Eastern Door Volume 8 Number 16

Volume 8 Number 16

May 14, 1999

Graduates Out of Luck
Limo Company Stiffs Kahnawake Students
By: Greg Horn

A high school graduation is supposed to be a time of celebration, happiness and even more celebration. It is a time when most seniors in high school dress up in tuxedoes or gowns and get into rented limousines to travel to a black tie party with all their friends. For a small group of students who attend the Kahnawake Survival School who have contracted Caprice Limousines of Laval for their May 29 Grad, that may not be so.

Several students were looking for a limousine company to hire for their graduation festivities. After several vain attempts to hire a company, as some refused to come to Kahnawake, one of the students remembered that her sister had used Caprice Limousines last year when she graduated. Her sister remembered the service being very nice and the driver even refused to accept a tip. This was the reason they had chosen Caprice Limousines.

Kristal Stacey had originally contacted Caprice Limousines on Thursday, March 18, 1999 at 5:00 p.m. to reserve a limousine for her May 29 graduation from KSS. Stacey had spoken to someone named Michelle from Caprice Limousines, informing her that she needed a six-seat limousine for approximately five hours, which totaled $525.

Caprice Limousines then informed Stacey that they needed a deposit in the form of a money order as soon as possible. That same day, March 18, Stacey sent a money order for $150, which supposedly guaranteed her a limousine for May 29.

She then received a contract by fax from Caprice Limousines on March 26. That was the last time she heard from the company.

Then other students began hearing rumours that Caprice Limousines had gone bankrupt.

Stacey began calling Caprice Limousines again on May 6 to find out the state of her contract as well as those of the other students. Every time they called, the line was busy. They even went so far as to call Bell to find out if the line was still active. Bell answered that the line was still in service, but the phone number was not a Laval one, but a Montreal line.

This past Monday, Stacey sent Caprice Limousines two separate faxes, to which she got no reply. The first fax stated, "We are hearing rumours at school, from other people who have sent in deposits for Grad Limos, that you are no longer in business. With our Grad just two weeks away, we would like to know if this is a rumour or the truth. Please let me know right away."

The second fax reads, "This is my second letter to you. We are all getting very upset because we have not heard from you. Your phone is always busy. We only have a few days left until our Grad and we would like to know if you are going to fulfil your end of our contract."

Other students at the Kahnawake Survival School had also left deposits of $150 and $225. These students have saved up for this since the beginning of the school year. They have been working odd jobs, baby-sitting and doing house and yard work to be able to save up enough money for their high school graduation.

Some of these students have been lucky enough to find another limousine company that was available for May 29, but others have not been so lucky.

Carlo Mariage of C.M. Limousine has stepped in to help out and offer his services to some of the students of KSS.

Stacey and her family have contacted the Kahnawake Peacekeepers to see if there is anything that can be done legally. Corporal Michael Stalk took the information and said he will try to contact the company and inform them who he is and why he was calling. Otherwise, he stated, the students have to wait until May 29 and if Caprice Limousines does not show up, they could be charged with fraud.

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Bad Vibes at St. Willibrord School
Kahnawake Mom Arrested After Accusing Teachers of Assaulting Child
By: Dan Rosenburg

It’s safe to assume that Marina Myiow of Kahnawake and certain members of the staff of St. Willibrord School in Chateauguay did not attend the same Mother’s Day brunch last Sunday.

Myiow claims that two St. Willibrord teachers physically abused her 11-year-old daughter in separate incidents last April 29 and May 3.

In turn, Chateauguay police were summoned to the school May 4 and Myiow was arrested for allegedly assaulting and threatening one of those teachers. This she vehemently denies.

Chateauguay police spokesman Michel Roy says all charges are under investigation. "(Detective) Richard Henrico has all the details and witnesses will be questioned," Roy said.

