On the Passing of IT

By Doug George-Kanentiio.

I was privileged to have been asked by the Mohawk Nation Council to serve as editor of both Akwesasne Notes and Indian Time (IT), first in 1984 for six months and then from 1986-1992. We had a remarkable staff of Akwesasronon with a peak of 24 employees in the fall of 1987. My task was to determine what information was printed in Notes which was distributed around the world and was the only publication of its kind since our priority was to provide our readers with accurate reports about Indigenous events wherever they occurred. Notes was truly unique and since its last edition in 1996 nothing comparable has replicated its effect on Native people. The rise of the planetary Native rights movement can be traced to the emergence of Notes in December 1968.

IT was designed by Alex Jacobs and Dan Thompson to serve Akwesasne specifically. It was a success from its first edition and was the most important chronicle of events on the Rez. Throughout its history it reported on significant events, carried hundreds of sports news, listed the passing of our respective families and fostered the idea of a singular community. It was the most important record of Akwesasne's history over the past 40 plus years.

My job was always fascinating even as there were tough times. I was committed to making the newspaper reliable, one which was wedded to accuracy and the truth. We followed the five "w's": who, what, where, why, when and the essential how in our stories. During my tenure I directed our staff to find at least eight events to report on in any given week given the many events taking place on our territory.

We made sure that politics were also reported on and gave space to the people to express their opinions in the op-ed and letters section but excluded slander and unsubstantiated claims. I felt that freedom of expression and hence freedom of the press was woven within Mohawk culture, and it was part of our heritage. We had the right to challenge our respective leadership and to call attention to issues of common concern. There were some who disagreed, and they took action to suppress IT resulting in two fires in our offices-one while we were in Hogansburg and the next at our new facility in Kana:takon. We could have folded but I believed we had no choice but to carry on with our reporting.

During that time everyone was met with a warm welcome by our staff, led by a crew of happy workers. Mark Narsisian was our manager, a true gentleman forever creating an atmosphere within which everyone looked forward their workdays. We had many others flow through IT: Jan, Helen, Leann, Marianne, Debbie, Jayne, Darren, Gilbert, Patty, Clarissa, Andreas, Diane, Randy among others. We worked late into Thursday nights to cut and paste IT before taking it to the printers for distribution across Akwesasne. Volunteers Emily and Priscilla were there to ensure our spellings were right, our grammar made sense and all names and events correct.

Our new building in Kana:takon was located astride the so-called international border in Kana:takon. This was by design, the result of funds raised by Salli Benedict with Frank David overseeing the construction. It was Brenda Lafrance, Rosemary Bonaparte and Harold Tarbell, then tribal chiefs, who enabled us to secure the property for our offices and to raise the tower for Radio CKON which shared the facility. It was a powerful, highly visual, statement of our status as a singular people.

As Akwesasne has grown with a population approaching 20,000 it would seem that having a newspaper is all the more important. Our sister communities in Kahnawake and Ohsweken are doing well with their publications. We have many businesses which exist because of our status as an Indigenous territory, a right which IT has repeatedly defended, It is odd that those businesses, which generate millions in commerce, have not been more active in advertising with IT as it is to their benefit to do so. It is this lack of support which has led Akwesasne to this sad place.

Marjorie Skidders and her staff Bruce, Cathy, Randy and Emily (still proofreading after all these years) deserve praise and credit for keeping IT functioning for the past few years. She has provided reliable information on the actions of the governing councils, highlighted the accomplishments of our athletes, given us instruction into the nuances of the Mohawk language, informed us as to jobs and entertained our children. She has also given us the singular most reliable information on those who pass into the spirit world.

This will all pass if something unexpected happens. A week without IT has not happened for four decades. Should it do so, it represents a truly sad time for us all.