"Extinguishment clause in Akwesasne offer threatens Hodenosaunee rights"
- Publication
- Tekawennake News (Ohsweken, Ontario), 5 Apr 2000
- Full Text
- Extinguishment clause in Akwesasne offer threatens Hodenosaunee rights©by Doug George-Kanentiio In reviewing New York State's May 4, 1999 land claims settlement offer to the Mohawks of Akwesasne, there was one paragraph which should be most alarming to those Hodenosaunee who have vigorously defended the concept of aboriginal rights.
Article 5 of New York's settlement proposal reads as follows:
In accepting the terms of this settlement proposal, plaintiffs agree they are settling all claims to land within the State of New York, including all island (sic) in and around the St. Lawrence River, and the plaintiffs release the State of New York, its citizens, inhabitants and any successors in interest, forever, from any claim or land or rights which are not specifically mentioned in this settlement proposal.
According to this provision New York would not be bound to respect Iroquois treaties, nor would it be required to recognize hunting or fishing rights. Crucial to the Iroquois is the right to self determination but this would be voided if the State's proposal is accepted. Since no express mention is made of the tax exemption situation currently enjoyed by Iroquois homeowners and businesses, such status would also be eliminated.
New York would also retain the option of attaching the settlement funds for former services, meaning every nickel the State has spent on the Iroquois over the past 200 years could be deducted from the award fund. As reprehensible as this tactic might seem, it has been used by other states as a way of having the Natives repay past expenditures. If the Mohawks had accepted the State's 1999 offer they may well have discovered they actually owed New York money.
The principle of aboriginal rights is fairly simple, according to Professor Robert W. Venables of Cornell University. Professor Venables defines aboriginal rights as those which predates European contact and includes self government, trade and commerce, criminal and civil jurisdiction, cultural integrity and territorial security.
None of the above was, or is, dependent upon American or Canadian approval since they are actions undertaken by the Iroquois as distinct nations long before the European arrival in the Americas.
Affirmation of the aboriginal rights of the Hodenosaunee is inferred in the 1794 Canandaigua Treaty which states in Article 2 the United States will never claim or disturb the Iroquois in the free use and enjoyment of their lands, territory which were then held to be under the exclusive governmental and judicial domain of the various Iroquois nations.
For generations the Iroquois have waged an intense political and legal campaign to convince both federal and state officials they must comply with the law by acknowledging the validity of Canandaigua while respecting the aboriginal rights of the Hodenosaunee.
The Hodenosaunee must also be aware of New York's efforts to divide the Iroquois by negotiating each land claim separately. Under Hodenosaunee law, no one nation has the authority to engage in actions which put the other Iroquois in jeopardy. As bitter as the internal factions might have been 200 years ago, the Iroquois nonetheless managed to take a united stand at Canandaigua. The leaders then may well have realized those negotiations represented the last and best opportunity for the Confederacy to protect its political and territorial integrity.
There is, of course, a genuine risk the Hodenosaunee will lose their claims to aboriginal and/or treaty rights if either privilege is not actively exercised. For example, if any Iroquois citizen has a legitimate claim to hunt within their indigenous boundaries they must be willing to challenge the restrictions state officials have sought to impose on that action. Likewise, if the Iroquois elect to engage in trade that activity should not be left for external agencies to define or regulate but should be the prerogative of the Iroquois nations themselves.
With aboriginal rights comes responsibility. The Iroquois nations must have the courage and will to enforce their own rules while insuring communal stability. They must also accept the difficult task of vigorously opposing any and all actions which place their aboriginal rights at risk.
It is because our ancestors were tenacious in their defense of our aboriginal rights that we exist as a distinct people; any compromise of those rights, however tempting at the moment, may well mean the demise of the Hodenosaunee as sovereign nations.
- Creator
- George-Kanentiio, Doug, Author
- Media Type
- Text
- Newspaper
- Item Type
- Clippings
- Description
- "In reviewing New York State's May 4, 1999 land claims settlement offer to the Mohawks of Akwesasne, there was one paragraph which should be most alarming to those Hodenosaunee who have vigorously defended the concept of aboriginal rights."
- Publisher
- Tekawennake
- Place of Publication
- Six Nations of the Grand River, ON
- Date of Publication
- 5 Apr 2000
- Subject(s)
- Personal Name(s)
- Venables, Robert W.
- Corporate Name(s)
- Cornell University
- Local identifier
- SNPL006502v00d
- Language of Item
- English
- Geographic Coverage
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Ontario, Canada
Latitude: 45.05009 Longitude: -74.56597
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- Creative Commons licence
- [more details]
- Copyright Statement
- Public domain: Copyright has expired according to Canadian law. No restrictions on use.
- Copyright Holder
- Tekawennake
- Contact
- Six Nations Public LibraryEmail:info@snpl.ca
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