Eastern Door Volume 6 Number 40

Volume 6 Number 40

November 7, 1997

ADM Moves Out
By: Waneek Horn

Some people did not believe it as the Archer Daniels Midland (ADM) site near the Kahnawake Survival School was dismantled on Monday, November 3. ADM and the Mohawk Council of Kahnawake have had to bow to public pressure, as the council released a statement last Friday stating the project would be halted temporarily until sufficient support for it was found.

Protesters eyed the move with mistrust and local security guards watched unhappily as office equipment was loaded onto trucks and shipped to a nearby office space off the territory.

"I'm pissed off because I supported the project 100 percent and I think it is unfortunate that all those who were in favour kept silent," stated security guard Peter Thomas.

"We think that this is all for show and we will not leave until ADM is gone permanently. We are sticking to our mandate," stated protester Kevin Myiow. The protesters want it known that it was the people who stopped this project, not the MCK.

This type of intense opposition is not normal for ADM. "We have always been welcome in communities," stated ADM representative and manager Brian Brohman.

Officials are disappointed with the temporary halt, but feel they have no other choice. They previously stated they would not stay if the community did not want them here.

In an interview with an advisor to the MCK, Pat Apikan, he stated that the presence of ADM in Kahnawake was only temporary, pending the signing of a land permit. According to Apikan, ADM head office was concerned with the harassment of their staff and the company decided to pull out all equipment from the site until there is sufficient evidence their presence is wanted in Kahnawake.

"We had heard of the opposition to the project but we never received any petition or documentation of that opposition," stated Apikan.

The petition that was circulated in the community has been kept by the Kahnawake Survival School and will be presented at a meeting with the MCK this Friday.

"ADM does not want confrontation," stated Brohman.

The ADM site is set to be entirely dismantled in the next few days and the future of the project does not look bright. This will not sway those who oppose the project to leave the site until they are absolutely sure it has been stopped. The ADM plans remain up in the air for now as the community waits for the next move.

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Judge rules crown land is Indian land in New Brunswick
By: Waneek Horn

In a shocking precedent setting ruling on Tuesday, November 4, Justice John Turnbull of Court of Queen's Bench in New Brunswick upheld a lower court's ruling that said the 235-year-old Dummer's Treaty gives New Brunswick's Natives the right to harvest and sell trees of publicly-owned crown land.

The case came about after Thomas Paul, a Micmac, was charged with illegally harvesting trees on crown land licensed to Stone Consolidated Inc.

This ruling is one of the first to uphold what Native peoples have been saying all along, that they were here first and the treaties signed preserve their ownership of land and forests in New Brunswick and Nova Scotia.

As quoted in the Gazette on Wednesday, "Our Aboriginal treaty rights are finally being recognized," said Len Tomah, vice chief of the Assembly of First Nations. What Native people wait for now is whether the governments will respect and honor the ruling.

Natural Resources Minister Alan Graham said it is expected the ruling will be appealed by the province.

The ruling stated the trees belonged to the First Nations, adding that the crown lands were reserved for Native peoples.

This ruling has far reaching precedent setting implications for not just the Maritime region, but for all of Canada as well. As quoted in the Gazette, Blain Favel, chief of the Federation of Saskatchewan Indian Nations said, "It addresses the relation ship that First Nations people have with the land, particularly on unoccupied crown land".

The President of Juniper Lumber Co., Bev O'Keefe, was outraged at the ruling, calling it 'irresponsible'. She feels the ruling would compromise and threaten the system they have already put into place with Native peoples working in their mills and woodlands.

Roger Augustine, a New Brunswick member of the Federal Indian Claims Commission said that lumber companies should be nervous. This could force them not only to stop cutting on Native lands, but also to compensate Native peoples for what they have taken from Native lands in the past, meaning more than just trees, but also lost wildlife, natural resources and lost opportunities.

Mohawk councellor Lloyd Phillips sees this victory as a positive step that the courts are finally recognizing our rights to the land. "It gives us more fuel for our cases," said Phillips. He is currently working on a claims case involving Mohawk hunting and fishing rights. Phillips says it looks positive and the community will be notified and informed about the progress when the details are worked out.

The case may end up in the supreme court of Canada if the appeal is granted to the province. All provinces and Native peoples will be watching closely to see what will become of it.

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Editorial

Mexico not OK
By: Kenneth Deer, The Eastern Door

Mexico, Mexico what are you doing? Recently, Mexico has made some headlines in our community, chiefly because of plans to import goods produced by Indigenous people of that country for sale in our community. Of even more importance, is a story that has not made headlines or been discussed at all.

Jose Noe Torres Lara visited Kahnawake this spring. He, along with two Kahnawakero:non, made a presentation at a conference at the Universite du Quebec a Montreal. Perhaps you will remember him. He visited Karonhianonhnha School, went on our local radio station, addressed the people at the Longhouse, visited the Kahnawake Survival School and attended a joint meeting of KSCS, MCK and IRT staff, in which ten people showed up.

Well, Jose Noe Torres Lara has made his last visit to Kahnawake, his last public appearance, in fact his last earthly appearance. Jose Noe Torres Lara was killed somewhere on a lonely road between Oaxaca and Vera Cruz last month. Mexican officials have ruled it an accident, but the family of Jose Noe Torres Lara fears otherwise.

When he appeared at the conference in Montreal, Jose Noe Torres Lara mentioned that he was taking a chance with his life to speak at the conference. Before he went on "KRK, he was reminded that whatever he said could have repercussions and bring reprisals. Jose Noe Torres Lara agreed, but simply stated that it was the chance that he and others like him were willing to take to bring the message to our people.

What is the message that was so important the Jose Noe Torres Lara was willing to risk his life to deliver? He brought a message that spoke of the injustice that is being forced upon his people. He talked about the importance of developing a relationship with our people and how we must stand together against repressive governments. He spoke about the need for us to forge ties that would allow us to help one another on our own terms, as free people.

Jose Noe Torres Lara was not a man attached to the Mexican Government. He was a traditional person and a spokesman for the National Indigenous Congress. He was openly against the government and their policy of genocide for his and all Indigenous people. Jose Noe Torres Lara understood the struggle of the Zapatistas and our own to survive.

When Kahnawake was introduced to the issue of Mexico and a potential partnership for economic development, there was some opposition on two levels. One level saw the introduction of non-local goods produced for the potential tourism market as a threat to the integrity and livelihood of local crafts people.

On a deeper level, some opposed to the development saw a potential conspiracy amongst certain Indigenous people in Mexico, business people in Kahnawake and the Mexican and Canadian governments. the project would be good public relations for a Mexican government that is engaged in low intensity war-fare with the Indigenous people of the land.

These issues have not gone away, but perhaps it is time for us to pay more attention to those we would be partners with, to hear the message of Jose Noe Torres Lara. To those who reguse to believe these evils can happen, all too often someone is having an "accident", someone is tortured, someone disappears in Mexico. Most of the victims are anonymous, Indigenous and against the policies of the Mexican government. This time, we have a face to place on a victim. Jose, we thank you for your words and courage. We will be vigilant.

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