Mohawk At Large

My Playlist: October

2011-10-13T00:39:00.001-04:00

So many great songs out now.

I've never been much a fan of Rodney Atkins, but "Take a Back Road" just sounds so good.

Too, there's something really great about Jake Owen's "Barefoot Blue Jean Night." I think it's the sing-along-ability of it, like Mellencamp's "Jack & Diane" or pretty much anything by Kenny Chesney.

The new Blake Shelton song is great. Album version at this link. Live version here ...

I could listen to the new Pistol Annie's CD Hell on Heels on a loop over and over and over ... and I've been known to do just that. Two of my favourite songs: "The Hunter's Wife" ("It's like I'm married to a shotgun carrying, tobacco chewing, no good, blue tick hound")

and "Bad Example." (It's my new ringtone)

Gord Bamford's "Hank Williams Lonesome" -- I really love this song.

Jimmy Rankin opened for Kevin Costner in Belleville recently, and blew me away. I left a fan. New single is called "I'm Just Saying."

And for my non-country selection: I catch myself singing this new Kelly Clarkson song every now and then.

Revamped Tyendinaga reserve road to be ...

2011-08-09T16:12:00.003-04:00

(Insert great big arm-stretching YAWN here.)

From the Belleville Intelligencer: Revamped road to be safer for pedestrians, cyclists

You know who was there? Our local MP Daryl Kramp. What a great opportunity this should've been for him to elaborate -- you know, locally -- on his government's recent take-it-or-leave-it land claim offer.

Or maybe our chief could've told the local newspaper today that Tyendinaga's claim isn't included in those take-it-or-leave-it offers. Or that it is. Or that MBQ's attorney Alan Pratt was -- or wasn't -- talking to Tyendinaga people specifically when he told APTN a couple weeks ago that offers like this would likely lead to mass community-level protests.

Truth is, this information would've been better left to our community newsletter. The one that was delivered to our homes last week, that said nothing about this huge newsmaking development. And by "huge newsmaking development," I mean the land claim offers and if they affect us, not that some road here on the rez was ... Y-A-W-N.

My playlist: August

2011-08-06T03:01:00.000-04:00

I've struggled to find appropriate music for when I'm on the treadmill at the gym. I tried to build a collection of up-tempo dance music, until I realized my footsteps were somehow matching the beats of the song. And I'm way too lazy, and disinterested, in matching beats from one song to the next in order to maintain some sort of consistent speed. Having said that, I got this app for my iPhone called djay that'll do exactly that. In the meantime ...

Podcasts seem to be filling the void perfectly. No music. Just interesting conversations to keep me from counting the minutes, and the seconds, until I can get off the damn treadmill and -- achieve my goal -- commence with being proud that I was on it.

WSM-AM is the home of the Grand Ol' Opry and was the radio station I listened to most when I lived in Nashville. There's an Opry app for the iPhone now that carries a live stream of the station and, though I rarely remember to plug it in when I'm in the car, I'm always glad it's there. They archive celebrity visits and station events so I've been hugely enjoying interviews with people like George Jones, Porter Wagoner, Rebecca Lynn Howard, and Patty Loveless, all from only a couple years ago. That last one made me whip out the "Sleepless Nights" CD that I bought a couple years ago (when it was new) and promptly filed away having listened to it, like, twice. It's my new favourite.

There's something about this new Thompson Square single that I'm enjoying.

I'm all excited about Miranda Lambert's show at Casino Rama next week. I created a playlist on my phone/iPod of music I enjoy, and completely rediscovered this song. I can't get enough of it now.

When I need a little tempo, I go here ...

The music world is completely flummoxed as to how Eric Church sold 145,000 copies of his new release, "Chief," and came out with the best-selling album in America last week, without the support of a hit single. In country music, it seems, you're nothing without a hit single. He's had but two Top 10s: they both stalled at #10 and I can't recall ever hearing either of them. Turns out, if you tour and create a base of fans who don't care if they hear you on the radio or not, they'll buy your CD when it comes out. So ... I bought into the hype and grabbed me a copy when I was at Walmart earlier today and I'll be damned if it ain't the hottest album I've heard in a loooong time. Here's a guy, country singer, who isn't afraid to experiment with percussion. Generally in country you get drums hidden way in the back of the mix, just obediently keeping the beat. Not here. I'm just enjoying this CD all the way around. Lead single is called "Homeboy."

And I'm loving Ashton Shepherd's "Where Country Grows" and Six West's "I Will Wait," even more than I did back in late June.

On the demise of Borders

2011-07-23T01:02:00.022-04:00

I fell in love with books and bookstores when I lived away.

It took all year, but I came out in 1997 and the very first step I took was to purchase these two books at Tower Books on West End Avenue in Nashville (there's an f.y.e. there now). Tower Books closed before Tower Records did. Hard to believe now that they were two stand-alone buildings that shared a parking lot.

Even harder to believe that one of the Nashville Borders was just a block away.

With bachelor's degree in hand and newly poor, I spent hours browsing both the Barnes & Noble stores in the Nashville area. At Opry Mills I picked up this Joyce Carol Oates short story collection a million times. It was in hardcover at the time, and I was in no position to spend $25 on -- well, anything, really. Around the same time, I daydreamed that a guy I adored would buy this Alice Munro one for me. He didn't -- and I still don't own it.

For three years before I moved home, I was the book buyer at OutLoud!, Nashville's GLBT community bookstore. I love love love loved that job, that store and everyone I worked with. It closed this past December; follow the link for details. I own a million books now, and most of them came through that store.

Independent bookstores have been falling like flies the past few years, and more are threatening to do the same, so it's hugely ironic to watch one of the independents' arch nemeses shutter. Ironic because the closure of any bookstore -- much less the 2nd largest chain in America -- is bad for the entire industry, regardless to whether management contributed more to Borders demise than anything else.

Gayle Shanks is one of the founders and still operates Changing Hands Bookstore, an independent located in Tempe, AZ. I heard her speak at an American Booksellers Association conference a few years ago and came away genuinely appreciating her knowledge of the state of bookselling, as well as the history of independent bookselling.

There's one paragraph in this article from Changing Hands' website that only an independent bookseller could write. It describes exactly an independent's perspective of Borders' competitive work these past 20 or so years. A very worthwhile read.

Don't forget: locals have to support locals, wherever you live. When in Belleville, go to Greenley's.

My playlist: June

2011-06-30T16:21:00.000-04:00

Challenged and inspired by my cousin and fellow blogger Tina, I've selected a few tunes that consistently find their way into my ears when I'm at the gym or driving somewhere this last while.

"Where Country Grows" - Ashton Shepherd
I love Ashton Shepherd. Loved her since the first album "Sounds So Good" came out back in 2008. That title song is still a favourite, so I was all excited when this new music came out a few months ago. The new single, "Look It Up," admittedly sucks a little bit, but the rest of the cuts on this EP are really good. I've grown to really like "Where Country Grows" more than the rest.

"Staying's Worse Than Leaving" - Sunny Sweeney
One year ago, on a $0.99 shopping spree at iTunes, I bought a song called "From a Table Away" by someone I'd never before heard of called Sunny Sweeney. And I'll be damned if that song hasn't become my favourite song ever. When the 5-song EP was released a few months ago, I immediately bought it, and soon fell for the one that was to become the follow-up to "From a Table Away." Love it. It's crawling up the country chart, so I'm assuming it'll be another six or so months until the local country station plays it.

"You Lie" - The Band Perry
I liked "If I Die Young," even though I found it a bit sombre for my taste. A great song, yes, but (as you'll see here) I've been attracted lately to more up-tempo songs. And this song ain't bad; I like it. An understatement, because I listen to this song a lot. Like catch-myself-singing-it-all-the-time like it.

"Shotgun Girl" - the JaneDear girls
This song is so catchy and hook-laden that I feel like brushing and flossing after each listen to guard against cavities. It's hard for a 200 lb man to sing about being anyone's girl -- shotgun or otherwise -- but trust that when I'm alone in my car, or alone at home, or just pretty much anywhere alone, I sing it LOUD. Enjoy the juxtaposition of such a poppy song name-checking Waylon, Willie and Merle, too. Country purists get right offended by it, but I'm okay.

"I Will Wait" - Six West
Every now and then a song will come on the radio that, for some reason, just pulls me in. Let me stress: it's really very rare. The most notable time was way back in 1996 when I first heard Kelita -- another Canadian act -- and a song called "The Strong One." It absolutely blew me away. I ran out and bought the CD the next day and listened to it over and over and over. Six West is a duo from somewhere out in Western Canada and, based on what I've learned, this new single is more (shall we say) country-politan than previous releases. A great melody. Note that this is only one out of two places where you'll find a dude's voice on my list. Apparently I'm that gay.

"Together You & I" -- Dolly
Another one that I pulled off iTunes based on just the :30 clip. Dolly is a superstar the world over and country radio has yet to pick up on this, the single most radio-friendly song she's released in maybe 20 years. A fascinating look at how production can completely re-write (if you will) a song -- check out this original version from over forty years ago.

"Who's Johnny" -- El Debarge
Out of nowhere this song popped in my head a couple weeks ago. I downloaded it immediately and now, every time it comes up, I'm surprised at how not embarrassed I am to still enjoy it so much. The video, on the other hand, is super-80's-cheesy.

"Love Soundz" - Lacey Schwimmer
All dance songs sound the same to me. I'd have never heard of this song had I not been following Lacey on Twitter. Thanks to Kyle Massey for being so entertaining, that season he was on "Dancing with the Stars." If I was Divinely intended to like this song, that was path that led to this.

Indians in the city

2011-06-30T12:51:00.000-04:00

Drafted this post over a month ago ...

---

So I'm running around the Eaton Centre a couple nights ago when I was approached by this dude.

Actually he came up to me as I was shopping for shorts. I couldn't decide between the ones that fall way past the knee with lotsa baggy pockets, or the ones that fall way past the knee with no pockets, when I turn around and here's this Hawaiian lookin guy saying, "Are you Cree? Anishinabe?"

I thought, is that the dumbest, most Northern Ontario-slash-middle Western Canada question ever?! So I said, "No! Haudenosaunee, Mohawk." He said, "Oh, okay."

I will dare guess that most the Indians in Toronto are from the far North, mostly because all of us "southern" (read: Haudenosaunee) Natives already live close enough to the big city that we don't actually have to live there. So, upon further thought, it really was a logical question for him to ask.
He held out a CD. You see this happen at pow wows a lot. I thought, here comes the sales pitch. He said, "My friend asked me to come over and say hi. We figured if there's an Indian in the mall, he must wanna spend some money." I thought, now that's a good one. That line alone was worth five bucks.

Then I figured: we're not the kind of people to just walk up to strangers and try to sell them something. If it's $20 or less, I'll get it. But I won't make it easy.

"How much is this?"

"Twenty dollars."

I've always been good at The Price is Right. So I said, "I guess I can get one, but you have to sign it!"

We walked over to the cash register area and asked for a pen. He tore open the packaging, slipped out the card from the case, and then pointed at himself in the picture before he signed his name and added the letters "IN..." then asked me "How you spell 'enjoy'?"

I said "uh... E-N-J-O-Y but how you got it, that's even better!" It was like an unintentional mix of Injun and enjoy. I liked it, but didn't take the time to explain.

Apparently, him and a few friends recorded this CD. It's all new material that they wrote, set to pow wow music. I asked, "How old are you?" He told me he's 21, that he hitchhiked to Toronto from his home in Saskatchewan three years ago and has lived here since. He works at the Native Child & Family Services Centre here downtown where he teaches little children about their culture, and sings to them.

Isn't that cool?

My heart was warmed a little. "You hitchhiked all the way from Saskatchewan when you were EIGHTEEN?" I asked. "Yep."

"Well, hang on before you go," I said. "I gotta get a picture to commemorate this brush with celebrity." So there we stood, by the cash register at the American Eagle, two Native North American Indians posing while a store clerk took a photo with my phone.

How does a sheriff seize Mohawk property?

2011-05-12T12:06:00.000-04:00

This story has been part of the local radio news broadcasts for THREE DAYS now. If you're not from around here, trust that we're not crawling under our windows at home, and running to and from our cars in order to avoid the barrage of bullets that our local news organizations are predicting.

Belleville Intelligencer did nobody any favours with this headline: "Bullets could fly over court ruling"

Kingston Whig-Standard tempered themselves with this one: "Businessman remains defiant"

I listen to the country station in Belleville, Cool 100, and those are the news reports I've heard so often these past few days. These news organizations have been around long enough to know what an empty promise sounds like. Around here, I think we've all learned to take threats of gunfire with a grain (an entire lick, even) of salt. Even the folks at Cool 100 should know the personalities involved.

I don't know a whole lot about this case, but I'm confident that our chief and band council are not prone to suing its own community members, nor will they begin to do it in a widespread manner now. Mortgage arrears are overflowing, and have always been, without the sort of confiscation and forced liquidation (an ironic word, yes?) of property and possessions that we may be seeing here. Again, this is a unique situation based on the personalities involved.

Here's an interesting point, from the article:

Justice Helen McLeod-Beliveau ruled that the sheriff can be asked to seize three properties from Miracle, who is the former operator of Mohawk Liquidation gas bar. The sheriff and the band would be then able to auction them off with proceeds to go to the Mohawk Band Council.

The ruling was that the sheriff can be asked?

Call me ignorant: I'm unfamiliar with the jurisdiction of a sheriff. I know Roscoe P. Coltrane oversaw all of Hazard County, but I can't imagine that's the case here. Remember, we fall outside provincial jurisdiction in many areas. That is why our relationship with the OPP, and its connection to our own police force, remains so contentious. So my question: if confiscation is to happen, exactly who would oversee the physical repossession of this land?

Buy the Indian gas ... and something else too

2011-04-21T17:11:00.000-04:00

Here's the thing: if I lived off the reserve and I saw the price of gas going up around 135.9, I'd be shopping around too. But this is getting crazy ...

This photo was taken earlier today at the Free Flow on Hwy 2 at Shannonville. Locals refer to it still as "Bayview Variety" because that's what it used to be called.

Just down the road, inside the village of Shannonville is ... gawd, ... Village Variety. You just get so used to these places, you forget what they're actually called. I refer to this one as "the gas station in Shannonville."

At neither of these places should you ever have to wait to get your gas. Maybe at the Village because they have literally two pumps, but never at Bayview. So to see lines like in these photos is really very unusual. I needed gas yesterday afternoon and nearly considered going into Belleville just for the convenience of knowing I'd not have to wait who-knows-how-long. (Note that I didn't. Well, what I did is I went to the place on Hwy 49. It's called Quik Stop, I think ... it's the one where the Subway is ... and got $20 worth there, then went back to Bayview later for the rest.

The lot was nearly empty when I got there, around 8pm last night. The attendant mentioned that the best time is in the evenings. Food for thought.)

Speaking of food ...

If you're not from Tyendinaga and you're thinking of taking a drive to the reserve during this local oil crisis, please PLEASE consider buying more than gas -- and/or cigarettes -- when you visit. I don't want to get all "Tourism Tyendinaga" on ya, but there's GOT to be something here you would enjoy, something that would also support our local economy.

I've taken the liberty of making some suggestions for you right now.

Tota Maz (pronounced "DUH-duh MAHZ" but you gotta say it fast) is a great little restaurant that opened late last year. If you've been to our annual pow wow in August, you'll recognize some of this food, particularly the Indian Taco, the fry bread, and the corn soup. Each are "delicacies" (the quotation marks are important) of Native North American Indians, so you have to at least try it. The corn soup can be lighter, but the fry bread and Indian Taco will sabotage your diet like four chocolate bars. The homemade bread is a highlight; try the kind called "Three Sisters." It has a million ingredients and, again, don't ask for a nutrition label. It's located across from the community centre, about halfway between Hwy 2 and Hwy 49 on York Road.

Another option is Steve's Fish & Chips at the intersection of Hwy 49 (a/k/a Marysville Road from the 401) and York Road. It's been a couple months since I've been there but, if I recall, you can choose from Haddock and Halibut. Not terribly pricey, either -- which, incidentally, is the best part about eating locally. Eating out here, you'll find, is surprisingly affordable.

Further down Hwy 49, heading south, is a couple stores owned by a couple of my cousins. Everyone around here loves the coffee at Smokin' Coffee Express. And I mean they love it. It's mostly a drive-thru, rez-style: you order at the window, and pick-up at the same window. It's on the other side of the building in this photo.

Just past it is the Nation2Nation shop, where in it you'll find frozen venison steaks and other interesting food-stuffs amid the tobacco. Last time I was in there I saw a package of corn soup that you can take home and eat in your own kitchen! (That's a big deal if you don't cook, like me.)

And don't forget about Native Renaissance II, the great big massive gift shop at the corner of Hwy 49 and York Road. I was just in there a short while ago when I needed some sweetgrass and sage for burning. The greeting card selection isn't terrible, either.

So, in conclusion: get the gas and the cigarettes, but be sure to support our other local business owners when you visit Tyendinaga. You'll be missin' out on good things if you don't. That's all. Thanks.

Break Your Own Trail

2011-04-21T01:13:00.001-04:00

I've spent all day trying to figure out what it means. There's an explanation of the term at the bottom of this article. I still don't get it. It's not a natural statement, like (for example) Blaze Your Own Trail. As consumers, we're supposed to connect with an advertisement viscerally, immediately.

Here's hoping someone somewhere does a whole lotta work to make it a catchphrase all the Native people in Ontario will be using. Until then, "break" will sound like something you don't want to do, something you have to recover from. Or that you need to stop something.

According to this press release, Colleges Ontario -- and especially the Aboriginal-owned agency that created the campaign -- really did their research. Yet after a few years working in Aboriginal education, I've learned that advertising really doesn't work for Native people (unless we feel we're not being directly targeted) and we view learning as a lifelong process.

So if the $400,000 needed to be spent, it certainly does, I've come up with a couple alternatives, just off the top of my head this afternoon.

1. The journey starts here.

2. Find your path here.

3. Even the tagline for Ontario Colleges (Your Future Starts Here) works. Tweak it a bit: keep the photos of Native students and tag it: My Future Starts Here.

What about that line at the bottom of the dedicated page to this initiative: We Are the Future. I LOVE that one. LOVE it. I'm assuming the page will be expanded at some point. No reason why the links can't lead directly to the Aboriginal student success centres at each college. Check out this one from Loyalist College, for example. It provides exactly the information the press release lists as being integral to this entire project.

Yes, Chief Atleo, it's time we talked

2011-04-14T00:04:00.003-04:00

AFN National Chief Shawn Atleo has an op-ed on the CBC website, posted this evening, where it appears his organization is debuting its "priorities" regarding this election. They are further outlined in this .pdf file from the AFN website. This article from the Toronto Star yesterday served as a good primer.

Who exactly does he want to talk to? In this article, he isn't directly addressing any one individual or organization or constituency.

My thoughts:

1. Most Native people do not vote. If we believe our treaties are valid, should we be voting for the "side" that we're hoping will acknowledge their end of the bargain? When Canada spent the 90's fighting with the US over softwood lumber, Canadians weren't expected to vote in US elections. Same thing.

2. Regular ol' Canadians don't know enough about our issues, particularly in a tangible way that forces them to demand their government take those issues seriously. (See that AFN document for what those issues are.) For example, everyone involved will agree that improving our eduation rates should be an enormous priority, yet nobody seems concerned that increased funding for educating Aborginal people has been capped at 2% since 1996.

During that time, our population has exploded, due both to a growing youth population and the reinstatement of "status" Indians under Bill C-31 and (coming soon) the McIvor decision. People are being turned away, and walking away from opportunity, in probably every reserve. Imagine how many people don't even apply for education funding because they've heard so many stories about others who've been denied it?

3. I would argue that Canadians in general do not seem concerned because they have no idea.

4. I use the word "tangible" in point number 2 because it seems important that we should be humanizing our issues. People -- Canadian voters -- become concerned about an issue when they know somebody who's directly affected by it. Not when we're described to them as faceless, unidentifiable populations: those are easy to ignore.

In a sort of related note, I was browsing the National Aboriginal Achievement Foundation website yesterday and was surprised to see profiles of bursary award recipients from this area. There are Native people from Bancroft and Consecon -- direct neighbours to voters (and may even be voters themselves) -- who are affected by what I've taken to labeling in this post "our issues." We get so caught up in "Indians on the reserve" or "homeless Indians on the streets in Toronto" that it's easy to forget that we're everywhere else, too.

5. The AFN has always had an undefined relationship with its stakeholders. To the Canadian government: is it a lobby organization? To Native people in Canada: does it represent us or only our chiefs who elect the national chief?

During this federal election, and long after it's over for that matter, I believe the concerns of the AFN will not be heard because even it doesn't know -- as this article asks, ironically -- who it wants to talk to. On the surface, the AFN has no political clout for two reasons: it's entirely funded by whichever government is in power, and it has no direct relationship with regular ol' Indians.

Will it ever be self-funded? I don't see how. I just don't see it. Who or what organization would contribute to it? We're not known for our vast wealth, or disposable incomes. Nearly all of our organizations are "human services" in nature and entirely reliant upon government or charitable donations themselves. There is, strangely (or not), no self-directed organization of Aboriginal business owners and professionals. Out in the big world we're an uncoordinated group, many of whom do not choose to identify as Aboriginal ... because of "the effects of residential schools" (see my previous blog post regarding what this phrase actually signifies).

Due to point number 1 (above), the AFN will never be able to tell Canadian politicians that we will en masse make change at the polls.

So what can the AFN do?

It can organize us. They're heading in the right direction with these virtual summits (next one scheduled for this Thursday; video intro here), but there's an insular nature to these events. The point shouldn't be for Atleo to take what he learns from these summits so he can further speak to them on our behalf. If the AFN wanted to truly create a PR opportunity now, this summit would only be considered "research," in the sense that it would be the starting point for developing an awareness campaign that:

a) tells stories about specific individuals -- humanizing us -- to the greater world.

b) asks us regular ol' Indians to help spread those stories about specific individuals.

c) provides us an opportunity -- and an avenue (this is the Internet 2.0 right?) -- for us to tell our own stories in relation to these issues.

I believe Canadians truly would support us, but they're not being given the tools to do it. They don't know why they should demand more of their elected officials. And we're not helping when we only talk to politicians and each other. Or when we rely on one single individual to represent us all.

Ashley Judd's memoir

2011-04-07T00:35:00.000-04:00

So I got this PVR hook-up for my satellite dish almost a year ago, and now I have no idea how I survived without it. Admittedly, I spend more time deleting shows that I'll never watch, and fast-forwarding parts of shows that ... suck, but not being a slave to the broadcast schedule has been grrrreat.

Case in point: I like "The View" only when it gets down and dirty. When something happens and ABC promotes it all over in the afternoon, I used to think "Damn, I wish I'd seen it." Those days are gone. At home for lunch today, I turned it on just as the Ashley Judd interview was winding down. So, because I tape the 2pm/West Coast edition, I knew I'd be able to watch it in full this evening.

And I was blown away.

Check out this video ...

Ashley's always been the smart one. Not Rebecca of Sunnybrook Farm like her mom. Not Wynonna with all the self-help catchphrases. She's been the thinker and it's evident to anyone who's ever listened to her speak. So, while I am surprised Ashley would require a professional co-writer for this autobiography, I'm nonetheless excited to get my hands on a copy of "All That is Bitter and Sweet: A Memoir."

"I was sick and tired of being sick and tired." I get this. Just within the past few days, I've been wondering, "Why do I feel good physically but I don't feel like I'm thinking well?" Not like I'm thinking dumb or anything. My mind just hasn't been going to good, uplifting, optimistic places.

If you can find a full video of this segment, watch it. There's a short discussion about coping mechanisms that children develop, because they have to adapt to situations they can't control. She said she learned to put her head in a book. I get that. We uncontrollaby use those coping mechanisms into adulthood until we reach a point where they can't help us any longer. So we're forced into that growth.

About her experience volunteering across the world: "I connected to the fact that things happened to me when I was a kid about which I had never spoken."

Native people should understand this well. Whether you're a sexual abuse survivor or not, every word from that interview should make sense to you. Social workers and educators who work with Aboriginal people talk about generations-long trauma and its effect on our people, and the ways it manifests itself today: alcoholism, drugs, cycles of abuse in all its forms. Those are the big examples.

Consider these less obvious ones: social hesitation that others interpret as snobbery; rumination/silence that looks like ignorance or disinterest; a smile or blank stare when everyone else gushes with joy. We're people who tread carefully wherever we go -- except in a room full of Indians -- because we've conditioned ourselves to prepare for a surprise. That's the lightbulb that lit over my head, these past six months or so: I've conditioned myself to prepare for a surprise. And it's not fun.

Think about that, if you haven't experienced it for yourself. Trying to predict the next thing someone says, thinking about what you'd do, how you'd react if this (or that) were to happen right now, constantly guarding yourself emotionally, to the extent that you can't genuinely react impulsively to anything.

This is what the world needs to understand when we talk about "the effects of residential schools." It's what job recruiters need to understand if they're genuinely serious about reflecting the Canadian fabric at their workplace. It's so much more than the headlines in the newpapers.

As for me right now, today: don't worry about me. This time tomorrow, I'll have Ashley Judd's book. I'll find my way.

Long time, no blog

2011-03-09T23:00:00.000-05:00

I get home tonight and the satellite isn't working, and I'm assuming that's because it's covered in snow. Way up on the roof. And I don't feel like shoveling any more this season, much less scaling the house and dusting out a little satellite dish. I'm grateful the PVR still works, though I suppose I shouldn't be: it turns out I haven't been missing much, these last few episodes of "Brothers & Sisters."

If you've been lingering around here looking for the political scoop on all-things-Tyendinaga, here's what I got ...

Nothing.

My primary concern regarding the operation of this community has been communication, and the ways we regular ol' Indians don't tend to know anything about what's going on around here unless we read about it in the Intelligencer or some leftist liberal rag (what's the internet version of a rag? A ragsite?). I was ultimately concerned about two job positions at the band office: consultation coordinator, and communication officer.

They are huge positions, I still believe, especially because I remain convinced that a member of two of our elected leadership have got all caught up in whatever social status accompanies those positions. Annointing themselves gods or kings or something like that. A consultation coordinator and communication officer, when properly trained, can provide a continual reminder that "representing the people of the community" isn't just something you say when you travel outside the reserve.

The band office posted those two jobs a few months ago ... and either nobody applied for them, or nobody who applied was qualified. It's common in our communities, but disappointing nonetheless. Please don't ask if I applied: I'm not sure if I'd work well with self-annointed gods and kings.

It's hard to question the quality of our internal communication when the call was made to fill exactly that role and it was not answered.

So if peaking above this screen at three lame episodes of "Brothers & Sisters" has taught me anything, it has been to remind me of the freedom I've felt these past couple months, liberated of the frustration. It's been an interesting couple months, yes. Less political. More "at large" = beyond the rez. I promise to post more about it soon. Hold your breath. Count the days.

Random linkages: Sherman Alexie

2010-12-30T01:04:00.002-05:00

What's it called when you're online and you follow a link, then another, and another until, the next thing you know, you have no idea how you got to where you are? But you're glad to be there. There's gotta be a phrase for that. It happens too often for it to not be a universal thing.

In fact, when it doesn't happen I end up saying to myself, "There's nothing on the Internet today," like it's a Sunday afternoon in 1978 and the only options on TV are ABC Wide World of Sports, some ice-dancing show on CTV and a mind-numbing foreign documentary on CBC. You know what I'm talkin'bout. Nothing.

