Letter to the Editor

I am writing this letter to bring awareness to my community of Akwesasne of the event that occurred in May on Point Road, Kawehno:ke . Thursday, May 05, 2022, the day before Jake Fire Day, the Canadian government entity that is the Mohawk Council of Akwesasne, commenced the construction of a housing complex project on Lot 147A-3-6 on Point Road, Kawehno:ke . The project was initiated with no official Mohawk Council of Akwesasne “Notice of Construction” to the residents and families of Point Road. The negligence in communication and organization caused the desecration of Point family burials on the planned lot.

When the construction crew arrived and began to clear the land, my uncle Danny David was the first person to step in and stop them. I talked to him to get his recollection. He recounted how he told the construction contractor that his uncles were buried on the land but didn’t know where they were buried. Because Danny didn’t know where they were, the contractor blamed him for not knowing and was then ignored. When the crew left, Danny and my cousins Kanathonson and Tekarataneken created a sacred fire and burned tobacco. The following Monday, the construction crew left not without causing devastation to the land.

Niawenko:wa to my Uncle Danny for stepping in and stopping the construction crew.

In the gathering of the family descendants of Louis and Eva Point, there was only speculation as to why a construction crew was there in the first place. My family and neighborhood had no notice of the project construction or point of contact to notify MCA beforehand to share imperative family history. Only afterward MCA sent a letter requesting a meeting with the families on Point Road to discuss the housing project. First, there needed to be a Point family meeting. There were a couple of family meetings in May, and I went to a few to listen. In one meeting, my older cousins shared their childhood stories about the area. One was about a tree nearby they climbed, and another about who was put in a sack with bees. I don’t know my older cousins very well, but I felt a little closer to them, knowing they had their connection to the land near where I grew up. They remarked how my great grandfather, their grandfather Louis never trusted the band council, and now he was proven correct in his distrust.

When the water main was installed on Point Road in early 2010, MCA held an information session and had employees come door-to-door to get the Point Road residents to sign the contracts. When they spoke with my father Leroy David, they presented maps outlining the amount of land they would take for the water main. There was no comparable or minimum effort in communication for the housing project planned on Point Road to the families. No official “Notice of Construction” from MCA about the project either in the mail, in person, on the Akwesasne.ca website, on their social media accounts, or newsletter. No basic courtesy to notify us of the disruption of peace. In addition to the urgency to share imperative family history, the secondary issue of the impact the construction would have on the neighborhood: the noise disruption, sharing a narrow roadway with heavy machinery and large trucks, and the safety of the children that walk to the school bus, walk home, or ride their bikes. Point road is a narrow, gravel covered, pot-holed road that twelve households drive on.

In May, part of me thought MCA wouldn’t believe there was a family burial on the land and would allow the construction crew to return. I remember hearing the machinery tearing up the land and their crews’ large vehicles driving up and down the road. The garbage trucks on Tuesday and Friday make a similar mechanical noise, and I would look out the window to check to make sure it wasn’t the construction crew returning. I can’t help but think that maybe MCA will disregard, dismiss, and disrespect us again and allow construction to resume suddenly.

A development to be constructed over Kanien’keháka burials draws some parallel with the Oka Crisis in Kanehsatake. The difference between Oka and Akwesasne is that it was our own Onkwehon:we people in the developer position. The Mohawk Council of Akwesasne was able to progress further in their housing agenda and began to clear the land. MCA initiated the destruction of the land seemingly without doing their due diligence of an environmental and archaeological assessment. It wasn’t until June and July they started to work backward and had these assessments done. MCA’s actions caused the desecration of one grave and disturbed the location of one possible grave. In June, we got a notice in the mail about the presence of an archeological specialist performing his services on the lot. He was accompanied by an MCA Aboriginal Rights and Research Officer. Based on the information by the specialist, a suspected grave could not be scanned correctly and remains unconfirmed. The ground around the suspected grave was heavily disturbed by the land mulching, and the ground-penetrating radar could not get an accurate reading. Only excavation can confirm if there are remains in that particular spot. During the time of my great grandparents, Louis and Eva Point, it was considered normal to bury family on your own property. If you have land in your family for generations, you may have ancestors nearby. I can’t help but think about community members who sold their land to MCA or others, and the possibility of forgotten ancestral graves demolished and the spiritual consequences.