In what is turning out to be a complicated case, Myiow says that although police permitted her to fill out a complaint against a substitute teacher, her request to file a similar report against her daughter’s French geography teacher was denied by police for reasons Myiow cannot comprehend.

"In the case of the substitute teacher, she grabbed my child viciously by the neck and dragged her back to her desk after another teacher had given her permission to use the washroom," Myiow contends.

"My daughter’s neck was sore all night and she was up much of the night complaining of the pain. The next day I went to school to report the incident but the principal was not around and nobody could help me. It was the same story at the offices of the New Frontiers School Board.

"I took her to the Montreal Children’s Hospital and they said she had a pulled muscle in her neck and bruises on her arms.

"On Monday by daughter went back to school. When she asked permission to go to the washroom, her French geography teacher said no. My daughter got angry and walked out. The teacher grabbed her by the arms and my daughter fell down the stairs. She scraped her leg, re-opening an old wound. My daughter was limping after school and her whole leg was sore."

Myiow says she reported the latest incident to Noel Burke, the school board’s director of educational services and he set up a meeting which Myiow was unable to keep because of her other daughter’s appointment with a pediatrician.

On May 5 Myiow says she made arrangements with the school secretary to pick up her daughter for lunch. Since she wasn’t given a hallway pass, she sat in the corridor waiting for her daughter to come down.

"At this point the school principal told the father of one of my witnesses of one of those incidents that he should not bother accompanying me to the police station because the school board was supposedly looking into the cases where my daughter was assaulted."

After waiting in vain for her daughter to materialize, Myiow finally decided to go upstairs and fetch her. She says she arrived on the scene just in time to see the French geography teacher "swarming at my daughter. When she grabbed my daughter’s arm this time, I was standing only six feet away and the teacher didn’t realize I was there.

"I told her to stop manhandling my daughter, whereupon the teacher gave me a dirty look and got on the intercom. At this point I took my daughter out of there. When we reached the corridor downstairs, the same teacher came flying at me, yelling and swearing.

"She screamed, ‘If you don’t like the way we handle your child in our school, you can take her out of here.’

"I told her she had no business manhandling an 11-year-old girl. I told her I’d take her to court next time she touched my daughter. At this point the principal, who was listening, made three eyewitnesses go back to class.

"The whole time I was there, I didn’t threaten anybody or assault anyone or even say anything nasty," Myiow avows. "The two of us left school and began walking towards Billings when a police van stopped us and the officers asked us to go with them. They said they had a complaint about me.

"While my daughter was crying and complaining about her swollen leg, the police read me my rights and arrested me. They booked me. and interrogated my daughter, a minor, without my presence in contravention of the law."

Myiow says she was released after spending three hours in jail on condition that she doesn’t go near St. Willibrord School or the teacher in question. Her daughter has been removed from school on the advice of a lawyer.

"The jail cell stunk like urine and there were blood stains on the bars," Myiow reports. "It was disgusting. And I was freezing to death in there because of the air-conditioning. Besides that, I’m allergic to dust."

But, as far as she knows, neither teacher was arrested for what Myiow’s lawyer believes is a classic case of "child abuse."

Up to this week, Chateauguay police still hadn’t registered her complaint against the geography teacher. "I spoke to the Crown Prosecutor’s office in Valleyfield and they told me police had no business refusing to press charges against that teacher," Myiow says.

Apparently, the assault cases described by Myiow are not isolated incidents at St. Willibrord. A 12-year-old Kahnawake youngster ran away from school last month after being allegedly abused by a substitute teacher. He got lost but had the presence of mind to call the police who contacted his dad. The father picked up the boy and drove him home.

"My son says the substitute teacher kept antagonizing him by dropping a book on his hands," says parent Janet Deer. "Maybe my son was being the class clown, but I still don’t think what the teacher did was right. I find the quality of that school has gone down.

"I complained to the principal (Valerie Link) and vice-principal (Lillian Lang). I asked them to look into it but they squashed it. The principal said physical discipline is not school policy She said she found one child who said the teacher was only fooling, so I got buffaloed. But a police report was filled out just the same."