Dare I credit Facebook: I followed a link to some writer's favourite books of 2010 at the New Yorker, where I recognized none of the selected titles, but found my way to this page, where Lauren Collins credits the great American Indian writer Sherman Alexie for entertaining her literarily this year. She identifies his "What You Pawn I Will Redeem" as "my favorite short story." A grand pronouncement, yes? I attempted to read that story when it was published, back in 2003 and, a testament to my ever-growing intellect, I din't get it way back then. Just didn't seem to comprehend the story.

But boy did I love it earlier this evening, when I gave it another shot. You have to read it. You just have to. The story is not about grandmother's powwow regalia, not about alcoholism or homelessness. It's about Native people -- ahem, Native North American Indians -- and the ways we relate to each other, and everyone else. It's about laughter, relatability, finding connection in unusual places, (and being open to connecting in unusual places), about losing touch but trusting that you have family at the next turn.

I saw myself in this story, surprisingly, because I've never been homeless or much of a drinker and my grandmothers never owned powwow regalia.

So I went back to the main page at the New Yorker website and searched "Sherman Alexie," where I discovered his new book (at the time) called War Dances was selected a book club pick back in November of last year. They'd archived an online chat with him and that's where I found this article. Unrelated, I'll admit -- and I've yet to read it -- but if Sherman Alexie wants me to read it, I'm gonna read it. It's an essay called "Twilight of the American Newspaper," written by Richard Rodriguez (who's no literary slouch himself).

In nearly every article and blog post the New Yorker published around this book club title the writers each referenced an outside piece: it's an article from the New York Times that (apparently) notoriously quoted Alexie as saying War Dances, the follow-up to his much-heralded, best-selling young-adult novel, The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian, was "an attempt to re-establish my eccentric self." An interesting quote, but set it aside. Here's the good one:

"We all know the Indians were colonized by the Europeans," he continued, "but every colonized Indian has been colonized by the Indian reaction to colonization."

I trust you're an intelligent reader. I could explain that statement, but I'm sure you're already there. In short: there exists a long complicated web of repatriation of our culture and traditions that includes our own varying degrees of acquiescence to the world as it was during each successive generation since the first "strain" of colonization. I will argue that understanding this as the new starting point in our journey makes the next steps clearer.

Lots of great reading here. I hope you enjoy it, too.

We can handle the truth

2010-10-22T15:36:00.003-04:00

Details from the Williams sentencing hearing this week have sparked debate about the appropriateness of the news reported. What does it say about our media diet? Mine?

I found it hard to look at the events of this week as a great big story of national interest. Just the presence of the vans and satellites, the lighting equipment and reporters milling around outside the otherwise quiet courthouse on Pinnacle Street, particularly at night, helped steer me away from the national newspapers and TV news.

It was a troubling case -- to say the least -- and, though I'm not a resident of Tweed, nor am I part of what appears to have been Williams target demographic, I needed the comfort of knowing our own local newspaper would have our best interests at heart when they covered this story.

I had faith that our local reporters would leave the salacious details to the Toronto Star and the Sun (both of which have edited online the loudly screaming headlines from their print stories, though here's a good example), that they would put this story in context for us. And they did. They did a great job.

Criticism has been most harshly reserved for Twitter, the microblogging website that limits user updates to 140 characters. Print newspapers are expected to summarize the previous days' events and create a document of record, even when stories continue to unfold. Television news can provide video, and though it can react and report quicker, it is still limited to pre-determined broadcast times (except for 24-hour channels) and, more importantly, the responsibility to summarize and explain what's going on.

The Internet, and especially Twitter, is all about now. Unedited. This moment. Not that last sentence you just read.

This one.

And it's a voluntary medium. Though I tried, I couldn't avoid TV newscasters and the photo of Williams in the blue shirt during his interrogation, or large-print headlines from the national papers pleading for my emotional reaction. I chose to read the feeds of reporter Luke Hendry (www.twitter.com/intelLH) and www.twitter.com/TheIntell just as deliberately as had I chosen not to read them. This is the place for details, however graphic, because we have the option to tune out.

A three-part tweet from Hendry worth repeating:

Interesting point made in media gallery today (not to be interpreted as justification). Immediacy of tech these days now makes (cont'd)

it possible for something new in Canadian courts: live, moment-by-moment accounts. Theory was that this (cont'd)

may be at least partly why some are interpreting coverage of #colrw as media overload.

It is only in North America where journalists ascribe to impartiality in their reportage. It is debatable whether that is ever possible, so the greatness in the immediacy of in-the-moment reporting is that humanity wins out. Remember the 140 character count is a limit; you can't just blow out 300 characters, or even 141, whenever you want. It's remarkable how much you can say when you have to say little (my emphasis below).

@IntelLH Police photo was not - from my very quick look - graphic. Police gathered forensic samples & analyzed #colrw

And when we receive a plethora of loosely edited information, all in-the-moment, we're allowed to focus on the questions we ourselves want answered. Jessica and Williams had not ever met before his attack on her; didn't have to be a front-page story but, just the same, it answered a question I had. That's what makes this form of reporting so valuable.

It also presents a couple thoughts about our use of social media during events like this one. If a person chooses to "unfollow" you, it's not a personal attack or judgment on your character, particularly when your upcoming tweets are understood to be of a specific nature. Because I was interested in the Williams case, I found myself reading my main Twitter update feed less, and routinely refreshed the @intelLH and @TheIntell pages in separate windows.

Are we using our "lists" optimally? Mashable considers Facebook's list function, used for selectively distributing information to friends, "one of the most underrated privacy tools." For Twitter, a more receptive medium, lists are important -- very important -- when we need to filter out updates from people we follow but who's updates we may not require, or be interested in at all (to put it bluntly).

It's been a long week, and I'm thankful that it's over. I offer my sincerest, heartfelt condolences to the victims' families and friends, and my appreciation to the members of the media for considering the needs and interests of your local audience, your community, at this time.

Third time the charm for police building delivery

2010-10-06T11:23:00.001-04:00

Fascinating that we have this fancy new website and so many new communication tools, yet all the significant information I've received this week either came via word of mouth or -- more ironically (and more substantially) -- the Belleville newspaper and the Belleville court.

What that says about the balance of interest regarding Mohawk versus non-Mohawk (member versus non-member) knowledge of our community's affairs, I'll let you decide.

From today's Intell, an interview with the chief: Third time the charm for Mohawks?

From the Quinte News network of radio stations: Delivery day for Tyendinaga police station

Politics and the Tyendinaga police force (part 2)

2010-10-05T13:56:00.000-04:00

Judge signed the order this morning. He stressed that his ruling was based on the "drip, drip, drip" (his word) of money being spent between the initiation of this ordeal and now, and that the funds were allocated toward that building specifically.

He also expressed disappointment that the injunction request was filed at such a late date. This petition, he deemed worthless. Paper copies were distributed by band office employees only to identified supporters yesterday evening, apparently. It seems improper, I think, to ask employees to engage in such politically-motivated work.

That petition came about, I've learned, immediately after yesterday's court proceeding. From a communication perspective, we know now just how quickly the band office is capable of sharing information with the community. A good thing.

I don't believe this community realizes just how dangerous this precedent is for Tyendinaga. On both sides of this issue, I'm sure that most among us are likely preoccupied with their feelings about the building itself -- and perhaps feeding their animosity toward "the other side" -- instead of seeing that the process has been re-routed in a way that will guarantee continued division among us. It happened quickly, and rather easily, and it will be quicker and easier next time.

Our political history as Mohawk people is to counsel. It should be our instinct today. The local newspaper has quoted locals who claim the community was consulted regarding this building, but that's not true and I've commented on that in the past. Not once has my opinion about this building been invited, beyond the either/or sort. Our recently deposed Consultation Coordinator has acknowledged that the engagement with this community regarding the building was biased toward a specific result.

The development of the consultation policy would be an enormous first step toward reconnecting this community to the sort of "counsel" that made us the creators of democracy as the world now knows it. I've researched this quite a lot since I moved home three years ago and the greatest surprises have been those instances when my instinct mirrors our tradition. I'm not special or unique in that respect. The problem: I'm never the loudest person, either (another mirror to our tradition, incidentally).

Our chief and two of our councillors were present in the courtroom this morning. I'm concerned more than ever now of two things:

This was a very politically-motivated move. The building was secondary. Winning appears to have been the motivating factor. Our chief even went so far as to accuse others of not "consulting" with the council.
I believe they genuinely do not understand how hugely productive it would be for them to engage us proactively, without an agenda such as yesterday's faux survey.

Perhaps it's an age-related, generational issue. Our chief and councillors are very old (the average age has to be somewhere in the mid- to late-60s) and are of a time when Indians were intentionally excluded from participating in their own affairs -- on various levels, within and outside the community. There's a good likelihood they're perpetuating this without realizing it.

That there remains so much support for this sort of top-down governance among Mohawk people -- the creators of democracy -- says quite a lot about who we've become and the work before us. There is a lot of work before us.

Politics and the Tyendinaga police force

2010-10-04T23:54:00.007-04:00

When our chief and council ask a Canadian judge to force the Tyendinaga police to do anything, we're all treading on very uncomfortable ground. The entire Ipperwash Inquiry hinged on whether politicians were directing the work of police.

I am absolutely blown away by this document.

MBQ-NoticeofMotion-PoliceBuilding

The last time this building was scheduled for delivery, the Tyendinaga police force chose not to intervene in the protest that ultimately sent the building away. To my knowledge, there were two reasons:

The Tyendinaga police force numbers only about eight;
Inviting a mass of OPP officers to enforce Canadian law on a Mohawk reserve is just a really, really bad idea. Really bad. Particularly given that the issue is internal to this community.

It is hugely ironic that our chief and council argue in this document that our community has "suffered irreparable harm" due to the "undermining of the authority of the police services" when the purpose of their request is to do exactly the same thing.

From the moment this clearly very controversial building was proposed, our chief and council has had exactly three years to engage the community, to negotiate some sort of resolve to this mess. The idenfication of the need for a consultation policy was a great idea. There are creative, intelligent people here who can help build that policy, but when just the loudest and most polarized elements among us are the only voices acknowledged, we all lose.

I've heard the Tyendinaga police are opposed to this request by chief and council. Note that, as a direct result of the last protest of this building, our police force along with a Crown attorney from Belleville have actively consulted this community regarding alternative forms of justice for instances unique to Tyendinaga members, a positive step in relationship-building that has remained unacknowledged by our chief and council.

It's not about the building

2010-10-04T15:23:00.002-04:00

So it appears the "controversial" police building is coming (again) to Tyendinaga.

First: I don't care about this building at all. I don't care if it arrives and our cops set up shop there. I don't care it it's turned away again. I don't care.

As a writer, communicator, and educator in this community, I truly care that the proper dialogue takes place regarding issues that have the potential to divide us. As one who takes a particular interest in this issue, as one who pays attention to every message that is delivered to this community at large, I can't help but acknowledge my continued confusion.

Two weeks ago, our police chief told the Intelligencer that ... well, here's the entire quote:

(Police Chief Ron) Maracle added that the 'local chief (Donald Maracle) and council have exhausted their political avenues and will' and the task of ensuring the buildings safe passage to the site rest in the hands of the police.

The article went on to acknowledge the protests that met this building, during both attempts to deliver it to Tyendinaga. Today, then, it comes as an absolute shock to find this notice posted on the Mohawks of the Bay of Quinte administration website:

Tyendinaga Police Services Building - Providing Support
Posted on October 04, 2010

Tyendinaga Mohawk Council kindly requests that MBQ community members who support the delivery of the new Tyendinaga Police Services building please do so in writing. When submitting your written notice of support, please be sure to include your name.

Your words of support can be provided:
•Via email to Lisa Maracle, Acting Director of Nation Building, lisam@mbq-tmt.org
•In writing to the MBQ Administration Office, 13 Old York Rd; OR
•Fill out an online survey on the MBQ homepage http://www.mbq-tmt.org/.

There may be a good reason for the band office to collect "support" instead of something less one-sided, but it's not been revealed to us via the website. Or any other means.

Many among us will recall a consultation policy that the chief and council promised to this community nearly two years ago. That idea sprung directly from the first round of protests that met the news of this police building. Today, we still have no consultation policy. In fact, the primary research required to even begin creating the policy hasn't been done. It's incredibly disappointing, therefore, to watch this chapter in our history close with such a huge opportunity lost.

Not only lost but with a complete indulgence of a politics of division reconstituted.

Mohawk protesters to be sentenced

2010-09-28T00:34:00.000-04:00

Wow.

There's something about this article that makes me really uncomfortable. I was there today in Napanee and, I dunno, maybe it was that my perspective is different than Jerome Lessard's but what I saw was massively, worldly different.

There was a lot of talk about building relationships in and outside the community that Jerome didn't report on.

There was a lot of talk about Gladue, the landmark Supreme Court decision that bound every Canadian court to consider the overrepresentation of Aboriginal people in Canadian jails when it comes to criminal sentencing that Jerome didn't report on.

There was a reminder from a defense attorney that Gladue is not just an option for a defense attorney but a priority for the defense, Crown and judge to consider and work collaboratively toward implementing that Jerome didn't report on.

There was continued ignorance of this from the Crown that Jerome didn't report on.

For clarity: Chartrand represented himself. "Defense" didn't ask him to speak.

For clarity: Clint's statement was far, far, far more substantive and powerful than was reported. It was humbling, whereas the quotes used here have a very stubborn sound to them.

As I watched the proceeding today, it struck me how fascinating, how genuinely interesting, it would be for a reporter from the Intelligencer at some point in the future to speak one-on-one with Judge Griffin about the uniqueness of this trial -- that it was the longest in Napanee history; of its complexity in that the accused were making a political statement but were charged with uncontextual crimes.

But my faith is shaken. Good journalism shines light upon the situation, the totality of the experience, makes sense of it for those who couldn't be present themselves. In this case, it would take into account the perspective of those who spoke, the surrouding communities, acknowledging the political insularity of Tyendinaga, and the relationships -- large and small, figurative and literal -- that exist for the people involved and, notably, the people who are not involved but live here too. Good journalism does that.

It's a great opportunity. A really great one. And I'd love to see that article someday.

What I learned from "seven Mohawks found guilty"

2010-08-11T21:03:00.015-04:00

This entire trial has been a big, BIG education for me and, I'm sure, those directly involved. And it all came to an end, finally, earlier this week.

It's been a long drawn out process. Because twelve people faced tens of charges stemming from the protest at the Thurlow Aggregates Quarry on Deseronto Road back in late April 2008, it was decided somehow by someone that they should all be tried at the same time in one great big massive trial.

Twelve defendants: five defense attorneys, three representing themselves.

What I learned about the Canadian justice system:
A "justice of the peace" isn't a judge or even a lawyer but a good upstanding member of the community who presides over a bail hearing, among other things. "Duty counsel" is an attorney who represents a defendant at a bail hearing if no other attorney has been identified. I have very little faith in either.

As with any other public place, a courtroom has its regulars. The nonchalant, familiar exchanges between the judge and (unrelated) recurring defendants, that took place before the trial resumed on certain dates, I'll always find strange.

As with any other workplace, there are norms that new people have to figure out for themselves. For example, increased police presence is common at a bail hearing but not at a trial. The reason is obvious but, when everything is new, nothing is obvious.

What I learned about Aboriginal people in Canadian courts:
Because Native people are over-represented in Canadian jails and prisons in comparison to our percentage of the overall population, case law exists to support the argument that Native people should avoid jail time whenever possible. It's shorthanded as simply "Gladue" and in this case neither the justice of the peace nor the duty counsel knew of it.

What I learned about conflict resolution and divergent worldviews:
To the defendants, this entire experience was about a land claim and a blocked road was secondary.

To the court, this entire experience was about a blocked road. Period. Hence all the "mischief" charges.

What I learned about the OPP's "A Framework for Police Preparedness for Aboriginal Critical Incidents":
The Framework (link will download a .pdf file) was created by the OPP, a direct result of the Ipperwash Inquiry, in order for it to have a plan when "Aboriginal critical incidents" occur. It talks of an Aboriginal Liaison and an Aboriginal Relations Team that will work with Native people leading up to, and for the duration of, events like Ipperwash, Caledonia, Oka, and now Deseronto. Unfortunately, it appears the Aboriginal Liaison ranks quite low in the hierarchy.

Even more unfortunate, an officer who ranks higher than an Aboriginal Liaison can arbitrarily decide an event has changed from an Aboriginal Critical Incident into something much more vague, like a "public safety issue." At that point, the Framework can be ignored. Immediately and without notice, which is diametrically contrary to the intent and spirit of the Framework.

In this specific instance, I'm left to wonder how a Mohawk protest on a roadway could, after a few days, be labeled anything other than that -- particularly when only those present those last couple days were exclusively Mohawks and police. Just the fact that I'm still unsure of this, and uncomfortable about it, proves there's a problem.

This is what makes the judge's claim that "the conduct of the OPP was reasonable" so surprising. Don't get me wrong: I'm not arguing that we should've seen not guiltys across the board, because there was some outright wrongdoing among the defendants. I suppose I'm coming from the perspective of one who's taking in the entirety of the situation because the objective should be to identify not only the best resolution to the issue, but also the best steps forward.

Isn't that what a court should do?

Did the Mississaugas REALLY own Belleville?

2010-08-09T23:13:00.010-04:00

There are some among us who believe the Mississaugas never owned any of the land that the Alderville First Nation received nearly $750,000 for earlier this month.

It is no secret -- except maybe in Canadian history books -- that the Haudenosaunee people had exclusive ownership of a huge tract of land in this area, and far beyond this area, long before North America was ever "discovered."

To this day, the land considered our homeland, in the Mohawk Valley at present-day New York State, contains fertile soil for growing the crops we have long been known to harvest. That area, though, is not so conducive to the hunters among us who, back in the day, made use of our current land base (and surrounding area) for that purpose.

I'm finding it fascinating, really, to learn this history. All Native people, I will submit, are guilty of at times adopting the "mythical Indian" fantasy that so much of North America has embedded in its inhabitants' collective memory. In our hearts, though, we know our ancestors weren't perfect, that they had real human interactions and, as in this instance, they didn't just live exclusively in the area attributed to us throughout a history we didn't help document.

We had exclusive ownership of this land, including that which is bordered by the Bay of Quinte and what are now Bell Boulevard, Front Street and John Street/Hillcrest Avenue -- the land that the Alderville community received payment for, and a fancy plaque at Myer's Pier, a few weeks ago.

Let me emphasize this. We owned a whole. lotta. land. So much that it would have been absurd to ship the Mississaugas out of it. To my knowledge, it was agreed that the Mississaugas were welcome to reside here as long as they understood who were the rightful owners of this property.

Nobody is arguing the Alderville community shouldn't be compensated for the agreement the Mississaugas made with the Crown over 200 years ago; at least I'm not. Just the same, check out this item, compiled over 10 years ago, and originally documented in 1959. I'm confident we can all agree there was some discrepancy even then, at the very least, as to who owned the land that the Mississaugas sold to the Crown in 1783.

(NOTE: for some reason the document isn't visible here ... you should see it below. I've contacted the company that makes this happen and, hopefully, it'll be available when I hear back. Thanks!)

Alderville lays claim (no more) on Belleville

2010-08-08T23:56:00.007-04:00

Fascinating, truly outta-the-blue story in Saturday's Intelligencer about a land claim recently concluded between the Canadian federal government and the band council at Alderville.

According to the Intell, "the settlement means the Alderville band council will receive $743,852 in federal compensation. The government and band also agreed the claim would never be reopened." The "brief history" provided to the Belleville daily by the department of Indian and Northern Affairs Canada is sufficiently concise:

1783: Crown buys a narrow parcel of land from the Mississaugas of the Alderville First Nation. It was bordered by the Bay of Quinte and what are now Bell Boulevard, Front Street and John Street/Hillcrest Avenue. Of that land, 428 acres were reserved for the Alderville nation's burial ground.

1811: Crown asks to buy the burial ground land. Likely delayed by War of 1812, the land is surrendered Aug 6, 1816. The Mississauga band later relocates to the Rice Lake area southeast of Peterborough, with the first survey there occurring in 1835.

2007: Canadian government agrees to negotiate claim. Claim is based upon the claim the First Nation didn't receive payment for the land and that the Crown failed to protect the burial grounds from disturbance.

2009: Canada and Alderville nation reach a deal: $743,852 to be paid to Alderville. The claim can never be reopened. Belleville city council agrees to place plaque on Alderville nation's local history in Jane Forrester Park at Meyers Pier.

There are two important points here that, while mentioned in the article, I don't believe were sufficiently highlighted.

1. This technically isn't a "land claim." I'm certain it was filed with the federal government under it's Specific Claims Policy but, as the article states, the Alderville community argued only that it had yet to receive payment for land they agreed to sell to the Crown in 1783. (Land claims in general tend to regard land that has been improperly transferred from an Aboriginal community to the Crown, specifically where there is little to no evidence of any agreement.)

2. This was an insignificant claim even to the Alderville community. Who would argue, for example, that the land in question is worth only $743,852? (In an editorial, the Intelligencer called it "reasonable" but doesn't explain how it came to agree with that dollar amount.) Chief James Marsden himself acknowledged in the article that two larger land claims are of greater concern to that community, one of which involves the Quinte region.

For these reasons it is improper for the Intelligencer, in that same issue, to editorialize regarding the resolve of this dispute in a way that references Tyendinaga's current claim to Culbertson land in present-day Deseronto, and beyond.

It writes: "There are those involved in land claims and native relations -- on both sides -- who could learn a lesson or two from this."

What the editorial writers at the Intelligencer may not realize is that the Specific Claims Policy was designed for small claims like this one. At the time of its implementation, in 2007, there were over 800 outstanding Aboriginal land claims in Canada and the overwhelming majority of them were of the size in the Alderville/Belleville claim.

The policy was developed, by my estimation, as a direct result of much, much larger land claims, notably those at Tyendinaga and Six Nations. It was designed to create the appearance that government is capable and willing to negotiate land claims while, at the same time, it did little (some would argue it did nothing) to resolve the most high profile and contentious ones.

By no means, therefore, should the Alderville/Belleville claim be considered a template to resolve the sort of land claim anyone in this area is familiar with.

What's fascinating, just unrelentingly interesting about this story is the history involved, the direct relationship this "land claim" has with Tyendinaga Mohawks. I'll share more about that tomorrow.

I'm Non-Native and I'm here to save you

2010-07-20T21:40:00.010-04:00

Wes Isley is disappointed that Native people "are organizing" and "becoming more vocal about what they see as outright theft of their ancestral spiritual traditions." One only needs read as far as the first paragraph of his recent screed on the Huffington Post to understand, not where he's coming from, but from where they (uh ... we) are.

Here is that first paragraph:

As MY spiritual path has evolved, I'VE discovered a growing appreciation and respect for Native American spiritual beliefs and traditions. I KNOW there are many differences among tribes, BUT IN GENERAL, they all APPEAR to share a reverence for the land, for animals and plants, for the bonds of community, for the wisdom of the elderly and for the contributions of their ancestors. I FIND these perspectives compelling and valuable because they are unfortunately absent from MY OWN culture's religious traditions. (emphases are mine)

And here's how I read it:

As my spiritual path has evolved, I've discovered something about me. I know Indians are not all the same but, as far as I'm concerned right now today, they are. At least in ways that are convenient and similar to my existing spiritual interests.

As the article continues, he complains, complains, and complains some more about how he's not being accepted from this undefined pan-Indian collection of Natives who are out to keep his spiritual peace down. To this extent: "Perhaps Native American spiritual traditions have an opportunity to evolve, too."

Recognize, if you haven't already, that we're not talking about Mohawk, Cherokee, Navajo beliefs, for example. Isley has lumped us all together under an umbrella called Native American Spiritual Traditions and, because it's not completely all about him yet, he wants Native American Spiritual Traditions to "evolve" to fit his current spiritual needs.

Poor thing.

Similarly, Joseph Quesnel writes an opinion piece, published in today's Globe & Mail, as though he's never met a real live Indian. First he assumes we all agree with the term "illegal tobacco." The perspective disconnect is alarming. Check out this line:

With few prospects for NORMAL business development, indigenous communities turn to their inbuilt ADVANTAGES, such as tax exemptions. (emphases mine)

And this one:

By all means, crack down on illegal tobacco ...

It's as though we're not allowed to read the newspaper, as though there is no expectation that we have any opinion in the matter. What's most frustrating about this article is -- my hunch -- the number of regular ol' Canadians who'll read this and, because the argument is framed that way, just assume that we are continually in need of non-Native people and organizations to tell us how to live.

It reminds me of a story.

A few of us were visiting the newsrooom at the Whig-Standard in Kingston a couple years ago. The opinion page editor was talking to a roomful of journalism students, all Native, about his work. He mentioned, off-hand, two unrelated news stories from that day: one about Aboriginal unemployment in the Kingston area and the other about a manual labour shortage upcoming (years upcoming, in fact). And, as clearly as I've laid out the scene here, a lightbulb went off in his head. You can figure out what he said next.

In shock, I watched while this gentleman ruminated aloud about how "we should train these people" to work in these positions. Did he ask our opinion? Was he interested in any contribution we might have to support, or refute, his idea? Nope. Alone in a room full of Native people, he was genuinely delighted to have discovered a way to help the Indians. All by himself.

Arson "a large blow to the community"

2010-07-15T21:50:00.004-04:00

As in any strange case, the first or second wave of news tends to elicit more questions than provide answers. Here are mine.

First: the fire was not technically at the airport here on the reserve. Neighbouring the airport, just west of Tsi Tyonnheht Onkwawenna, our community's Mohawk language adult education program, and sharing the same parking lot as the former hangar that used to house our school buses and (to my knowledge) is where plenty of the band office's vehicles are kept today, is where the small Quonset hut was burned early this morning.

The purpose of the fire seems clear. I could be wrong, but among the items charred -- a water delivery truck, and "two emergency preparedness power generators" -- is a large amount of fibre optic cable, the only item among all of those that has aroused any opposition lately.

By and large, it seems the entire community is either on board or ambivalent toward the plans, announced well over a year ago, to wire the community with fibre optic cable in order to provide cable television, high speed Internet, and advanced telephone service to Tyendinaga. In recent months, each of our roads have been delicately torn up on their periphery in order to lay the cable. Rumours have abounded that someone has been cutting those wires after they'd been laid, the roads patched, and the crew long since moved on.

Which presents perhaps the biggest question of all: why would anyone oppose such a genuinely unopposable initiative? Perhaps the community hasn't been properly informed of the fibre optic plan. If memory serves, I learned the bulk of what I know about this fibre optic business thanks to gossip.

The MBQ band office has been without a communication officer for nearly a year now, and it is on days like this that Tyendinaga is in dire need of some form of communication that will both inform us and calm us. I've learned that the new MBQ website is close to going live and I have really, really big hopes for it. In future, in a similar situation, we should anticipate at the very least a short four- or five-minute-long video message from either the chief or the CAO or the communication officer explaining directly to us the situation, and providing updates throughout the day. Not a copy of a press release. Not a letter or memo. A video so we can see and hear directly from the source.

We shouldn't have to rely on outside media organizations to provide us our own news. Why? When our chief tells the Belleville Intelligencer that this morning's arson is a blow to the community, there are two problems.

