Indian Time - A Voice from the Eastern Door

AKWESASNE MOHAWK TERRITORY — On September 28, 2012, Magistrate Therese Danks submitted her recommendation to the District Court regarding the 1796 claim. Magistrate Danks recommended that the motions to dismiss be denied, in part, concerning the “Hogansburg Triangle” based on the failure to establish a “longstanding, distinctly non-Indian character” within the area, adding that the Hogansburg triangle “looked like a missing piece of the Reservation puzzle”.

All other aspects of this claim have been recommended for dismissal, referencing the Sherrill decision and the laches defense. The recommendation to dismiss the claims to Baxter, Barnhart and Long Sault Islands, as well as the area known as the Grasse Meadows were also submitted to the presiding District Court Judge Kahn.

The Mohawk Nation Council of Chiefs, the Saint Regis Mohawk Tribe and the Mohawk Council of Akwesasne formed a tri-council in 1989 to jointly file a claim in Federal court seeking the determination of title for lands protected under the 1796 Treaty. The Unified Mohawk Land Claim sought legal redress for the unlawful transfer of 12,000 acres of land in Franklin and St. Lawrence counties as well as Barnhart, Croil and Long Sault Islands.

A negotiated settlement was reached in 2004 with successful referenda by SRMT and MCA, and a favorable consensus was reached by the MNCC and with the support of Franklin and St. Lawrence counties. After the precedent of the Sherrill decision, both St. Lawrence and Franklin Counties withdrew their support of the claim and filed motions to dismiss.

As Akwesasne leadership, we commit to furthering this claim through continued cooperation in both the proceedings, as well reviewing the possibilities with regard to the negotiated settlement that was ratified by the community of Akwesasne in 2005.

Lands are of vital importance to our future as a thriving community, and our respect for our Mother Earth is inherent in our culture. As leadership, we will continue to fight for what rightfully belongs to our community, and we will work together to ensure that our uniqueness as a community works for the betterment of its people.