Thompson Indicted on Felony Charge from May Protest

By Andy Gardner.

CANTON – A grand jury handed up an indictment against the Akwesasne land claim protester who started digging a hole with a backhoe during the May 21 demonstration.

Larry V. Thompson, 70, of Akwesasne was indicted for one felony count of second-degree criminal mischief during a Dec. 5 grand jury session. He is scheduled to be arraigned on the charge on Dec. 18 at 1:30 p.m. in St. Lawrence County Court.

Thompson along with six others and a journalist were all arrested during the protest on Barnhart Island that was opposing a proposed land claim settlement between tribal authorities and New York state. All of them were charged with sixth-degree conspiracy and trespass. Those charges have all been dismissed against all eight people. Thompson's pending felony is the only charge left standing.

Thompson started digging with a backhoe, which led to the arrests. He previously told the Times that he intended to start building a foundation for Native housing for people to move upstream from decades of industrial pollution caused by Alcoa, Reynolds Metals and General Motors plants.

Last month, St. Lawrence County District Attorney Gary M. Pasqua said his office dropped all of the conspiracy and trespass charges because prosecutors had trouble coming up with documentation showing NYPA owns the land where the protest happened. That led to constitutional speedy trial issues. U.S. law gives prosecutors 90 days to be ready to proceed with a misdemeanor trial. For the felony case, it's six months, Pasqua said.

Thompson's prior appearance on the charges were in Massena Town Court. It has since been diverted to county court because the local court cannot try a felony case. During those earlier proceedings, Thompson steadfastly refused to get an attorney and insisted that the court had no authority over him as an Onkwehonweh on Onkwehonweh land. The grand jury report from Dec. 5 shows Thompson does not have an attorney.

His position is that since land on which he was arrested rightfully belongs to the Onkwehonweh and he was following Onkwehonweh law, the foreign court and its officers have no authority over him.

The Two-Row Wampum, dating back to 1613, is among the earliest treaties between the Haudenosaunee people and European colonizers. Symbolized by two parallel purple rows on a white background, it signifies mutual navigation of the river in separate vessels - a Native canoe and a Dutch ship - pledging never to interfere with each other's paths.

In 2022, a judge ruled New York state unlawfully took thousands of acres of Mohawk land in the 1800s. Negotiations for a settlement have been ongoing between Albany and U.S., Canadian, and traditional Mohawk councils.

The federal government also sold large swaths of the reservation without congressional approval, in violation of the Indian Non-Intercourse Act of 1796. It stands as the American law today. It says Native land cannot be sold without an affirmative vote of Congress.

The demonstration, during which the eight people were arrested, opposed a proposed settlement between the Mohawk people and state and federal governments. The protesters demand fair compensation for Barnhart Island, integral to the Moses-Saunders power dam, which has generated billions of dollars in electricity for the U.S. and Canada. They also seek redress for generations of pollution-related illnesses among Akwesasne people that result from upstream industrial activities by Alcoa, Reynolds Metals and General Motors. For decades, those plants used large amounts of PCBs – a known carcinogen – in their operations. PCB stands for polychlorinated biphenyl.