1. He's representing the Mohawk community to a non-Native reporter who's primary interest is to inform the city of Belleville. As community members, we're left to interpret that message back to a Tyendinaga-centric perspective.

2. There is a unique worldview and, I'll dare add, linguistic form among Native people that requires targeted messaging. For example, I can read an article filled with costs and lists of items burned and hypotheses about a suspicous fire, but the moment our elected leader says it's a large blow to the community, I think about the people. When I read this quote earlier today, my immediate concern went to the members of Sadie's Lane longhouse, who's meeting place burned last year with nary a peep from our chief and council.

It can be argued that the Sadie's Lane burning was a more political act than the Quonset hut fire and, for that reason, regardless to the $800,000 price tag today, Sadie's Lane was a far greater blow to the community. Today's fire, for clarification, was a blow to the band office. The chief shouldn't be blamed for saying what he did to the Intelligencer, because he understood his audience. When, though, will he explain today's events to us?

Great big question number two: what prompted the fire to be set this morning?

The Sadie's Lane fire came in the overnight following a community-dividing stand-off regarding the (still undelivered) new police building. Logic would suggest it was a passionate and emotionally-based move that was likely not pre-meditated.

For that reason, if this morning's fire is tied directly to the fibre optic wire, or the water delivery truck, or the generators, why did it have to set on fire this morning? If it was an emotionally driven act, then somebody somewhere -- I would suspect even at the band office -- would know of some sort of event or exchange that made (for someone) burning a sudden priority. If it was premeditated, planned a while ago and simply executed this morning, then this community has a much bigger problem on its hands.

This is why the still-in-development consultation policy is necessary. For history: the band office hired a consultation coordinator last year who's work engaging this community regarding its ideas for best communication methods from the band office has either been done in secret -- an irony, yes -- or has been abandoned entirely.

The community of Tyendinaga, not an elected chief and council, has to decide, preferably before the arsonist is identified, how that person's relationship with this community will be defined. The assumption, at least on my part -- I just now realize I've not mentioned this yet -- is that one of our own lit that fire and, while chief and council have the authority to expell any member forever from the community, it is ultimately the members of the community who, collectively, will decide who stays and who goes.

Finally: though this may appear antithetical to related statements above, much credit is due the reporters of the Belleville Intelligencer, particularly Steve Pettibone, Mike Lake, and Luke Hendry for continually updating information throughout the day via a story on the intelligencer.ca website and especially Mr. Hendry's Twitter feed, twitter.com/intelLH. These updates proved invaluable to me personally in my effort to make sense of today's events (and that's the point of journalism, isn't it?)

The Intelligencer told me I'm thrilled

2010-07-06T22:28:00.002-04:00

The Belleville Intelligencer reported today on a gift Queen Elizabeth offered to us, the Mohawks of Tyendinaga, along with those at Six Nations, on Sunday. There are three points I want to make.

1. I can't wait until the Mohawks of the Bay of Quinte band office employs a proper communication officer and implements timely communication methods so that we, members of this community, will no longer require an outside organization to inform us of our own news.

2. Chief Maracle is a wealth of knowledge regarding our history, who clearly informed the raw bulk of this story, who undoubtedly maintained personal contact with the queen's representatives in order for an event like this to happen. Much gratitude is due him, because ...

3. This is a great big deal.

Why? Because the gifts offered to us -- "eight silver hand bells" -- mark the British Crown's 300-year-long direct, independent relationship with the Mohawk people of North America. Again, that's three hundred years.

A point of reference: last week Canada celebrated it's 143rd birthday.

Note, too, that the hand bells are engraved: "The Silver Chain of Friendship 1710-2010." These are not simple empty words. They directly reference the historic Covenant Chain, that longstanding direct, independent relationship between the British and the Iroquois Confederacy (of which the Mohawk are a member). More information here.

This week's gift stands as a reminder, a "polishing of the chain" in our traditional lingo, of that relationship, and I applaud The Intelligencer for properly placing this news on the front page.

It is the real living history of this land that has yet to find its place in our schools and, more importantly, the whole of Canadian society. Though it might seem merely symbolic or irrelevantly ceremonial, there are Mohawk people, Iroquoian people here who genuinely live by this agreement, those who use moments like this as continuing evidence that we never surrendered to any nation, who proudly remind us that Iroquoian people are (technically) not Canadians.

In case it wasn't clear until today, now you know why.

Here's that Intelligencer story, in its entirety.

Natives thrilled by surprise gift from queen
by Jason Miller

The local Mohawk community is ringing with joy after the Mohawk band received a surprise gift from Queen Elizabeth II during her visit to Toronto Sunday.

Chief R. Donald Maracle of the Mohawks of the Bay of Quinte was one of two Mohawk leaders who were invited to meet the Queen and Prince Philip at St. James Cathedral, where the Queen presented them a gift of eight silver hand bells to mark the monarch's 300-year relationship with the Mohawk people.

The set of hand bells were engraved "The Silver Chain of Friendship 1710-2010." Maracle said the gift commemorated the 300th anniversary of the 1710 visit of the "four Iroquois kings" with Queen Anne in England.

"It was (the Queen's) idea," said Maracle. "She wanted to honour the anniversary. We're pleased that she remembers the Mohawk people and our mutual history for the past three centuries."

He said the "kings" -- chiefs of the Iroquois Confederacy of the day -- made the voyage to England in a bid to get military aid for the colonies to fend off French imperialist ambitions. Maracle said the trip was also aimed at strengthening the military alliance forged between the Monarchy and the Mohawk Nation.

Maracle attended the service with fellow Mohawk Chief William Montour, from the Six Nations of the Grand River. He said the two Mohawk groups were awarded the bells because Six Nations and Tyendinaga are where the Royal Chapels in Canada are located. The two regions, near Brantford and Deseronto, are where the native people who were allies of the British settled following the American Revolution.

The chapels are two of the six Royal chapels located outside of the united kingdom, the original in connection to the Iroquois Confederacy being located in Johnstown, New York.

Queen Anne had gifted the communion silver to the Four Iroquois Kings during their visit to England in 1710 and it was originally kept at the Johnstown chapel. Captain John Deserontyon, a Mohawk who fought on the side of the British against American colonialists, almost single-handedly saved the Queen Anne silver, the cherished icon of Christian Mohawk traditions in New York, from falling into American patriot hands. Deserontyon protected and recovered the silver at the risk of his life. Today, the town of Deseronto is named in his honour.

The set was later divided between Six Nations and Mohawks of the Bay of Quinte. The bells preesented by the Queen Sunday will compliment the communion silver in each Mohawk territory.

Maracle said the bells presented to the Tyendinaga Mohawks will be housed at the Christ Church, Her Majesty's Chapel Royal of the Mohawks, located near Deseronto. It was designated as a national historical site in 1995.

"She was a very warm generous person," Maracle said about his brief meeting with the Queen. "She chatted a bit about the chapel."

The Queen and the Duke of Edinburgh attended the storied 157-year-old St. James Cathedral for Sunday morning service, as her nine day visit to Canada winds down.

The packed service was attended by many dignitaries including Finance Minister Jim Flaherty, Ontario Premier Dalton McGuinty and Lt.-Gov. David Onley. The 84-year-old monarch was making her third visit to the cathedral.

Maracle said the gift was well-deserved as the Mohawk people have made significant contributions to the Crown in North America.

jmiller@intelligencer.ca

These things my dad taught me

2010-06-20T22:01:00.002-04:00

Lord knows he wasn't perfect. And if I regret anything it's that I always seemed to find creative ways to point it out. I was young -- 18 years old -- when he died and, in the throes of that sort of self-centredness that makes everyone else annoyingly, relentlessly imperfect, especially a parent, I was witty and sarcastic in a way that couldn't have been funny to anyone but me, and Lord knows I rarely enjoyed it myself.

He was born Wallace Neil Brant but everyone knew him, since he was a child, as Neil. It sounds pretentious for one to use his middle name but pretentious is a word you would never, not ever, use to describe my dad. He was always personable, kind-spirited, troubled in the way many Indians of his generation are, but nonetheless "down home" and you know what I mean by that.

Our family was at a good place in 1994. I scrambled together a couple hundred dollars and subscribed, for only six months, to a music industry trade magazine that made my dream of life in Nashville more real. We spent nearly every weekend traveling with Clint's hockey or lacrosse team. And every Sunday you'd find our 1989 Mercury Topaz parked at the KFC on Dundas Street in Belleville for those few minutes it took to get our seeming ritual Sunday takeout dinner.

After years and years of factory work, and wanting for more, he'd found a job, a career, that he loved and, with Mom having returned to school full-time a few months earlier, the truth as I see it now, whether or not they knew it then, was that they were planning for a time when me and my brother would be moved away and gone, in all likelihood, from the community.

I graduated from high school the following spring and, while Nashville waited in September, I moved to Akwesasne in April for the summer to work at that community's radio station. My point: I moved out of the house just over three months after he died so, in a way, I was spared the uncontrollable missing, the continual rediscovery of absence that happens when you're left to move on in a house where one has suddenly left. Or two: I realize now that, for Mom and Clint, I inadvertently added to their loss.

That isn't to say that I didn't miss him. It found its place in my own way. The first year anniversary, December 21 1995, was difficult. Just driving home from the airport, watching the subtle changes that had taken place in the community, reconnecting with the familiar roads and houses, now snow-covered for the first time since he passed, was hard for me. Christmas has never been the same, in fact, though the reason why among the three of us has fallen out of view or changed entirely, unrelatedly. Or not.

A burgeoning writer, I used my pen and paper for catharsis, allowing myself the time and freedom to articulate, alone in my fancy if too expensive Nashville apartment, my feelings and positioning among my larger family, my community, that city, and the world. I felt his presence strong one night and the comfort that came from it let me know I'd be okay.

Talking honestly with my mom became easier, not that it was ever hard, not that there's any way to know if it were to happen regardless. It became a lot easier to say "I love you" and we said it at the end of every phone call. And I suppose when I say "honestly" I mean to say that difficult conversations are easier when the world has tossed you around a bit and there's no longer a place for emotional escape, those times when you'd rather not deal with bigger things.

We talked about our shared stuggles, experiences and hurdles we didn't know the other needed to overcome too; separated by about twenty years, we each lost our sexual and psychological innocence at a young age, both of us indisputably children, both by the hand of older selfish men, in my case one who I've come to believe was still too young himself to realize how much it would hurt and change me, and in hers one who continued for so long that no one will argue if she never finds forgiveness.

Proof that the world can be cruel: our plates were already full and dad's death seemed to compound our pain.

Proof that the world can be kind: with the help of our friends and family, and an unwavering faith and commitment to each other, the three of us, we learned to move on.

The things you remember. They made me take two religion courses at the university I attended, and I hated the idea at first. My religion professor was great, though. She knew there would be division in the class if we only talked theology so she said "this will be a history course." I wasn't a fan of history either, but it made the Old Testament and the New more palatable. It made me learn and think about theology. Flash forward: it provided a sound structure in my mind when the time came for me to learn about our traditional worldview and belief system.

After class one day I asked her about unexplained injustice: what to make of sudden loss that has no rational basis? Straightforward, analytically almost, I told her about my dad. She said, "I think evil just exists in the world. Some things don't come with meaning." But, she said, there is also good in the world. Don't forget: unexplained good things happen too.

The world has turned so many times between the year I moved away and 2007, the year I moved home. It wasn't the Tyendinaga where Neil Brant lived. For better or worse. My mom, my brother and I each have our stories of how we survived his passing and we don't feel the pain of his absence anymore. A good thing.

More bad things and more good things have come to them, and me, over these years and we've found ways to survive and celebrate them, whichever the case. Experientially, culturally, in our traditional way, the two of them have grown intellectually in a way that my schooling never provided me and carry now with them a genuine brilliance of perspective and worldview that I believe not enough people in this community appreciate (or may ever comprehend, in some cases).

The picture in my mind, my dad will always be 42 with newly greying dark brown hair, a just barely noticeable receding hairline, standing only a small amount shorter than my still growing 18-year-old self. With a smile.

I don't see much of his brothers, my uncles, the ones who live away, now that my grandparents are gone, but it stopped me cold a few years ago when one of them told me that he sees my dad when he looks at me. The truth: I turned around and said it right back to him. It made me proud because that's what legacy is all about, and that, regardless to what stamp we think we're leaving on the world, it's reminders like this one that makes just being me good enough. And you, too, for that matter.

These things, my dad taught me.

Happy Father's Day.

Globe & Mail declares us a winner

2010-06-16T10:33:00.005-04:00

What is particularly interesting about this news is its implication in this community. And by "implication," I'm referring to the amount of gossip that will flow among (but not between) the camps here that either endorse or denounce the sort of activism that, according to this article, is exactly at the heart of the Harper government's sudden interest in respecting our right to tax exemption.

Regarding this division, let me say: it's hard living in Tyendinaga. No, no. That's not right. It's hard feeling as though you have to "represent" Tyendinaga, and all Native-ness, when you go out of town. My job has taken me to Toronto a few times these past months and, while I always find it surprising to learn our concerns are of interest to those in such a multicultural locale, I've stumbled at times when responding to questions about the pending implementation of HST. It's mostly at the register in retail stores, yes, and in every instance the clerk has been respectful or comfortable enough to offer support and lament the possibility that (until today) we may be forced to pay the tax.

The question comes up: "are you planning to take part in a protest?"

Nobody other than those who live here -- and I do mean nobody -- understands the complexity of leadership that exists on this community. You'd have to be a moron, just a total idiot, to not see that the threat of civil disruption is what's making the federal government stop literally ignoring all of Native Ontario's calls for acknowledging our tax exemption. Yet there remains those who'd like us to not see it.

Our band council held a community meeting here about a week ago to update us on the conversation between the Chiefs of Ontario and the federal government. The only mention of a protest came when our chief noted that a community in the north of Ontario had negotiated some sort of 4-hour long closure of a rail line with CN that may take place at some point in the future -- the particular point being ... well, I'm not entirely sure what the point was; that the band council there negotiated CN's acknowledgment of the closure?

Then the usual crowd spoke loudly and disrespectfully about the need for hightened activism here, and soon.

The band council took nearly two hours and used an amount of legalese and political jargon that either stupified or bored the crowd. Our homegrown protesters spoke passionately and ... simply, it was easier to understand them. From a communication perspective, there's no doubt which side was more easy to comprehend.

The problem with these uncompromising positions of leadership -- and the uncoordinated, diametrically opposing messages regarding this community's interests that inevitably follow -- is that it leaves the rest of us, just regular ol' Mohawks on the reserve, stuck in the middle. Protesters hold us in contempt for not taking on every issue with as much passion, and our elected leadership never, ever asks us to contribute anything. (Except photos for the new website, which is still in development; the single longest website-build in the history of the Internet.)

Here's where I believe our elected leadership is failing: they don't seem to realize that perception is reality and, when it comes to the perception of Tyendinaga in the minds of anyone who cares to notice, putting one's own head in the sand doesn't mean everyone else will, too.

For those who don't live here, Shawn Brant is a hero. For those who do, it's a bit more complicated. And as for today, according to the Globe & Mail at least, it's looking as though those who don't live here -- and ultimately those who do, too -- have the likes of him and his ilk to thank.

Engaging Aboriginal communities

2010-05-03T11:20:00.004-04:00

Great article here from the International Association of Business Communicators, written by a Metis communication officer about her experience being that person assigned the role of engaging Native communities on behalf of her organization, what her employer learned, and what we can all take away from it.

A highlight:

While I was working, I also volunteered for an Aboriginal women's group, the Metis National Council of Women, which comprised professional Metis women from all walks of life. This group would go to the same events that my co-workers and I were invited to. It was astonishing to see the difference in the reception each group received. My women's group was welcomed with open arms while my co-workers were treated with utter disdain. It was painful to watch my co-workers flounder to fit in, while I was getting hugs and being praised in traditional terms of affection of "come here my girl, it's good to see you!" because of my connection to the women's group.

My volunteer group and my workplace did similar work, sometimes even the exact same work. The reason for this difference in acceptance wasn't in what the two organizations were trying to accomplish, but in how they were going about it. Both groups were completing the same types of projects, but the women's group used a traditional approach that included high interpersonal involvement, building group consensus and following community protocol, while the other group was business-like and formal. There was no rapport between them and the community they were trying to help.

Second thoughts re: Akwesasne boating crash

2010-04-27T10:45:00.006-04:00

The exchange that APTN captured about a week ago in Akwesasne regarding the boating event that took place there ultimately leaves little room for anyone to do anything constructive.

Before I go there: it's hard to envision the entire community reaching consensus regarding the "(you) are not to return to our territory by land, water, and air" language. As always, there remain disagreements among the people of that community regarding the transportation of materials across the water, so to believe they all agreed to ban outside policing agencies within three days is certainly a stretch.

More notably, though, that statement is too open-ended to be workable. As a matter of coincidence, a recent post by RedIndianGirl on the "An Onkwehonwe in Kanata" blog notes of herself, "I reclaim my heritage as an Iroquoian diplomat. I reclaim that part of me that wants to bargain, mediate and negotiate." (Yes, the ultimate message at the link is a bit raw for my argument, but hey; this is the part that I find relevant here.)

My point: just saying "we cannot guarantee your safety if you come onto this territory" without offering your people to negotiate some sort of working relationship, without acknowledging that you hope the situation can be remedied, without at least adding "for the next 30 days" or some sort of definable timespan, leaves no opportunity to get everyone back to a good place.

Further evidence, I believe, why this situation has the potential to end in universal frustration.

If they can't understand you, does it matter what you say?

2010-04-20T20:39:00.010-04:00

APTN National News ran an interesting story about the boating incident at Akwesasne last Monday. It's archived on the website here, but note that they only archive for one week, so if you're reading this after Thursday this week, you'll likely not find it anywhere. For that reason I've created a transcript of the story and you can find it here.

Updates like this one have come in nearly everyday since then (search "Akwesasne" at news.google.ca for everything available online) but it seems like the APTN story seemed to encapsulate the event more fully than any other news organization, highlighted by the exchange between a community representative and one from the American border patrol. That exchange has been of particular concern to me from the moment I first saw it.

According to APTN, an Akwesasne community representative named Kanietakeron, further identified in the story as "Signatory Headman," read this statement:

This letter is to reiterate the command served upon your agency and agents on Monday April 12th 2010 that customs and border protection violated the peace and are not to return to our territory by land, water, and air.

The APTN reporter, Jorge Barrera, reports: "The letter is accepted. The Mohawks are told that the commissioner is keeping a close watch on the situation and that more information is coming."

The immediate response from the US border patrol representative, according to the APTN story, is perplexing:

In time we're hoping that your community as well as everyone will get those facts, and what actually occurred there. Okay. I know you're here serving us with this and we respect you for that but there's also a, a lot of other -- things that -- happened that can't be divulged as of yet.

It was more comment than statement, certainly lacking the formality of the Mohawk statement. Both sides left the meeting, I believe, confident their respective message was heard but I don't think that was the case.

Here's the problem: both the Mohawk and border patrol reps were speaking from a perspective of authority, and neither appeared to be in any sort of conversation or negotiation. Both were asserting their authority, if politely in the case of the border patrol rep. Troubling, yes, but I see an even greater, larger cultural issue here.

People talk about the different worldview of native people from the larger society but it rarely goes examined or defined, and it seems this is a primary example of how indigenous people, specifically Mohawk or Haudenosaunee people, view the world and situations like this one in particular.

While both sides were asserting authority, the Mohawk statement encapsulated the entirety of the situation whereas the border patrolman's words were very specifically related to the boating incident. The Mohawks were making a statement regarding the relationship between their community and the outside agency, whereas the border patrol commented on details surrounding the investigation with no mention of respecting the Mohawk demand. (The statement by American authorities, reported elsewhere, that they would stay out of Mohawk waters until the close of their investigation is, therefore, coincidental and unrelated.)

Unless either or both sides work to meet this disconnect, I believe that everyone involved is guaranteed to be frustrated when next steps (whatever they are) are taken. I suspect the American, and Canadian, authorities will view this incident as isolated and continue with business as usual when this story falls off the radar, and the Mohawks at Akwesasne -- who, in our traditional way, have taken in the totality of the relationship, of everyone involved -- will react accordingly.

This is undoubtedly a "worldview" issue, and it is no surprise that we see the conflict most often in the application of law. The larger society in North America generally wants to look at minute details regarding specifically the incident at hand, notably from the perspective of today or, in many cases, the perspective of a judge who wasn't present.

Indigenous people -- and I want to stress that this is cultural and inherent -- look at all factors involved, all of the events leading up to an incident, and all stakeholders, whether they appear related or not because, in a way, everything and everyone leading up to an event is potentially related to it.

Let me be specific: prior to this event, the Mohawks at Akwesasne have claimed that Canadian and American authorities routinely treat them disrespectfully and assume they are guilty of Canadian or American laws before they can prove themselves innocent, regardless to whatever sort of jurisdiction Mohawk people have over that land. In this specific case, the boaters chose to avoid this harassment by boating without their lights on, then fleeing the Canadian, then American, police services. Mohawks took this history into account -- the totality of the incident, all events leading up to it, for the benefit of all stakeholders -- whereas the border patrolmen, according to the statements made in the APTN story, suggested their interest relates to only the specific boating incident that took place on Monday April 12.

People who deal with indigenous people, therefore, and indigenous people themselves, need to completely understand what is meant by "indigenous worldview" and how it can come into conflict with the larger society. It reminds me of the words that Native educator Patsy Steinhauer said at the recent post-secondary education conference in Saskatoon.

"Our people have a contextual understanding of the language even if they don't know the language," she said. "Aboriginal students fail because of the identity conflict that presents itself when they meet mainstream education institutes ... mainstream schools shouldn't force Aboriginal students to integrate into a mainstream institution's culture. These students can co-exist just like our people co-exist outside of the school context."

For many Native people, the word "integrate" sounds like "assimilate" to the extent that both are considered evil and a colonial-centric ideal. I, and my mind, was guilty of this when I first heard these words spoken, but over the past few weeks I've seen more and more evidence of Ms Steinhauer's intention: perspective integration.

Again, check out the complete transcript of that APTN story at this link.

When were taxpaying tobacco companies let off the hook?

2010-04-12T22:05:00.010-04:00

It seems there is always one side to every "contraband" tobacco story.

And, to put it simply, it's always health-oriented organizations complaining about aboriginal taxation.

"Cheap prices and easy access" isn't a good enough argument. Environmentalists don't complain about cheap gas on the Indian reserves. Dr. Richard Schabas, the medical officer of health for Hastings and Prince Edward Counties (who is quoted in this story), doesn't complain about the abundance of unhealthy, greasy, mostly deep fried food for sale at restaurants on Tyendinaga.

To be clear: I don't work in the tobacco business. As a non-smoker, I've grown to hate cigarette smoke. I avoid all businesses that allow it on their premises. It is explicitly clear to me, however, that these Native tobacco enterprises could not have lasted well over twenty years now (or more) if they were as "illegal" as some organizations -- preoccupied with taxation -- continue to claim.

This final quote from Dr. Schabas is particularly troubling in its faux-concern for Tyendinaga Mohawks:

"The biggest losers in this whole transaction are the young people on First Nation reserves like Tyendinaga because they're the ones who have the easiest access to cheap cigarettes. We know that smoking rates in aboriginal communities are very high and we also know they're facing an epidemic of diabetes ... You put all that together and you've got an impending health tragedy," he said.

Where is the evidence that "young people" are buying cigarettes on the reserve? I support the retail businesses here almost daily and I've not ever witnessed an underage person purchase, or even attempt to purchase, cigarettes at the local stores.

I could go on and on, but the blatant politics surrounding the work of the Ontario Campaign for Action on Tobacco is too frustrating, too disappointing, too much a failure, a letdown for and to everyone associated with it. That includes all of us.

Were we supposed to have a consultation policy by today?

2010-04-01T14:14:00.000-04:00

Just asking.

"We are treaty people"

2010-03-31T22:13:00.005-04:00

For the past two months the Tyendinaga Justice Circle (TJC) has been researching community members' opinions regarding alternative dispute resolution for adults. As you may know, the TJC already operates for the benefit of youth in conflict with the law. There is a working group that has met regularly for over a year now and, though this influx of cash and the current project initiated without any sort of input from that very group, the results of that project, revealed tonight, were illuminating. More on that at another time.

During the discussion period following the presentation, a guest to our community -- a registered member who, to my knowledge, was visiting in order to apply for the new band card -- stood up and made some sort of comment about how, in the context of the Two Row Wampum, we are living partly in Canada and should assume that, if it makes exception for our unique circumstance as a minority group, Canada would have to accomodate every other minority group. I looked over at my mother, who was on the verge of saying ... something and I whispered, quick and fast, "let it go, let her go, let her go," but, truth is, I was telling that to myself.

Because I was fuming. It brought to mind a blog post I read earlier tonight. If you haven't already, check out the Urban Native Girl blog here and this post in particular, a recount of an exchange between the writer and a producer from the CBC who's working on a story about urban-dwelling Aboriginal people. This quote struck me because I, in my rare big city experiences, have a vastly different story to tell. Here is what she said:

When I was having a conversation with the lady from CBC I was asked if there was a particular story or moment that was a great example of my experience as an "Urban Aboriginal." I couldn't think of one.

The truth is: we have a shared experience whether we want to admit it, or not. And what I find I'm reminding myself more and more this year is that we are all "recovering" at our own pace. A really strong word, I know, and I'm far (FAR) from being that touchy-feely sort of person who uses clinical terms so freely, but it's true. Here's another story.

I was at a meeting late last week of broadcasters who meet regularly to share Aboriginal recruitment initiatives and work collaboratively to promote the broadcasting industry as a career option to Native people. (Don't go looking for evidence of that group's success; there's still much work to be done). One member, a successful Native woman who's more a coordinator of the group than an active broadcaster, remarked about presentations she's made to university-level student groups: she first polls the room to find out what sort of knowledge mainstream post-secondary students have regarding Native people, and she shared with us her disappointment to learn that all the negative stereotypes prevailed.

I said nothing because, again, I'm learning to appreciate that we're learning our lessons at our own pace (and it would've seemed improper to interject then and there, trust me), but I'm finding it a bit reckless on our part -- as a former urban-dwelling Indian -- when we refuse to acknowledge those of us who are struggling, particularly in an urban context. Yes, there are successful Native folk in the world, but as far as "community" goes, those are not the ones we necessarily need to focus our interest on. (If anything, they're the ones we need to recruit to better empower and strengthen us as a whole; it's not just about "representing" to our non-Native friends because, as our traditional teaching reminds us, it's not about us but our descendants, our seventh generation).

I certainly can appreciate, though, our own individual need to, at times, at least recognize and acknowledge those successful Indians in our midst because -- especially when you're not constantly surrounded by your own people like we are on the rez -- we need a reminder that we're not the only one, we're not the only one carrying that banner, waving that flag. I've been there. We need that every now and then.

But unique Aboriginal-centric experiences in an urban setting happen all the time. Here's an update I posted on my Facebook page last week, when I was in Toronto coordinating a class meeting of FNTI's law clerk program:

There are about four blocks between the training centre here in Toronto and my hotel and, lucky me, some stray Indian approached me this afternoon to chat along the way. Said his dad is Mic-mac (sp?) from Nova Scotia and he's learning his culture and proud to be learning it and proud to be proud. He was really nice, actually, and figured (once I checked to be sure I still had my wallet and phone with me when he walked away) that I have to chalk that up as one great, random, big city experience.

