Indian Time Newspaper and the Akwesasne Freedom School

By Friends of Akwesasne Fredom School

We are sad that this will be the last issue of the Indian Time newspaper after 42 years, beginning in 1983. What an achievement! Indian Time, CKON, and the Akwesasne Freedom School were all born around the same time, and all on shoestring budgets. Each has become very important to our community as they have taught us about who we are as a people and helped share our beautiful community far and wide.

For 45 years, the Akwesasne Freedom School has been a full-immersion Kanieńkehá:ka (People of the Flint) school that focuses on educating our children in our traditional language, culture, and customs. The AFS was the first to focus on our traditional teachings in our community, and in the rest of Indian Country to be dedicated to the survival of our language and culture. The AFS has served as a model for self-determination not only for the Akwesasne community but also to many native nations across Turtle Island. Over the years we have hosted visitors from New Mexico, Arizona, Hawaii, Guatemala, and other countries such as New Zealand, Japan, and even Siberia. It has been interesting that many of the cultures of our visitors have been so similar to ours.

At the beginning, when deciding to adopt an immersion model there was fear by many community members that our students would be lacking in transitioning to English teaching in the public schools, a response born from colonization and the assimilation process of the times. However, our students have flourished time and again and have gone on to be immersion teachers, nurses, traditional teachers, longhouse leaders, artists, and even a doctor among others. Our school has gone 45 years without any federal or state funding. Funds for the operations of our school have been through community fundraisers, individual donations, and local community governments, as well as foundations.

About the New Building

The Akwesasne Freedom School has been fundraising for a new school building for over 30 years. Like many native communities, we have lacked the infrastructure and financial capacity to begin a project of the size we have taken on. However, through the generous help of the Saint Regis Mohawk Tribe and some Canadian funds from the Mohawk Council of Akwesasne, we are now in the final stages of completing a 12,360-square-foot building. This is our last big fundraising push to get the students in by spring 2025!

We broke ground last June 2023 have since completed 80% of it! The new building location is 7 miles east of the present location, at the furthest end of the current Akwesasne boundary. The soil has been exposed to fewer environmental contaminants at our new school site compared to our current school location. The students will finally have the space to run, laugh, learn, and play just how the parents and founders envisioned. The beautiful, environmentally friendly new building will hold all of the students from babies to teens in one space and will also give us space to grow!

The school is currently spread across 3 aging buildings that come with a host of issues each year. The property the school has been located on is closest to a largely contaminated superfund site that our community has been downstream from for decades, with chemicals leaching into the water and ground, causing many health issues throughout the community. The school buildings were built by volunteers and donated materials. Additionally, they are moving out of a residential area that presented several ongoing issues throughout their time there.

As we get closer to the end of this giving season we are reaching out to all of you to please consider making a tax-deductible donation to the Friends of the Akwesasne Freedom School (FOAFS) to help us complete a new school building. Donations can be made at https://www.foafs.org/donate or you can set up a time to donate in person by contacting us at 518-358-1053. You can also call us for an appointment to take a tour of our building.