A Voice from the Eastern Door
A Voice from the Eastern Door
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Letter to the editor...
Editor, The medical officers of health of several Canadian cities are discussing the merits of adding fluoride to their municipal water to prevent cavities in the teeth of young children. Adding fluoride to municipal water corrodes the pipes at the water plant and for a city the size of Cornwall, the fluoride costs around $50,000 per year. However, as the Mohawk community is well aware, there are several ways by which to deliver fluoride to the people. The pro-fluoride advocates may actually be creating possible business opportunities for...
As the mother of Derek Comins, a Tribal Sub-Chief candidate, I feel compelled to inform the voting membership what a strong performer Derek can be if given the opportunity to serve Akwesasne more than what he has and continues to. Please look at his stated goals: • “Fully funded detox facility that meets the cultural and social needs of our community.” This is a mandate from the community that something serious needs to be done at a local level. Derek, as an EMT, and his fellow ambulance teams, have seen their share of what drugs do to our yout...
I noticed a wonderful sight on Monday, May 1st. There was not one speck of new garbage on Cook Rd. from Rt. 37 to Martin’s Corner. This was two whole days after the roadside clean-up. I can remember years when there would be fresh garbage tossed out of car windows the same afternoon of the clean-up! It was a discouraging sight when so many volunteers gave up their free time to make Akwesasne beautiful again. So slowly attitudes are changing and, with that, behaviors are changing. Niawen kowa to all Akwesasronon who are being helpful by not l...
WHAT DOES SELF GOVERNMENT MEAN? You will lose all your rights. When did you ever see a white man tell the truth? Same like some of M.C.A. Chiefs lie to us? I bet they do not remember in the 40’s and 50’s, when we couldn’t buy anything in N.Y. State and take it back to your home on the Canadian side? Council doesn’t remember or know if you had a car with N.Y. plates you could not park at your house, you would have to park it on the U.S. side. We make baskets; you have to sneak it to the states side to sell it, fish, same thing Now that’s what se...
“In 1999 MCA initiated the Nation Building, or Entewatatha:wi Program, for the purpose of exploring areas of jurisdiction and authority over our affairs Akwesasne can take control from Canada. Since 1876 Akwesasne and other First Nations across Canada have adhered to Canada’s Indian Act, which gives Canada oversight to certain areas of our lives and governance, but also provides certain guarantees and benefits to First Nations people. As Akwesasne has the ability and desire to regulate itself in many areas, such as education, land and resource...
May 2, 2017 To The Editor, She:kon. The spring season has sprung upon Akwesasne, and the fair weather is allowing residents to share their often astute local observations. One topic of discussion is municipal real estate. Specifically, an Internet listing with the Champlain Valley MLS # 158999 has appeared for a New York realtor trying to make a quick sale locally on Route 37, “within a few hundred feet” of the tribal casino. Luckily, the area in question is described as Bombay, N.Y., and not the Akwesasne Territory. But, I was reminded, did...
Saint Regis Mohawk Tribe 412 State Route 37 Akwesasne, NY 13655 Chief Beverly Cook Chief Ron Lafrance Jr. Chief Eric Thompson Sub-Chief Shelly Jacobs Sub-Chief Michael Conners Jr. Sub-Chief Cheryl Jacobs Ladies and Gentlemen: A few months ago I called and talked to someone in the Clerk’s office asking what is being done about the native men who bring non-native women to live with them on the reservation. I can name a few and I’m sure some members of the Tribal officials can as well. By the same token we can include native women bringing non...
Letter to the Editor, I went to the Partridge house in May of 2014 and unlike so many that don’t, I made it to graduation. Since then I have been approached by numerous people discussing their experiences at the Partridge House, all of which were less than favorable. There are issues that need to be addressed with who is employed there and how they are handling the lives that enter through those doors. Through sharing some of my experiences, I hope to create awareness in the community about what is happening inside our treatment center and ulti...
Letter to the Editor, April 25, 2017 Disrupting Fish Cycle The fish cycles in Akwesasne are getting disrupted by natural as well as man made factors, some preventable as well as avoidable. One of the most grievous actions is being committed, as you read this article, by the St. Regis Mohawk Tribe. This action can be seen by the cleaning out of the drainage ditches in order to increase farm land drainage. The main problem is that as anyone who lives here in Akwesasne always hears talk about save the environment for those medicine plants and...
Many thanks to your paper and to Ruth Bell, for printing her letter last week. For those not familiar with TCR 2017-18 passed by the Tribal Council, it established a ‘’Elderly Benefits Committee” to try to do the job that our Chiefs were hired to do; come up with monies to start paying Senior Benefits of $200.00 monthly, as established in the referendum vote of December 3rd, 2016. Part of this TCR is a two page ‘’ TERMS OF REFERENCE’’ which amounts to bureaucratic ‘’gobbledigook’’. These impossible hurdles make no attempt to even mask the fact...
Transparency is about having an open decision making process; it helps strengthen respect, relationships and promotes efficiency and effectiveness in our government. This statement was made in the Tribal Council’s open letter to the community. However, I question whether OUR Tribal Council believes what they write. TCR 2017-18 has to do with council’s creating and appointing members to the Elders Benefit Working Group. I guess the community has not been transparent enough when they overwhelmingly supported the referendum vote on Dec. 3rd to...
Tribal Council’s open letter to the community in last week’s Indian Time left me with more questions than answers! I found it interesting that council stated numerous false statements are made in the letters but fail to acknowledge that there were proven TRUE statements also. I have already publicly acknowledged that I am familiar with the author of the second letter and my involvement with their right to public speech, but have no knowledge of the author of the first and third letters. However, even though I do not agree with the wording use...