He just walked up from behind me and said, "Hey. I thought I recognized you. You're Native, right?" I said, "Yeah." He said, "I am, too. I just like to say hi when I see one of us out here." He went on and on and, though he didn't use the word specifically, he was talking about community. It was brilliant in its simplicity. I'm guilty of this: sometimes we work too hard to understand things that are not complex. An uniquely urban Aboriginal experience could be defined as an unplanned discovery, or creation, of community.

Why, other than the randomness, was this a truly uniquely urban Aboriginal experience? Because those of us living on the rez just don't do that. Especially when we know each other, but not well. Mom and I went to the home renovation show at the Quinte Sports Centre this weekend (and were robbed of $7 each at the door, but that's another story), and after calling someone's name out to say "Hi," my mom leaned in to me and remarked how strange it is for someone you know -- that very person, in this instance -- to look directly at you in public, then turn the other way. For those of us living on these reserves, it's common. And it's sad, because we know each other and we know we're supposed to be better at "community" but something's stopping us, there's some social more, some sort of social formality that prevents us from just being us.

I've gone back to those lessons I learned in Saskatchewan plenty of times this past week. Key phrases stand out, like this one: "our people have a contextual understanding of the language, even if they don't know the language." This is the shared experience I mentioned earlier in this post. When we're all treated the same, it's inevitable that we'll act and react the same, even in instances when it wouldn't logically be an influencer.

And I think back to the lady who stressed to everyone in that room at that conference that "everyone in this province needs to know that we are treaty people." Again, it's simple and inarguable. We're not a special interest in the Canadian fabric. We're not the same as every other minority group here. We are treaty people. Our relationship with Canada is unique for that very reason.

To the visitor to our meeting this evening, remember: We are treaty people.

To the alternative justice committee, remember: We are treaty people.

To the members of the broadcasters group, remember: We are treaty people.

To the urban-dwelling Indians, remember: We are treaty people.

To the reserve Indians, remember: We are treaty people.

To you and me, let's never forget ...

We are treaty people.

Long Flight Lover

2010-03-24T14:58:00.004-04:00

That would be me. For many years I flew the 1.5 hour ride home from Nashville once or twice a year on one of those little planes with no food (except for peanuts) and no movie. So on my way to Saskatoon this week I felt a bit like a Clampett when I saw a little screen right up in the back headrest of the seat before me.

The only other time I'd been on such a long flight was when I went to Vancouver over ten years ago. Our only film option was "Tea With Mussolini," so it appears long gone are the days when our only entertainment options are pieces o' crap like that, as well as in-flight magazines that list and explain all the wonderful destinations you're likely not flying to.

And I'm the sort of person who hates to waste my time. My trainer at the gym is always bothered to see me walking the treadmill or cruising on the elliptical crosstrainer with a magazine in my face. As much as I know that while my focus on reading is taking away from the intensity of my workout, I can't stand the thought of doing nothing with my mind while I exercise.

So it was like magic both that the four hour and three-and-a-half hour flights (respectively) flew by so quickly -- pun intended, unfortunately. There were channels sponsored by XM Radio, full albums of music to listen to, complete episodes from drama and comedy on TV to watch, and a great slate of films to choose from.

If ever you get the chance to watch a documentary called Reel Injun, do it. According to the description from the photo I took (below), "Director Neil Diamond examines the depiction of First Nations people in film, from the silent era to today."

It's a fabulous, fabulous movie. Included are interviews with Ojibwe fim critic Jesse Wente, the offspring of Iron Eyes Cody (who starred in over 70 films), Cheyenne film director Chris Eyre ("Smoke Signals"), and Sacheen Littlefeather, the actress who Marlon Brando asked to accept his Academy Award the year he won for "The Godfather." That story is particularly interesting.

I was born a few years after this event so -- being dumb -- I needed to be hit over the head with the reminder that the Wounded Knee occupation of 1973 was taking place at the very same time as that year's Oscar award show, so Littlefeather's speech, which she delivered under threat of arrest, was particularly poignant. Watch the entirety of her speech in this film. I was surprised how emotionally moved I was by this story.

I also caught a great doc about Dolly Parton's Imagination Library, the non-profit organization she started back in 1996 that gives books to children. That the film appears to be mostly financed by the Canadian government would perhaps explain why the bulk of the story takes place in, of all places, Nova Scotia. Lots of Aboriginal folk in this film, too, a pleasant surprise.

Another surprise: I learned something from the in-flight magazine, too. Social marketing expert Mitch Joel authored a guest column where he mentioned some "ultraportable" gadgets that seem very cool. Check out the Olympus LS-10 Linear PCM Recorder when you can, and go ahead and pick me up one if you're interested.

And I LOVE this one: it's called the Cinemin Swivel and with it you can project an image -- like a movie -- on to a wall by simply connecting this small device to an iPod or iPhone or even, according to the article, a laptop. I don't know if this means the end of bulky projectors, but I hope so.

I feel like I'm hosting an episode of Oprah's Favourite Things, introducing all these products, except I'm not giving anything away. Ah heck I'll say it anyway: "YOU get a new car, YOU get a new car, YOU get a new car, EVERYONE GETS A NEW CAR!!!"

Saskatchewan Post-Secondary Education matters, conclusion

2010-03-23T11:58:00.001-04:00

I had a surprisingly great time here. The flurry of being here for little over one day wasn't nearly as stressful as I'd anticipated.

More importantly, I learned a lot -- which wasn't even on the agenda! I find attending ANY conference invigorating. They're energizing and, even when the main take-aways are familiar (as in this case), it's great to meet people in your industry and share stories, compare notes and -- heck -- maybe even learn a thing or two.

Like this that I learned, for example: when in Saskatoon, rent a car! Kidding. Well, maybe not.

See you back in the Eastern time zone (where TV listings are exactly what they claim to be)!

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Saskatchewan Post-Secondary Education matters, part 4

2010-03-22T23:52:00.001-04:00

Kelly Lendsay, the President & CEO of the Aboriginal Human Resources Council, is such a great speaker it's not even funny. So engaging, so likable, so personable, even in a (mysteriously dwindling) room full of people. His organization's upcoming "Inclusion Works" event in Toronto next month is highlighting education, he said, a fact that has eluded me despite all the promotional e-mails I've been receiving lately.

Some interesting points he made re: employment integration ...
- the Grade 3 Shift, meaning that it is in the third grade when students "shift" from "learning to read" to "reading to learn," so extra teacher aids are necessary now
- consider ways education systems can be integrated to industry/economy's needs: energy in Ontario
- idea: if a teacher can commit to the far north, pension them out after 20 years (to avoid one or two year terms that prove ineffective to students)
- children in poverty lose hope by age 5 ... hope cures 2/3rds of problems ... we, as educators, are in the "hope" business

From Saskatchewan Indian Institute of Technologies:
- new motto: Engage, Inspire, Empower, Achieve
- realities dictate solutions: acknowledge residential school impacts, funding challenges, education statistics
- "Every single person in this province should understand that you are a treaty person."
- sustainable solutions: industry partnerships, holistic approaches to working with individuals, address transitions between K-12 and post-secondary, capacity building (community wellness/healing beyond the residential school era: there is recognition now, "this is why we're like this," creating jobs won't make everything great), career and leadership development (experiential/ workplace learning: working with industry, First Nation perspectives on leadership)

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Saskatchewan Post-Secondary Education matters, part 3

2010-03-22T23:16:00.001-04:00

The best part of the 3rd panel, regarding "responsive programming & retention strategies," was how comfortably Ontario-centric it was (for me, anyway). Noella Steinhauer, while originally from Alberta, works at the NAAF in Six Nations; David Newhouse is the chair of indigenous studies at Trent (and an Onondaga from Six Nations); and there was little ol' me. Highlights ...

From Trent U:
- impossible to separate the student from his/her community and culture
- a local, well thought-out and supported effort is more important than large nationally designed and driven efforts
- from a poll of Aboriginal students: they want a tranformative experience that helps them find their way in the world as well as prepare them for jobs/career/contributions; they require an explanation of the university's academic culture, the "community" they're joining
- plenty of recommendations include: Aboriginal faculty/staff is necessary in all programs; institutes need to acknowledge our intellectual traditions (ie. social order, world view)
- Aboriginal students require skills training unrelated to programs, like academic skills (reading, writing, argumentation), technical skills (computers), life skills (financial mgmt, among many others)
- an Aboriginal presence at senior mgmt level is necessary ("if we're not at the table, our issues do not get discussed")
- reject the deficit model, the Indian problem framework: a "survivor" gets a C while an "achiever" gets an A

From Saskatchewan Institute of Applied Science and Technology:
- based on an internal study, they developed a large program that includes hiring more Aboriginal staff (a total of 21 recommendations that, because of my pending presentation, I paid little attention to ... sorry)

From the NAAF:
- an annual poll of students revealed much of what we've heard already today
- NAAF initiatives: blueprint for the future, ON based focus groups
- Noella shared with me after that they're able now to fund one-year programs and pre-college/skills training

From FNTI:
- our programs are developed with the "meandering path" of Aboriginal students in mind, we recognize that most do not go straight to PSE from high school
- Intensive Mode Delivery was created for adult students who have families and jobs they don't want to leave
- motto: "sharing & learning" means we all learn from each other, acknowledging adults' experience even in the classroom
- student support: classes develop a communtiy on day one; each program walks prospective students through our admissions, orientation, delivery process
- 3 strengths: intensive mode delivery, student support, culture- & community-oriented programming
- now increased engagement is necessary: developing an alumni community, utilizing social networking tools to engage students/potential students/alumni/funders/industry partners
- communication is key: we need to be sharing our stories, ensuring our schools' perspective is heard when no one else will speak for us (ie. FNUC's current situation)
- when you have good news, share it. Even if it's not yours, share it!

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Saskatchewan Post-Secondary Education matters, part 2

2010-03-22T22:26:00.001-04:00

So the layout, the map of the day, looked pretty much like this:

Panel #1, preparing youth for post-sec education (PSE)
Panel #2, recruiting Aboriginal students into PSE
Panel #3, responsive programming & retention strategies
Panel #4, economic opportunities and employment integration

Highlights from panel #2 re: recruitment ...
From U of Saskatchewan: we need outreach into communities as well as "inreach" to the school by the communities; put forward a comprehensive plan that says what you want to do in, say, 2-3 years and share it with all stakeholders, get Prez and VPs on board & it will bring in all others.

From U of Manitoba:
- don't focus on the numbers when recruiting, learn student interests & look for what opportunities exist at your school;
- interpersonal recruiting is better than "group sales";
- CareerTrek is interaction with high school students at regular intervals.

From Norquest College: I'll never be able to articulate how well this speaker, Patsy Steinhauer, relayed her thoughts (but I'll try) ...
- all of our indigenous languages encompass some degree of relationship engagement that is unique from the English definitions of those words;
- there is so much in our languages that we need to focus on;
- consider the phrase "Indian Time" (on one hand we can "finish" something at a predetermined time, like a basketball game, but on the other hand we can finish something "when it's over," like a baseball game ... Brilliant!);
- similarly, our people have a contextual understanding of the language, even if they don't know the language
- Aboriginal students fail because of the identity conflict that presents itself when they meet mainstream education institutes;
- mainstream healthcare wants to cure, so death is a failure, but Aboriginal healthcare looks to heal, so while someone may die that death can still encompass healing;
- re: recruitment, visit/meet/engage your perspective students more than once per year
- particular to mainstream schools: don't force Aboriginal students to integrate into a mainsteam instution's culture; these students can co-exist just like our people co-exist outside of school context.

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Saskatchewan Post-Secondary Education matters, part 1

2010-03-22T13:15:00.001-04:00

... at least today it does. FNTI has been asked to sit on a panel here in Saskatchewan today to discuss our unique delivery and student support methods and, while what I'm hearing so far isn't particularly new, it's interesting to see so much consistency regarding funding and student demographics in particular.

An initial point of confusion: each panel is preceeded by a keynote speaker, and I was told to NOT prepare a formal presentaion but to take a few minutes and speak about "the FNTI experience," which would allow for more open discussion along all participants after. Well ... one panel in and this is what I've seen: after the keynote, each panelist had a fully prepared 10 minute PowerPoint presentation which was followed by zero interaction with the audience. So yes, I'm surprised by this turn of events, and maybe even a little excited by this new challenge.

So what have I learned so far?

From the U of Calgary:
- Native people take a "meandering path" through post-secondary;
- most do not attend post-sec straight out of high school;
- we need to acknowledge those things and "meet them there;"
- post-sec needs to work with high schools to "pre-recruit" students.

From Mount Royal College: its Iniskim Centre provides a great deal of supports to students, particularly via its Aboriginal Education Program, a program that appears to be misnamed because it's not about training Native people to be educators, but about encouraging Native student success.

More to come.

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CN expansion update

2010-03-17T23:00:00.002-04:00

It seemed strange when I learned, early this past Monday, that a community update regarding the work at Marysville was scheduled to take place that very day. Not only was the community offered an unreasonable amount of notice, most of us were likely unable to make it to a noon-hour meeting regardless.

While it's growing tiresome to complain about these communication failures, I believe I'm learning more and more about the process with each instance. My conclusion: the work at the band office apparently moves so quickly -- or there's a lot of information being shared with limited audiences -- that when it comes time to share information with the entire community, there appears to be little sense of what the community already knows versus what amount of gossip has been received by whom. As with this month's newsletter, and as with the recent flyer acknowledging the new band card application has been "amended," we're rarely offered any sort of context to the information we're being given.

For those who don't know (because I didn't): there's been no work at the Marysville CN site -- at all -- since it was shut down by some community members back in late January. Just before that, there was a big rain storm that really did a number on the temporary site that CN had erected. Apparently, what was mostly at issue during the CN info-meeting way back on February 11 was how CN would go about cleaning that mess up. We were told no decisions would be made and, I guess, none were made because nothing's changed.

We were told on Monday, the couple of us who were there, that the band had only heard from CN this past Thursday about their plan, ultimately, to begin clean-up work this past Monday ...

... and that is why the emergency community meeting was held Monday at noon. Also: there was a deadline imposed by the province for CN to clean up the mess and that expired on Monday. We were informed, too, that the deadline had been extended to March 31.

We heard quite a lot from David Chang, a "project specialist" from XCG, an environmental consulting organization out of Kingston that was hired by MBQ to oversee the work of CN. He went on and on and on about all the details surrounding the land/water/bridge/road back at the Marysville site and, to be honest, I don't know enough about environmentalism to have retained any of it. It sounded compelling, though.

The best news: he offered to explain it all to anyone who is interested. In fact, he handed out his card, so if you've any questions, here's where you can get them answered: 613-542-5888. Or try e-mail: davidc@xcg.com

This only leaves one question unanswered: what exactly was amended in the band card application?

Anti-HST contact information

2010-03-12T12:25:00.005-05:00

Shawna Snache is a grad-to-be of the Indigenous Public Relations program at FNTI. A member of Rama First Nation, she has passionately promoted citizen action against the proposed HST being imposed upon our people. In particular: the fact that this legislation feigns ignorance to our treaty agreements.

Just today, she's presented, on Facebook, this list of contact information for pretty much every high ranking relevant official in Ottawa and Toronto. Both levels of government seem content to throw this hot potato back and forth to each other.

Her list is reprinted here for your convenience:

Federal Finance Minister Jim Flaherty
Phone: 613-992-1573
Fax: 613-943-0938
E-mail: finpub@fin.gc.ca
E-mail: jflaherty@fin.gc.ca

Prime Minister Stephen Harper
Phone: 613-992-4211
Fax: 613-941-6900
E-mail: harper.s@parl.gc.ca

Chuck Strahl, Minister of Indian Affairs
Phone: 613-992-2940
Fax: 613-944-9376
E-mail: ottawa@chuckstrahl.com
E-mail: riding@chuckstrahl.com
E-mail: strahl.c@parl.gc.ca

Dwight Duncan, Provincial Minister of Finance
Phone: 800-337-7222
Phone: 519-251-5199
Phone: 416-325-0400
Fax: 519-251-5299
Fax: 416-325-0374
E-mail: dduncan.mpp.co@liberal.alo.org
E-mail: financecommunications.fin@ontario.ca

Chris Bentley, Ministry of the Attorney General and Minster of Aboriginal Affairs
Phone: 519-657-3120
Fax: 519-657-0368
Fax: 416-326-4007
Fax: 416-326-4017
E-mail: cbentley.mpp.co@liberal.alo.org

Dalton McGuinty, Ontario Premier
Phone: 416-325-3777
Fax: 416-325-3745
Fax: 416-325-3777
E-mail: dmcguinty@premier.gov.on.ca

Week in review

2010-03-09T22:49:00.003-05:00

A whole lotta news coming from home this past week. I'll let the headlines (and corresponding links) tell the story ...

Tyendinaga man behind bars for threatening police officer

Woman angry after husband denied bail

Arson to CN property

The gossip I've heard seems to coincide with what's been written. The only debatable elements, of course, involve quotes to this effect: "People have had enough" and "People are upset about this." And perhaps I'm being picky here, maybe it's because I read and hear words for that they are, but it's frustrating to hear one of us claiming to represent the otherwise undefinable whole, especially during a time when (at least locally) it's becoming clear that Mohawk / Indigenous / First Nations / Aboriginal people are rarely of one mind.

It's extra frustrating, in fact, because in our traditional way the people reaching one mind is a necessary goal before anyone claims to speak on behalf of "people" around here, and that lingustic mashup shows a great deal of disrespect to the ones among us who actively work to follow our traditional laws.

"... a probation order to refrain from visiting the Tyendinaga Mohawk Territory" is interesting, given recent events in Kahnawake and that this individual is married to a community member. A point to remember, though: a probation order is quite different from a condition of bail which, I think, is being confused in this situation.

And just for the sake of clarity, in case anyone is reading this who might be unfamiliar with Mohawk customs: to my knowledge there is no concrete list of qualities we use to define an "elder, respected member of the Mohawk community." Each of us is open to define it for ourselves, in our own way, personally.

Mohawk Liquidation update

2010-03-09T22:23:00.003-05:00

The Belleville Intelligencer dropped the ball on this story, back on the 26th of February when both the store and the MBQ band council met in court. At issue was how the council could enforce the court's previous decision, that Mohawk Liquidation be evacuated.

But Tyendinaga's largest neighbouring daily has patched up a few holes today with this story. First with the news that both sides will meet in court later this week and, secondly, that Clifford Maracle was to pay MBQ $10,000 before tomorrow.

What remains unresolved is just what conspired at that last court appearance that convinced Tyendinaga's biggest retail operator (arguably) to close up shop after all this time, with so far no mention of the reported $600,000 that MBQ claimed was owed to it.

UPDATE: I missed this story from last week, which claims the matter back on Feb26 was "put over" until this Thursday and, on top of it, that Mohawk Liquidation was ordered to pay the $10,000 -- and that later this week they'll be arguing "the demand by band council that Maracle cease operating on the site." Confusion: it was put over AND the fee levied AND instead of simply enforcing the past ruling, they'll all be arguing it again?

CN visits Tyendinaga, various interpretations ensue

2010-02-22T17:15:00.013-05:00

The Tyendinaga Mohawk Council hosted a meeting on Thursday February 11, where representatives from CN and Via Rail provided the community with information regarding the work that's been started at the stretch of track located at Marysville.

Some background: CN had received about $700 million from an economic stimulus fund of the federal government and chose to fix up some eight sections of its rail line between Montreal and Toronto. The single largest of those eight projects is right here at Marysville. Another is at Shannonville.

CN approached the MBQ Council back in September 2009. To my knowledge, they did not feel this was a "consultation" issue, in the legal sense, because they'd planned to keep within the fences that currently house their rail line. Chief Maracle revealed at this meeting that the previous council chose not to share any information regarding CN's interest with the community.

While I'm still working to gain some perspective regarding that meeting, as well as some follow-up information from the council, I've come across a re-cap of that meeting that I find troubling.

Just today I received via Facebook what appears to be a cut-and-paste copy of an article with origins that I'm still trying to locate. I've been told it was posted on a Six Nations-oriented message board, similarly with no attribution as to who wrote it, if it has been published anywhere else, etc. I've already seen it forwarded at least three times further and, because it seems there are too many instances when people from this community run off and misrepresent the events that take place here, I feel it necessary to acknowledge my issue with the article now. That original posting is located at this link.

A note on "fisking" from dictionary.com: it is "an Internet argument tactic involving a reprinting of an article or blog post, interlarded with rebuttals and refutations, often intended to show the original is a sandpile of flawed facts, unfounded assertions, and logical fallacies."

The original article is indented and italicized. My notes are not.

CN construction destructive, land claim unresolved: Tyendinaga Mohawks targeted

(February 20th, 2010) Tyendinaga Mohawks are reviewing their options after federal officials ordered the Ontario Provincial Police to move against organizers of the 3 year old occupation of Culbertson Tract Lands.

Unless there is evidence that "federal officials ordered the OPP to move against" anyone, that statement is literally unbelievable.

Last week, in an unprecedented move, the OPP laid charges against 3 individuals for the "unlawful use of land" after a trailer was moved onto lands adjacent to the quarry. It was stated by police, at that time, that the "Indians do not have the right to be on the land because the government (federal) has told them that the land will never be returned."

Who was there to quote the police present at the time and which officer said this? How often does one stop while speaking to put another word in parenthesis? Having said that, I'm interested now in this charge specifically. The actual charge is "mischief" and it is defined, partially, as an "unlawful use of land." If it is land adjacent to the quarry (that is, the quarry formerly known as Thurlow Aggregates Quarry on Deseronto Road) and it, too, is part of the Culbertson land claim, then why weren't more people charged with mischief/"unlawful use of the land" as quickly during the entire year that a handful of community members lived in a trailer at the entrance to the quarry, back in 2007/08?

The government's use of police in enforcing its land claim position comes on the heels of the Mohawk community stopping the construction of a $700 million CN thirdline project running between Ottawa and Toronto. On January 25th, the project was brought to a halt after it was revealed that CN Rail had intentionally disregarded the construction guidelines and environmental recommendations put in place by the Department of Fisheries and Oceans (DFO) pertaining to the protection of water tributaries serving the First Nations community.

A report issued by the Department, dated February 8, 2010, identifies CN's construction deficiencies and characterizes their work as destructive to wildlife and fish habitat. It goes on to say that the failure of CN to comply with environmental recommendations have resulted in "spoil piles" or unearthed contaminates to directly enter the watershed after heavy rains and ice flows compromised the worksite in late January. The report goes on to state, "Based on DFO's observations during the site visit we also identified construction activities which could negatively impact fish and fish habitat. These included spoil piles and the construction staging area within the floodplain. This is not acceptable to DFO and is contrary to advice provided by our department."

At a community meeting held on February 11, 2010, CN officials were put on the defensive over their handling of the situation. Frustration turned to anger when CN front people seemingly oblivious to Tyendinagas drinking water crisis, offered employment opportunities instead of answers. One by one, community members rose and chastised CN for its disregard of the environment and the ease with which it is prepared to add to the burdens already faced by the Mohawk community.

To my knowledge, there are no more than three or four people in all of Tyendinaga who would use the word "crisis" regarding the water situation at the Quinte Mohawk School. Chief Maracle stole a moment during this meeting, in fact, to provide an update on the water situation at the school. For me, at least, this attempted hue and cry regarding bad water at Tyendinaga is being used far too often, especially during meetings like this one where it is clearly not relevant.

Too, it should be noted that along with employment opportunities, the rep from CN also noted that it is a business and can, if interested, work with the community. That statement was perhaps intentionally left wide open to interpretation. As a community member present at that meeting, I will suggest neither the offer of jobs nor the open door to negotiate something to our benefit was not shared in any negative, or condescending fashion.

One member spoke to a thunderous applause, "We are facing the imposition of the Harmonized Sales Tax (HST), we have unresolved land issues and members being arrested for being on the land, we have a federal government willing to contribute 400 million dollars to improve CN's bottom line, while refusing to pay 12 million to provide clean water to our children. I say no to CNs third line expansion project until we get results on the issue that are important to us."

I can't help but argue the "thunderous applause" line and, in fact, it causes me great suspicion as to who wrote this article. For those still wondering, it was Shawn Brant who spoke these words and he is a notoriously divisive personality here at Tyendinaga, so while there was some applause after his speech, it certainly did not amount to "thunderous" applause.

And I don't recall him pausing to parenthesize the Harmonized Sales Tax abbreviation.

As the meeting came to a close, it was put forward by Chief and Council that an independent biologist be hired to oversee the remediation of the CN work site in an effort to mitigate the harm and limit future impact.

I'm still a bit confused by chief and council's interest regarding this point specifically, and I'll cover it in my recap of the meeting.

The three men responsible for bringing environmental concerns forward against CN could not be charged because they prevented the company from continuing in activities that were in contravention of federal law.

The were, however, the only three men charged for the "unlawful use of land" relating to the Culbertson tract, and coincidentally, given conditions "Not to attend on any property owned by the Canadian National Railway except for the purposes of passing over the rail lines by road or highway."

While I have no interest in sitting on the Crown's lap and tossing it bon-bons, these conditions are intended to ensure an accused will be of his or her best behaviour while he/she awaits trail and if they can link you to a potentiality that you may breach, then they're going to suggest it here.

According to Shawn Brant, one of the three men charged, "The most pressing issue facing our communities is the Harmonized Sales Tax (HST). It is an attack on our very right to exist, and failing to stop its implementation will certainly result in reduced incomes for our people, greater poverty, and a heightened justification for provincial agencies to remove children from our homes. CN should be a player in that struggle."

Shawn's fifteen-minute-long diatribes during community meetings at Tyendinaga, of which this quote is clearly a very small part, are falling on deaf ears more and more often. The road, rail, bridge blockades have proved very divisive within this community, partly because they were organized and implemented without the sort of community consensus that is routinely implied during media reports, and partly because opportunities to share an opinion, like at this meeting, routinely turn into lengthy "broadcasts" filled with the sort of heightened emotion -- screaming and yelling, actually (from himself and others) -- that is more off-putting, disrespectful and offensive than convincing.

So, if anything, this experience, this article has proven that the individual wisdom in this community is not finding its way into the world. You or I cannot knock on the door of every person who reads this "story" and tell them the truth of this situation. I hate to keep hammering home how important the Indigenous Public Relations program at FNTI is to our communities, but it is true. We all are publisher's now. We don't have to wait for the mainstream media to learn about our business and then quote only the two most polarizing people in the community to write their story.

A fact: when we speak our truth there is no need to invent stories like this one and hide behind its anonymity. It's not my job to tell Tyendinaga's story to the world. Each one of us can contribute. And we should.

Reconsidering Kahnawake evictions

2010-02-19T21:57:00.008-05:00

I sat at my mom's house this past Tuesday discussing the non-Native evictions at Kahnawake. We've known that community, for one, has a long history keeping its membership issue not far from the frontburner. Filmmaker Tracey Deer, a member of that community, wrote, directed, and narrated a documentary film about it not too long ago, called "Club Native."

