Statement of Mohawk Nation Council of Chiefs

January 26, 2024. The Mohawk Nation Council of Chiefs has been made aware of efforts by certain individuals to interfere in the land claim litigation and spread misinformation about the Nation. This interference must stop. Concerns or questions about the Nation’s positions in the litigation and settlement discussions should be addressed to the Nation directly, not to outside courts, journalists, or lawyers.

On January 23, an unsigned “press release” was sent to lawyers, journalists, and others claiming that the Mohawk Nation has decided to withdraw from the litigation. This is false.

The Mohawk Nation is tasked by Grand Council with representing the Haudenosaunee and future generations in the federal court litigation and in efforts to settle that litigation out of court. The Nation is participating in court-ordered mediation according to Grand Council’s directive and the Great Law, with the goal of creating a draft agreement that brings land back to Akwesasne and that best protects Akwesasronon, the Haudenosaunee, and future generations. Pursuant to the Great Law, the Nation believes that settlement of the litigation must (1) preserve future rights related to the Mohawks’ aboriginal claims; (2) benefit the whole community; and (3) bring land back to Akwesasne.

In 1982, the Mohawk Council of Akwesasne filed land claims in federal court in New York. These claims asked the court to rule that the Mile Square, Grasse Meadows, the Hogansburg Triangle, and islands in the St. Lawrence had been taken illegally from the Mohawks. The litigation does not relate to an aboriginal claim to 9 million acres, which is separate, and does not give up any Mohawk rights to that claim. Grand Council directed the Mohawk Nation Council of Chiefs to lead a legal effort on behalf of the Haudenosaunee and in 1989, the Mohawk Nation filed its own complaint in federal court, together with the St. Regis Mohawk Tribe. The court consolidated the three Mohawk councils’ legal actions into one. The current settlement efforts relate to the specific claims pending in federal court and do not include the aboriginal claim.

We encourage our people to use a good mind and to be thoughtful in reviewing the information provided regarding resolution of the litigation and return of lands to Akwesasne.