Eastern Door Volume 7 Number 5

Volume 7 Number 5

February 27, 1998

Onondaga: A Nation In Crisis
The fight to control cigarettes leads to confrontation
By: Kenneth Deer

When this reporter arrived in Onondaga, I met two men sitting at a table in Firekeepers Restaurant. Out the window you could see the smoldering remains of Smoke Signals a few hundred feet down the road. It was a smoke shop set afire and leveled by a payloader the day before.

One of the men would say that the burning and bulldozing of the smoke shop was an act of mob rule and that it shouldn't have happened, that the shops were helping the people. The other man said the Onondaga Nation had no choice but to enforce the laws of the Nation and those shops were violating those laws.

The two men were brothers: one a business man who owns Firekeepers and the other a Chief on the Onondaga Nation Council of Chiefs. They can both agree to disagree but can still sit around the same table and talk. That's something that the rest of the community can't seem to do.

Tobacco burning at 10; smoke shops at 11

On Monday morning the Chiefs, Clanmothers and other people gathered at the Onondaga Longhouse to burn tobacco to give thanks to the Creator and ask for guidance as is our tradition. The group of about 100 people then proceeded to Smoke Signals Smoke Shop. Clanmother Audrey Shenandoah and Chief Vince Johnson approached the shop and asked the proprietors there to close the store and obey the Onondaga Nations law on cigarettes. The proprietors refused. A scuffle broke out and people from the group entered the building, threw all the cigarettes out the door and through the windows into the parking lot. Gasoline was poured on the cigarettes and set on fire. A large payloader then leveled the two buildings on the lot. One of the buildings caught fire.

The groups then moved on to OR's. Duane Beckman met them with a gun in hand. He was disarmed by Johnson, Freda Jock and Cheech Honyoust. Beckman needed treatment in the hospital for a gash on the head that needed stitches. All the cigarettes that were found were burned in the parking lot and the payloader knocked down the store addition but not the entire building. Some guns and ammunition were seized.

The group then crossed the street to Bucktooth's who is a Mohawk. The cigarettes were gone and the building was destroyed.

Further down the street was Shenandoah's run by the sons of the late Leon Shenandoah. The place was padlocked. Leon Jr. offered to let the Onondaga Nation buffalo herd stay on his property if the Council would let him open his store. The Council would not deal. The building was destroyed. Later that day the buffalo fence was cut.

One store was left untouched. Freem's has been operating with a license from the Onondaga Nation and it is reported that the store has been sold to the Nation to be run directly by them.

The whole incident was over by 1:40 when Onondaga County Sheriff's deputies reopened Route 11.

That night, an abandoned building was set on fire adjacent to a Chief's home and other acts of vandalism occurred.

Each side blames the other for the fire. The Nation Council supporters say it is an attempt to intimidate the Council and the dissidents say it was deliberately set to discredit them stating that the building was set for demolition by the owners anyway.

Businesswoman speaks out

Beulah Powless, sister-in-law to Chief Irv Powless, is one of the ten co-owners of Smoke Signals and she was there that morning. "I was one of five people at the shop at 11:00 a.m. when we saw this mob of people come up to the store. They said they were here to close us down. We sent two people to speak to them and then an argument broke out. Next thing I knew these men were beating and kicking Kent Papeneau. And then his sister Michelle went there to help him. Then these other women grabbed Michelle and starting fighting with her," said Powless.

"I called 911 and asked for help. They said an ambulance was on the way but they never came. The Sheriff's Department had the road closed."

"Vince Johnson waved his arms to the people and they all came and threw the cigarettes and shelving onto the ground. They had gas with them and set fire the cigarettes. We lost about $100,000 worth of stock."

"Chief Jake Edwards was operating the payloader and he rammed the trailer. Then he headed for the other building. Michelle had gone into that building and she got out just in time before the payloader hit that building," said Powless.

Onondaga People's Smoke Shops

According to Powless the smoke shops were not there to make money for themselves.

"We wanted to show that money from cigarettes can help the community. We didn't see any money from the Onondaga Nation helping the people. We only see the Chiefs, Clanmothers, and their supporters benefiting from the cigarette revenues," said Powless.

