Eastern Door Volume 8 Number 15

Volume 8 Number 15

May 7, 1999

Protests Continue At Meeting
By: Greg Horn

The Mohawk Council of Kahnawake held a community meeting on Tuesday, May 4, while outside of the building, a protest was held by the opponents of the recently signed agreements between Kahnawake and the province of Quebec. The protest was attended by about 30 people and there were about 70 people inside at the meeting. While most of the protesters were boycotting the meeting, some did enter to voice their objections to the agreements.

On the agenda for the meeting were the usual land allotments, the subject of Zero Tolerance on Drugs in Kahnawake and finally the Kahnawake/Quebec Agreements which were signed on March 30.

Banishment

"Drugs are a major problem in Kahnawake, especially since we live near the urban center of Montreal," stated Grand Chief Joe Norton. "Everyone in the community is affected."

The MCK has obtained copies of the proposed Akwesasne laws on drugs and banishment. They are currently looking at how the Akwesasne law can be amended and modified to suit Kahnawake’s needs. The MCK will be coming to the community in several weeks for input.

The Akwesasne Law gives drug dealers three chances, the first being the actual passing of the law, the second warning will result in the community setting up a tribunal to hear complaints and inform drug dealers that they know what they are doing, and the third warning will have the alleged drug dealer brought before a justice of the peace.

The MCK will be using Akwesasne’s 16th draft as Kahnawake’s first draft on a law on banishment. The purpose is to save on approximately a year and a half of work.

The MCK has also hired artist Suzanne Phillips to make signs stating that Kahnawake has a policy of zero tolerance on drugs to be posted at the entrances to our community.

They are also looking into hiring Kahnawakero:non to patrol the streets of Kahnawake to compliment the work of the Peacekeepers and to develop a neighborhood watch.

"Who defines what is a drug?" asked Bo Curotte. "Marijuana is a part of our culture. The problem starts with alcohol, many deaths are associated with alcohol."

"Banishment is not our way," continued Curotte. "We seem to be having an identity crisis."

"There was a time when you didn’t have to lock your door when you went out, or put up your windows on your car to come to this meeting," stated MCK Chief Davis Rice. "There was a time when your neighbor could kick your ___ if you went into his garden. Those kinds of values need to be re-established here. We can’t wait until someone else overdoses."

"How do we get back there Davis?" asked Keith Myiow.

"I don’t have the answer to that Keith."

"I have an answer to that," state Myiow. "Throw out the laws that criminalize the people who discipline children."

Quebec Agreements

The next topic on the agenda was the Kahnawake/Quebec agreements, which proved to be quite controversial. Many people have been saying that the community was not consulted on these issues and that the community was not informed of what was going on. Grand Chief Joe Norton responded to these allegations at the meeting.

"I want to make it clear that if you didn’t know about these agreements, then you weren’t here, you didn’t listen to K103, you didn’t read The Eastern Door or you didn’t come to community meetings," stated Norton.

"The reason why we signed these agreements is to benefit the community," continued Norton. "These are for the benefit of Kahnawake. We wouldn’t do anything to jeopardize Kahnawake. We live here, our families live here."

"The agreements have certain wording that can be interpreted one way or another," Norton explained. "It had to be that way for Quebec to pass them. Over the course of time these agreements can be amended and changed to suit Kahnawake. A lot of these agreements are demands from the community."

"Little by little you will see the benefits in the community," Norton went on. "Any problems will be dealt with in Kahnawake."

"Whatever government sits here, whether it’s this one or an interim council or traditional government, they’ll have to do the same thing." stated Norton. "Take the time to come and talk to one of us [Councilors] individually, maybe we’ll make some sense."

"If you truly believe that what we did is imposed on you, that you don’t like it, then fine, you won’t be. We’ll go to the government and collect names and you won’t be included," stated Norton.

It was at this time that John Stacey Jr. entered the meeting and gave Joe Norton an additional 100 names to the 600 name petition he handed to the MCK to nullify the agreements last week.

"You want to be under the umbrella of the Quebec government? Then here I have something for you." stated Stacey. He then pulled out an white and blue umbrella with a fleur-de-lys on it.

