The Necessity of Indian Time

By Doug George-Kanentiio.

In the early 1980’s Akwesasne the community was broken into factions, the result of sharp differences of opinion and policy with regards to jurisdiction, economic development, land claims and politics. The ‘elected systems” had their ideas as to what was best for the people while those who supported the “traditional” council were deeply concerned that serious compromises were being made with regards what exactly what was meant by sovereignty.

Major changes were also affecting Akwesasne beginning with a shift from a resources based, communal sharing way of life towards individual entrepreneurs who were anxious to use the collective status of Akwesasne to create wealth.

In 1979 there was a clash between the “longhouse” adherents and the St. Regis Tribal Council which degenerated into a prolonged standoff at Raquette Point which, by the late spring of 1980 came within minutes of actual armed fighting. Fortunately, both sides backed off from the impending crisis, but it was obvious some way had to be created to share information, reinforce a common identity and establish a journal of record.

Akwesasne Notes was founded in December 1968 and quickly became the most prominent source of news across Indigenous America. From a mimeographed handout summarizing the blocking of the international bridges it grew to encompass Native news events around the world.

While Notes was the official publication of the Mohawk Nation Council there was a gap-an urgent need for a local newspaper. Two individuals, Alex Jacobs and Lloyd Benedict, took on that task and, in 1983, created Indian Time. The community response was favourable and for a remarkable run of 41 years IT has reported on the key events marking the life and times of Akwesasne. It has secured for itself a critical position as the recorder of our history and has effected the lives of every Akwesasronon from births to graduations, marriages to the passing of so many of our relatives.

Along the way it has also provided the people with a forum for the expression of their ideas and concerns, kept a close watch on the actions of our respective governments and monitored our intellectual, athletic and social achievements. If you read it in Indian Time it was so.

In this era there have been many changes in the media. Hundreds of local newspapers have gone out of business because of the various social information sites on the internet. This has been a particularly brutal time for indigenous journalism as most of the regional publications which serviced Native communities beginning in the 1970’s have also disappeared. Those journals not only highlighted specific events but also served as a check on the powers of Native governments.

Given Akwesasne’s diversity it is essential that IT continue to exist. It is necessary to record what we do and who we are. We need information which is reliable. We need IT to mark our time and to preserve our experiences whether tragic or celebratory. We need its independence from the three councils for reliability and accuracy.

In a healthy democracy the media is critical. The free sharing of information is a part of our heritage as Native people and as Mohawks. In former times we had messengers who travelled from community to community to share the news as to what was taking place in other areas of a vast nation. We took pride in having a system whereby essential news could be delivered across the Rotinosionni (Haudenosaunee) Confederacy in a matter of a few days-what happened in the Mohawk Valley homelands was reported upon and carried to the other nations through relay runners entrusted with such information.

Then, as now, governmental and social decisions were made based upon the information received, the actual news. It was as vital then as it is now.

We must support an independent press. Posting information online is not sufficient. Having “in house” newsletters issued by any council is designed to promote a set agenda or policy and cannot replace a free and open media. IT has encountered many challenges in its four decades of service. It has been a reliable source for hard news. Given the flippancy and evasiveness, the artificiality and the unreliability of much of the data on the internet having a journal of record, steady and permanent, is all the more important.

For Akwesasne’s well being the community needs the IT voice.