When The Eastern Door asked the St. Willibrord principal for her version of these incidents last Monday, she answered the question with a question: "Am I allowed to discuss this publicly?"

"Why not? came the response.

"Well, we’ve been told we’re not allowed to comment on delicate matters," she explained. "(Director general) Howard Simpkin is the official spokesman for the New Frontiers School Board. We’ve been instructed to refer the media to him on any controversial issues."

Simpkin told The Eastern Door last Monday it would be premature for him to comment "until I find out more about it. I haven’t even talked to the school principal yet," he said, 11 days after the first incident allegedly took place. Simpkin was to have met with Myiow and her lawyer later in the week.

The school board’s discipline policy adopted last month authorizes only detentions and suspensions for students who misbehave. Nowhere in the document is corporal punishment of any type endorsed.

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Akwesasne Honors A Fallen Warrior
By: Ni:ne L. McComber

What began as a dark and ominous day could not dampen the spirits of those who gathered in Akwesasne to honour a fallen and respected warrior, Saiowisakeron John "Jake Ice" Fire. The day was to be known as the "Centennial Commemoration" of the man who died so that the traditional ways could continue.

The story of Saiowisakeron

In 1892 Akwesaseronon’s traditional government was no longer recognized by the N.Y. state. As a result of that, Canada’s Indian Act Government was forced upon the reserve. In the fateful year of 1899, 17 of the traditional chiefs were arrested when they tried in vain to stop the Indian Act elections from proceeding.

Saiowisakeron, who was already an elder and a brother of one of the chiefs, went to the place of confinement to ask for their release. As he approached the desk where non-Native officials, including RCMP, were seated he was shot in the shoulder. He continued to walk towards the officials all the while still making his case. When he raised his hands to show he was weaponless, he was once again shot, this time, fatally.

There was an investigation, but the RCMP officer who shot Saiowisakeron, was found not guilty, and was acquitted of his crime. One hundred years later, his descendants, wished for their ancestor Saiowisakeron, to be honoured. And so, a celebration was planned respectfully and deserving of a man who put his people’s future first and foremost, and who ultimately gave his life for his beliefs.

The celebration began with a parade, with the theme being "Honouring our Elders." The participants gathered just before the border stateside in Rooseveltown. The more than half-mile long parade continued over the bridge to Kawehnok:ke, better known as Cornwall Island, and on to its destination the Anowara Ko:wa Arena.

Amongst the Akwesasro:non were Grand Chief Mike Mitchell, and council members from the three sister communities, its schools, elder’s groups, and many other organizations. Kahnawake’s contingent included the Kahnawake Fire Brigade, Chief Tiorakwathe Gilbert, The Keepers of the Eastern Door Mohawk Singers and Dancers and a few other Kahnawakeronon notables. There is talk of this parade becoming an annual event to help strengthen our border rights.

Once the parade arrived at the Arena, the folks were treated to a feast Akwesasne-style. Mohawk vendors and craftspeople displayed their wares and there were even a couple of amusement rides for the little ones. The skies threatened to break open several times but the joke was that Saiowisakeron was up there holding it off. Later the clouds just rolled on by, and the sun shone in all its glory.

After everyone had their fill of lunch and had time to visit and chat, the time came for the ceremonies to begin. The opening prayer was said by elder Ernest Benedict with greetings and remarks by Grand Chief Mike Mitchell, Chief Alma Ransom (St. Regis), M.P. Bob Kilger, Gordon Shanks (assistant deputy Minister to Jane Stewart), and Cornwall Mayor Bryan Sylvester. Chief Mitchell stated, "Relationships with Cornwall and surrounding communities are better than ever. One objective is to maintain good long-lasting positive relations with all peoples."

The non-Native guests made similar comments and were presented with gifts that were replicas of the Silver Covenant Chain crafted by an Akwesasne silversmith.

