Letter to the Editor

Letter to the Editor,

The Tribal Government

It is pretty much beyond belief that our own people (Mohawks) would be so willing to deceive the population of Akwesasne by the lack of proper information and how this information is communicated. For instance, generalizing the disqualified that was given out at the Tribal meeting as to why people were disqualified from the petition that was signed by a large number of members. Why were they afraid of listing those individuals that were disqualified for all to view? The only reason for this is through deception, poor communication skills and or possibly from their own ignorance. This type of behavior I could easily understand if the persons doing this were not of our lineage. This is very demoralizing for our people. This comes from the top where we have the most educated?

The Communication Tools

While listening to the CKON radio talk show with Larry Thompson, Dana Leigh Thompson, Melvin White, and Tsiokawe, I was taken aback that these individuals were contested as to why they did not participate in the governance committee, the host of the radio station seemed taken aback that these individuals are challenging the current Government. This was noticed by quite a few people in the listening audience as I asked others if they listened to this episode. This indicates to me that our forms of communications are really not being the open forum they claim to be, be it the local paper or the radio. Why? Do we not believe in freedom of speech? Do we not know that sometimes it is okay to question authority? Remember too, that there was a group of people that walked into ovens to their demise for being passive and unquestioning.

The Public Conditions

Isn’t there anyone out there who really cares about the people here in Akwesasne? I read the letter in this past Indian Time paper written about the working conditions in our tobacco factories and found this absolutely disgusting, degrading, and immoral for our own Mohawk People and this is happening on our own Territory. I worked in one where we were not allowed breaks; I worked in another one where I had to use a blanket on my lap to stay warm (winter below zero temps) while I worked. I am sure everyone is going to pretend they did not read this letter about the tobacco factory. Discriminating against our own! In the white society people are arrested for this, is this our way of pushing our own people off the Reservation and aiding the Assimilation Act? I should mention that these non natives are working under the TABLE on top of everything else that is done for them, are these good cowboys? Sadly this is the abuses that take place here that I shake my head about all the time. Yet, we have places for battered women, taking kids out of homes that are thought to be abused and nothing for educating the population about what abuses are and why we do not think of these as abuses. Some of our parents and grandparents were subjected to abuses when they were taken away and attended these government schools and that was what they learned and this was passed onto us. At some point we have to realize the differences for ourselves and or get monies for our health services to educate people about what behaviors are abusive.

Conclusion

I guess we watched too many cowboy and Indian movies and we believe that the Indians are in fact the bad guys. This community needs to change these conditions by self evaluations. Only those people that kill, lie, steal, and the like are bad guys not the Indians. It is as if we have purposely separated ourselves only into certain areas of our community and will not venture into the entire community to see and realize that there are areas here that need improvements and for all who live here to be civil to our own people first.

Respectively Enlighten,

Agnes Terrance