Natural Law versus the Tribe and MCA

By Doug George-Kanentiio

Akwesasronon are aware of the strict limitations as to the powers and authority of the St. Regis Tribal Council and the Mohawk Council of Akwesasne. As entities created by New York State and Canada they are agencies responsive to the rules and regulations of any other such subsidiary such as the Department of Corrections, Education and Environment or the various ministries in Ottawa. All of these entities have specific rules which give them limited enforcement powers. They may not assume to act beyond their mandates. This is also true for the Tribal Council which takes its direction from New York State’s Indian Law, Article 8 Sections 110-114. The Tribe may not enforce any law beyond these provisions unless it acts as an extension of New York State which is in contrast to the indigenous customs of the Mohawk people. Without a constitution, a contract and directive from the people, neither the Tribe or MCA may not assume to have any authority over Mohawk citizens or upon indigenous lands.

It is this simple: as a free human being with rights under natural law I either give, as a collective, a government permission, or deny it the authority, to govern on my behalf.

Under the law of nations there is natural law and also legal statutes. Natural law predates legal statutes which are those regulations created by a government which acts on behalf of the people. Natural law includes the rights and duties which are a part of human nature and beyond government or the courts. Natural rights mean the right to be born, the right to have the means to exist, the right to be free from harm, the right to have a share in the common wealth of the nation, the right to think freely, to speak one’s mind, to exist without fear, to secure survival and the things which guarantee this and to have any and all communal organizations preserve those rights. Natural rights also mean every person has a duty to respect others, to do nothing which brings about harm to others, to do nothing which in any way threatens the health and security of others, to do nothing which may harm the ability of others to secure the means to survive plus the responsibility to act to defend the resources necessary for life and, under Rotinosionni laws, to protect the natural world from which the means to life are taken. Rotinosionni laws, as extensions of the laws of nature, also prohibit any action which will harm those who have yet to be born unto the seventh generation. In practice natural law restricts us from contaminating the earth which, if permitted, would undermine the most basic right-to exist. Natural law also extends to all species and not just humans given our absolute dependence on other life forms.

In a democratic society the people are the basis for all governmental powers. They give a government the authority to pass and enforce laws for the common good. Governments cannot exist without the express permission of the people, nor may they do harm to this trust by enacting laws contrary to the wishes of the people. This is the dilemma of the St. Regis Tribal Council and the Mohawk Council of Akwesasne. Neither can cite any action by the people in any kind of popular assembly which gives them the power to govern. Both were impositions serving as administrative extensions of Canada and the US which means they are neither democratic nor legal but coercive. This is most dangerous as they are not restricted by the popular will but may ignore the people to enact whatever restrictions which serve their interests. Akwesasne is not a place where democracy exists.

In the US there has been a long debate as to what place natural law has in the nation. When the US was formed it was with the idea that the federal and state governments existed with the permission of the citizens who had the right to change or abolish any legislature which acted contrary to their wishes. This “social compact” was given the power to protect the rights of the people. Beyond those “inalienable” rights certain guarantees were specifically enacted into law (such as the Bill of Rights) but the authors of the Constitution acknowledged other powers existed outside of government. These are call antecedent or non-enumerated rights which means those freedoms not cited or qualified by law are held by the people. If a government is not given exact authority it may not act beyond their codified limits. This means that if, at Akwesasne, the people have not given the councils clear permission to put in place a law that council cannot assume to enforce any action outside of their mandates and the people are free to act in any manner providing they do so with respect for the natural law and the rights of other beings.

The natural, non-enumerated, rights of the people were so important that the 9th Amendment to the US Constitution was passed. This reads as follows:

The enumeration in the Constitution, of certain rights, shall not be construed to deny or disparage others retained by the people.

What this means is this: the people are free to do as they please unless their natural rights are restricted by specific laws passed and enforced by governments which exist to provide for the needs of the people. Governments cannot lawfully exist without popular will and the trust of the governed. They are not separate from the will of the people.

Serious discussions in the way of public forums are necessary at Akwesasne to decide what the powers of the councils are under Mohawk jurisdiction and if the community wants to have governments which are democratic with powers given to them by the people versus the intrusions of US or Canada. As long as the MCA and Tribe act to enforce alien rules they undermine the desire for democracy and are responsible for the current tensions within the community. Since Akwesasronon have been excluded from determining how they will be governed these tensions will be a permanent condition on our territory as will predictable acts of resistance.