"Mr. Businessman, let me ask you a question," asked an enraged MCK Chief Myrtle Bush. "If you are such a good businessman, answer one question."

Stacey walked out shaking his head and refused to answer any questions. Several people walked out with him. The meeting became very boisterous at this point with many people shouting at the same time.

Several community members who are in the tobacco business asked questions about the financial agreement on tobacco and how it affects them. It was explained by Alwyn Morris and Mike Bush, the two MCK negotiators, that the financial agreements on Alcohol, Tobacco and Fuel only applies to people who are receiving their product from within Quebec.

If someone is getting tobacco from Akwesasne for their store, then they are getting their product through inter-tribal trade. This agreement will decriminalize the cigarette trade, the negotiators explained.

"So I can go to Akwesasne and load my truck with cigarettes and come back without a problem?" asked one cigarette store owner.

"That’s what we are working on," answered Morris.

As for price parity, they explained that it would affect only those who buy their product in Quebec, and only those who sell tobacco, alcohol and/or fuel. Morris and Bush explained that they will be meeting separately with the various businesses in Kahnawake who sell these products to determine a market range of prices that their businesses can charge and still survive.

On these products there is a specific tax that is hidden in the price, for alcohol it is roughly $3 per case of beer and $1 per pack of cigarettes. The manufacturer, Imperial Tobacco or Labatt Breweries for example, then remits this tax to Revenue Quebec. This is how Quebec knows how much was sold to Kahnawake businesses. Revenue Quebec will then give this money back to Kahnawake where it will be redistributed to the store owners.

When a non-Native comes to Kahnawake and buys one of these products they will then be charged the equivalent of the specific tax and the store owner keeps that money.

Following the meeting, the cars of negotiator Alwyn Morris, MCK Chief Myrtle Bush and Grand Chief Joe Norton were covered with fleur-de-lys.

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Another Vigil Against Drugs
By: Susan Jacobs

On Saturday, May 1, another protest to rid this community of drugs and drug dealers was organized by Selma Delisle, Molly Sky and Wilma Lahache. They protested on Old Malone Highway, with community members honking their horns as they passed in a show of support. Following, that evening, was a fire vigil for our community, with a huge increase in supporters.

It was approximately 10:00 p.m. when I arrived. Cars were parked on the street and at Kanienkeha Plaza. A warm fire, hot coffee and chili and friendly and welcoming people greeted everyone as they showed up. I spoke to some of the supporters of drug intolerance to find out their feelings on the fire vigils.

One young mother of an eight-month-old daughter was there because she knew Molly. She said "I feel really good about what Molly is doing, and I want to show her some support." She was a member of the MAD group, where life skills on "how to say no" and drug awareness is taught.

Another well-known member of our community, Eddie Stacey was there on his own time. Stacey said, "I need to show my support, because I have my own children and need to think of their future."

I also wanted to find out if the message of the fire vigil was coming across to the community.

On the following Tuesday, on our way to the orthodontist, I asked the taxi driver Ralph Rice and passenger Lenore Angus what they thought of the fire vigil for our community. Well, it certainly started a debate which lasted the duration of our trip. In the end, both agreed that it was a positive step toward ongoing awareness with Angus stating, "Awareness and education are the key."

Later that night at a community meeting, I spoke to Joel Peterson, a 16-year-old youth. Peterson said that, "Because the fire vigil is visual, it’s very effective and shows that community members care."

He also feels we need severe events to bring about more awareness, especially for our youth, because although the subject of drug awareness is only occasionally brought up in MRE or a student can talk to a councilor, it is generally not taught in schools.

Lahache, Sky and Delisle have brought awareness to people of all backgrounds with everyone agreeing on the same issue. They have also brought a positive change in attitude for this community.

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Kahnawake's "Mother Theresa" has Mother's Day wish.
Seeks Sainthood for Kateri Tekakwitha, Brother Andre
By: Dan Rosenburg

With Mother’s Day just around the corner, what could be more appropriate for The Eastern Door than to chat with Kahnawake’s own "Mother Theresa"? Theresa Montour, that is!

Montour, who turns 94 next November, is the proud mother of eight children. She also has 35 grandchildren and 42 great grandchildren, which explains why the family had to rent the Knights of Columbus Hall in 1977 for an anniversary party marking Theresa’s 50th year of marriage to Frank Montour.

