A Voice from the Eastern Door
A Voice from the Eastern Door
This is a side picture of the house where the SRMT Environment Division was working to remove the bees. On the outside there were many places where the bees were entering the structure. This leads the team to believe that more bees are in the walls and possibly the ceiling of the structure.
The bees at Tsionkwanati:io were gently vacuumed into a new beehive to safely transport them to their new home.
Two five gallon buckets filled with honey and honeycomb. The honey will be extracted and sold at a later date.
Gently vacuuming the bees living inside the abandoned house's wall into a new beehive.
Wayne Samphier, Environmental Division, putting the new beehive into his truck to take to its new location at the AFS Cannery and to local beekeepers.
Tsionkwanati:io is on its way to being "bee free." That is, an old abandoned house on the property will be bee free. The Akwesasne Cultural Restoration Program (ACR) and the St. Regis Mohawk Tribe's Environment Division was all a "buzz" about the bees, and last Thursday was the start of bee moving day!
A small, old abandoned house had over the past several years, became the home for a bee colony that became so large, that concerns started to arise. Tsionkwanati:io, which means "you all have a nice place again," is a vibrant community space used for gardening, ceremony, summer camps, canoeing and cultural teachings like the making of maple syrup. "Nearby families were unsafe due to the large amount of bees within the tiny house", commented Konwahahawi Rourke, President of Onake II (the Board that manages the Heritage site). "We want to make sure that all people are safe when they visit the site."
There were also concerns about the welfare of the honeybees, "A few winters ago the temperatures were bitter cold for several days and bees are very susceptible to the cold in the winter," explained Mary Arquette (Akwesasne Cultural Restoration). "The house is not insulated enough, so many of the bees froze to death. Bees do generate a lot of heat by doing all the work that they do but when it gets cold for a long time, they can't make it. The bees do good work for us," continued Ms. Arquette. "Right now the raspberry bushes, flowers and gardens are loaded with bees. We need them to help our veggies and fruits to grow."
The bees were removed with a shop-vac hose attached to a modified motor that ever so gently sucked the bees into a wooden beehive box. Inside the box are racks where the bees can build a new honeycomb. This new home is insulated to help the bees survive the cold of winter. This hive was taken to the Akwesasne Freedom School Cannery. The plan is to safely locate the rest of the bees to local beekeepers in the next few weeks.
"We understand the importance of bees and their amazing contribution to our environment," added Mrs. Rourke. "It is important to keep them safe and transport them carefully."
"The bees will now hopefully make new colonies, if we get the queen, she will start a nice new colony in the new hive. If not, then we hope they will make a new queen," commented local beekeeper Bob Goldie, who was on hand to assist with the bee removal. "Doing houses are hard. It's hard to get them all out, especially the queen. She goes to the place where she feels protected and that could be hard for us to find in such a large area. If the bees are in the ceiling they will be harder to get and it's more dangerous."
Wayne Samphier from the St. Regis Mohawk Tribe's Environment Division and SueAnn Swamp (ACR) helped remove the bees from the house along with approximately two five gallon buckets of honeycomb and honey. According to Mrs. Rourke, Ase Tsi Tewaton will process the honey for Onake II and will be for sale in the near future. The money from the honey sales will help the cash strapped Tsionkwanati:io. Funding is needed to secure the buildings, maintain the grounds, as well as pay an electric bill debt that has accrued on the small building during the last eight years.
The St. Regis Mohawk Tribe's Environment Program has determined that due to black mold, lead paint and rot, the buildings on the Tsionkwanati:io property are unsafe for the community. However the grounds are available to community organizations with permission from the Board. The securing of the property is an ongoing process and may take years before it is completed. For more information please contact [email protected] or if you would like to make a donation, go to https://www.gofundme.com/tsionkwanatiio.
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