposes the myth of climate change as brought about by human beings. It is not climate change; it is an outright climatic mutation with permanent effects on all species of life on this planet. It is an ecological rebellion, a revolt by the earth, a radical and deadly response to an unprecedented assault upon what we, as indigenous peoples, believe to be a living organism with its own peculiar...
When I sat down to write this column, I wanted to tell you about how well ICTMN is doing in promoting our (Indigenous) interpretation of the world through presenting our view of news, events and thoughts. But that will have to take a back seat. Richard Milanovich passed away. The Onondaga nation lost a Clan Mother of Clan Mothers. And a handful of grannies and grandpas did their part out in Lakota country, slowing the progression of the Killer Pipe Line that the Americans call Keystone Pipeline XL. First, I want to clarify my ethnicity. My...
