The Need to Transform the Nation

By Doug George-Kanentiio.

The two community meetings held this past December about the impending land claims settlement revealed not only wide dissatisfaction with the proposal but also the need for the Mohawk Nation to transform back into an actual functioning government.

As it now stands the Nation Council conducts the cycle of ceremonies which are done with enthusiasm and skill; they are well organized and have become central to the preservation of a distinct Indigenous identity drawing people from across Akwesasne and far beyond.

But, as I said in my remarks at the land claims sessions, the Nation Council must be a true governing entity and not just a ceremonial one. The citizens of the Nation need a national council which responds to what they require in their family and communal lives.

A national council cannot be representative if it does not have the capacity to govern. I believe in the comments by one of the leaders of the St. Regis Mohawk Tribal Council who said that once the Nation shows it can actually serve the people as an administrative entity then, and only then, can it assume jurisdiction over the territory.

It certainly cannot claim to have that ability right now. But it can.

After the trauma of 1989-90 the Mohawk Nation Council authorized a committee to draft a plan which, if followed, would have given it actual governance capabilities.

The report, submitted in 1991, would have restored the Nation into what it was for hundreds of years prior to the imposition of the tribal and band council systems-both of which were imposed by external forces as a scheme to undermine and destroy a unified people at Akwesasne without regard to the international border.

For generations the Mohawk people had traditional councils to oversee their communities. There was a singular national government located in the Mohawk Valley homelands but throughout the aboriginal lands regional councils based on traditional rules and concepts were in place.

Not all of these councils were “longhouse”, many were Christian particularly along the St. Lawrence River, but they did follow common, ancestral procedures whether referred to as the “longhairs” or the “life chiefs”.

These were the preferable ways of governance by the people as evidenced by acts of support on both sides of the border. In at least once instance the resistance to the forced “elective” system expressed itself in deadly violence and in another, stimulated by the Indian Reorganization Act, the people almost unanimously voted for a traditional government.

The desire to be one people under one government representing an actual singular Mohawk Nation is something the people want but in practical terms has proven to be elusive.

In 1991 the late Rotiane Brian Skidders chaired the committee which submitted a workable plan by which the Nation would oversee programs ranging from justice to the environment, land restoration to housing and included other elements designed to secure the health, security, economic prosperity and educational needs of the people without having to compromise on land rights.

Usage fees would be applied to public utilities which used Mohawk resources such as our land and water. Reasonable, market based leases would become a primary source of revenue on areas now occupied by non-Mohawk citizens. Trade and commerce would also be regulated given that these activities can only take place because of the separate status of the community.

It was obvious that prosperity and economic growth would be best realized with political stability and that could only come about when Akwesasne was actually unified.

Rotiane Skidders came very close to realizing his plans but there was opposition within as the Tribe went through years of turmoil with the proposed “constitutional” council. When Skidders passed on the plans were set aside. Yet they can be revived.

The Nation can adopt a number of actions to take place within the next year to renew its standing and secure the support of the people.

Here are a few suggestions:

Revive the 1991 governance committee.

Make use of the communications media we have at Akwesasne to submit reports to the people.

Hold clan meetings to select leaders who are willing to govern: a full Mohawk Nation Council of clanmothers, chiefs, subchiefs and faithkeepers for a total of 45.

Hiring of advisors on a land rights plan (not a land claims); to submit to the people plans to restore stolen territory, provide homes for a growing population and secure damages for the contested areas while clearly rejecting any reference to extinguishment and insisting that the 1796 Seven Nations of Canada and the 1797 Brant “treaties” are hereby and forever rescinded.

Create a Mohawk Power Company to secure an annual usage fee from the NY Power Authority and Ontario Hydro for the St. Lawrence Power dam and to provide free electricity to all 5,000 plus homes and businesses on Mohawk lands

The renewal of the Mohawk Nation Trade and Commerce committee to review economic plans and issue operating licenses free of any and all alien taxes.

The formation of a committee to oversee the educational needs of the people whether traditional knowledge-based instruction or attending schools off the territory. The Nation can identify areas of greatest need with regards to technical, scientific, legal, artistic and in the humanities-then enter into agreements with the schools capable of providing such instruction

An aggressive “land back” plan to seek the immediate return to the Nation of the Dundee region for food production, housing, medicine, and recreation.

An immediate demand that the St. Lawrence Seaway pay an annual fee for using our waters and to apply rentals to every marina and homeowner with docks extending into those waters.

The formation of a justice committee to revive the 1994 report and to begin the exclusion of New York State, Ontario, and Quebec from the territory.

A formal notice to be submitted to Canada and Ontario that the area north of the St. Lawrence River from Riviere Beaudette to Gananoque is within our jurisdiction, has never been surrendered and compensation is long overdue.

The challenges are obvious, but the opportunities are historic. The time for retreating into ritual is passing and a new Mohawk Nation Council must emerge.