The first smoke shop opened on November 15, 1997 and three others opened shortly after. The stores were committed to give one dollar per carton to the Onondaga people and one dollar for projects. The rest of the profit went back into buying more stock.

Onondagas were asked to register as shareholders in the smoke shops. All those that signed up would receive dividends from the profits. In December, $20 was given to each person registered. In January it went up to $30. In February, the amount remained at $30 because more people registered. Registration grew from nearly 300 in December to 600 by February.

Only Onondaga men, women and children could qualify to register. There are about 300 Onondaga families living there according to Powless.

"If you are an Onondaga woman with four kids, you can get a sizable amount of cash each month. A lot of people support what we are doing but they won't say so publicly because they are afraid of retaliation from the Nation," said Powless.

"We intended to increase the amount to two dollars per carton for the people this month but now that's all up in smoke," said Powless pointing to the smoldering remains of her store.

When asked how many people in Onondaga support their efforts, Powless says its difficult to say. At least 50 percent, she says.

Three of the stores were refused electricity by the Onondaga council. They ran their stores on generators and used cellular phones.

Will the stores reopen? Powless says that they are not giving up. They are moving a trailer onto Kennedy Road on the other side of Interstate 81 and plan to open a smoke shop with the cigarettes saved from the other three stores.

Powless says that their intentions are still peaceful and will continue to fight for the rights of the people. "We see this whole place is run like a dictatorship with no voice for the people. This is the only way we can show that we will not be denied our right to jobs and an economy for the people," said Powless.

Onondaga Nation Council

Susan Lyons is a spokesperson for the Media Unit of the Onondaga Nation Council of Chiefs. The Council held a press conference on Tuesday to tell their side of the story at the cookhouse.

Asked if they have a majority of people supporting their actions, Susan said yes.

"Everyone wants to work for the welfare of the people. If these people want to run smoke shops for the benefit of the people then they should be here at the Longhouse so we can work together. The Onondaga Nation said there will be only one cigarette store to sell cigarettes in Onondaga for the Nation. If they have some good ideas, then they should offer their help to the council to carry out different projects," said Susan.

"I don't always agree with what is going on, but I take part in the meetings here and speak my mind. That's how you can make changes. Staying away and doing your own thing is not what is going to help this community," said Susan.

"People say we are not doing anything for the people, well it is difficult when we are continually being taken to court by certain individuals or trying to deal with some kind of crisis created by them. It is difficult to develop any economic plans or any social programs under these conditions," said Susan. She notes that the Nation does run a drug and alcohol clinic, various sports activities for the young people, housing repairs, subsidizing heating fuel and other programs at a cost of $100,000 per month.

Oren Lyons, Onondaga Faithkeeper, was more critical of the smoke shops owners and called the whole affair an act of insurrection. "These people are trying to overthrow this Nation. This is the only community in the confederacy that is run by a traditional council. The shop owners have no authority to operate or disburse funds. They are not a government. They don't have a license to operate and they are flaunting it in our faces. They have pushed the Nation into action. We sent them notices, gave them time to reconsider. We even waited for Mid-winters to end. They had time to change their minds but they didn't and we acted," said Lyons.

"The underlying issue here is casinos. We have a land claim in New York and New York is ready to made a trade of a casino for our land claim. When you make a compact with the state for a casino, you are giving up your sovereignty. We will not do that. These people don't realize the powers in the background pulling strings and pushing buttons to create this issue," said Lyons.

"Despite what these dissidents say, none of the Chiefs and Clanmothers get salaries for holding positions. They get paid for working on projects like anybody else. Our books are open to any Onondaga who is not banished. We have not seen any dissidents come to see our books," said Lyons.

The situation still remains unresolved. The smoke shop owners intend to reopen a trailer to continue to sell cigarettes. Another confrontation still looms.

Chronology:

In 1983, the Onondaga Nation licensed Kenny Papineau to sell cigarettes with a portion of the profits going to the Nation. Other stores followed.