That film was shown during the ImagineNATIVE film festival in Toronto, back in October 2008, and I had the opportunity to hear Tracey Deer speak about her experience with this issue after the screening. Coming from Tyendinaga, perhaps the polar opposite of Kahnawake in this regard, I immediately found myself looking for some middle ground between the very active interest her community has taken in its membership and Tyendinaga's insouciant perspective on the issue. I appreciated her honesty when I asked if she knew of a middle ground option; she said she didn't. Though, of course, I'm in no position to put words in her mouth, I sensed we came from such opposing ends of this debate that just getting out from our extreme ends seemed the first, daunting task.

So I sat with my mom in her kitchen one evening earlier this week. At the time I was in support of the evictions, and it seemed necessary to remind the Kahnawake community that we -- their neighbours, Mohawk brothers and sisters a few hours drive away -- know what happens when "too many" non-Natives live among us.

Example No. 1: traditional Mohawks here are small in number, half of whom appear to have been brainwashed by one or two political-activist/knee-jerk-protesters in the name of traditionalism; the other half appear to adhere to the Great Law on a hobby basis, committed are they only as much as their moment-to-moment whims will allow.

Example No. 2: sometimes the most uncomfortable conversation to engage here is in regard to what clan family one belongs, because the odds are good that second person doesn't have a clan -- and, in this day of don't-wanna-hurt-anyone's-feelings, we continually run the risk of being made the bad guy for taking away all the "fun" of knowing something about "our history."

Example No. 3: there are Mohawks here who believe anything not connected to the Indian Act is "our history."

My brother stopped in at that point and, immediately, I said to him, "Gimme another example." He barked something about how he couldn't contribute if that's all we wanted to get out of the conversation which, in his delicate way, means he's thinking of something entirely different.

The argument used to justify the evictions is that "Mohawk law" demands it. Of course, it should be clear we're talking about the Great Law, and proper perspective -- as well as historical context -- reminds us that the Great Law was not intended for only the Six Nations people. As the world's first democracy, it was intended to be shared across the world. So what if the Americans today literally ignore the statements of their founding fathers who point-blank attributed the Haudenosanee governance as one to emulate?

Too, the last treaty that the Six Nations people fully endorsed is what we've come to refer locally as "the 1701," that agreement in Montreal that afforded us, at the very least, "shared use" of land that far exceeds the Indian Act sanctioned reserves where we live now. So evicting non-Natives from "our" territory then, would effectively mean they have to move ... where?

There have been plenty of arguments, from Native and non-Native alike, deploring these evictions, suggesting at various times it's wrong to separate families, it evokes Nazi ideas about a pure Aryan race, that it's all about "love," that it runs contrary to the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms, and while there are some outstanding issues -- if the Great Law is open to everyone, then why is clan lineage so important and necessary for seat holders?, is a great question my mom holds dear -- I can make some conclusions:

1. One cannot argue the evictions on the basis that folks are being discriminated against because of "who they love." Ultimately we're talking about a Mohawk community and, as such, that Great Law does not concern itself particularly with "comfort" issues like what I want right now here in my life. Our traditional belief requires us to consider our future generations first, and who knows what the future holds? The Great Law is most closely tethered to the Six Nations people and, if we systematically deplete our own numbers before the Great Law reverses course and (at least begins to) influence the masses, we'll have shot ourselves in the foot. Our descendants, who'll learn about us only in textbooks, will run home and be told that Great-great-great-great so-and-so thought "love" was more important than upholding whatever nation-defining traits they'd ... no ... we'd have lost.

2. Similarly, as Mohawk people we shouldn't allow Nanny Canada (via the Charter of Rights and Freedoms) to decide how we'll resolve issues among us. Between the Mohawk Liquidation/MBQ lawsuit right here at Tyendinaga and the claims from those in support of the residents being evicted that their own people are violating "Canadian" law, it appears we've lost focus. Don't forget: that same Great Law, while a governance tool in theory, simply provides a means for us to counsel (in practice). Denying it in the name of fairness would be laughable if it wasn't such a shame.

Court to decide how to enforce court decision

2010-02-17T15:34:00.002-05:00

Are we allowed to laugh at this?

A surprise to nobody, neither the Tyendinaga police nor the band council at MBQ are in any position to enforce the ruling of the Canadian court, that Mohawk Liquidation is to vacate its current location.

So now February 26, next Friday, is the new day set aside for the Canadian court to continue determining how Mohawks will resolve internal issues on Mohawk land.

Hot blogs

2010-02-14T22:41:00.003-05:00

Kanehsatake Mohawk Dan David, who worked for a while at FNTI (and hired me, in fact), is a member of a new Native-oriented "collaborative blog" called mediaINDIGENA and has submitted a few blog posts of note.

A particularly interesting insight, for me, comes from the second of three posts regarding the eviction story going on at Kahnawake right now; this called "Discrimination sucks... (redux)":

... the Federal Government designates "reserve land" as "Crown land." Therefore, it falls under federal jurisdiction -- not under provincial municipal laws. There are other examples of similar arrangements. Consider military bases. People can't just wander onto a military base and decide to establish residence there. The military has rules against that kind of thing.

Check out these links to part one (Discrimination sucks... unless I do it) and three (Discrimination... (take 3)) and add this blog to your list. I'm sure we'll be hearing more insightful and provocative things from it.

In related news: I've found the Urban Native Girl Stuff blog has become very topical lately. Don't get me wrong. I enjoy the posts on fashion and pop culture and random city life, but the latest have been particularly relevant to the writer's identity and culture and have provided some great reading for me. Check it out, too.

Haudenosaunee Speaker Series #3: Cycle of Ceremonies

2010-02-12T22:55:00.003-05:00

It all starts at 10:00 tomorrow morning at the 59er's building. If the last two workshops are any indication, we can expect two things: cold cuts and soup for lunch, and stimulating instruction/conversation about our heritage.

Get "Mohawk At Large" delivered to you!

2010-02-12T22:40:00.005-05:00

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Beware the Internet!

2010-02-10T15:22:00.006-05:00

I was in college when "the Internet" exploded into the national consciousness, and I was living in the US at the time. I'm talking about 1996/97/98. The entire idea of the World Wide Web (a term I don't believe folks use anymore) was really just a set of dreams: I can remember news reports about how "someday" we'll be able to buy things online just like at the mall, about how "someday" we'll be able to watch video from our computers, about how this start-up company and that start-up company was raising hundreds of millions of dollars to start their new websites.

There are plenty of symbols of that long since gone era (http://www.pets.com/ anyone? The original one, not the PetSmart one). All the great big behemoths of the time only had token websites: Wal-Mart, for example, not that it's much better now, the Canadian version anyway.

For those who can remember, to some "the internet" was euphemism for "porn." I'm rambling now, but it's interesting to look back at all that and see just how much has changed. (Remember a time when you'd open your Hotmail account only to find you'd have 200 new messages and about 198 of them were spam that Hotmail could do nothing about?)

There were some early lessons we all learned back then that, I think, far too many of us take for granted now. Protect your passwords. Don't reveal too much (if any) personal information. Even with regard to e-mail etiquette: don't say anything about anyone unless you're willing to risk the chance of that very person reading it someday.

We learned those lessons slowly and over time and I think because we knew the Internet would be around for a good long time, we all seemed to internalize those lessons. I mention it now because the more and more people we find drawn to sites like Facebook -- and, in turn, the entirety of the Internet -- for the first time have a lot of catching up to do and, at the same time, need to learn these lessons.

Because there is nuance now. While nothing is 100% failsafe, I have submitted my credit card information to websites where I see that little padlock up on the address bar. I've what-can-be-best-described-as danced a dance with people I've met online in an attempt to determine whether I'm dealing with a moron/real person/psycho and, even then, kept them at arms length because you never know; I've found great friendships, some of which I know will only remain online, and I've met others who still know nothing more than my screen-name and that I live somewhere in "Tennessee."

You read that right. Nuance. Given the context, we can keep control of what information we send out to the world. (And sometimes we can't: by now we all have to assume that nearly everything we post on Facebook will find its way onto a Google search someday, right?)

And because we live in a world now where anyone can become publisher of his or her own thoughts, and we have the tools to make it appear more and more professional, an increased amount of discretion is required for those of us interested in details regarding those "niches" we call our lives. I like to think you can trust me, because I believe I am well-reasoned, but there is no reason for you to trust just that. The best way around this? With more and more of us posting our thoughts and beliefs here for the world to see, I believe that any newcomer to our world-wide-playground will have at his or her disposal enough accumulated knowledge to be able to decipher what's what.

In the meantime, we keep learning ...

The search and eventual discovery of Jessica Lloyd has taken over the local area these past few weeks. Though it is very truly unfortunate that she was found dead, it seemed there was a collective sigh taken by the entire region on Monday because at least we knew something; the wait, the worry and wonder, speculation, the anxiety could come down a few notches because we knew they'd found someone and charged him with her murder.

The following day comes an e-mail, a submission to a listserv whose membership has grown to over 2000 recipients. Based out of the Sharbot Lake area, these "Eagle Watch" e-mails, to my knowledge, began back during the Bob Lovelace-slash-environmental-slash-land claim business of a couple years ago. It's intention was to inform folks of whatever updates existed from there. Eventually the writer, identified only as Kittoh, began commenting on Native issues in this area; back during a time when Tyendinaga found itself all over local radio and TV, it certainly wasn't hard to find someone with an opinion, yea or nay.

Even so, I was surprised to find this "commentary" in my inbox yesterday. Even more of a surprise was to learn the Belleville Intelligencer's City Editor Chris Malette engaging such an outrageous post:

"enough, for christ's sake. you people are right around the freakin bend, you know that?"

When asked for clarification regarding this one-liner, he followed up:

"Come on. How specific do I need to be? I've agreed with some of your positions in the past as much as a reach as it has been at times but this takes far too many liberties with the bounds of sense and sensibilities not to mention sensitivities. (why, my rational brain is screaming right now, am I engaging in any dialogue on this....????)"

The entire exchange is here, along with a lengthy re-cap of news stories published by the Intell over recent days. Of course, I have no idea the sort of exchanges may have taken place prior and subsequent to this one. That first article definitely takes a few extreme leaps of logic, revealing far more about the writer's surface-level biases than offering a genuine critique of the situation (which is what the listserv, and this blog, for that matter, exist for).

Even if this is the first time Malette has engaged Kittoh, I find myself, as a reader, surprised to learn our local daily has offered a degree of legitmacy -- if backhanded -- to these "Eagle Watch" messages, which in my opinion routinely take just one or two (sometimes more) steps beyond the sort of discourse that would keep the mainstream interested.

UPDATE: my own mother (!) forwarded a quick e-mail to Kittoh, copied to Malette, which reads:

"My advice ... Stop your gossip and back-biting. It gets all of us nowhere, but in contempt of one another. There are intelligent, sensible people everywhere. There are mentally sick people everywhere too. Leave it at that."

To which Malette responded, in part:

"Not sure why I responded to these cranks, but in the midst of this week, their crap was a little too much."

Quote of the day

2010-02-10T11:39:00.003-05:00

"These are Mohawk people who have chosen non-native spouses or partners. I don't think it's hurt our people yet." -- Ellen Gabriel of the Quebec Native Women.

The National Post reported yesterday that Canada's Indian Affairs Minister Chuck Strahl, though "uncomfortable" with Kahnawake's recent community-wide purge of non-Native residents, "insisted there is nothing illegal about the band's actions."

I'm sure the people of Kahnawake are drafting their Thank-You cards right now. Note, also, that this language of "old customs" and "Mohawk law" is being bandied about as though we all inherently understand these terms. Clearly we don't. As Dwagekhe Mag posted recently on Facebook regarding this unnecessarily vague language, "The only Mohawk law is the Great Law."

About that quote? There's no doubt it can only be read one of two ways: literally or ironically. I suppose I don't have to point out the hugely, massively different interpretations that result depending on which category you fell into when you read it.

Tyendinaga for Haiti fundraiser

2010-02-07T15:52:00.002-05:00

It's Sunday and I'm sitting in church. No, for real. It seems an organization called "The Quinte Singers" have coordinated a fundraiser/show with proceeds going to Haiti relief.

I suppose I should take the time now note that I gave during that big telethon a couple weeks ago. Why mention it now? Because on my way here I stopped at two local bank machines and both were out of order ... so I have nothing to give. 'Cept my gratitude. Well maybe I'll see if I can give a ten later.

The room is skewing waaaay old, by the way. I was late but I think it only took the average age down by about 20 minutes or so.

A great afternoon of entertainment, I have to admit! And the best part: we were told that over $1000 was raised.

Michael Green ...

Lynn Brant ...

The Quinte Singers ...

- Posted from my iPhone using BlogPress

I'm not one to gossip ...

2010-02-06T00:41:00.002-05:00

... but I heard there's a community meeting planned for this coming Thursday, February 11 regarding a proposed CN rail line here. Notices should've been distributed to the community by now, I'd like to think. Regardless, I also heard there'll be representatives from CN present to explain the situation.

Methinks this is looking to be a straight-up "duty to consult"-slash-consultation issue.

Have you already forgot there's supposed to be a consultation policy in development, too? According to the funding agreement, that policy was promised to be complete by the end of this fiscal year, March 31 ... fifty-three days from now.

Kahnawake news

2010-02-04T10:01:00.005-05:00

Lots going on in the Mohawk community of Kahnawake this week.

Yesterday came the announcement that the band office had begun evicting non-members currently residing in the community. Though the article at the link here suggests the community created a "moratorium" on mixed marriages, which in effect made it impossible for non-Native spouses to reside on the territory, quite a whole lot has changed since 1981 when that moratorium was announced.

For one, people don't marry anymore. It's far more likely today that a non-Native person would be found (on any of our reserves, for that matter) simply shacking up with one of us than formally marrying and then attempting to make the rez their permanent home. Given this current circumstance, it's not particularly relevant that the moratorium was put into place nearly 30 years ago.

By definition, Indian reserves were intended as a place for Indians to live. Of course, non-Native people shouldn't be living here. But Kahnawake, a community noted for its particular interest in community membership, is now taking it upon itself to enforce a truth we all know and, to be honest, it's something the majority of our communities have chosen to ignore, mostly because of the discomfort inherent to looking relatives in the eye and telling them their spouse really shouldn't be living here.

News also arrived yesterday regarding the gambling business in Quebec. "If all goes according to plan, Loto-Quebec will be offering online gambling, including poker touraments, before Christmas" reads the lede from a news report published by the Montreal Gazette yesterday. The very next line: "Finance Minister Ramond Bachand announced Wednesday that the cabinet has approved the move in a bid 'to cannibalize illegal gambling' sites that now offer an array of gambling opportunities to Quebecers." Later in the article, it acknowledges that "government authorities" have long considered the Kahnawake Gaming Commission illegal.

Frustration? Where to begin. "Canada" can talk and talk all it wants about creating opportunities for Native people but, in nearly every instance, when Mohawk people do something to better our communities economically Nanny Canada will step in to denounce, trump, or just outright outlaw it.

Finally, I received a couple pieces of mail this week from that community's news organization, Eastern Door. The first is a postcard announcing what, to me, is a great big deal. "Online subscriptions now available" it reads in boldface all-caps lettering, directing me to the website and this page in particular. This is brilliant and so necessary for our communties to strengthen ties. An annual fee of $51 will provide access to each weekly edition. For many of us, $51 is a bit of a stretch and, for those of us, there is an answer: for $6 per month, we'll get the same access. I LOVE this monthly option and commend Eastern Door for making their product more accessible to all Mohawk and Haudenosaunee people.

And this is what made my other piece of mail so surprising. It is essentially an advertising rate sheet, offering spots in a "Mohawk Nation Telephone Directory" to be published by the news organization. While I can admit I'm a bit more plugged in to this technology perhaps more than the average Indian, I don't find it so unusual that I just flat-out dropped each of the print phone directories I've received over the past year in the recycling box. And while there is an argument to be made that our people are less plugged in than the mainstream and therefore may make use of an inter-community phone book, I just can't find myself endorsing it wholeheartedly.

Twenty years, even ten years, ago this would have been a great idea but, between my computers at home and work and my cell phone, I will argue there is a greater need for an online directory encompassing all of the businesses, residents, and government offices in our communities. Here's hoping that day comes soon.

UPDATE: Band council makes this announcement regarding Quebec minister's attack on Kahnawake Gaming Commission. In summary, "Minister Bachand either does not understand how the online gaming industry works - or is simply using the opportunity to take a gratuitous swipe at Kahnawa:ke for his own political reasons." Juicy. Check it out.

Haudenosaunee Speaker Series #2

2010-02-03T23:28:00.004-05:00

Y'all: if you're not making it out to these meetings, you're missing out on so, so, so much. A few weeks ago, this series began with a presentation from Kevin White, a Mohawk from Akwesasne, who walked us through the many different variations of our creation story that exist. This past Saturday, Loran Thompson, another Mohawk from Akwesasne, spoke to the assembled Tyendinaga Mohawks to speak about our clans. I arranged to be present mostly because I knew the order of these presentations was intended to walk us through the history of the development of our people: i.e. creation, clans, our calendar of ceremonies, the great law, and the handsome lake code, and that alone seemed interesting. What I found when I arrived was so, so much more, so unpredictable, so awakening.

It's easy to sit around and think our community is so far behind other Haudenosaunee-slash-Iroquois-slash-Six Nations communities in its revitalization of our culture and traditions, and I think those of us who believe that are partly to blame. I say that because it takes no more than a cursory visit (can one cursorily visit?) another community to find it is in many cases just as divided as we are, just as filled with those who -- for whatever reason -- have internalized the idea that the Indian Act = today, whereas any sort of traditionalism = the past. The truth is that we're all at various points in our personal evolution and understanding of who we are as a people that meetings like the one on Saturday prove (to me) to illustrate the hurdles we'll run into when we all grow at different paces. And I felt that reminder in two parts.

First, Loran Thompson told it like it needed to be told. Instead of walking us through a delicate conversation about the unique character traits inherent to each clan, he made the organization of clans relevant to the longhouse and its implementation with regard to the Great Law. He spoke in concrete terms that made me uncomfortable, that made me intellectually pull away from that conversation for two reasons: one, he spoke in terms of how "things" -- the true operation of our clans under the Great Law -- should be with little explanation of how it takes place at his home in Akwesasne. Telling us how things should be without acknowledging the difficulties they've run into in his community didn't sit well with me. As well, he spoke in terms of true nationhood, which included language that I knew would make plenty of people in this community, and many sitting at that meeting, seriously uncomfortable. And I had a serious feeling they either couldn't hear what he was saying, or they were choosing to ignore it.

All of this took place in the morning. After the lunch break and we reconvened, each of those two issues faded away as my hunches became more and more clear. Loran, to his credit, did explain some situations he ran into at Akwesasne that proved implementing the Great Law across an entire community is not as simple as he was making it out be earlier that day. And now we come to the second way I found myself reminded that we're all learning at very different paces.

A question came from one in the crowd regarding the relationship between Christianity and everything he'd spoken about so far that day. Suddenly it seemed the room split in two. Within minutes there was one, four, then another five people who identified -- self-identified -- as Christian (all Mohawk community members, them), who seemed to be arguing that they were being barred from learning about any part of our culture.

Anyone who knows me understands that I struggle, in most every situation, to comprehend all sides of a conversation. By definition, every stakeholder brings an unique perspective to the table and, unless you're dealing with complete morons, it behooves an intelligent person to understand all of those sides.

Miscommunication? That's another thing.

It was pointed out that "all of these people" have a lot to contribute to the longhouse and that it would be a waste to shun them, that our people would have "evolved" if European contact had never happened and, for that reason, traditional people should allow a Christian perspective in longhouse. And, before I go any further, here's the thing about me: I understand traditionalism but I've not entirely adopted it as my life's law. Too, I understand the Indian Act and ... let me say it like this: the Indian Act is not unique to Mohawk people. It was imposed upon us and, for that reason, I believe we can and should manipulate it to our purposes whenever we want. The Great Law, on the other hand, is unique to the Six Nations people so for us to consider -- even consider -- muddying it with mainstream interests, such as Christianity, is wrong.

I spoke up and, to be perfectly honest, I made at least one statement that I absolutely genuinely regret. What I said was this: "You can't pray to Jesus as a Native person." It was spoken out of frustration and I sincerely regret it. Anyone can pray to Jesus regardless to his or her race, ancestry, ethnic culture, etc.

So I've spent the past few days entirely ruminating over that exchange, considering the personal history that brought me to say that, comparing it to an also legitimate feeling that marrying Christianity and the Great Law is not in the best interest of all Mohawks, thinking about the difference between our traditional law (the Great Law), our traditional ceremonies and what sort of comparison can be made between only our ceremonies and Christianity.

As a Native North American Indian and a gay man, I don't have to explain my historic relationship with Christianity. On top of this, I've lived in the South and witnessed and felt the discrimination and condemnation firsthand in the name of "Christian love." I've read the Bible and, in fact, took two courses in college studying the book. I know about the complications that have come about from differing interpretations, the various denominations and various degrees of "belief" that all falls under the umbrella term "Christianity." All of that, I'm sure, finds its way to the surface quickly, especially when self-identified Christians speak in terms of victimhood.

A quick argument some traditional people have made since that day is this: the Great Law is a law. You can believe whatever you want, as long as you leave that religion outside when we're applying the Great Law. Difficult to argue with this but don't forget that Christianity was a law before it found its current position as a belief system. And there are inevitably going to be conflicts: when you come upon two creation stories, how do you choose? Simply being born a Mohawk and becoming a Christian by choice doesn't make it okay to say you believe in both. But, having said all this, I will acknowledge there is a possibility to separate the two.

Ultimately, though, we're talking about self-identified Christians, people who understand there is obviously some degree of conflict inherent to these two world philosophies and belief systems, who -- simply because they are self-identifying as Christians before anything else -- by definition they are acknowledging that a Christian orthodoxy will absolutely influence any negotiation of the Great Law. It's taken me a couple days, but I believe ultimately that this is my reason for objecting as viciously as I did.

What I'm saying: it's alright for one who may coincidentally be a Christian and a Mohawk to want to learn our traditional ways, but if -- before you even take that first step in the longhouse -- you tell the world, unprovoked, that you are a Christian, it by definition suggests you will allow that religions to influence whatever happens in that longhouse.

Of course, this doesn't mean everyone can't learn the Great Law. The Haudenosaunee Speaker Series will conclude after a few more session and I think it would be great if we could find a way to continue these conversations. There is so, so much more detail, so much more in-depth learning that needs to happpen, so much sharing of individual knowledge and, as I've always said, we waste our time if we only talk to people who we know will agree with us.

We're a community of Mohawks and, religion or no religion, we all have the right to look at our history, our nation and community's development, its evolution, and truly come to understand what brought us here today, whether it was right or wrong, how we negotiate moving forward with this knowledge and, finally, look for ways to make this community better. That's our job.

News articles worth a look

2010-01-25T16:05:00.005-05:00

I started this post over a week ago, this round-up of recent newspaper and magazine articles I've found and felt a need to comment on. I've decided to break up this list and post more as I get to them. I found myself moved by each of these. In the first two instances, filled with frustration and, in the last, grateful to have come upon a clear understanding of the world as is turns today. Enjoy ...

First article:

The aboriginal healing boondoggle from National Post

Frances Widdowson is a co-author of perhaps the most divisive book to come out in recent times, "Disrobing the Aboriginal Industry: The Deception Behind Indigenous Cultural Preservation" and the sad thing about both that book (which, I hasten to add, I own but have not read) and this opinion piece published by the National Post -- no surprise there -- is that she starts with a viable, possibly entirely accurate point, in this case that the Aboriginal Healing Foundation (AHF), which recently lost its government funding, is another

initiative masterminded by the Aboriginal industry -- a large group of non-aboriginal lawyers, consultants and various academics who profit by keeping natives isolated, dependent and socially dysfunctional

and cannot, because of a lack of significant evaluative methods, make anyone confident it's meeting it's mission.

I saw an interview with Ms. Widdowson on "The Agenda with Steve Paikin," that nightly interview program on TVOntario, gosh, well over a year ago, upon the release of the book. Then, as in this instance, she began with an argument I thought I could get behind: while far from being one who'd endorse assimilation, I've often wondered about the "business" of government-related work on behalf of Native people, particularly when government announces it's spent or is spending so-and-so many billions of dollars and there appears to be little evidence that the average, regular'ol Indian is benefitting from it.

Widdowson -- so far, in every instance that I've seen now -- then strays into territory that is undoubtedly rascist and unrelated to the "aboriginal industry" which provided her original source of frustration. In this article, she veers away from suggesting all those dollars allocated to the AHF be given directly to Native people by saying this: "Disbursing money directly to survivors ... will just provide money for gambling, drugs and other consumer goods."

Further, she blames the imposition of Indian reserves, particularly for those who've survived for centuries nomadically, on "the emergence of industrialization" and suggests that Native people hold "feelings of hopelessness that come from being unable to make a meaningful contribution to the society in which one lives." No. And no. When a foreign government imposes an entirely new "society" upon your people then spends decades wondering why you haven't learned to love it, it can't conclude that you're at fault.

Her ultimate point, that lawyers and bureaucrats benefit far more than the average Indian, is compelling, but the deviation into race-based judgment is too stomach turning to overlook.

Next article:

Editorial: Remote aboriginal reserves generate tales of tragedy from National Post

Similarly, this editorial is classic National Post: provide one or two instances of some horrible situation involving Native people and, based on that, extrapolate that full assimilation for all Natives is the only reasonable response.

Does this sound like the sort of place that Canadian taxpayers should be bankrolling with the billions of dollars we spend on native programs every year? Or maybe, just maybe, would it perhaps be a better idea to integrate these people into the First World, a place with professional firefighters and child care workers, working phone lines and ... reasons for living?

Let's not even get started on which group of people have bankrolled the other's entire existence, okay? And just generally speaking, if you can identify an issue unique to Native people (or the people of any community, for that matter), wouldn't it be better to work toward solving that issue right there and then instead of dropping them all off at the front door of "First World" and then pretend these problems are not uniform to one community, that they're not related to centuries of oppression? If the National Post agrees with a clearer end-result statement like this, then say it.

Next article:

Keeping America's Edge from National Affairs

Okay, lemme stop jumping up and down, screaming for a moment. This article, from the magazine "National Affairs," blew me away the moment I started reading it. If you're interested in understanding the relationship between the overall economy and individual families and how it's developed and changed over the past couple hundred years, and if you want to consider the struggle/dilemma America (in particular) faces as it moves forward, then print this out, sit down and read it now. You don't need a degree in business to find this interesting.

It is common to think of the post-war global economy (which the author outlined earlier) as a base of normalcy to which we wish to return. But it seems more accurate to see that era as an anomaly: the apogee of relative global economic dominance by the West, and by the United States within the Western coalition. The hard truth is that the economic world of 1955 is gone, and even if we wanted it back -- short of emerging from another global war unscathed with the rest of the world a smoking heap of rubble -- we could not have it.

Yet the strategy of giving up and opting out of this international economic competition in order to focus on quality of life is simply not feasible for the United States. Europeans can get away with it only because they benefit from the external military protection America provides; we, however, have no similar guardian to turn to. Were America to retreat from global competition, sooner or later those who oppose our values would become strong enough to take away our wealth and freedom.

Interesting to list wealth before freedom. Interesting to (sort of) consider that using a strong arm on the rest of the world will maintain peace for it. Regardless, it's just a really, really great look at the controlling factors in today's world and certainly worth a look. Please give it a read.

Mohawk Chief: "There will be a letter coming from our lawyer..."