"It was just like a wedding reception," recalled Theresa’s daughters Charlotte and Helen in an interview at the Montour household last Monday. "About 250 people attended as a lot of old friends were still living here then. There was a church ceremony and the bells were ringing."

But her life has not been without sorrow. Frank Montour passed away in 1991 after 62 years of marriage. And Theresa’s twin sister, Ida Delaronde, died in 1969.

Asked to single out the nicest Mother’s Day present she has ever received, Theresa replied: "Flowers. I love them. And I know that when I die, there will be flowers all around me. Only I won’t be able to see them."

Is there anything special she would like for Mother’s Day this weekend?

"Yes," she quipped, "right now I wish it would rain," noting that the crops have been suffocating from a prolonged drought lately.

Besides that? "I’d like to see Kateri Tekakwitha and Brother Andre (of St. Joseph’s Shrine) be made saints," she said.

Theresa has one son, Grant, and seven daughters: Charlotte, Leatrice, Isabel, Helen, Jeannine, Darlene and Josie.

Asked if she advocates large families in this modern day and age, Theresa replied: "It’s up to the Lord, whether he blesses you with a large family or not. I had a lot of children during the depression and we all survived."

Not only did Theresa raise eight children, but she did manual labor in a factory besides. While her husband was tilling the family farm, she did physically taxing work at the Building Products company in Ville St. Pierre. Since she didn’t own a car at the time, she could often be seen pedalling her bicycle over the Mercier Bridge, something that is strongly ill-advised in this day and age.

Of course, hard work was something Theresa learned at a tender age. She still remembers milking cows and baling hay as a young teenager. "It’s not as if I wanted to," she recalls. "But I had to do what my father (Louis Diabo) told me."

Theresa remembers trekking along a wagon trail 2 1/2 miles through the bush to go to school each day. "In the spring, when there was too much flooding, we had to stay home," she recounts. "It was the same thing when there was a snowstorm in winter because even the horses couldn’t get through."

Theresa was just a little girl when her paternal grandfather, John Diabo, was Grand Chief of Kahnawake. She was six years old when she spied a motor car for the first time. "There before my eyes was a buggy with no horses and two big eyes," she recalls. "I was so surprised that I ran into the bushes and hid."

When she grew up she learned to drive a model T Ford. She took it to Montreal to sell homegrown strawberries at Bonsecour Market.

"That was many years ago," she chuckles, fondly "There were no driving tests then. I just walked into the licence bureau, paid my $6 and got my licence automatically." No fuss, no muss, no bother.

Down through the years it was a rare sight indeed to see Theresa take her children to a hospital or a doctor’s office. The reason for that is that her maternal grandfather, Peter Norton, was a medicine man who taught her how to make remedies for illnesses using raw ingredients such as berries, birch bark, etc. "And I believe it worked," her eldest daughter Charlotte smiles at the memory.

Theresa was not a fan of pharmaceutical drugs in those days and she despises drugs now at the ripe old age of 93.

"I’d beat up the drug dealers if I could," she says, sounding a mite feisty. "What they’re doing to our young people is a sin. I don’t like the drugs that are going around now and the fact that our holy soil is being used for that purpose. I advise today’s youth to remember their values and lead proper lives."

By extension, she finds that children don’t respect their elders nearly as much as they used to. "In the old days, kids didn’t dare do anything to displease their parents," Theresa claims. "They were more family-oriented." Unfortunately, times have changed.

"Life is too easy these days," she says. "Everything they need is provided for them. In the past, people cared what we thought of them."

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Ganienkeh Celebrates 25th Anniversary
By: Greg Horn

What started out as an occupation of an abandoned girls camp at Moss Lake, New York on May 13, 1974, by a handful of people has turned into a full-blown community. Now, 25 years later, the people of Ganienkeh are celebrating their Silver Anniversary.

On the weekend of May 15-16 the People of Ganienkeh are holding a celebration which will include a tobacco-burning ceremony, breakfast, a video showing Ganienkeh past and present, an open house to all the businesses on the territory, lunch, children’s games, speakers, a feast and a social.

