Dear Editor

Dear Editor,

Recently, the publicity of contraband seizures has been seen in increasing volumes in regional news outlets, particularly from media releases from the Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP) stationed in Valleyfield, Quebec. These news articles have gone out of their way, for instance, to identify the manufacturer brand names of seized tobacco products. In doing so, the implication seems to be that the root of all prohibited behavior originates in Akwesasne, and the RCMP is upholding the honor and dignity of Canada. The seizures would seem to justify the staff size and presence of these lawmen.

The timeless cycle of action and credit is not lost on longtime followers of American and Canadian news. In this approach, an individual, or an agency, goes to great lengths to build up an adversary or rival, and then proceeds to chop away at the opponent, creating a greater media “pop” when the inevitable fall finally comes. Fans of professional wrestling “entertainment” may also recognize this tried and true process

The community of Akwesasne deserves better. Let no one cast a stone who lives in a glass house. All over the surrounding region exist reminders that put the contemporary situation in perspective.

It was not so long ago that plans were made public which detailed the desire of American and Canadian governments to invade and control Akwesasne. In November of 1995, Operation Gallant Piper was made public by the former-New York Governor George Pataki, which detailed the plans by a previous administration to invade and control Iroquois Confederacy communities, utilizing downstate New York National Guard units, in strategy reminiscent of the Russian Czars who pitted ethnic populations against each other from far-away regions, to maximize effectiveness through non-familiarity.

Coinciding with this planning across the border was the Canadian Army plans to utilize the RCMP and Surete du Quebec (SQ) to seize and occupy First Nations communities in Akwesasne, Kahnawake, Kahnesatake and Tyendinega in Operation Scorpion Saxon, featuring Joint Task Force 2 (JTF2), the Canadian equivalent of the American Delta Force. The rationale to attempt this activity? To restore law and order in North American Iroquois communities, with a focus on tobacco-related activities.

One needs only to look to the Thousand Islands region to see the web of intrigue surrounding Akwesasne. The summer retreat of the vaunted and mysterious Skull and Bones Society, operating out of Yale University, exists on Deer Island, near Alexandria Bay. The 2006 Robert De Niro film, “The Good Shepherd”, details this geographic link. Allegedly the location of initiation ceremonies of this exclusive fraternity, it also has been rumored as the location of the stolen skull of Geronimo, pilfered from his grave by Prescott Bush (grandfather of current US President Bush) while stationed at Fort Sill, Oklahoma. Harlyn Geronimo, the great-grandson of the famous Chiricahua Apache leader, made a formal written request to current-President Bush in 2007 to see that his ancestor’s remains be retrieved and returned. Each summer, Skull and Bones apparently holds a gathering at Deer Island. Hiding in plain sight is a common camouflage technique.

When Akwesasne Mohawk Territory sees what it is up against to maintain a way of life, the challenges can be at times overwhelming. However, the resiliency of individualism will always play a part in the how easily the community agrees to see things through the eyes of the outside. Try telling Jake “Fire” Ice, or Richard Oakes, to name just two, to sit back and just accept things the way they are handed down. That did not happen. It is unlikely to happen again.

The actions of very few affect many, in a repititious pattern, throughout the world. The lack of community response to those actions, official or otherwise, leaves the weight of their decisions quite binding. As in professional wrestling “entertainment”, a “fall-guy” is needed to advance the story-line. Here, the “fall-guy” is the Akwesasne economy. In the future, the actions of the few may further encroach upon sovereignty even further. Those who make those decisions will state that they gave plenty of warning that they were coming. The cost of the reaction always informs the world how much sovereignty is worth to Akwesasne.

-Chaz Kade

Mohawk Chamber of Commerce at Akwesasne, Executive Director