Around 1988, Papineau and others refused to pay the Nation until the Nation can account for the millions it has received.

In 1993, the Nation organized blockades of stores that would not pay the Nation. Papineau and one other store were burnt down.

In November, 1997, four stores opened under the Onondaga Peoples Smoke Shops.

On March 2, 1998, these four stores were shut down and destroyed by the Onondaga Nation.

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Take care in filing Quebec Income Tax return
By: Kenneth Deer

If you are filling out your own Quebec income tax forms, be wary of Attachment I. You could be unnecessarily giving money to the Quebec government. By improperly filling Attachment I, you could be paying for the Prescription Drug Insurance Plan which the federal government is already paying for.

In Section A and B on form I, the sixth question on the list asks if you are a registered Indian and if so do not check months January, February or March on the accompanying chart. The resulting calculations could have you paying hundreds of dollars for the Drug Insurance Plan.

The federal government has agreed to cover the costs of this plan on behalf of the Native Peoples in Quebec as part of their fiduciary responsibilities. Quebec has agreed to recognize that Natives should not be paying for this plan but it seems that the income tax forms were not adjusted to reflect this policy.

As a result, to avoid paying for this plan, Kahnawakero:non are advised to attach a copy of a letter from Health Canada confirming a decree of exclusion from the government of Quebec. This letter is available from the Legal Services offices of the MCK on the first floor of the Services Complex.

Instead of answering the sixth question, check off the last one where it states "You were in another situation described in the section..." Make sure the total is 12 months in box 664.

Most tax preparers in Kahnawake are aware of this situation and have a copy of this letter. If you use H & R Block or other out of town service, they may not be aware of this situation and you should inquire if they do.

John Latour, a tax specialist for the MCK, held a tax preparation session on February 18 to bring tax preparers up to par on recent developments in the income tax area. Patricia Montour, Penny Leclaire, Marilyn Johnson, Patsy Jacobs, Carlene Leclaire and others attended this workshop.

Latour would also like to remind everyone that if you are collecting family allowance both spouses must fill out an income tax return. If one spouse is not making an income, that person has to write across the top of the for "For family allowance purposes only" and not fill out anything.

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Editorial

Native people's in-fighting saddens
Fires and violence indicate that focus is all wrong
By: Ellyn Kawenisake Mitchell-Chapman, Syracuse Herald-Journal

As a Mohawk student and a teaching assistant in the Native American Studies Department at the University at Buffalo, I am part of a group of people who are trying to educate others about Native people and specifically, at times, about Iroquois or Haudenosaunee Nations.

We talk about the Peacemaker and how he taught us to rise above our fear and anger and to work toward peace for today and the next seven generations to come. Today, when burning down buildings and threats of violence have come to rule our reality, I feel like a hypocrite.

While we work to undo, through education, stereotypes that popular culture has defined us as, our communities are busy making all new ones for us, like being greedy and violent and a people ruled by anarchy.

I am not placing blame on any particular side, for every side has shown that it is capable of causing events like those on Monday morning, but the fighting among ourselves is based on fear and anger that is severely misguided on all sides.

The injustices that our families have experienced throughout the past 500 years seems to have made us so sad that we can't think straight. No one is willing to listen, and few can think clearly enough to speak. We have had a conflict resolution or problem-solving technique all along, as well as ways to get through our grieving process, both in the Great Law and the condolence ceremony. But our attention is far from these.

Instead, our attention is on how our treaties are interpreted by New York state and by American governments; either how to make money off the interpretation or how to apply it to an already centuries-old form of government.

The Onondagas are lucky, in my opinion as a Mohawk, to still have their traditional form of government in place, But, when the actions of individuals within that government begin to rival Capital Hill, why isn't anyone allowed to question those actions? But this should not mean that those actions are justification for threats of murder or the overthrow of that entire form of government either.

This is a sad day in our history and in the legacy that we're leaving behind for our children. Haudenosaunee are a tough people and people who were forced to learn to fight and fight well. When will we ever learn that fighting each other isn't honing our skills but instead is weakening the little strength that we have left for the real opponent? I'm praying for us all.

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