The second day of the celebration will have a tobacco-burning ceremony, a breakfast and a lacrosse game between the Ganienkeh Gunners and the Tyendinaga Wolf Pack.

Ganienkeh Manifesto

Ganienkeh holds a unique status among the various communities of the Iroquois Confederacy.

The community of Ganienkeh does not rely on assistance of any kind from the government of the State of New York, or that of the United States.

"Ganienkeh shall be the home of the traditional Red man. Here, according to the rights accorded everyone else in the world, the Red man shall exercise his proven government and society according to his culture, customs and traditions," stated Louis Hall in the Ganienkeh Manifesto.

"According to the rights of the human, he has the right to operate his state with no interference from any foreign nation or government. Here the people shall live according to the rules of nature. Here the Great Law of the Six Nations Iroquois Confederacy shall prevail. The people shall live off the land. The co-op system of economy shall prevail. Instead of the people competing with each other, they shall help and co-operate with each other. Here, they shall relearn the superior morality of the ancients."

The community of Ganienkeh was created as a Utopia for traditional Mohawk people where they would be free to practice traditional government and religion as stated within the Kaianarehko:wa.

The Ganienkeh Manifesto goes on to state "…the Mohawk Land was lost in an earlier century by fraud and its possession by New York State and the State of Vermont constitute illegal usurpation. No deed signed by Joseph Brant and the New York State agent can extinguish the rights of the Mohawks to their own country. The Native North Americans not only have the rights, but are duty-bound to correct the wrong committed by Brant and the New York State agents against the Mohawk Nation. No individual Indian nor any individual Nation of the Six Nations Confederacy has the right to sell or give away land without the consent of the Grand Council of the Six Nations Confederacy. This was one of the findings of the N.Y. Senate investigating commission which ended in 1922…"

The idea for Ganienkeh began after eviction notices were sent by the Longhouse people to non-Natives living in Kahnawake in the fall of 1973. These eviction notices gave the non-Natives living in Kahnawake two weeks to leave. At the end of the time period not many of the approximately 1,500 people given eviction notices remained in Kahnawake.

"An incident resulted from the eviction - despite an extension - that involved the Provincial Police. Warriors gathered from other places as far away as Oklahoma," stated Hall in the July 22, 1976 edition of the Lake Placid News. Riots then resulted from the presence of the Provincial Police in Kahnawake.

"Indians rallied to the Longhouse to defend it," continued Hall. "That was when we thought of New York. There we were risking our lives to defend 2.5 acres when we’ve got millions in New York State."

After that winter, on May 13, 1974, Ganienkeh was reborn at the abandoned girls camp at Moss Lake.

"I think that I was there [Moss Lake} against my will. I can honestly say that because I was the last person anybody expected to be there and to stay," stated Judy Delaronde. "My husband [Julian Delaronde] left, it was May 13, 1974, it was Mother’s Day. I didn’t go. I said ‘I’m not going.’ He called me a week later and said, ‘I found a house.’ You think maybe he found a mansion the way he described it. It was just this little cabin."

"He came back and we packed up everything," continued Delaronde. "Well I supported him in it, so I went. My daughter was in a play, she was in grade 5 and we just left everything. We just took off, just like that. I’ve been here ever since."

"I was one of the first people that they thought would leave," confessed Delaronde. "We had no electricity, nothing. I left everything behind, my dryer, my washing machine."

"I think we were pretty happy. We had a big struggle, there was no money, people pulled together, worked together. And that’s where I learned a lot about being traditional, because we used to have meetings at the drop of a hat. I mean, there were all kinds of crises going on at the time."

On November 24, 1974, the Grand Council of the Six Nations Iroquois Confederacy sent a letter to U. S. President Gerald Ford. This letter states in part "…pursuant to Article VII of the Treaty of 1794, between the United States and the Six Nations Confederacy, the following complaint is hereby made by action of the Grand Council of the Six Nations."

The letter goes on to outline several instances that had happened during the early months of the occupation at Moss Lake between citizens of Ganienkeh and the non-Native residents of Eagle Bay, New York. These incidents saw the non-Natives of Eagle Bay firing shots in the direction of Mohawks of Ganienkeh.