Shortly after the speeches were made, everyone gathered around for the unveiling of a 12-foot statue bearing the likeness of Saiowisakeron, that was expertly carved from B.C. cedar. The statue will be permanently placed in St. Regis. The day continued with a powwow exhibition performed by the Keepers of the Eastern Door Mohawk Singers and Dancers. The early evening promised a square dance, a father/son and mother/daughter lacrosse game and an Iroquois social.

The event increased awareness between a Mohawk community and non-Native officials attempting to correct at least some of the past wrongdoings, with a hope to try to work together towards a positive future.

One participant said that as a people we can either bring solutions to the table, or continue to fuss and complain. Our future is ours to mold. Let’s use the intelligence the Creator gave us as Onkwehonwe to work together, solve our problems, and accomplish our goal, which is, to win back traditional government, The Great Law. To walk it, talk it, not just to throw around the current catch phrases of the day, but to really have a deep-rooted understanding of all it means.

This is what Saiowisakeron and others like him tried to protect with their lives. Let’s bring some honor to their memory, and do what needs to be done. Take care of business.

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Ganienkeh Since 1977
By: Greg Horn

The People of Ganienkeh reached a deal with the State of New York to relocate to Miner Lake just south of the Canada/US border in 1977. Following this agreement, every building that was constructed in the three preceding years was dismantled and transported to Miner Lake, piece by piece.

In order for Ganienkeh to be established New York State set up something called the Turtle Island Trust. "Turtle Island Trust came into existence during 1977 to fulfill a critical need. A Mohawk Indian community, Ganienkeh, is involved in a controversy with New York State over legal ownership of nine million acres of land," states a Turtle Island Trust document.

"After three years of litigation and formal negotiations, the State offered to restore 5,700 acres of forest land to Ganienkeh in Clinton County. New York proposed to do this through a lease. The Mohawks felt that it would jeopardize their land claims if they leased or purchased what they considered to be their own land. Therefore, the concept of a third party, to lease State land and purchase private land was used. This would enable the Mohawks to occupy and utilize the land in which they have claims on. The trust concept satisfied the legal requirements of both New York State and the Mohawk Nation. An interim resolution was reached by having Turtle Island Trust lease the aforesaid States lands."

There were three trustees who were appointed to administer Turtle Island Trust, they are; Ann L. Maytag, the president of the Ann Maytag Foundation; Dr. Jon L. Regier, the executive director of the New York State Council of Churches; and Robert S. Charland, a retired major of the New York State Police.

The goals of this trust are, (A) The preservation of the traditional culture, heritage, history, religion, language and arts of the Indian Nations of North America. (B) The education of Indians and other members of the public in the traditional culture, heritage, history, religion, language and arts of the Indian Nations of North America. (C) The promotion of racial and cultural harmony and understanding between members of the North American Indian Nations and citizens of the United States. (D) The relief of poverty among members of the North American Indian Nations.

When Ganienkeh first moved to Miner Lake in 1977 the Clinton County legislature had voiced itsopposition to the Mohawk community. On May, 4, 1977, some five months before the community moved from Moss Lake, the Clinton County Legislature voted unanimously their opposition to New York State’s plan to lease 5,700 acres of Clinton County land to Ganienkeh.

This act has been done in later years and but have not received unanimous votes. In the spring of 1981, some of Clinton County’s legislators presented a resolution which petitioned New York State to terminate a certain lease dated September 28, 1977, between the People of the State of New York and the Turtle Island Trust.

This resolution was tabled until the May 13 meeting of the Legislature, which also happened to be the seventh Anniversary of the Rebirth of Ganienkeh. The resolution passed by a vote of 8-2. At this meeting there were many people who spoke in the defense of Ganienkeh.

Then, one year later the Legislature passed yet another virtually identical resolution against Ganienkeh. After the original resolution was passed in 1981 it was found that the lease was legal and the Legislature had no legal authority against the lease.

