Indian Time - A Voice from the Eastern Door

21 Onerahtohkó:wa/May, 2014

Ms. Beverly Pyke

Nelson David White

34 McCumber Road North

Indian Reserve Number 59

Cornwall Island, ON K6H 5R7

Wa’tkwanonhwerá:ton Ms. Pyke and Mr. White,

I am writing to acknowledge receipt of your letter dated May 1, 2014. We make note from media coverage that you have engaged in prior discussions with the Minister of Aboriginal Affairs and Northern Development Bernard Valcourt and asked him for permission to come under the Indian Act for the separation of Kawehno:ke/Cornwall Island from Akwesasne. Please be informed that our response will be shared with the Akwesasne Community.

I want to begin by stating that your intentions are unclear, as well as the identification of the group that you claim to represent. There are only two individuals listed as wanting to separate from the community of Akwesasne. There are no other individuals identified.

In the cover letter that both of you signed it is stated that you are “removing ourselves from the tutelage of the Mohawks of Akwesasne”. The accompanying document however, is a “proposal for Indian Reserve Number 59 to divest itself from the administration of the Mohawk Council of Akwesasne (MCA)”. These are two separate matters that pose the following questions to you in hopes of obtaining clarification:

Do you want to ‘renounce’ your membership from the Mohawks of Akwesasne?

Do you want to take ‘Indian Reserve Number 59” from the jurisdiction of the Mohawk Council of Akwesasne?

If you are stating your personal intentions to separate ‘Indian Reserve Number 59 (Cornwall Island) from Akwesasne on behalf of Island residents, then it is our community’s established practice to first raise this important issue before Kawehno:ke residents. Given that your proposal entails breaking up the community of Akwesasne, this matter will also need to be presented before the residents of Kana:takon and Tsi Snaihne.

Please keep in mind that prior to exercising our community’s authority to conduct our own elections in 1986, an open and transparent process was used that engaged community members. This enabled the MCA to petition Indian Affairs to bring leadership decisions back to the community of Akwesasne. It is advisable that your proposed intent goes through a similar community forum and decision-making process, such as a community plebiscite or referendum vote. Since 1986, Akwesasne has conducted elections under our own election code. All decisions regarding elections outcome and decisions on matters concerning leadership selections are decided by community members and no longer have any involvement by the Minister of Aboriginal Affairs. So the question we have to ask is “Why do you want to ask the Minister of Aboriginal Affairs to have Kawehno:ke separate from the other two districts when you should first and foremost ask your own people if that is what they want to do?”

If it is your intent to do this then community members need to be clearly asked the question: “Do you support the separation of Kawehno:ke (Cornwall Island) from Akwesasne and forming Indian Reserve Number 59 under the Indian Act?”

Earlier this year, we were informed through the media that an external election was held in Cornwall, Ontario to identify individuals to serve as councilors on Indian Reserve Number 59. The Akwesasne community has not received any information or verification of the election results, nor any indication that the Minister of Aboriginal Affairs and Northern Development accepted it, which you are required to do if claiming to govern under the Indian Act.

The Akwesasne community has developed the tools and resources to address important community matters internally, rather than resorting to open debates in neighboring communities or conducting questionable elections outside of Akwesasne. We have individuals that are trained to oversee and conduct these community decision-making processes, whether it is a community plebiscite or referendum vote or election.

Last month, a plebiscite was conducted regarding the future of buildings located within the international corridor located on Kawehno:ke. Prior to holding the plebiscite, the MCA took every effort to engage and ask the community of Akwesasne if they supported the demolition of the buildings. The plebiscite results provide the mandate needed to secure meetings between leadership and federal agencies on the development of a plan that will utilize Mohawk contractors for the building’s demolition, which the community supports.

A similar process was utilized to resolve and work towards settling our community’s past grievances with the Ontario Power Generation, Akwesasne’s land claim against New York State, and the Kawehno:ke Easterbrook Specific Claim involving the Government of Canada. These were similar to community decision-making processes used by the Saint Regis Mohawk Tribe and the consensus-building undertaken by the Mohawk Nation Council of Chiefs to voice their position on the U.S. Land Claim.

Please keep in mind that the cost to conduct a referendum is approximately $10,000. Combined with staff time already devoted to addressing previous issues that you have raised, as well as legal expenses, we think that enough has been incurred to finally settle this matter of the corridor and move forward for the benefit of the Akwesasne community.

Since 2010, members of the Akwesasne’s Peoples Fire told community members that the buildings were there to ensure that CBSA officials would not come back any time in the future. Those members of the Akwesasne’s Peoples Fire also said if a letter was received from the CBSA saying the border agency is not coming back to Kawehno:ke then the Akwesasne’s Peoples Fire would voluntarily leave. As a result, the MCA has obtained a letter to that effect from the CBSA stating there are no plans to return to Cornwall Island.

To briefly comment on the 33-page document that was attached to your letter, it appears to be based on misinformation and/or misinterpretation of information that will be responded to through a separate correspondence.

In closing, if you are both proposing to renounce your membership to the Mohawks of Akwesasne, that is an issue best directed to the Akwesasne Membership Board. We do advise you however, to please make this decision carefully and fully understand the effects of renouncing membership in the Mohawks of Akwesasne.

On a daily basis, the Mohawk Council of Akwesasne deals a multitude of issues to keep the community functioning and to maintain harmony. We do our best to resolve matters amongst ourselves in a peaceful and productive manner.

Over the years, we have slowly withdrawn from the clutches of the Indian Act and the colonial system of the Department of Indian Affairs. Your plan to conduct elections under the authority of the Indian Act and to have the Minister of Indian Affairs decide on our community matters is, in our opinion, regressive, which is why we strongly urge you to reconsider your decision to take a portion of the community from Akwesasne.

There are enough fights going on outside of Akwesasne trying to divide us and, as hard as it is at times, we must keep our community as one. We cannot therefore, support your efforts to cause further division of our territory without first properly consulting our community’s membership.

Skén:nen/In peace,

MOHAWK COUNCIL OF AKWESASNE

Mike Kanentakeron Mitchell,

Grand Chief

Cc Mohawk Council of Akwesasne

Minister of Aboriginal Affairs and Northern Development Canada