Incidents such as this continued until the people of Ganienkeh fired back on October 28, 1974. Unfor–tunately this retaliation resulted in the injury of two young people, April Madigan, nine, and Stephen Drake, who were in a car when shots were fired on Ganienkeh and the shots were returned in the direction of the car.

Following this incident the New York State Police attempted to assert their jurisdiction in Ganienkeh and investigate the shootings. This act is contrary to the Treaty of 1794, stated the letter.

The letter outlines what the United States should do to ensure that the "peace and friendship" between the Six Nations and the United States continues and is not broken. Some of these points are to make sure that the U. S. government sets the legal machinery in motion with respect to the letter to President Ford dated November 24, 1974, by the Secretary of the Grand Council of the Six Nations, that outlines the complaints by the Six Nations.

Another one of these points is that the United States take the appropriate steps to ensure that further incidents do not occur.

"I’ll tell you one thing, we lost a lot of sleep," stated Pat Maracle, speaking of the early days at Moss Lake.

In 1977 the people of Ganienkeh and the State of New York reached an agreement that saw the Mohawks leave their settlement at Moss Lake and move to a new site near Altona, New York, on Miner Lake.

The people of Ganienkeh began dismantling the buildings and other structures that were built at the Moss Lake settlement and transported them to the new site of Ganienkeh in October 1977. The new site is about an hour’s drive from both Kahnawake and Akwesasne.

Read Part II next week.

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Senior B's Not Pressing Panic Button After 0-2 Start
By: Al Briand

Newtown Golden Eagles 6 - Kahnawake Mohawks 4

Pinewoods Athletics 9 - Kahnawake Mohawks 7

With the start of the lacrosse season, also starts the beginning of inter-locking games between the Iroquois Lacrosse Association and the Can-Am league.

The weekend of May 1-2 saw the Kahnawake Mohawks travel just south of Buffalo, N.Y., to take on the Can-Am champs from last year, the Newtown Golden Eagles.

These same two teams met in the President’s Cup last September in Niagara Falls, Ont where the Mohawks came up short 12-11 in a thrilling contest.

Both teams would not disappoint this time around, and with the Gil Lay Arena packed to the rafters, the Can-Am / ILA rivalry was born.

Both Mohawk goalie Peter Paul and Newtown netminder Clint Jones put on a clinic of saves for over 12 minutes of play.

Kahnawake got on the board first with a goal by Eddie Dickson, and just 13 seconds later, Harry Rice countered to put the Mohawks up 2-0.

The run and shoot offense of Newtown would not be denied a goal in the first, and with Billy Brennan putting Newtown on the board (his first of two) the period would end 2-1 Kahnawake.

Defense and goaltending took over the show in the second period, with both teams managing to score just three goals. Newtown’s Vince Shiffart (his first of two) would tie the game for Newtown, but just 44 seconds later, Derek Stacey would increase the Mohawk lead by one. Tracey White for the Golden Eagles would tie the game before the halfway mark of the second, and the period would end at three.

It was Newtown that got the fast start in the third, just 85 seconds in, on a goal from Darwin John, but Chucky McComber would tie the game three minutes later.

Then the Mohawks slowly ran out of gas and couldn’t produce any more offense, while Newtown added two more goals and the game ended 6-4 Newtown.

Let’s get ready to ‘not’ rumble

Mohawk forward Derek Stacey attributed the loss in the first game, to a lack of practice and taking stupid penalties.

"Newtown took advantage of our mistakes, and scored four power-play goals. We’re not much use to anyone if we’re sitting in the box," commented Stacey.

It had been predicted that the game between the Mohawks and Pinewoods would be a donnybrook resulting from the bench clearing brawl that took place at the 1999 Challenge Cup in Oswego, N.Y.

Kahnawake would score the first four goals of the game, all coming before the half way mark of the period, with David Montour, Chuck McComber, Neil McComber and Mykie Lazare putting the ball past Chris Brooks. The host team would come back with two of their own before the period was through on goals from Vaughn Gates (his first of four) and Brookie Williams (his first of two).

The Mohawks, that had a four goal advantage early in the first, would develop a serious brain cramp scoring goals in the second, with Pinewoods scoring five in the period, two of them coming from Chris Jimerson who would later add another in the third for the hat-trick. Kent Saylor and Eddie Dickson would score for Kahnawake.