2010-01-14T22:32:00.008-05:00

Call me crazy, but whenever I learn of any news locally I -- without thinking -- go straight to the Mohawks of the Bay of Quinte "official" website to see if there's any "official" word from our leadership. And I'm always disappointed. Note that the website is interim; I can't wait until it's all up and running.

So news comes today that the Supreme Court of Canada has "turned down a leave for appeal" in connection to an ongoing land dispute. The decision not to hear the appeal means Andrew Clifford Miracle -- the current possessor of the land, where "Mohawk Liquidation" is located in Shannonville -- has 30 days to vacate the property.

Unfortunately the Intelligencer doesn't provide much information regarding exactly what the appeal was regarding, other than to note that a court of appeals denied to hear the case before it moved to the Supreme Court (which, I guess, is the process), though my hunch is that it was a challenge to the land ownership rules the Indian Act imposed on us.

Instead of being the sort of challenge we can all get behind, this case is one -- recounted here, via the Kingston Whig-Standard -- with a few twists and turns and personalities that make it a bit too complex to seriously engage the average community member. Sadly.

This case brings to mind the news, originally reported late last year, that Indian and Northern Affairs Canada (INAC) is reviewing the "Peguis First Nation's finances following complaints by band members about audit practices and the salaries paid to chief and council."

As with the members of the Peguis community, the chief and council at Tyendinaga gave up on whatever strength exists here for us to resolve internal issues on our own. How will we ever reach the point of self-government if, at every step, we run to Nanny-Canada to save us from ourselves?

Admittedly, there is little chance this case could've been resolved here among us. What's necessary at this time are first steps toward getting us to that place where we can handle our own affairs. Communication is a start. And I know we can get there. So I keep checking that "official" MBQ website. Don't call me crazy.

Photo(s) of the Day

2010-01-10T01:48:00.004-05:00

Kevin White, Ph.D. (Akwesasne Mohawk) Assistant Professor of Native American & American Studies, SUNY Oswego speaks to community members here at Tyendinaga to inaugurate the Haudenosaunee Speaker Series, a series of daylong workshops providing "an opportunity for consciousness-raising about the Haudenosaunee or 'traditional' way of life. The Speaker Series will bring a general awareness to those looking to better understand traditionalism."

White, who's Ph.D. dissertation compared 22 different published versions of our creation story, shared his evidence today at the Tsi Tyonnheht Onkwawenna building, located on Airport Road. His presentation began at 10:00 a.m. and was complete by 2:30 p.m.

I'm confident each person in the room took something different from today's event, and for me it was this: regarding the differing versions of our creation story that have been published from as early as the 1600s, White reminded us that these written versions actually tell us more about the storyteller and his audience, the differences that exist between the Six Nations, and the era when the version was published than many of those details that we want so much to debate.

Fascinating, fascinating, fascinating stuff. To me, it reveals a lot -- concretely -- regarding our oral tradition, especially with regard to all forms of Native storytelling, and particularly calms a lot of my personal concern for uncovering that historically elusive absolute 100% accurate version of our creation story. If ever you get a chance to hear Kevin White speak on this topic, please do it.

How Native people will take over the world

2010-01-03T18:24:00.004-05:00

Check out this blog post from the great Mitch Joel regarding the maintenance of your blog's life. Lots of worthwhile tips and suggestions here. Most interestingly (to me): remember that your blog and your audience will grow together so, as with any relationship (even if only between you and your blog-post history), you will create a rhythm and history and, with the best blog-posts and best engaged audience, a community. So don't just read this intro quote and think you've figured it out:

One of the best ways to grow your Blog audience it to create tantalizing headlines that will get people curious, clicking, reading and sharing.

Andrew Cohen, a new correspondent at the Atlantic, offers this fine-tuned look at how mainstream news has been overtaken by the need to produce entertainment at all times. Most compelling is ...

the disappearance of a true "center" in the formation of public opinion. By center I don't mean political center. I mean an analytical center. Commentators and experts who want to shed light instead of heat -- those who are humble or who simply want to be honest about the limitations of their own powers to predict future events -- are shoved off to the sidelines and replaced by people who often have nothing to say but who are willing to say it loudly. On my beat, I have learned that those who know don't talk too much and that those who talk too much typically don't know.

Problem is, people watching at home can't tell which is which, who is who.

I read over these articles and, as I'm sure many of you do, I think "what does this have to do with us? What's it gotta do with Native people?" My consideration: everything. This is gonna get raw folks. Here we go.

What we're witnessing now is a great convergence of technology and the dumbing down of the average North American citizen. An irony, I understand, but check out this fascinating article outlining the very daunting work that stands before America today: income inequality has increased and the economy needs to grow, but the best way to build the economy (technological advances) will directly contribute to a furthering of the economic gap. Though I've not read it all, so far this is turning out to be an absolutely fascinating article, so please read it.

Again: what'sat gotta doowit us?! As Native people, our small (but growing) numbers and unique learning methods, as well as our community-orientation is exactly what the successful future of any society will depend upon. Oh, that and we don't really need to take over the world as much as we need to live peacefully and autonomously as sovereign people in this one.

Bookstores are closing everyday. Newspapers are going out of business everyday, and those that are surviving consolidate so much information among their member (sometimes nationwide) dailies that "community" and "local" news is often lost. Online newsgatherers lament that our attention spans will only tolerate 500 word articles. Where are we headed? Video, blogging, vlogging, Twitter and, as Native people, we can't afford to be last at the table this time. We should be the ones leaping on board. Why?

The technology has already been developed and it's cheap. If not free. And it's getting cheaper and more portable.

We already bring to the table what those big city techn-aholics are looking for: community. And our communities are growing every day. Now, the interesting part ...

As North American society leans more and more toward interpersonal forms of communication via new technology -- sharing information online via your communities of friends/followers/etc -- and further away from traditional methods of communication -- top-down deliverers, broadcasters of news like newspapers, 6pm TV news, magazines -- the media companies, intellectuals, academics are spending too much time lamenting the loss of the "old way" and not learning to adapt to ways that can make this technology work for us. (A great local exception: Loyalist College professor Robert Washburn; his Northumberland County-oriented blog, his Twitter feed.)

As Native people, we've already beat them there. Admittedly, I'm running the risk of insulting my own people, so bear with me. While in the past we've been accused of being incapable of learning (via 700 page "wordy" textbooks and reading and writing lengthy essays), recently Native educators have come to identify a unique way of "Aboriginal learning," that being by focusing more on "learning by doing," by visualizing and making the knowledge immediately relevant. I hope I'm not misrepresenting this. Read a short story collection by Sherman Alexie or, heck, just sit around talking with your neighbour some day: we're already plugged in to pop culture, and we have a unique perspective on it. We should be clamouring, in our communities, to make use of this new technology.

We don't have to un-learn Shakespeare, for example, because we never really got it in the first place.

This isn't to say that reading and writing are not unnecessary to a Native-oriented future. As an example, go back and re-read this very blog post. I'm as descriptive an Indian as they come. My point is this: it's ironic that, as people so often deemed "in need" of this sort of assistance or that, we would be the ones who bring the best tools to the table in order to face the technological and community-oriented future the larger society is still trying to comprehend.

Now, regarding the blogging secrets: this is the lesson I continually have to remind myself. It won't happen overnight. Knowing you're on the cutting edge of something huge is exciting but can be unendingly frustrating when it seems, time and again, that people don't quite "get" that thing that you've come to take for granted. Our overtake of the world (!) will happen slowly and many people will bring new ideas into the landscape as it develops, so for that reason I hesitate to say what I think the future will look like.

It's our job now to engage everyone we know in our communities, so we can collectively move toward that day.

Most importantly, regarding this: we can no longer sit around saying "the next generation will bring such great leaders." No. That's a cop-out. Waiting for the next generation, or the government, or our locally elected leaders to do something is the old way. We need to realize that we are the next generation, we are the "new ancestors." We are those people our descendants will look to and (hopefully) thank for all we've given them.

Yes, the next generations after us will continue the good work we start when the time comes, but we must create something to pass on to them, other than hope that the future will just coincidentally bring better things.

Olympic torch protests reveal failure of protest messaging

2009-12-29T23:12:00.008-05:00

If one needs any more evidence that protesting the Olympic torch run through our communities doesn't change anything, look no further than these two articles from the past week.

Protesters from the Oneida of the Thames reserve, near London, set up a road blockade in advance of the Olympic torch's scheduled visit to the community. The Vancouver Organizing Committee for the 2010 Olympic Winter Games offered this comment in a news release: "We will not visit Oneida as a faction of the community has pledged to disrupt the relay and prohibit us from entering the community."

In addition, the torch relay program director Jim Richards had his own statement: "It is unfortunate there is a blockade in Oneida today and we are disappointed that we will not be able to bring the Olympic flame and its message of peace, brotherhood and friendship to the families and children of Oneida."

As the relay program director, Mr. Richards is in perhaps the perfect position to both celebrate the Olympics and feign ignorance to whatever lack of "peace, brotherhood and friendship" the Native people of British Columbia experienced amid the infrastructure required for the region to host next month's Olympic Games. But let's set that aside for a moment.

Notice that nowhere in that article does it appear any of the protesters have been given any opportunity to explain why they're protesting the torch run. As a reader or reporter, wouldn't your first question be "Why in the world would some people want to stop the torch run?" The fact that even an inquisitive (by definition) reporter wouldn't care to question or attempt to differentiate just another Indian protest from all the others (my words) proves that these road blockades have become far too routine, simply given the number of them.

Though this second article doesn't reference Native people or issues specifically related to the torch run (this time in Guelph), notice again that though there was an individual identified and charged with assault, this person was again not questioned by the media as to what her intentions or motives were. If it was to raise awareness for ... whatever, it doesn't matter because that message was never relayed. 'Twas all a waste of her time, therefore.

Positive spotlight unnecessarily tarnished

2009-12-24T22:09:00.006-05:00

I suppose we're all guilty at times of valuing our perspective over others.

And I suppose we should all be grateful that our local daily, the Belleville Intelligencer, has taken the time to flat-out identify "a good thing" when it happens here on the rez.

Just the same, a recent editorial "Positive spotlight shines on Tyendinaga Mohawks" managed to take away something from the great celebration the recent Olympic torch run brought to this community.

It appears the editorialist paraphrased what I'm assuming was a press release authored by the Mohawks of the Bay of Quinte's consultation coordinator, Sarah West. Upon close reading, it appears West submitted a narrative of the event; if you read the editorial again, read only the quoted parts this time.

It's a credit to the newspaper's integrity for it to include exact quotes, ones that provide examples of its lack of reportage in creating this editorial: live interviews rarely include ellipses and bracketed shortened forms for commonly used, lengthier titles -- i.e. the "(QMS)" that follows the first mention of "Quinte Mohawk School."

To clarify: West is the consultation coordinator for the entirety of the MBQ administration, not something called the "Olympic Torch Relay planning committee." I could be wrong, though I think we can all assume that there is not an appointed "consultation coordinator" for every committee engaged with the administration.

Given that the original narrative seemed so edited, I figured the original should at least be found on the MBQ website. Heck, just this past Monday someone posted an update to the water situation at the Quinte Mohawk School right on the MBQ homepage. Alas, there was no Olympic torch relay recap. Here's hoping when the new MBQ website is complete that (a) there is a page that lists and displays press releases from the band office, and (b) it is a complete list, not a selective one based on which releases the administration feels we might be interested in.

In politics, transparency has only one definition; it doesn't care if the news you're hiding is bad or good.

Too, it's disappointing that the Intell would choose to link this good news to its own selective coverage of our community in the recent past. Only the "dozen or so dissidents" and the Intelligencer itself are interested in full-page stories, with full-size photos to boot, when a dispute brings "reporters running." To now comment on what it feels is "a true, honest picture of Tyendinaga" is, therefore, a bit presumptive.

By highlighting its own history of negative news reportage regarding our community, the Intelligencer has made its acknwledgment of the Olympic torch run through our community backhanded praise. It's this sort of comment we all need to watch out for when I talk about monitoring ourselves and our neighbours. Does the inclusion of the negativity contribute to the betterment of our community, or does it enhance (spotlight, even) the divisions many of us are hoping to eliminate?

Full text here:

Editorial: Positive spotlight shines on Tyendinaga Mohawks

As a spokeswoman for the Mohawks of the Bay of Quinte put it, last week's torch run is the kind of publicity Mohawks here deserve.

Excitement, said Sarah West, "was at an all time high when the Olympic torch passed through Tyendinaga Mohawk Territory," last Tuesday. The consultation co-ordinator for the Olympic Torch Relay planning committee for Mohawks of the Bay of Quinte estimated crowds of 700 people cheered on the Torch along York Road.

"Community members, and students and staff from Quinte Mohawk School (QMS) cheered on torchbearers Raven Tabobandung and Camelia Maracle, waving their Olympic mittens, handmade signs, flags, and tambourines," said West. "Paul Peters and Rachael Boyd, RBC and Coca-Cola sponsored torchbearers, also carried the flame."

Chief R. Donald Maracle addressed a supportive crowd and Honorary Elder Firekeeper and Second World War veteran Elwood Brant acknowledged the flame, welcoming it into the territory. Students from Quinte Mohawk School performed dances representing unity and representatives from the Tyendinaga Mohawk Council, Mohawks of the Bay of Quinte administration, the Kiwanis Club and Quinte Mohawk School expressed their gratitude to the torchbearers and Elder Firekeeper Brant during a special assembly later that morning.

Events preceding the torch relay "rallied excitement for students at QMS. Students listened with enthusiasm to Marlee Maracle, Chris Auten, and Michelle Brant who spoke on the importance of being active, how to get involved, and achieving your dreams. Marlee is a 15-year-old Mohawk youth who helped lead Team Ontario to win a national gold medal in soccer and also led her lacrosse team to victory to win a provincial title," said West. "QMS students of all ages energetically participated in teams during a "Mini-Olympics" that afternoon. Medals were presented to students during a recognition assembly..."

It's a truer representation of the real Tyendinaga -- the one not in the headlines for the wrong reasons.

To put it in perspective, a dispute or blockade that brings reporters running from four corners of the country usually attracts about a dozen or so dissidents. Last week, 700 community members rallied in a show of unity to support the event and torch bearers.

As West said -- "It was a proud and positive day for Tyendinaga as we shared in the Olympic message of peace, brotherhood and friendship."

It's a true, honest picture of Tyendinaga all too often lost in the flurry of coverage of less important but more disruptive events.

Natives halt border traffic, reroute Olympic torch

2009-12-22T09:43:00.005-05:00

Take a look at this article, and consider some of the thinking and planning that went into this endeavor, the international border blockade at Sault Ste. Marie. Consider, too, whether the event accomplished the goals of the group.

During my run for council here at Tyendinaga, I emphasized the importance of individual community members directly contributing to our future and it strikes me that this proposed HST issue is the most obvious one we should all be working on. It continues to surprise me that, despite the differences among us, we can't find ways to work together to make our voice heard regarding this new tax. It particularly surprises me that all those 1/2 and 1/4 and 1/8 Indians living off the reserve -- to put it bluntly, those whose Native identity is encapsulated in that "PST discount card" -- aren't loudly protesting the proposed Harmonized Sales Tax, too. Regardless to our lineage and blood quantum, we're all about to lose here if something isn't done.

It was during the last meeting of this year's Indigenous Public Relations class that we got discussing possible work that can be done regarding the HST. Maurice Switzer, the communications officer for the Union of Ontario Indians, the organization that represents the interests of affiliated Anishinabek communities in Ontario, was instructor for one of the program's final courses and it was he who prompted the conversation. No surprise, given it seems to have been only the Anishinabe communities (and the UOI) that have provided the loudest and most consistent voice on behalf of all of us. To my knowledge, the leadership here at Tyendinaga has done nothing, and has asked nothing of the community for support.

In particular, we discussed engaging a number of large retailers that neighbor each of our communities, identify ourselves as a sizable constituency, and ask them to either call on Ottawa for our continued exemption from the PST portion of the HST or elect on their own to offer us the equivalent of that tax as a discount. While I'm not so comfortable with the latter, either idea -- with more brainstorming -- provides for implementation of a plan with a sound and identifiable end result, an idea of what success would look like.

I fear that road blockades, in this case an international border blockade, are ultimately unproductive for two reasons. For one, they immediately alienate non-Native people from us, inadvertently drawing a line between those non-Native people who might possibly be able to assist us somehow, and the uniqueness of our situation. Not only are we saying we don't care about your help, we're also pointing out that we can't have anything in common regardless of your support.

Secondly, it puts the story in the news for one day and, if the message isn't clearly articulated, that news story may not help. Note in the article that it wasn't until the ninth paragraph that we, the readers, learn why the folks of Garden River and Batchewana stopped traffic.

Besides: what is the direct link between the neighbouring community here in Ontario -- who they want to support their cause -- and tying up the international border? There doesn't immediately appear to be one. Blocking the border doesn't immediately suggest the local Ontario businesses should jump on their cause. If anything, it kept locals (Native and non-) in Ontario to continue shopping in Sault Ste. Marie, at least for those couple hours.

As well, protests of this sort are becoming too closely associated with Native people in general in Canada. While there may be legitimate reasons to block a highway (though I can't hypothetically identify one right now), it shouldn't be the knee-jerk reaction to whatever concerns us. This report from "Toronto's Breaking News: CP24" seems a detailed enough recap of the Olympic Torch's visit to the Six Nations reserve yesterday.

Given the events of the past couple years, it would seem obvious that both the communities of Tyendinaga and Six Nations seriously "pick their battles" regarding protests like this, if only because it will imediately be presented in the media as "just another protest" among many. The sheer, and growing, number of them will be the story, not whatever the particular issue may be.

I wasn't in favour of a torch visit to Tyendinaga, mostly because of my concern for the Native communities in British Columbia who've been dealt an unfair hand in the infrastructure that will create the Olympic Games of next month. And while I'm not the protesting type, this issue certainly isn't one for any of the Mohawks of this region to be taking on, for two reasons: one, those BC Indians haven't been rushing to our defense while developers try to take our land while, at the same time, Canada dickers around regarding our land claims, (perhaps) celebrating the turmoil. Secondly, as was reported in the CP24 newsstory, a protest in our community regarding an issue that is not ours will only amount to furthering whatever divisions already exist here.

Again, the question needed to be asked: "What would success look like?"

These two events point to a need for leadership in our communities. Whether we like it or not, there are people among us who feel passionately about issues that we may not, and ultimately we'll all be painted with that same brush, so we have to learn to work together. Too many of us sit around huffing and puffing when our neighbours take to the road -- and may god help the most deluded of us, those who wait until the eleventh hour to protest the protesters -- when we could be all arranging meetings leading up to these events, seriously contemplating ways we can build our community first, then work on outside issues.

Saying "We need a community meeting" is one thing.

Identifying that "We need to create a plan ... and stick to it" is quite another.

Thank you Thank you Thank you

2009-12-07T14:57:00.002-05:00

Amid my surprise and stupor and immediate need to make some sense of it all last night, I entirely neglected to acknowledge all 381 voters who supported my candidacy this year.

Thank you so much for

paying attention when my flyers came out
calling and e-mailing and requesting a personal meeting for more clarification
for committing your vote to me during those calls and e-mails and meetings
promising to get all your friends and family involved
appreciating and agreeing how important and necessary it is to improve this community's communication and leadership methods

I'm very truly proud to announce now that all but one of the calls/e-mails/meetings I received in the run-up to election day resulted in a commitment to vote for my candidacy. I found each one very humbling and empowering, and I'm very proud of what we've all accomplished so far.

You can't run a campaign based on communication, increased leadership and "new ideas" -- then speak with scores of community members who wholeheartedly agree -- and feel as though you've lost, even when the votes aren't there. We should all be so proud for taking a stand for what we believe in.

No decision as of yet as to whether I'll run again in two years. Smart people don't just walk away: I am looking into a theory I dreamt up last night that might be able to more easily explain the results of the past few elections. Stay tuned for that.

2009 Tyendinaga Election Results

2009-12-06T22:34:00.004-05:00

I got a whole lotta' bad news. Note that none of this information has been officially confirmed. In the election for the Mohawks of the Bay of Quinte chief and council 2009, here are the total votes ...

For chief:
R Donald Maracle - 766
Catherine Sharbot-Duschene - 157

For council:
Douglas E Maracle - 601
Keith Sero - 560
Velma Hill-Dracup - 521
Roy C Maracle - 486
Barry Brant - 475
Joseph E Brant - 381
Christine Claus - 341
Brenda Green-Edwards -162

My initial thoughts: I genuinely believe there was quite a lot of support for my candidacy; perhaps a lot of people thinking they didn't have to vote, that I'd just receive enough votes from "other people." As native people, we spend a lot more time handicapping our collective experience and, lately at least, not participating.

To wit: despite lackluster turnout community-wide for every public meeting this past year, supporters of the longhair party proved themselves an identifiable contingent, if only on election day. Between the chief, Doug, Keith, and Velma, this community will be run exclusively by that party for the next two years.

So I congratulate Don, Doug, Keith, Velma and Roy and wish them all the best.

As for improved communication and leadership, I wish us all the best, too.

PS. Check out the comment (following the next post) from Loyalist College professor Robert Washburn. This technology stuff is the future, folks -- and I believe a community-oriented manipulation of it can make us trailblazers. Why? Because we are the future, too!

UPDATE: The vote totals for chief have been corrected here, according to the numbers currently being reported by The Belleville Intelligencer in this article. I'd originally been provided misinformation, specifically that Chief Maracle had received 776 votes and that challenger Sharbot-Duschene received 57. I apologize for the error. Electoral Officer Kelly Maracle has informed me she'll be revealing an official "Statement of Votes" tomorrow (12/08/09).

Election Day is Tomorrow

2009-12-04T11:53:00.002-05:00

First, I want to thank you for visiting my website these past few weeks, for your willingness and interest to learn more about who I am and what my vision for our community is. If you are new to this site, please take some time to scroll down this page for more information. As well, I'll be available all day today and tomorrow if you have any last minute questions, concerns or ideas you'd like to share. Please call: 613-827-4753.

I'm delighted and humbled by the response I've received and, though nobody knows what tomorrow will bring, I'm grateful for the experience and the connections I've found, as well as the greater insight into this community that I've gained this past while.

I'm running for council because I believe we've all been witness to a lack of communication and leadership in the community and I chose, with my nomination, to take Tyendinaga's first step toward bringing this community together, toward peace, toward recognizing that we all have similar goals, and that holding grudges and judgment and hindering progress -- whether intentional or not -- doesn't ultimately favour anyone or any single group.

I believe in community, in dialogue, and consultation. I believe that when we're more open and honest with each other, we will all benefit. I believe we have enough talent and intelligence within this community to not only resolve our own issues but also become a beacon of hope and inspiration -- a source of leadership -- for other communities in similar circumstances.

This is your community and I believe we all have a role to play. I'm asking for your vote tomorrow, and I'm also asking for your voice, your input, your contribution to our community so we can make an impact on our future that is real and lasting.

Thank you,
Joseph E. Brant

Election campaign flyers #4 and #5

2009-12-04T11:47:00.002-05:00

The "long version" of flyer number four is a bit more heartfelt than anything I've produced so far. It explains "Why I'm Getting Involved At All."

Flyer number five was delivered to local mailboxes yesterday. Don't forget: election day is tomorrow, Saturday December 5th between 9:00am and 8:00pm. Please be there, and tell your friends to stop in sometime too.

No endorsements

2009-11-30T15:06:00.002-05:00

A few people have asked for my opinion about the other candidates for chief and council. "I like you, so who else should I vote for?" some have said. To be perfectly honest, I suppose it's a good question. Reworded: who among the candidates do you feel you'll be able to work best with? (Pardon the grammar)

A good question, yes, but I'm afraid that answering it would create a potential for -- how do I say this -- a potential for a handful of people to have too much power. While each candidate wants what's best for the community, I believe the council needs some diversity of opinion and life experience and ideas; people who have to work together because they've been put there by the community.

People gossip about this one who only does what the chief wants, or that one who's only in it for himself. The truth is: all but a couple of us have either been elected to council before or are current incumbents. It would seem that most people in the community have already decided if you approve of (or not) the performance of those. And for us first-time candidates, it's a matter of explaining how we're different, why we're running now, and trusting that you'll agree.

Another reason I hesistate to endorse anyone is because my ideology is significantly different than many of the other candidates. While this community most likely will elect some candidates whose strengths lie in lobbying Ottawa or Toronto, I believe my strengths and interests -- community building, increased communication and consultation, maintaining a "Tyendinaga first" attitude -- are those that make me a unique candidate.

So if you find those traits in other candidates, chances are we'll work well together.

My five minute "Meet the Candidates" presentation

2009-11-26T02:01:00.014-05:00

So I sat down in anticipation of this candidates meeting and I thought and I wrote and I wrote and I thought and, when it was all said and done, I figured I had about enough information collected to cover five minutes.

I grabbed my stopwatch and began reading from my notes. I got halfway through my notes, peaked over to the stopwatch and realized that ten minutes had flown by. What followed was edit after edit after edit. On the evening of the candidates meeting, I found myself editing even more. To those of you who were there and picked up one of my business cards, thank you for visiting this site, and taking an interest in my ideas. For those of you who didn't, well you're probably not even reading this, are ya?

So what follows are the complete, extended notes I'd prepared for the candidates meeting ...

For me, the single biggest issue in our community right now is communication.

In fact, I believe every issue we've run into over the past few years could've been resolved a lot easier had we all agreed to talk to each other more, to share our thoughts, to be more honest with each other, to recognize our mutual goals and consider ways we can work together.

It's not just in this community, but across (it seems) all of our Native political organizations, it seems most act as though only the leaders should be the ones making decisions. I believe that underestimates the power we as individuals have. It's their mistake but it's our loss. And the best place to make that change is right here at home.

If we as a community create a strategic plan for ourselves, then we've set goals and we'll know where we're going. How will we know if we've reached our goals if we don't set any? We should be able to forecast one year, two years and, even beyond that, five and ten years ahead so that we can look back after the time has passed and acknowledge what we've achieved, acknowledge the mistakes we've made and how we've learned from them.

In the absence of a strategic plan, it seems this community has been led by the whims of Ottawa. And look at the issues we run into over funding: for education, health, even that police building mess was effectively started by them. They can't possibly care about us as much as we do, so we should be setting the agenda for this community. We have to make those plans.

But first, we need to tidy up the business of how this community operates. I think folks around here are looking for accountability and structure and orderliness. We need meetings that are conducted just like this one, with rules outlining just how it will operate, so the loudest of the loud aren't monopolizing our time.

We need to define the role of chief and council. For example, should a councilor be personally directing staff at the band office? Personally, I don't think any councilor or the chief should be overstepping anyone, unless it's absolutely necessary. If your boss trumps a decision you make regarding your staff, then what is YOUR position worth?

Along the same lines, council should be available at all times and answerable at all times to the community. I know there is some debate that's been going on for a few years now about whether: if you have a question, should you go to your councilor or someone on the MBQ staff? My opinion: it's up to you. Here's what I can promise: if it's someone else's job to help you, I'll probably direct you to that person, but I will make you promise to come back to me if you're not happy with the result. I don't want anyone to walk out of that band office feeling as though their issue wasn't important enough to anyone. This is your community, remember.