Response to letter from the Tribal Council: Congratulations, you have just answered an anonymous letter with an anonymous letter! Mind you, your letter was assembled by a committee of council members and tribal staff yet no single individual signed their name to it. As a Tribal member involved in the efforts of our Seniors to have the results of the referendum vote of our community implemented, I have seen nothing but frustration in trying to deal with this council. Over the last three years these Chiefs have done nothing but block all efforts...
March 15, 2017 Anonymous letters containing defamatory statements have been circulating in our community. Last Spring, a letter was distributed with numerous false statements relating to Tribal Chiefs and community members. In February, another letter was mass-mailed to community members, again with false statements against Tribal Chiefs and certain community members. Most recently, a third letter surfaced containing defamatory accusations against the Tribal Chiefs and community members. Ordinarily, Tribal Council would not respond publicly to...
Once again the SRMT Monthly meeting held on March 4, 2017 was filled with much information. We had presentations regarding our youth who attended the USET conference, Sewakwatho and Native Connections, all of which were very informative. When New Business time came a very lively and sometime accusatory conversation took place concerning a very nasty anonymous letter that has been received by tribal members. This letter stated some very serious accusations against our three chiefs! I can neither confirm nor deny any of the accusations as I...
Our Seniors Benefit Committee met with Tribal Council on February 3, 2017 to select people who would be asked to sit on the Seniors Benefit Working Group. A call out was made to the membership with an end date of January 27, 2017. The Committee was NOT given a forewarning of how the selection was going to run so we were totally unprepared. However, we did not want to put off getting the process moving forward so we agreed to continue. We had already heard that Council was going to place people on the working group whether we wanted them or not....
Dear Editor: Every couple of years, our native peoples post a job opening. ‘’Wanted. Chief. Must be able to do what we ask them to do. Must also be able to follow rules. Will give you a guidebook of rules acceptable to our firm. Generous salary comes with job. Anyone wishing to apply for the job, please submit your resume to the people. You may also campaign, and agilely tell us why you are right for the job. If the majority of our native people feel you are a good choice for the job, we’ll hire you. Oh. You will also be required to promi...
Tsiothohrkó:wa/January 18, 2017 SRMT Elders Benefit Working Group, In Step With the 2013 Tribal Procedures Act The Saint Regis Mohawk Tribe (SRMT) follows the 2013 Tribal Procedures Act (TCR 2013-32), which can be found on the Tribe’s website at http://www.srmt-nsn.gov/_uploads/site_files/TribalProceduresAct__FinalDraftApprovedAtReferendum06012013.pdf, in consideration of issues that impact our entire membership community. After the appeal period, the Election Board of the Tribe certified the referendum, on December 13, 2016, concerning a mo...
The SRMT Monthly meeting held on 1/7/17 was lengthy and as always full of information. The new business portion went well beyond the 1 p.m. deadline as stated in the Procedures Act, but a motion was made that this be allowed due to scheduled presentations taking up all of the regular time. Former Chief Monica Jacobs stated that it was her opinion that Tribal Membership has one day a month to voice concerns and Tribal Council should make every effort to allow this to happen. As spokesperson for the Elder Benefit Committee I wanted to bring...
The Carnival dates are Friday, February 10th, Saturday, February 11th and Sunday, February 12th. At this time we are looking for events, event coordinators as well as sponsors. If you or your program are interested in participating please let us know. We are looking at a target date of Friday, January 27th to have all events confirmed. Some events confirmed are Karaoke Contest, Quilt Bingo, Oreo Stacking, Log Sawing, Golf Chipping Contest, Cake Contest, Tea Boiling, Pancake Making, Boot Hockey, Up Cycling/ Recycling items. We will once again...
On December 16, 2016 at 7:30 in the morning I pulled into McDonald’s Parking Lot in Gouverneur, N.Y. wanting a hot cup of coffee on my way to Syracuse. I am a 74-year old male who was dressed very warm. I shut my van off and went inside to get my coffee which was a stupid mistake on my part, as it was 22 below zero with a wind speed of 8 miles per hour. When I came back outside to start my van it wouldn’t start. I opened the hood to check things out and found a loose battery cable so I leaned in and tightened it up and tried to start my van aga...
Opinions are a funny thing aren’t they? Everyone’s got one, yet they make for an interesting conversation especially when it is on a topic pertaining to what each person believes is right or wrong. One controversial topic of interest is sexual health, more importantly the sexual health of children and adolescents; what is age appropriate? what is acceptable? what is not? what should be taught in schools? what shouldn’t? what should be taught at home? what needs to be explained openly? and all of the negative stigma upholding the shame assoc...
The Black Serpent of (Dakota Access Pipelines) “No DAPL protest” represents a powerful battle against a monster stated in our prophecies. Most people might not be aware of the Standing Rock protest because of today’s media blackout, but this story has many postings on Facebook. When I was a young boy, I remember the traditional elders were talking about this or at least that is what I thought they were talking about. I remember hearing them tell stories about someone seeing a black snake in the grass while on their way to the outhouse. What...
Last week on page 17 of this paper, a full page listing appeared entitled, “ELDERS BENEFITS FAQS.” PLEASE NOTE. This listing was a product of the Saint Regis Mohawk Tribe only. Although my name and that of Lois Thomas appeared as “Contact Information,” neither one of us were consulted in the writing of this article and we did not agree to, or approve the content. In error, the listing suggests that Tribal Programs mainly benefit elders. Not true. We all benefit from these services, the young, and old, healthy and disabled. We are one people, al...