The resolution again passed with many people speaking against Ganienkeh, but no one spoke in the defense of Ganienkeh. The result of the vote was 8-2. All this opposition came about because the New York State government neglected to consult the residents of Clinton County until it was a fait accompli that Ganienkeh would be moved from Moss Lake to Miner Lake.

"One thing was really cool the way I remember it," recalls Judy Delaronde. "Louis [Hall] asked me to drive him to Plattsburgh. [Mario} Cuomo was making a stop. He was running for Governor, it was his first run. He was landing at the airport in Plattsburgh, so Louis said ‘Let’s go, I would like to wish him good luck."

"Oh, I said ‘He probably won’t even notice us, there will be a big crush of people.’ And sure enough, all the political big wigs of the Democratic Party were all in the front. But Louis had on his black hat. We were right against the wall, there was nowhere else to go, we were as far back as you can be. And when Cuomo came off the place he just made them open a path and went right for Louis. He was the first person he greeted. He shook his hand and Louis said, ‘The People of Ganienkeh sent me to wish you all the best in your campaign.’"

"I was impressed, because he must have really respected Louis. They were on opposite sides, but there was a lot of respect there," stated Delaronde.

After Ganienkeh survived the numerous attacks by the Clinton County Legislature, the community began to prosper.

The community opened up the Ganienkeh Territorial Bingo, the Ganienkeh Wholistic Center, a saw mill, a gas station and they are even herding cattle and buffalo. The community of Ganienkeh even floors a lacrosse team in the Iroquois Lacrosse Association (ILA) called the Gunners.

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Ganienkeh Gunners Use Ineligible Player in Match Against Valleyfield
Situation Resolved as Leaf is Traded in Seven-player Deal With Outlaws
By: Al Briand

The Ganienkeh Gunners are in a lot of hot water over the use of a player that had not been released from the Kanienkeha’ka Outlaws.

This involving the use of Jay Leaf, who played for the Ganienkeh Gunners in their game against the Valleyfield Dynomites Saturday, May 1 at the Plattsburgh State Arena.

Leaf, who was the property of the Kanienkeha’ka Outlaws last season, scored four goals against Valleyfield while playing for the Gunners.

Under the ILA Constitution, any use of a player that has not been released from the team he was with the year prior, is ineligible to play for any other team, except his own. With that in mind, any team that claims a player without getting a release form from his previous team and plays him in a game, will lose the game.

Confusing as it may seem, The Eastern Door caught up with Outlaw owner Phil Tarbell, who confirmed the truth.

"I took control of the Outlaws on April 6 from Mitch Chubb, who was owner at the time, and I was put in a position to get the team back on track. I had no knowledge of Jay leaving the team for Ganienkeh, I never gave him his release and I wonder why he went there in the first place," questioned Tarbell.

Gunners manager Ryan Deer, is upset with the decision.

"I thought we had pursued the proper channels. According to the release form by Mitch Chubb, Jay Leaf’s release was dated April 1, 1999. Now they overturn our victory against Valleyfield because the form’s date, in their eyes, is dated April 11, 1999.

Commissioner of the Iroquois Lacrosse Association Senior B League Travis Cook, wouldn’t comment when The Eastern Door contacted him at his office in Oneida, N.Y., and referred the decision to interim league secretary, Herby Lahache, who said that since Jay Leaf never got a proper release form from the Kanienkeha’ka Outlaws, he was deemed ineligible to play for any other team.

On Saturday, May 8, it was learned that Leaf, as well as Peter Adams, was traded to Ganienkeh for Andy Thomas, Chris Appenam, Steve Jacobs, Steve Bonspille and Robert Gray.

Phil Tarbell, owner of the Outlaws, said he’s comfortable with the decision. "I’m glad this situation has been rectified in a positive manner. It’s not something I anticipated, but if there are rules to follow, people and players alike must go by the rules," explained Tarbell.