We've always got to keep those lines of communication open. I mention that council needs to be accountable and answerable at all times. Here's my worst case scenario: if I do something or say something that you don't agree with, but you don't say anything to me about it, (a) I don't know how you feel, and (b) I can't fix it. In many cases, just explaining the position behind a decision or statement at least lets everyone involved understand, comprehend the decision a little better. We need to keep talking to each other, especially during the dark times.

One of the biggest issues affecting the political system -- the entire political system -- is that every level of government expects "the other guys" to take care of the big issues. It's like they're saying "We'll help with THIS problem, but the bigger issue? Well, there's no program for that."

As Mohawk people, as a community built by families of Mohawk people, we know that when a problem strikes, it is generally a symptom of some bigger issue. And we know it's our responsibility to look at those bigger issues. We can't just play the Canadian political game and expect some other organization to fix us, especially when these big issues are right here.

That brings me to ...

Problems vs Issues vs Opportunities. As a community, if we focus on problems, we're only inviting more to come. It's a subtle distinction, but a necessary one. Consider this: if at every instance, no matter how bad, if we look at whatever possibilities exist (for growth or healing or just a better way of doing things), there's no telling how much we can achieve. If we stop thinking negatively, we'll only be doing positive things.

We have to stop the gossip, stop the negativity, turn around and look toward a positive future.

And, each one of us, ask ourselves: How can I contribute to this?

I know it might take a long time. I know there's a lot of distrust among us now. I'm asking for your vote because I believe this can be the first step toward building bridges and finding ways we can trust each other again, so that we can work toward common goals. It's hard, and I've come up with this question that has guided me this past while. Whenever I come upon an issue, I ask myself ...

Am I helping my community, or am I contributing to division?

We need to be watchdogs for each other, too. We need to be able to look at our neighbour if there's a question about his or her motives and we have to love our community enough to be strong enough to seriously ask: with what you're doing now, are you helping our community, or are you contributing to division?

Economic Development. For me, that's a great big umbrella term. This here, this requires some long-term planning.

I'm against taxation, as we all are, so in order for MBQ to bring in the funds we need, that means we must build some MBQ-owned businesses.
It means we need to actively support and encourage the ideas of our community members when they come to us asking about how to start a business, and not just turn them away at the first sign a plan may not work out. We need to be continually thinking about solutions.
It means we need to have non-Native and Native friends willing to invest in our community. We need to be active in our neighbouring communities, and on the flipside of that coin ...
We need people in Belleville, Napanee, Picton not to be afraid of us, to visit us for more than just cigarettes and gas.
This is about public relations. When the Toronto Star interviews the RCMP about cigarettes and list our community as one of the prime spots, linking us to organized crime and the health of their children's lungs, they're not just talking about those in the cigarette business; they're talking about ALL of us. Regardless to what our opinions are about cigarettes, I think it's necessary that we, as a community, take every opportunity to remind our neighbours of the other great things that happen here.
This is about tourism. We need to invest in the pow wow, the fair, the landing of the Mohawks in ways that make them Tyendinaga-wide events, so that our visitors feel welcome to stop at our restaurants and gift shops on their way home.
We need to connect our business owners so they can affordably invest in advertising that benefits themselves, each other, and the entire community.

In summary, I believe that for far too long our council has chosen to represent us at the expense of actually being part of this community. We have to build and strengthen our community, because there are larger issues we're not even close to tackling: our brothers and sisters stricken by urban poverty; the over-representation of Native people in Canada's jails, for example.

We're a politically, geographically, historically important community filled with intelligent people and I know we all have a role to play.

What I'm proposing is that we take those first steps now toward making this community healthy and strong enough so we can share that strength and power in other places where it's needed.

Because that's what real live proud Mohawk people do.

Thank you.

Meet the Candidates review

2009-11-26T00:52:00.003-05:00

In typical Tyendinaga fashion, I (and my mom) showed up at about 6:45 and there was nearly nobody there. Folks just piled in during that last fifteen minutes and, shortly past 7:00 we got underway. I'd say there were maybe 70 or 80 people there; more showed up partly through the evening and some left before the meeting concluded. From my vantage point, it seemed like the room swelled, then it deflated. I say that just to create a visual for those of you who were there. Heck, I say it for those of you who where there and didn't look behind you.

All in all, I was pleased by the turnout, given that community meetings are rare here and, even then, they're sparsely attended. For contrast, there were no more than twenty at last week's consultation meeting and even less than that at the financial audit review a week prior to that.

Moderator was Donny C. Maracle who distributed the following one-page "Rules for the Candidates Night" before the meeting started.

An excellent idea. Unfortunately, I learned of all this only about three hours prior to the meeting. With no idea whether we'd get five minutes or one, or if there was a limit at all, I prepared a presentation that ultimately ended up being FAR more than five minutes. More on that in the previous post.

Every candidate, with the exception of incumbent councilor Barry Brant, was present. Via stopwatch, our opening statements were restricted to five minutes and we were to present in alphabetical order. Barry was first so, in his absence, I was first; a good thing, I believe. An old marketing secret I learned was that most people don't retain much but the first and last of what they hear so, nerves an' all, I embraced that position.

In the interest of objectivity, or at least anticipating that you'll build your opinion of the other candidates as independently of my opinion as possible, I'll not comment directly on the other candidates' presentations. Having said that, I was genuinely surprised to find I was one of only a couple who seemed to recognize the five minute rule as an impediment to sharing our thoughts. My presentation felt very rushed and, because of that, I promised to post more of my ideas here on this website. Just FYI: moderator Maracle told the crowd, upon my closing, that I clocked in at exactly five minutes. I smiled as though it was all planned out that way.

As mandated by "the rules," we took a ten minute break after the two candidates for chief took their turn to speak, and upon our return, received questions from the community. Few were directed at specific candidates and, in those instances, they were directed at either the chief or the two incumbent councilors. I scribbled down some notes as the questions were being asked and these are the ones I can recall:

What would incumbents do differently ths time, given the division in the community continues?

Regarding the McIvor decision (granting "Indian" status to descendants of those recognized under Bill C-31 who, in that original agreement, were denied it), why are these "new" members of the community being spoken of as an inconvenience to the rest of us? Will they be properly funded?

Explain why the proposal for a long-term care facility was turned down.

The community is in need of leadership. Can you define it?

What are your ideas regarding the upcoming plans by CN to add a rail line on our territory?

How can you make our community members want to bring their education back and live here?

The remaining three questions were very direct and had quite a lot of backstory to them. The first was prefaced by a statement to the effect that the current council refuses to work with "the people," them being those who have actively advocated for our rights -- those commonly referred to lately as "the protesters." The second question was very direct: did chief and council "pocket" over $300,000 as part of a confidential agreement with Waste Management? (Chief Maracle acknowledged both that it was more than $300,000 and that the agreement was confidential, but that the money was deposited into an MBQ account.) And the third question related directly to the outstanding lawsuit between the Tyendinaga Mohawk Council (TMC) and local businessman Clifford Maracle: the issue was why would the council choose to take a community land issue to a provincial court; is it proper for the TMC to take one of its own to an outside court to resolve an internal issue?

I spoke when I could, particularly regarding ...

McIvor. The only defensible argument anyone could have about McIvor is that (as with the aftermath of Bill C-31) we as a community are unlikely to receive any additional funding to cover all the "new" members of the community. It's certainly shouldn't be a source of division within the community, but (my hunch is that) many among us feel our opinions will only go so far. Given that, I expressed frustration that our leadership many times -- at all levels -- many times never ask us to do anything about these issues affecting us. They seem to be too busy "representing" us that they rarely every ask our opinions, nor do they ask for our contribution to the debate. I believe we have intelligent people among us, and we all can't run for council, so we need people like the questioner, a real live Mohawk woman to stand up and say "this is my truth" for the world to hear. We need much more of that.

Leadership. I suggested leadership is about creating an environment where we can all live freely and peacefully. It's not dictatorship, not about collecting followers.

CN rail line. In response to a previous answer, one that suggested the council would retain an attorney and possibly sue over this issue, I added that we need to engage our community. (A broken record, here) There are smart people among us, and if we keep the entire community informed at every step in this process there will be some of us considering solutions and, if we keep our lines of communication open, those people will step up when they're ready with their solutions. If "the protesters" are planning to block that line, we too need to be in conversation, and never forget: we're a community first -- there's no reason for us to be divided over a mutual goal.

Despite the rules outlined at the beginning of the meeting, it seemed those final three questions mentioned earlier threatened to pull the meeting in an unpleasant direction, exactly the sort of meeting I think most of us would like to leave behind us. Though it was outlined that we'd each receive a one minute closing statement, at nearly 9:30 moderator Maracle figured it best to just shut'er down then.

Then we all shook hands, the TV cameras were turned off, and all the major television networks returned to their regular scheduled programming.

Well ... we did shake hands.

Late night

2009-11-25T00:21:00.003-05:00

Meet the Candidates went well. I'm about to pass out right here at the computer, so I promise: a full update tomorrow.

Until then!

Meet the Candidates

2009-11-24T14:28:00.002-05:00

It's tonight at Quinte Mohawk School, 7:00 p.m.

Be there or be ... uninformed.

If you can't make it, come on back here to www.mohawkatlarge.blogspot.com where, after the meeting, I'll be sure to fill you in on what all happened.

Otherwise, I'll see you there.

2007 Tyendinaga Election Results

2009-11-23T13:35:00.002-05:00

Here's the final "Statement of Votes" from our last election, two years ago.

For a bit more clarity, I've ranked those 2007 candidates based on their final vote tally. Note that only 39 votes separated Councilor Trevor Lewis and EIGHTH place finisher Winston Brant. Clearly every single vote counts.

For chief:
R Donald Maracle - 666
Blaine Loft - 360

For councilor:
Barry D Brant - 487
Roy Maracle - 478
Velma Hill-Dracup - 410
Trevor Lewis - 361
Douglas E Maracle - 335
Christine Claus - 331
Curtis Maracle - 323
Winston R Brant - 322
Todd Kring - 261
George Smart - 233
Charlie Brock - 221
Lynda Thomas - 174

Election campaign flyer #3

2009-11-23T13:16:00.003-05:00

Delivered to the community this past Thursday, the rainiest day of the week.

The Mohawks of the Bay of Quinte have dedicated a page on its website for candidates to submit information of interest to those online. Here's a link to that page.

Am I helping my community, or am I contributing to division?

2009-11-14T01:50:00.008-05:00

The Loyalist College newspaper published an interview article with Chief R. Don Maracle today. Give it a read here.

Honestly, I'm troubled by this quote:

"I successfully lobbied Indian Affairs to get the Culbertson claim accepted for negotiation," said Maracle. "That's 923.4 acres of land. Unfortunately, the [local] protests have hindered the negotiations."

I've said this before: Tyendinaga Mohawk Council has lately positioned itself as just another interest group here so I feel it's important now for it to take an active leadership role. With that in mind: Is the land claim negotiation more important than sittin' around blaming protesters for impeding your work? Or is sittin' around blaming protesters more important than the land claim negotiation?

A true leader wouldn't position his work as that of a victim. If he believes the protesters are hindering his work, then I'd suspect an election season would be the perfect time to bring out those big, exciting, new ideas he's come up with to deal with this issue.

In this past week's campaign flyer I suggested that, in the interest of building a community we can all be proud of, every community member should always allow this question to guide him or her in every decision they make:

Am I helping my community, or am I contributing to division?

Something to consider.

Election campaign flyer #2

2009-11-14T01:39:00.002-05:00

Campaign flyer #2 arrived in local mailboxes this past Thursday.

Please note this important update: I've been informed a "Meet the Candidates" community meeting has been scheduled for the evening of Tuesday, November 24th at our council house, 7 p.m.

In the meantime, I've been contacted by the MBQ administration office about posting some of my information on the MBQ website ... the one nobody reads ... the one currently under construction. Note that nothing from the other candidates has been posted yet. Note, too, that off-reserve voters will have to mail their completed ballot soon.

For those of you outside the Tyendinaga delivery area, enjoy:

Q&A with Electoral Officer Kelly Maracle

2009-11-07T12:17:00.006-05:00

The election here at Tyendinaga is four weeks from today. Mark your calendar for Saturday, December 5. Be at the Quinte Mohawk School anytime between the hours of 9:00 a.m. and 8:00 p.m.

If you have any questions about the process of the election system here, the person to contact is Kelly Maracle. She is the community's electoral officer and, I just found this out a couple weeks ago, she's also electoral officer for a few other native communities around here. Kelly's e-mail address is kelly.elections@yahoo.ca and her phone is 613-396-5994.

The process, to my knowledge, is rather uniform. The Canadian legislation that outlines this process is called the Indian Band Election Regulations (IBER) and is available online at this link to the Canadian Department of Justice website.

A few people have asked questions of me regarding the election process here, so I stole a moment at the nomination meeting a couple weeks ago, and subsequently via e-mail, to ask them of Kelly.

Will my ballot be spoiled if I don't vote for four councillors and one chief exactly?

No. You can vote for only one councillor, if you choose, and nobody else. You can vote for up to four councillors and one chief. Also: if you vote for five councillors, the ballot will be rejected. If you vote for two chiefs, the ballot will be rejected. However, if you vote for two chiefs and four councillors, only the chief votes will be rejected. (Likewise, if you vote for five councillors and one chief, only the councillor votes will be rejected.)

There is no need to "register" to vote, right? Everyone on the band list who is at least 18 is just automatically a voter?

You are correct, the voter's list is comprised of everyone on the band list who is 18 years or older as of the date of the election. The voter's list is supplied to us from INAC, as we are under section 11 of the Indian Act.

Do people living off the reserve but nearby (i.e. Belleville) have the option to vote in person on election day?

Yes, it is referred to in the mail-out (that each off reserve member receives) as well.

Regarding off-reserve voters, if the band office does not have an individual's mailing address, when is the final day/time to submit it?

The IBER dictates that I have to mail out the ballot package to every off-reserve elector for whom an address was provided to me by the First Nation 35 days before an election. However, anyone who has not received a mail-in package and/or wished to vote by mail can contact me directly anytime up to the day before the election ... electors may pick up their voting package, again, up to the day before the election. Note that I cannot provide a mail-in package to a third party (a person other than the elector for whom the package is intended). The important thing to remember here is that it is the elector's responsibility to ensure that I have the completed mail-in ballot package by 8:00 p.m. on election day.

It is imporant to note now, for all you living off the rez, that it is each off-reserve voter's responsibility to submit their mailing address or to contact Kelly to get a voting package so you can vote. The electoral officer, and the band administration, has no obligation to track you down to supply you with this information.

I hope that answers some of your questions. Be sure to check out the Indian Band Election Regulations for all the details. Again, here's a link to that website.

Election campaign flyer #1

2009-11-06T00:01:00.002-05:00

I arranged to have them delivered in all mailboxes on the rez today, so if you live off the reserve or your's got all wet in the rain, here's my first mail-out. Enjoy.

Submit your MBQ consultation survey now

2009-10-27T23:19:00.007-04:00

The deadline has been extended and now there are only a few days remaining to submit your completed consultation survey.

For the unintroduced, our community's new consultation coordinator is Sarah West and -- let me say it -- she's just great. A recent graduate from Queen's University, one of her last projects was an in-depth look at exactly the sort of consultation the Mohawks of the Bay of Quinte administration is in dire need to create.

Some definition is in order. Recently the Ontario government created a fund available to reserves located in the province to be used toward developing a consultation policy. The purpose of that fund is a bit different from the use Tyendinaga is making for it. The fund was created in order for native communities to be prepared when outside organizations approach them when their plans may potentially conflict with interests of local native people. Something about the Crown's (and therefore, private industry's) duty to consult with native people.

Tyendinaga recognized the fund as a way to help accommodate the need to develop a consultation policy that can be used between the administration -- chief and council in particular -- and the residents/members of the community. The original intention was for chiefs and councils to be prepared for heavy-handed outsiders; we're using the fund to ensure every person's voice and opinion is heard regarding the work being done right here.

When the announcement of the position of consultation coordinator was first introduced here, back in January, I jumped at the opportunity, and I did that for one reason. Nobody can deny there are disparate elements here, a conflict between people with belief systems that do not lend themselves to agreement. The idea that a consultation policy could be developed here to help reduce the number of large scale disagreements among people seemed to me a great idea and, though I was loathe to assume myself the best person for the job, I really wanted to be sure the process of developing the consultation policy would be done with the best of intentions from the very beginning.

To put it bluntly, I didn't want someone with a preconceived idea of "who's right" and "who's wrong" regarding the issues that have presented themselves this past while working toward a consultation policy that would be one-sided in scope and, ultimately, worthless in the long run toward creating a more harmonious community here.

I was hired for the position and begun preliminary work back in March, researching existing consultation policies that have been developed in and outside native communities all across Canada. I have to admit to a degree of frustration I experienced when I spoke offhand with some from the traditional community here who claimed outright that the Kianerakowa, "the great law," already prescribes the way our people should "counsel." I say I was frustrated because, clearly, there are people here who do not live by the great law and, for exactly the reason some traditional people are unwilling to adopt the Indian Act way of politics, it would be unfair to endorse a policy that would appear to immediately embrace one "side" over the other.

When the initial funding period concluded, I found myself in a bind. I'd been working part-time as the community's consultation coordinator and, with my feet now to the fire, I had to admit that I love my job at FNTI. I love my work with the Indigenous Communication department, my work developing and implementing the first intake of the Indigenous Public Relations program, and my work developing the new Media Foundations program; I love it so much that I wasn't willing to leave it.

The good news is that I'd heard a lot about this student at Queen's who's working on her Master's, who wrote this paper about consultation, who it would appear was working toward a position exactly like this. It was a relief because I knew then that the work of developing this policy would be in perhaps the best possible hands.

I met Sarah shortly after she began work at the band office. I saw the report she wrote regarding the sort of consultation policy we're working toward here at Tyendinaga. She emphasized, when we spoke, that the paper she wrote was not designed with any particular community in mind, that the work the people of Tyendinaga would begin would create a consultation policy entirely self-generated by this community. I could tell, based on our conversations, that she's enthusiastic, energetic and committed to creating the best possible consultation policy for this community.

But it's necessary for people (as many people as possible) to get involved in the process now. It seems lately that those on EVERY side of an issue sit and wait until they're yanked out of their slumber at the last possible minute, thereby ensuring conflict, animosity and the entrenchment of whatever divisions exist here. A consultation policy is one of those first steps I see toward eliminating the last-minute standoffs we've seen lately. In fact, this community-wide need for communication -- and what I'll call hyper-consultation -- is one of the primary reasons I'm running for council this year.

So please complete and return your consultation survey before Friday. Drop in to visit Sarah at the health centre boardroom Mondays at noon or the new fitness centre in Shannonville on Wednesdays at noon and give her your opinions about the ways the MBQ administration should best contact you, the ways this community should work together, just whatever you got; she's there hoping to collect all that information, so please please provide it and, more importantly, stay involved.

This is your community as much as it is anyone's. Your opinion matters so share it.

Here's the consultation survey. If you lost yours, print it out, fill it out, and run it into the band office as soon as possible.

Consultation Response Sheet 1009

Notice to candidates of nomination at a band election

2009-10-25T19:33:00.008-04:00

As promised, these are the forms I received at the nomination meeting yesterday.

Sorry for the poor quality. I'm just now trying to figure out this new scanner.

Nomination meeting for chief and councillors at Tyendinaga

2009-10-25T10:08:00.008-04:00

It was yesterday and, before we go any further: for the election to be held Saturday, December 5, 2009, here are your nominees ...

For Chief:
R Donald Maracle
Catherine Sharbot-Duschene (Okwarakon)

For Council:
Barry Brant
Joseph E Brant
Christine Claus
Brenda Green-Edwards
Velma Hill-Dracup
Douglas E Maracle
Roy C Maracle
Keith Sero

Yes, "Joseph E Brant" is me, and I have six weeks to tell you why so we have lots of time to get to that but, trust me, you'll hear from me again. Plenty.

I left about ten minutes before the meeting ended and, while there certainly was a possibility someone could swoop in before that deadline and announce their candidacy, it seems unlikely. I'll be sure to check tomorrow for an absolutely final list, though my hunch is that this is it.

The process of gaining a nomination is interesting. Independent of the operation at the band office, the electoral officer is one who was selected months ago in preparation for this process. And, as I understand it, the business of selecting a chief and councillors for one's community under The Indian Act has become much more involving after what-folks-will-often refer to as "The Corbiere Decision."

Lord knows if you live on the reserve you've at least heard of it. All the details are here on this website but, for a quick recap, what it essentially means is that members of the community who do not live here have a right to vote in our elections. Controversial for a couple reasons: first, it grants a vote to people who arguably have no idea what's going on in our communities.

Secondly, it appears to be another instance where whatever culturally appropriate political traditions every First Nation located in Canada has developed is being trumped by the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms (which, in this case, assumes the rights of every individual "Canadian" should extend to native people, regardless to the fact there are hundreds of unique nations among the "First Nations" and we should be able to develop our own culturally appropriate charter of rights and freedoms.)

Functionally speaking, what that means is the electoral officer has a responsibility now to inform members of the community living off the rez about the election process here. So, in a form dated September 17, 2009 the electoral officer of Tyendinaga, Kelly Maracle, filed a "Notice of Nomination Meeting" memo that was mailed to each off-the-rez member of this community. For those of us living here, the announcement of the nomination meeting doesn't require so much undivided attention: I happened coincidentally to see one posted in the entryway of the band office one day a few weeks ago.

There are two ways to nominate someone for chief and council and, again, for those living off the reserve the process seems clearer. They were mailed not only the announcement memo but a mail-in nomination form as well as a declaration of band membership (declaring eligibility to nominate another person). Ignorant of the entire process -- I ain't gonna lie -- I e-mailed Kelly for more information this past week and quickly received enough information to proceed.

The first option is to show up at the nomination meeting, which was yesterday from 9:00 a.m. and noon in the gymnasium at the Quinte Mohawk School, with two supporters: one is officially acknowledged as your "nominator" and other is that person who "seconds" the nomination.

The second option is to arrange for both of those supporters to fill out both the mail-in nomination form as well as the declaration of membership and deliver them to the electoral officer prior to the nomination meeting.

I have to admit, my original question of Kelly was whether an individual could nominate him- or herself because, to be honest, that was my intention. Tyendinaga has become so divided lately with regard to the police station, water at QMS, protests in general, traditional people versus progressives that it seemed appropriate, at this time, not to directly involve anyone who could be assumed to represent anything other than support for my ideas. As Kelly explained, the purpose for the two supporters identifying themselves is more or less necessary to underline the idea that a potential nominee has some degree of support from someone somewhere before proceeding. Can't argue with that, I suppose.

To quell any further feeling that time was working against me, it seemed more a comfort to me just to get those forms signed and delivered before the deadline, before the meeting; just to get it all done so there are no worries, right? Further, it meant I didn't necessarily have to spend any great deal of time at the nomination meeting (which, lets not lie: it's more like that place where you check in before you start the AIDS Walk or the Breast Cancer Walk than it resembles a meeting in any way).

So I showed up yesterday around 11:00 a.m. and receive a small two-page package outlining the rules for NOT accepting the nomination, the process for bailing out and something about having strutineers present during election day. If I can set up this scanner/printer I got here I'll be sure to post them here when I can.

In the meantime, these are some photos I took from the meeting. The sign at QMS:

The electoral officer and her deputies. There's something rather "Roscoe P. Coltrane" about the word "deputies," isn't there? Or is that just me?

Off to their immediate right was a chalkboard listing those who'd been nominated.

"Mohawk problems are our problems"

2009-10-23T16:15:00.003-04:00

For the unintroduced, Robert Washburn is a professor at Loyalist College and is very well-versed and much-respected for his work in New Media, and e-journalism as well as community-based (a/k/a citizen) journalism. Please follow him on Twitter. You'll learn lots, as I have.

Washburn submitted this editorial, posted today at the Online Pioneer Plus website. I implore you to read it, and then forward the link to as many people as possible, friends and enemies alike. We need more non-Native people to say this and we, as Native people, need to keep on saying it, too, and not just loudly, but articulately and often. In it's entirety:

Mohawk problems are our problems

Submitted by rwash on Fri, 2009-10-23. 11:47. Editorial

Make no mistake about it: the recent burning of the Longhouse out on the Tyendinaga First Nations Territory is an expression of frustration at Canada’s inaction on commitments made to First Nation People.

It was not protestor Shawn Brant's fault, nor Chief R. Donald Maracle’s fault nor a random act of vandalism.

The real issue that burns at the hearts of the Tyendinaga Mohawks may have something to do with clean water and police stations, but it’s really about the right to implement changes in the conditions in their communities in a timely manner: sovereignty. Canada continues to deny that to First Nations people.

In May of 1784, Captain John Deseronto, a Mohawk claimed this territory as part of the Simcoe Deed. King George lll, in return for Mohawk loyalty to the Crown, deeded this territory to the Mohawks for their loyalty during the American Revolutionary War.In virtually all dealings with First Nations people, successive governments have been deceptive. Tribes and clans have been physically separated from one another, rendered powerless, both militarily and politically, and life-altering decisions have been made for them without their agreement.

The Canadian government tried to obliterate the cultural identity of the First Nations through forcibly placing their children in residential schools. Successive governments have denied them the right to share as equals in this great and beautiful land.Many First Nations people are living at levels of poverty that compare with that of Third World nations and their problems are ignored until the media shines its brief light on them.

Tyendinaga is different from the vast majority of First Nations territories in Canada.It is situated in one of the best places to live in Ontario. Tyendinaga has been a good neighbour and part of the success of the region for many years.If there was ever a good place to implement a new beginning with Canada’s first Nations people, this is it.

The Tyendinaga Mohawks are asking for one thing, sovereignty, the right to self-government. Give them back what was theirs and let them make the decisions that affect them and their way of life without the miles of bureaucratic red tape.

Native land claims must be fairly adjudicated and ultimately settled, along with issues of self-government.

The Tyendinaga Mohawks are Canadians’ historic allies; they have never been a conquered people. Canada and Canadians need to move forward so we can stand beside our First Nations as equals.

Prime Minister Stephen Harper, on behalf of all Canadians, apologized for the residential schools. That should have marked a new beginning in our dealings with the First Nations. It didn't.

Six weeks, starting tomorrow

2009-10-23T15:45:00.007-04:00

So I bit the bullet, arranged for a couple people to fill out the forms for me, and then I delivered them to the band office today.

Details to come.

Longhouse fire update

2009-10-21T09:04:00.002-04:00

Just looking over my last post here, it's been brought to my attention that the meetings that took place at Sadie's Lane house the evening of the fire ended maybe around 10:00 p.m., not 1:00 or 1:30 a.m. as I'd originally heard.

I'm also growing more and more concerned about what all happened "out on the road" earlier that day. "The protesters" had congregated, to my knowledge, at two spots: at the site where the proposed police building would be set, and just down the road at the old Sadie's Lane house -- the actual house, not the longhouse (which itself is only a few hundred feet from the longhouse; no affiliation, though. By now it's just an old abandoned house).

A number of community members who arrived to (from what I understand) protest the protesters sat out by the entrance to the Quinte Mohawk School, which is perhaps equidistant from Sadie's house as it is from the building site.

What concerns me are reports of threats and abusive language thrown at those at the school. I've heard that people drove by with videocameras, digital cameras, taking photos of people's license plates, literally threatening their homes, unbelievable stuff.

On the other side, I've heard stories of that group (in coordination with Sadie's Lane) considering getting out of the road themselves to physically, personally walk in that new building as it arrives.