The Mohawks were sputtering on offense, and Pinewoods took advantage early in the third by scoring twice, to build a three goal lead. Roger Moses would add one for Kahnawake, but for the rest of the way, they ran into a hot goalie in Chris Brooks, and Pinewoods would win the game 9-7.

Mohawk goalie Mark Jocks, summed up the weekend, in a couple of lines.

"(Head coach) Barry Alfred wasn’t there, so there was a lack of direction behind the bench. Both Joel (Norton) and Herby (Lahache) did the best they could, but with too many things going on, you lose direction. I played mediocre, myself," said a humble Jocks.

"Our timing was off," explained David Montour. "We ran into two hot goalies in two days, and we were caught off guard on more than a few plays."

The Mohawks are working on just that for their match against the Snye Warriors for their home opener at the Kahnawake Sports Complex this Saturday, May 8 at 8:00 p.m.

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Editorial

Ganienkeh
By: Kenneth Deer, The Eastern Door

Is it twenty-five years already? It dosen’t seem that long ago that carloads of people left Kahnawake to occupy an abandoned girls summer camp in the Adirondacks to set up a new Mohawk community.

Like many other momentous events, it was not one single factor that caused the move. It was a culmination of a number of things.

The Longhouse was just beginning to experience a revival of sorts with more people, both young and old, seeking their roots there. A new energy was available to be tapped.

In 1973, a year earlier, was the confrontation in Wounded Knee, South Dakota which became a watershed in United States/Native American relations. A growing militancy in the United States attracted support in Canada as well. However, the American Indian Movement (AIM) never could get a foothold in our area because of the establishment of the Warrior Society.

The Warrior Society was given a big boost by the late Louie Hall who wrote the Warriors Handbook. The book outlined the historical role of the men in Mohawk society and how their role could be carried out today. Hall encouraged the revival of the Warrior Society and made suggestions about its organization.

In 1973, after the eviction of non-Natives from Kahnawake, the Longhouse had felt under siege from both the non-traditional people in Kahnawake and the outside police forces. They thought that there was no hope that Kahnawake would ever change to Traditional government, so a group decided that it was best to start a whole new community based on the Kaianarehko:wa.

Idealism and the need to return to our roots ran high at the time, and people became committed to a cause. This set the wheels in motion for the following step.

One of the main objectives of Ganienkeh was to reclaim some of our traditional territory, so the people looked to the Adirondacks, our traditional hunting ground.

The selection of the site of this new community was a closely guarded secret, as well as the timing of the occupation. Without warning, on the morning of May 13, 1974, the occupation of a girls camp at Moss Lake began the long and difficult process of establishing Ganienkeh, a Mohawk Community.

Like all other occupations, especially one that is intended to be permanent, there were problems with the local residents. The men, women and children of Ganienkeh were under constant pressure to leave, always faced imminent arrest and even removal by the force of arms.

But through it all the people persevered. A remarkable feat considering the forces against them: the law, the law enforcement agencies, the local residents and American system in general.

But what the people had going for them was history and the right to their land and their culture along with a dedication to fight to the end to defend those rights. The people had the moral argument on their side. It took time, but eventually, others began to see it their way as well. Eventually a political solution was found, and Ganienkeh was moved to its current site near Altona.

This is the success of Ganienkeh. If another group today tried to occupy a piece of land anywhere in Mohawk Territory, would they be able to hold that place and develop a new community against all odds, like Ganienkeh? It is possible but extremely doubtful in today’s political environment.

While its establishment was a success, its idealism has suffered over the years. As a self-sustaining community, Ganienkeh did not have the fertile land needed to grow its own food or develop a land-based economy that could sustain all its needs. It had to get into bingo and cigarettes to assist its development.

Moreover, as in all our communities, internal problems led to some dissatisfaction. Ganienkeh is not Utopia but what is.

The most important point is that Ganienkeh is twenty five years old, a child of the Mohawk Nation and a remarkable achievement under the circumstances.

It goes to prove that if we put our minds to it and believe in ourselves, anything is possible.

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Comics

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