As a result of the ruling, the Ganienkeh Gunners lost the game against Valleyfield and les Dynomites were awarded the win.

Valleyfield Dynomite manager Mac Thomas, agreed with the ruling in the constitution. "You have to go according to league rules. If the rules are made to be broken, then there shouldn’t be any rules at all," commented Thomas.

Gunner management is filing an appeal to the league, in view of the recent ruling.

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Editorial

Imagine
By: Prof. James M.S. Craven, Blackfoot Confederacy, Clark College, Washington

There is a great deal of sensitivity to one of the most notorious of the many Holocausts humankind has suffered: the Nazi Holocaust against Jews, Gypsies and others. Movies like Schindler’s List are a constant reminder of massive suffering that must never be forgotten and historical lessons that must be learned. Most believe that something like the Holocaust of the Nazis against Jews or Gypsies or other victims tageted by the Nazis could never happen here in America or in Canada.

Imagine that something like what happened to Jews in Germany happened in America or Canada. Imagine that Jewish children were forced to repeat Christian prayers and were beaten or even murdered if they spoke or prayed in Hebrew or Yiddish and spoke or prayed Jewish prayers. Imagine if Jewish children were forced to eat pork that was not only forbidden for religious reasons but was also rotten, insect-infested and of the lowest quality so that many children could be "fed" cheaply and very profitably.

Imagine if vulnerable and trusting Jewish children were routinely sexually and physically abused by clergy and when the sexual and physical abuse was discovered, those who reported it were beaten or murdered while those who committed the ugly deeds were protected by powerful and rich churches and sent elsewhere to do more crimes to other Jewish children. Imagine that Jewish children were used for medical experiments or used to test new drugs or surgical procedures. Imagine if Jewish children were used as sexual objects for powerful pedophiles when visiting the isolated institutions in which the Jewish children were kept away from their families and communities.

Imagine if Jewish children were sterilized through coercion or decption. Imagine if Jewish children were registered and controlled by a BJA (Bureau of Jewish Affairs) that had a long history of fraud, theft, abuse and dereliction of trust responsibilities with respect to traditional Jewish lands and resources. Imagine if throughout the Jewish Ghettos, corrupt and sell-out Jews were selected or elected through fraudulent elections to control other Jews in the interests of non-Jews bent on the eventual elimination—through murder, intermarriage, redefinition, assimilation or sterilization—of all Jews.Imagine if Jewish children were forced into special Boarding/Residential Schools designed to beat, torture, intimidate and brainwash the "Jewishness" out of them.

Imagine if there were football teams with names like the "Kansas City Kikes", the "San Francisco Sheenies" or the Jersey City Jew Boys" and at half-time some caricature of what the bigoted and ignorant consider to be a "typical Jew" came out to do the "money-grubbing tango". Imagine if Jews were forbidden to celebrate Jewish holidays or to wear traditional Jewish yamulkas or prayer shawls. Imagine if all the precedents of Nuremberg and International Law (Treaties) were routinely broken by non-Jews while Jews were expected to keep all promises and responsibilities under those laws.

You say it could not happen to Jews in America or Canada what was done in Nazi Germany? You say that especially after Nuremberg and the horrors that were revealed there "Never Again" anywhere? With respect to Jews in America and Canada, perhaps all of the above and more could happen and perhaps not.

But there is no "perhaps" that all of the above and much more was done—and is being done—in America and in Canada and elsewhere in the world to Indigenous Peoples.

When do Indians and first Nations Peoples get movies like "Schlinder’s List" that expose the past and present of the American and Canadian Holocausts? When do non-Indians care about the American and Canadian Holocausts against Indigenous Peoples as much as many non-Jews do —and should—care about the Nazi Holocaust? When do Indians get the precedents, legal protections and demands for justice of Nuremberg applied in and to the very Nations that so piously and hypocritically sat in judgment at Nuremberg?

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Comics

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