Of course, everything here is gossip. It's all hearsay but, because I was not there, it's really all we have to go on, and it does shed a bit of light on the situation that day. Originally I'd questioned why some at Sadie's Lane openly blamed their fire on members of "the protest group," given that, to my knowledge, all the protests have been directed toward either the police force or (more likely) the band council and it seemed there was no relationship between the protesters and Sadie's Lane. But now: if there was some sort of verbal confrontation earlier, then there is greater credibility to the idea that someone with a (perhaps newfound) grudge against Sadie's Lane might strike the fire.

On the other hand, what I've also heard is that Sadie's Lane's presence that day, as well as that of the people assembled at the school, was to make a call for peace. Does that strike you, too, as an odd time to call for peace? One thing we can likely safely assume is that there must have been anxiety and emotions running high on both sides, irresponsible words passed and the like. One thing I know for sure is that the Sadie's Lane house and Shawn Brant do not have a cordial relationship -- with that in mind, would approaching "the protesters" and calling for peace have been a reasonable consideration?

I'm just throwing this all out there. As the days go on, I find myself more and more perplexed by the events of last week.

What do we need?

I'll agree that we need peace in this community, but what we need at this immediate moment is someone to step up to begin that process. And I can't help but hold our band council responsible now. Sadie's Lane, the "stone" longhouse, a collection of concerned community members, the church community: all of them represent only a portion of this reserve. It is the band council that claims to oversee the entire community here, but recently it has positioned itself as just another faction among the many others here. A pity.

It's time for some new ideas. It's time for leadership in its most genuine, unifying form.

The good news is that we have an election here in less than two months, the perfect time, I believe, for those interested in the future of this community to identify themselves, to reveal their "new ideas," to exhibit their plans for leadership that will, hopefully, bring some order, some structure, some peace to this land.

Coincidences and other political work

2009-10-16T22:58:00.033-04:00

I'm out of town this week with the Indigenous Public Relations program. We met for a couple days at Brantford, for a course called "Fundraising Fundamentals," then moved to Toronto to work on our porfolios and attend some screenings and a workshop at the ImagineNATIVE film festival. There's only a couple more months remaining for this cohort and we're starting to really appreciate the relationships we've built with each other and those we've met these past ten months and seriously consider in what ways we'll remain in contact when this first intake is all said-and-done.

My mom called Thursday morning. "Joe, I'm in shock," she said, the beginning of the message she left on my phone. "Sadie's Lane longhouse burnt down!" In my rush to get to that first workshop here in town, I wasn't able to get that message until those last minutes as I raced down the street toward the building where the meeting had, to be honest, just started. (Nearest damn parking lot was ten miles away). And I froze there on the sidewalk.

I've taken some time to ponder this very, very suspicious fire and it seems there are maybe three potentials for its ignition:

1. It was started by someone with a grudge against Sadie's Lane longhouse.

2. It was started by accident.

3. It was started, or at least coordinated, by members of Sadie's Lane.

While we should certainly withhold our judgment until there is some resolve regarding how that fire started, it's only human to take a closer look at these options. As is explained further below, the Sadie's Lane longhouse has a history of avoiding community-wide issues until the last minute. Over a week ago, the first time (this year) the police building was scheduled to be devliered, there was a series of impromptu meetings that took place at that longhouse. Understand now that meetings at that house are not a regular thing. I am born turtle clan and if, as we're told, the longhouse stretches from the place where the sun comes up in the morning to where it goes down at night, I've been left dumbstruck by the number of times I myself have been put on and taken off the "invitation list" for meetings at that house.

So for there to be a series of meetings taking place during the moment of the delivery of the police building is itself suspicious. Complicating that fact is that when a few of us showed up to ask what was going on there, we were stonewalled: either led to believe the gentlemen we were speaking with had no idea themselves what was going on, or that they thought we were simply ignorant. While I don't take particular personal offense to the disrespect offered me, I can certainly imagine the frustration of others who may have been treated similarly.

If the building caught fire by accident, we need to consider what positive next steps can come from this experience. By using the phrase "by accident," I'm suggesting the likelihood a spark from a woodstove ignited the building shortly after the last meeting took place there. To my knowledge, there was another series of meetings at that house the evening before it burnt down, lasting as late as 1:30 a.m. I'm told. If the building was reported burning literally two hours later -- and if it burnt so much there is very little evidence from which to investigate its possible firestarter -- it is entirely reasonable that it could have started by accident.

(In fact, I find it a bit hard to believe someone with a grudge against that house would patiently wait most of the night for those meetings to end, and then wait for eveyone to go home, before starting the fire; strange because meetings at that house very, very, very rarely last into the nighttime. Why would an arson allow him/herself only a couple hours window when, if they'd just waited for the next night, they could've had the entire overnight to burn the place down?)

By "next positive steps," I'll offer this suggestion: if, as we're told, the Haudenosaunee longhouse starts where the sun comes up and ends where the sun goes down, then perhaps the members of that specific house should consider a more inclusive operating structure as it collects itself now. No more "wait lists" before one is considered a "member" of the house; no more bending the rules to accommodate those who don't immediately fit centuries-old traditions and roles; actively engage and update the community on your work. These are just three examples of how this unfortunate experience can be the catalyst for unity among the people of Tyendinaga.

The third option is the most difficult to comprehend, but remains an option nonetheless. It's very complex, I have to admit, but we also must admit that, if this fire came about because of arson, then regardless to who started it, the fire was a political act. Those people who argue that we need a new police station -- and Sadie's Lane has been one -- have a trump card that I believe they're reluctant to use: civil war among the Mohawks of Tyendinaga will force the OPP, the RCMP, every "Canadian" agency under the sun to set up shop here. The reason I suspect they don't activate this civil war among their own neighbours, I suspect, is because (regardless to whether you believe in our traditional governance, the Great Law of Peace, or the governance system imposed on us by Canada, the Indian Act chief and council model) we will lose whatever interest in self-government all of us advocate for if we let Nanny Canada come in, by force, to get us to live in peace among each other. Unfortunately, this fire (regardless to how it started) inches us toward the day when it would appear we are unwilling to live peacefully together. As one people.

The media coverage of the longhouse fire has been particularly troubing. As with pretty much any suspicious story these days, you know there's always gonna be some background information that not everyone -- most notably the Intelligencer or, lately even, the Loyalist College student newsgathering team -- has immediate access to. So it's particularly troubling when people who (respectfully) don't even live here are granted "authority" status when events happen here.

This article from the student-run Loyalist Pioneer is where I refer you now. Check this out:

Though there is no evidence of arson at this time, recent confrontations between native protestors and the band council over the delivery of a new police station and the lack of drinkable water in the Quinte Mohawk Public School has tested the limits of people in the community.

Please correct me if I'm wrong, but it appears there's quite a big message being made with such a vague statement, this unattributed suggestion from the writer. What it doesn't do, and perhaps what anyone unfamiliar with the dynamics of this reserve may not even know to question, is explain just what sort of relationship the Sadie's Lane longhouse has with the "native protesters" as well as that with the band council. An uninformed person might want to believe that the longhouse was an 'innocent bystander' of sorts and that the burning of it was a random act from someone who's limits were tested.

What really shouldn't be up for debate is the role of a longhouse in an Haudenosaunee community. Note that there is only one person quoted in that Online Pioneer Plus story, Loyalist College's co-ordinator of its Aboriginal Resource Centre Paul Latchford, who explains the role of the longhouse this way:

The long house (sic) is the responsibility of the women of the community and it represents the centre of society and spiritual life for the Mohawks, a place in the mind as well as a physical presence. It is a place of worship and teaching of their history and culture to the young said Latchford.

I don't even know where to begin with this description. The building "represents the centre of society" and "a place in the mind as well as a physical presence." What does that mean? Vague language like that contributes to the mythology and mystery that non-native people are many times led to believe surrounds all native nations, when in truth there is very little (at least on the surface) that is at all difficult to understand.

Followers of the Kaianerakowa, the Great Law of Peace, the governing law of the Haudenosaunee people, the one that the rest of the democratic world modeled their own laws after, have to acknowledge that their longhouses have just as much an inherent governing function to them as they do a spiritual element.

For the uninformed, there are two longhouses at Tyendinaga. And to my knowledge, one of them is almost exclusively political in its structure (directly associated with Shawn Brant, most of its members are the ones you'll find on the roads and railways protesting this or that) and the other, Sadie's Lane, has been almost exclusively ceremonial in its structure (though it has been accused many times of avoiding community-wide issues, like the police building, until the eleventh hour when it, in very nearly every circumstance, has aligned itself with the opinion of the non-traditional, Indian Act-sanctioned elected council).

For those who've investigated the relationships between these longhouses and this community, between these longhouses and each other, there would be little time -- literally not enough time -- to waste in the attempt to define a longhouse by using empty language like "it represents the centre of society."

So yes, given the tense situation regarding the police station lately, the relationship between "the protesters" and Sadie's Lane longhouse, the protesters and the band council, Sadie's Lane longhouse and band council, it remains certainly suspicious that the building would burn this particular week.

And let's call a spade a spade: it's just as suspicious that the Canadian government would pony up two million dollars for Quinte Mohawk School just one week after those same protesters made the water issue a higher profile one.

One of the students in the PR class went to a Canadian Public Relations Society (CPRS) meeting last night, and came back to the class delighted, overwhelmed by all she'd heard and learned. Most notable were the words from a rep from the Ontario government who confirmed: they are (well, he is, exactly) watching everything that goes on in cyberspace. He monitors blogs, websites, etc on behalf of the government. Yes, if I'm correct, he's from the provincial government but I'm rather confident we can assume there's a counterpart in Ottawa.

So, with that in mind, let me direct your attention to this editorial from the Intelligencer that was published last week. Given the events of last week, and the "coincidental" two million dollar award granted our elementary school this week, we can't be blamed for wondering if all of our concerns require non-native people -- Canadian constituents -- pointing out the failures of their own government before anything gets done. We may want to think the world turns as slowly as it did twenty -- heck, even ten -- years ago, but it really doesn't. Things happen FAST these days and, if we can't confirm our suspicions, we have to at least grant that they're legitimate.

There is no excuse for any school in a country as wealthy as Canada to have drinking water that cannot be consumed by the students. It's simply not acceptable ... the sad truth is that this would never happen in Belleville, or any other non-native community. It is only our native people we treat this way.

There may have been a time when it would have taken weeks or months for this editorial to find its way to the appropriate bureaucrat who could actually get the ball rolling, and maybe it would have been wise to wait a few weeks in this specific instance before making this big announcement in order to quell suspicions like my own. But in politics it's all about what's in the news today, not yesterday or the day before. Politicians believe they can trump yesterday's bad news story with today's good news story.

And they know their every move is open to interpretation. Why, for example, did the local MP Daryl Kramp make the big announcement "on behalf of Indian Affairs Minister Chuck Strahl"? Though the article makes no direct mention of it, notice that Minister Strahl didn't appear to even offer a statement, much less offer his presence.

It should perhaps be noted here that the application for this money had been in the pipeline for a while; the two million that's going to the school wasn't just invented because of the protest last week. While acknowledging that, it's very disappointing to hear our chief go out of his way, during this radio interview, to emphasize the money is unrelated to last week's protest.

There's a great likelihood he has no proof of my suspicion either. But while logical thinkers are allowed their suspicion, a politician who's more concerned about his relationship with the government than with his own people, and one who has as much a stake in entrenching the divisions that exist here, might not want to acknowledge that the work of other people here at Tyendinaga has contributed to this good news.

In the end, this sordid tale reveals us as a community incapable of living peacefully as Mohawk people. We need to begin to think in terms of not all the (sometimes self-imposed) PROBLEMS around us, but the POSSIBILITIES that exist because of our unique situation. Admittedly, the burning of a longhouse is a big deal but, as I mentioned earlier, I'd love for us all to allow from those ashes to grow a community filled with Mohawks who are looking toward ways we can stop hindering the work of our neighbours today and seriously work to enhance the experience on this earth of our seventh generation.

At any given time we have to remember that we are the ancestors that our descendents will be looking to for guidance. And this is the time they'll evaluate to see if and how we managed to survive, and then thrive, despite whatever cards have been dealt us.

New website for Mohawks of the Bay of Quinte

2009-10-13T01:04:00.009-04:00

First: props to whomever it is in the MBQ organization for choosing the Yahoo web hosting service. We just talked about the ease of creating our own websites, and using templates like the one Yahoo offers, in the PR class last week. Folks in that class now have every reason to believe I personally make the world go round. (Seriously, I'd no idea the MBQ site was being revamped, muchless that it would be on the Yahoo service).

And there's always a downside: While the brand new Mohawks of the Bay of Quinte website is obviously in "beta" mode, if you will, one can of course forgive for the lack of content. For example: the entire Departments page; the entire About Us page; the map of Harrington Road -- we don't have a Harrington Road, and; the requirement that both an e-mail address and "mobile" phone number be submitted on the Contact Us page. What cannot be overlooked is the producers' apparent lack of consideration regarding who exactly the intended audience for this website is.

Was the new MBQ website created to engage the community?

Or was it created to engage the press?

Sadly, it apparently attempts to do both. These are the very first words at the top of the new website: "Press Release."

Let's ignore the fact it's obviously not a press release, but a list of points the council -- or is it the administration? the website manager? We're not told so we don't know -- would like disseminated regarding both the controversial police building as well as the water situation at the Quinte Mohawk School.

Later down the page, in an unsightly red colour that should only be used for top-of-page major super "breaking news" announcements, is some information (a link actually) regarding the blue-green algae discovered in our Bay of Quinte.

But let's go back to that press release again. Note that it's filled with information that we, as community members, should have learned months ago. Why did we have to wait until the police building was literally being driven down the road toward its destination, with us all knowing full well that a contingent of community members, already in place, were planning to stop it again (as they did one year ago), to learn all about these updates regarding the water situation at QMS that have apparently, until now, been shared with only a select few?

Why does it take controversy for the members of the community to learn what our public servants at the band office are doing?

Under the heading "New Police Building," with no context offered, there are two points made:

Council held a Community Referendum about the new police building.
Of those that took part, 87% were in favour.
Because of the actions of protestors, it is costing the community additional funds to store the building at another site.
These funds could be used in other needed areas.

It has been made clear before exactly how many people of this community contributed to that seemingly whopping 87%. As well, I mentioned to our chief just last week that this community's Consultation Coordinator would most likely disapprove of the attempts at 'consultation' that the council believes it has "exhausted," and was (literally) asked, "Who are you talking about? Brant? He worked on consultation before we hired anyone. And you had that job for awhile. You're talking about you?"

For the uninformed among us, at the time of that conversation (last Wednesday) there was no doubt -- absolutely zero doubt -- whom the consultation coordinator, currently employed by the MBQ administration, currently is. The chief is the perhaps the most informed person in this entire community, so to have either (a) played dumb or (b) played me for a fool is as much an insult to the coordinator, her professional training and her work, as it is to myself and my intelligence.

And look at this divisive language: "Because of the actions of protesters" and "these funds could be used in other needed areas." While I'll be the first to acknowledge that virtually nobody is completely innocent in the mess that has become "the police building issue" at Tyendinaga, at this point I can't suggest more passionately how important it is that we all work toward agreement -- or at least engagement -- instead of petty bickering of this sort. Note, as well, the absence of the specific amount of "community" money is being spent, and exactly who gets to decide what "other needed areas" are.

The incorporated body claiming to represent the interests of this community is sorely failing in its current attempt to communicate its interests, particularly with regard to whom it believes is the audience of its recent website revamp. Unfortunately, it leaves in this reader's mouth a sour taste, the suggestion that perhaps there is no communication plan developed, if perhaps even an overall strategic plan (of which a communication plan is a necessary part) has yet to be created.

Brant Bardy

2009-09-29T11:59:00.003-04:00

Each of us affiliated with the public relations program at FNTI are particularly struck by Brant's passing, given that he was the instructor for one of our most recent courses, "Indigenous Research for PR."

The students loved the course and, even upon the first class meeting fully two months ago, were very complimentary of the knowledge, the passion that Brant brought to them. And in my private conversations with Brant, he took two opportunities to commend these "learners" -- as we say at FNTI -- because they are adult students, with life experiences that lend to greater, more insightful conversations and, to pull from our motto, shared learning. When we respect that each person brings something unique to the table, we all grow.

Very genuinely and (in the case of this program) very tangibly, he will be missed.

The staff at the Mohawks of the Bay of Quinte band office composed a tribute of sorts that will be published in the community newsletter early in October, and for those who do not receive our newsletter, I'm printing it here ...

Honouring Brant Bardy

Those who read the Belleville Intelligencer will notice the memo directly influenced this article, published today. In its entirety ...

Mohawk territory loses a friend

Posted By LUKE HENDRY, THE INTELLIGENCER

The Tyendinaga Mohawk Territory has lost one of its most public voices.

Brant Bardy, 46, died suddenly in Kingston General Hospital Friday. He had been working as director of nation building for the Mohawks of the Bay of Quinte (MBQ) band.

"Brant's passion was his family and his community," his co-workers said Monday in a prepared statement.

Mr. Bardy's work with the band began in 1992, when he was hired as a land researcher. He remained in that role until 1999, then moved to the First Nations Technical Institute.

Mr. Bardy spent seven years at the school, where he helped develop the media program. He returned to the band office in 2006 to accept the job of communications officer.

"Brant was an integral part of many things in the community and at MBQ," band staff said.

They described the married father of four as a man who was active in the community on many fronts.

Mr. Bardy held diplomas in journalism and as a veterinary technician plus a degree in public administration and had "a belief in lifelong learning," the statement said.

His work for the band included serving on the negotiation team for the Culbertson Tract land claim and the Turton Penn Lease Area.

"All of his involvements and educational pursuits contributed to his wealth of knowledge on the community and his ability to provide wise insight and to see all sides of an issue," his co-workers said.

"Working with Brant was a real pleasure. He was kind and upbeat, always willing to take the time to help out a co-worker. Brant was a man of high morals and refused to compromise from what he believed in.

"Brant's vision of a community united despite differences was reflected in his work and involvement within the community. He remained optimistic that change would happen by working hard and bringing the community together.

"We can pay our respects to him by continuing to pursue his vision of a united community."

Mr. Bardy leaves behind his wife, Tonya, and children Natasha, Dakota, Otsi:tsa and Tekahyonhathe, mother Juanita Bardy, three brothers and a sister. He was predeceased by is father, Wesley, and a brother, John Carey.

Visitation continues today at McGlade Funeral Home, 78 Centre St., Deseronto from 2 p. m. to 4 p. m. and from 7 p. m. to 9 p. m. His funeral will be held Wednesday at 11 a. m. at the funeral home with cremation to follow.

Memorial donations may be made to the University Hospitals Kingston Foundation trauma unit.

lhendry@intelligencer.ca

What's going on at Akwesasne?

2009-09-19T00:12:00.002-04:00

One of my (hopefully not too) big fantasies is that some day soon all of our Mohawk -- and Haudenosaunee -- communities will maintain better communication. In fact, it's one of the unstated goals of the Indigenous Public Relations program I oversee at FNTI here at Tyendinaga.

Classes start in January, FYI. More details here.

Until then, we rely on what we have: anecdotal evidence (i.e. gossip) from friends and relatives, and what little already exists online. While I'm not a fan of Mohawk Nation News, if only because each entry requires a bit too much wordiness, a bit too much hyperbole, not enough verifiable facts, there are some instances when my brow is raised.

For some reason, this recent post is not on the MNN website. I found a reprint of an e-mail I received here on this blog. I'm no supporter of finger-pointing (especially when no evidence is provided), but I enjoyed the reminder it provided me. At least one person -- preferably many more -- from our communities should be reporting on the news where we live, as well as from the "sister" communities we also call home.

Never forget, folks: it's Canada that wants to call each reserve a "First Nation." We know that the Mohawk Nation is not singularly located at Tyendinaga, for example, but divided among many reserves in Canada and America. Also never forget: the treaties were made with "the Mohawk people," not the Mohawks at Tyendinaga, or the Mohawks at Akwesasne. For these reasons, we should be very interested in the lifestyles of our brothers and sisters in the Mohawk communities where we don't live.

Last I heard, the Canadian border crossing at Cornwall Island was relocated to land, off the reserve, at Cornwall. With that, any sort of information regarding the issue fell off the radar of any news organization outside the immediate area. That was two months ago. This report from a couple weeks ago reveals nothing has changed.

This article, though, slightly misses the point, when it states "Since the temporary port of entry opened, Akwesasne residents have complain (sic) of racial profiling, unnecessary searches, long lineups, disrespectful treatment and, in one case, being endangered by a CBSA investigation." No. Wrong. Akwesasne residents have been voicing these complaints for years. Not since the temporary port opened.

In its own way, though, the article underlines what the Mohawk people have been saying all along. While a year-end report from the Canadian Border Services Agency reveals its officers' so-called "use of force" incidents increased by a multiple of three compared to the two previous years, "past reports and anecdotal evidence suggest use of force hasn't been as big a problem at the Cornwall port of entry."

Sounds to me like that means we don't need guns at the border crossing there.

A special note to short-sighted politicians, overbearing bureaucrats and impatient altruists

2009-09-04T23:16:00.012-04:00

Long time, no blog: what up, yo?!

I'm not gonna lie.

I sent an e-mail to Carol Goar at the Toronto Star last week, hoping to drum up some press for the the great, big, exciting World Indigenous Higher Education Consortium (WINHEC) conference at FNTI. Don't bother checking thestar.ca archives for that story. In fact, it seems the Mix 97/CJBQ newsroom in Belleville was the only one that picked it up.

It's important to personalize any engagement with the press, I've learned, so with that in mind I went out of my way to compliment Ms Goar on the writing she's done in the past regarding Native issues in Canada. I felt it important not to mention directly that she'd written in support of FNTI's funding crisis last year. Little did I know, Goar was already head-first into much deeper, meatier territory with regard to the needs of our people.

Today's column is perhaps a perfect culmination of the time she spent recently at Sandy Lake First Nation, a Oji-Cree community (population: 2500) located 1000 kms northwest of Thunder Bay accessible only via plane. Please note the community's impressive website, and then compare it to Tyendinaga's.

Here is a list of recent columns Carol Goar has written for the Toronto Star. In particular, check out the Sandy Lake series:

"Welcome to Sandy Lake"

"Building a Bridge to Northern Children"

"Too Many Young Lives Cut Short"

and today's entry, "There's Strength Amid Squalor in the Far North."

While the middle two articles aren't barn-burners, the bookenders are must-reads. Again, I implore you to check out the one from today. "Canadians need to listen to First Nations," she writes. "They're frustrated too."

But they are hamstrung by Ottawa's restrictive spending rules, rigid housing directives, reluctance to address chronic problems and insistence that every penny of public funds be accounted for. (Because of this,) band councils can't make intelligent investments. Social service agencies can't fix what's wrong.

This proves one thing: white people are capable of getting it. Seriously.

REGULAR OL' CANADIANS ARE CAPABLE OF GETTING IT.

I can't emphasize that enough. Though I'll not claim myself an expert on articles written by non-Natives regarding our lives and experiences, I do believe I've yet to find anything that is as informative but not teary-eyed, that is respectful of the writer's perspective and influence, that is from a writer who is thoroughly knowledgable and capable of such clear explanation. We each need to keep a clipping of this column in our wallets, our purses, the glove box in our cars, folded up in one of our socks, and hand them out to everyone we meet.

In the meantime: yes, you're dropping a buck-fitty to read the Toronto Star but -- if only because that rate ain't going down any time soon -- there are too many days when you can't afford not to read it to risk missing an issue. But if you must: just wander around the store and read it there; that's what I do whenever those Jon & Kate Plus 8 parents are on the cover of People.

Why Shawn Brant's five-month jail sentence is a victory for Shawn Brant

2009-07-23T11:55:00.004-04:00

Who among us finds it strange that Shawn Brant has already been convicted AND sentenced for a criminal offense that occurred a little over a month ago?

The sentence, delivered yesterday by Justice Stephen Hunter in Belleville, was regarding Brant's participation in the police building protest here on the territory back in October of last year, as well as the Skyway Bridge protest of six weeks ago, as well as "failing to comply with court orders for similar previous convictions."

I don't have much opinion regarding whether he's actually guilty or not; just understand that philosophies differ in this community regarding how to make a government that either literally ignores our interests or works to the detriment of our interests pay attention. Having said that: now that the air has cleared, we're talking about five months in jail.

For comparison's sake: I know an individual who has one mischief charge stemming from a protest that took place in April 2008. The trial to resolve that matter began back in March of this year and has so far cost everyone involved eight weeks of their lives, and who knows how much in dollars and cents, with the Crown attorney stating near the end of the most recent court dates that he is maybe halfway through his prosecution (before the defense can present its case). The next court dates are set for September and will occur off and on through to the end of the year, guaranteed to continue far into next year.

As well, when one is granted bail prior to trial there is a list of conditions that person must submit to, in order to keep his/her freedom, in an attempt to insure there will be no further infractions of the law while promising to return to court at the appointed times.

When Shawn breached his prior sentence by participating in the Skyway Bridge blockade -- which, if I understand correctly was a very strict form of house/community-based arrest -- he not only removed that restriction from his calendar (which I think was scheduled to last at least a couple more months) but managed to get these new charges stemming from the Skyway Bridge AND the police building dealt with immediately.

All for another five months in jail. By forcing his own incarceration when he participated in the Skyway Bridge protest -- and I'm confident he knew he'd be incarcerated -- he effectively moved up all of his outstanding trial dates. How else could the court justify a five-month jail term after holding him, this time without bail, for the duration a yearlong trial?

That individual with the single mischief charge will wait until the middle of 2010, at least, to find out if he will receive (as a first time offender) a conditional discharge or something similarly inane. In the meantime, he is restricted from leaving the province, from visiting the protest site, among other conditions.

And five months from now, Shawn Brant -- who the Crown attorney, and a long archive of Intelligencer editorials, painted as the "sole decision-maker on the blockade" -- will be as free as the rest of us.

Newspaper letter: Justice should be equal for all

2009-07-22T23:51:00.002-04:00

Someone called John Henry of Belleville submitted the following letter to the Belleville Intelligencer, following the sentencing of two non-Native men convicted for their participation in the Skyway Bridge blockade of last month.

You reported the following comment by Judge Geoff Griffin during sentencing of two men convicted of assaulting Tyendinaga Native Police officers during recent blockade of Skyway Bridge.

"I cannot lose sight of the fact these two accused are not Mohawks and men on Mohawk land assaulting Mohawk men." Is he saying it is more serious than if it had of been native men assaulting native police officers? Is he saying the law does not apply the same to natives as it does non-natives? Would he find it more or less serious if a native person assaults a Belleville police officer in the City of Belleville? Is he saying there is a law for natives and a law for non-natives.

I find the comment ... very, very disturbing. I thought all in Canada were equal in the eyes of the law.

John Henry, Belleville

It's an interesting point, but I wonder now if both Mr. Henry and Justice Griffin don't realize the only possible intention of that statement.

The way I see it, that statement can only be interpreted as a commendation of sorts to the non-Native men for standing up for an issue that was not theirs. Unfortunately, my hunch is that Justice Griffin's intention was closer to one of the suggestions Mr. Henry offers in his letter.

... and let's not even get started about this continually ignorant assumption seemingly held by so many around here that Ongwehonwe people are just another minority group among all the other Canadians.