The Mohawk Council of Akwesasne created a strategic plan for 2019-2023. Two goals stand out: “Goal #3: Monitor and Protect our Environment” and “Goal #9: Take Pride in our History and Culture.” Each goal has a few initiatives. The objective of Goal #3 is to “monitor and protect the environment within the Territory.” In July, two environmental surveyors arrived to perform their assessment. When one of the surveyors spoke to my Uncle Danny, he stated that the land is a young forest with black ash, white ash, maple, oak, and butternut trees. According to Ontario.ca-Species at Risk in Ontario, the butternut tree is endangered and listed under the Endangered Species Act (ESA), which protects the tree and its habitat. It is also listed under the federal Species at Risk Act (SARA). Parts of the butternut tree can be used as medicine and nuts as a food source. Black ash trees are also endangered. They take many years to mature and are used in splint basketry. Currently, an approximately 10ft high and 50ft wide pile of uprooted, dead trees remains on the lot.

The overall objective of Goal #9 is “Akwesasronon to feel connected to our community and culture and for Akwesasronon to feel connected to our past.” A listed objective under Goal #9 is to find and place markers of historical importance. Located on the lot are trees with historical family significance, be it old or planted for a reason and were not to be cut down, our natural landmarks. My father said that my great grandfather used to tap the maple trees on that land. There are rumors that during the War of 1812 the British camped on the land somewhere around Point Road. These examples in addition to family burials could have been shared sooner if we had a chance.

Each elected district council member swore an oath to respect the people of Akwesasne and not bring disgrace upon us. Based on the actions of the band council’s administration of the housing project, the acts of negligence, cultural disgrace, and disrespect to Point Road families and the descendants of Louis and Eva Point, I believe they dishonored their oath of office.

Akwesasne Election Law by the Mohawk Council of Akwesasne, The oath of office, page 34.

“1. I,_____, do solemnly swear that I accept the office of______ Chief for the people of Akwesasne with full respect for the people of our community.”

“2. I will strive to serve the people of Akwesasne faithfully, honesty, and with integrity. I will not bring disgrace upon the people of Akwesasne.”

We, as Rotinonhsonn:ni people, have a long-standing leadership system that existed before the arrival of the colonists. Our leadership is our traditional chiefs “Roia:ne, Clanmothers, and Faithkeepers. The band council has only existed in Akwesasne for roughly 123 years, and it was enforced on us with violence by the false imprisonment of traditional leaders and death of Jake Saiowiserakron Fire. He died protecting our Rotinonhson:ni rights and leaders so we wouldn’t have Indian Act councils. There should be a clear distinction between the band council members and the Confederacy Council. MCA is part of the Canadian government, and the title band council members should return as councilors and not continue as “chiefs”. They have followed the colonial construct of making promises in the guise of strategies and oaths and breaking them. Past band council members posed as dignitaries in other nations, and made decisions regarding land, treaties, membership, justice, and law which are the jurisdiction of the Confederacy of Chiefs. Because of the perseverance of our predecessors and the work of our current traditional leadership, our Rotinonhson:ni customs and laws exist today. Other nations in Canada lost their traditional leadership and now rely solely on a band council. Our culture is at risk, not by forces outside our nation but from within. By our neighbors in band council, extended family, and clan members who forgot who they are and where they come from. We still have our principles that helped our nation survive. We are not hollow that we become the assigned number on status cards pretend Indians and non-natives covet.

In conclusion, this was written to my fellow Akwesasro:non to talk to your family elders, ask about the land you live on, and for the desecration of our ancestors to not repeat again. Let’s not forget the past and our family. Together, thinking seven generations ahead, let us avoid the future actions of our own people building a toilet over your ancestors, your final resting place, and our culture.

Aimee Katenions David

Turtle clan