Couple known for grabbing attention and allegedly grabbing land, harass young Haudenosaunee Agriculturalist

 

Sawatis and David shown here with NYS police. The police clearly stated the documents Sawatis presented did not show or prove ownership to the land/property.

A young man with the skills and knowledge to actively act on Native Food Sovereignty and food insecurity has been the target of unfounded and intentional acts of harassment.

Over the past two weeks, a couple have tried to claim land Levi Herne has been attending to for the past several years. The couple claim to own this parcel of land and property just south of Akwesasne.

Herne shared much of his ordeal on Facebook, saying, "I have been interested in self-reliance and sustainable agriculture for years, so in 2018 I started looking for good farmland in the area and around the community. Since land in Akwesasne is usually very swampy and it's also too expensive for me to afford. I saw this property on North Rd. and started looking into purchasing it. I went to the town and it was in an estate of a man who had passed away. He had no close family members or will. I was told about adverse possession and did some research into the laws in NYS. I went to the town and paid off all the back taxes. This began the process for claiming adverse possession which takes 10 years of continuous use in NYS. After 30 days of use, you receive rights to the property similar to tenant's rights. I have been farming on this land for 4 years working with community members and teaching traditional sustainable farming practices."

Things were going fine with Herne until they weren't – Kristy Sawatis and Popeye David started arriving on the property claiming she has "squatters rights" to the property.

According to Herne, with several photos to corroborate this, she was caught taking rare and unripe corn from the property.

Herne said, "This woman and some of her family have been harassing me and some of my friends for the past several weeks since she was caught stealing corn, now she is claiming she purchased this property, which is false and she is attempting to gain squatter's rights. I have been working this land raising animals and growing gardens with community members interested in sustainable agriculture for the past 4 years and would hate to see the place trashed. The things this woman saw as weeds were ground cover helping build the soil, and probably our food forest with saplings still not reaching over the tall grass."

During the latest incident, Herne wasn't home to defend his claim. Herne had left Akwesasne to work in an eco-village teaching sustainable agriculture. During his time away, the couple returned to the property. Several Akwesasronon arrived to support Herne, his agricultural work and his claim on the land. During this incident, the State Police arrived.

In a taped video, the NYS police can be clearly heard telling the couple, the documents provided to them, is "not a deed' and their papers did not provide ownership to the land. At this point, the NYS police informed everyone present that they must leave the premises.

According to several Akwesasronon who arrived to offer support, 'Kristy Sawatis' and Dwayne 'Popeye' David have allegedly harassed other landowners in Franklin County, using the term squatters' rights to prove their alleged ownership to a particular piece of property.

After consultation with a lawyer, Herne intends to purchase the property outright, to have in his possession a legal and binding deed. Herne, with the assistance of family, friends and supporters have posted a GoFundMe page to assist in reaching his goal.

Here is the GoFundMe post;

Sawatis shown here throwing out unripe, rare Haurdnosaunee corn out of the window of her vehicle.

Shekon sewakwekon my name is Levi Herne from Akwesasne Mohawk Territory and I have been growing and saving traditional Haudenosaunee seeds since I was 13 years old and raising pigs since 14, with the help and guidance from elders in my community. When I was 18, I started looking for a better piece of land for growing our seeds with better soils. I found a property near the reservation, as land on the territory is expensive and not widely available. I attempted to purchase the property but found that the owner was deceased and owed back taxes and the property would be foreclosed on soon. So, I decided to pay the back taxes and attempt to gain ownership of the property through 'adverse possession.' I have been caring for the property growing large gardens and raising pigs on the property for the last 4 years. Then earlier this year, while picking tomatoes, me and an elder caught a woman with her daughter stealing a rare type of corn. This corn is called Iroquois tooth that had been planted by the Akwesasne Freedom School students. It was being grown to increase our seed stalk. She had picked almost all of it before the seeds were mature. I had made a video of the incident. I shared this with organizers of the planting. A video taken on a cell phone showed the story of what happened, and it was posted on Facebook. This woman and her daughter subsequently began harassing me. After I went away to work out of state, they must have found out and began to attempt to take over the property. I consulted several lawyers, and they advised me the best option would be to purchase the property and have the woman and her family removed from the property if they were still present. They have a notorious reputation in the community, which I was not aware of at the time of the original incident for stealing and harassing community members. I have not done anything to this family, but they continue to seek revenge against me, and they have not been able to admit any wrong doing. I have put in several thousand dollars of my own money into this property and countless hours of work and would hate to see the work undone and the property misused, so that's why I'm asking for your help"

The GoFundMe page can be found online under the name Levi Herne.

 

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