Pubdate: Tue, 19 Dec 2006
Source: Standard Freeholder (Cornwall, CN ON)
Copyright: 2006 Osprey Media Group Inc
Contact:  http://www.standard-freeholder.com/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/1169
Author: Doug George-Kanentiio
Note: The author is a writer, lecturer and chairman of Round Dance 
Productions, a non-profit cultural foundation on OneidaTerritory. He 
has published a number of articles in Akwesasne Notes including How 
Much Land Did the Iroquois Possess, Iroquois at the U.N., and 
Iroquois Population in 1995. He is former editor of Akwesasne 
Notes-Indian Time.

RECENT ARRESTS WILL NOT END SMUGGLING AMONG MOHAWKS

Will all due respect to Minister of Public Safety Stockwell Day the 
breakup of a dope and tobacco smuggling ring operating out of my home 
reserve of Akwesasne will not make much of a dent in the midnight 
runs across the border.

While there has been an increase in the number of arrests stemming 
from smuggling activities Minister Day ignores a basic human 
motivation: so long as there are obscene profits to be made carting 
contraband to and from the United States people (and not only 
Mohawks) will take the risk.

Smuggling along the border for Natives and non-natives is nothing new.

Practically from the day the border was drawn between the U.S. and 
Upper and Lower Canada goods, both legitimate and otherwise, have 
found their way to whatever market paid the highest prices.

Akwesasne has been a Mohawk community from time immemorial. Disease 
and warfare caused our ancestors to retreat from the St. Lawrence 
Valley to their largest towns located along the Mohawk River in 
upstate New York but once our population rebounded we reestablished a 
community in an area which had not only fertile soils along with an 
abundance of wildlife but was strategically located astride the main 
waterway into the continental interior.

Trade and commerce were vital elements in the affairs of the Mohawk Nation.

By controlling access of goods to other Native nations we wielded 
great economic and political authority, power which we were not 
hesitant to use towards our advantage.

After the conclusion of the American Revolution a new reality was 
forced upon us. Where we had been a united community under the 
authority of a single government we were split into equal sections 
when authorities in London conceded to American demands and drew an 
international border through the heart of Akwesasne.

We protested vigorously then but to no avail. Now restricted to 
living on a small reservation some of our people elected to use our 
unique geography by carrying goods back and forth across the St. Lawrence.

During the War of 1812 American troops stationed in northern New York 
complained bitterly that the farmers in the region were selling their 
harvests to the British soldiers across the border. The Brits paid in 
good silver versus inflated US script.

The easiest way then, as it is now, was to hire Mohawks to carry the 
harvested crops through Akwesasne.

By Prohibition time the smuggling routes through the vast marshes at 
Akwesasne were well established. My uncle told stories of guiding 
flat bottom barges, heavily laden with barrels of liquor, wine and 
beer from brewers and importers in Montreal to Akwesasne where they 
were broken down into smaller loads before being stuffed into sedans 
and trucks, the drivers of which knew every back road from the 
reservation, through the Adirondacks and down into Boston or New York City.

The, as now, the Mohawks were condemned for exploiting a border which 
was not of our making and one which we have long sought to remove.

The current situation, while serious, is hardly isolated to the 
Mohawks. The money made by smuggling sticks to many hands as the 
goods make their way to the consumer. It would be impossible for 
smuggling to exist unless there was a pressing demand for the 
tobacco, alcohol and drugs which make their way to desperate smokers, 
boozers and tokers.

Yes, the Mounties and Minister Day may rejoice in many arrests made 
over the past few months but imposing external regulations upon an 
indigenous community is bound to fail - just ask an Iraqi.

The solution is simple: empower the Mohawks to control trafficking 
through Akwesasne. Begin by working with the legitimate Mohawk 
leaders to establish a free trade network in which certain products, 
such as tobacco, can be transported from one Native nation to 
another. Help create, in effect, a Native North American Free Trade 
Act. Regulate the tobacco trade and the criminal element is removed.

Just as important is to begin discussions with the Mohawk Nation to 
remove the international border south of its current line. 
Acknowledge that the Mohawks have the freedom to form our own 
indigenous government. Once we have full jurisdiction over our land, 
with one set of laws applicable to all residents, we can move swiftly 
to discipline those among us currently exploiting a tangle of 
competing laws, police forces and government agencies.

Smuggling does not have to be a way of life for us. It should not be 
the cornerstone of our economy. As excited as Minister Day is about 
nabbing a few smugglers he should be more enthusiastic about the 
opportunity to remove a major security headache along the St. Lawrence.

A single Mohawk community with its own law enforcement powers would 
sure cure a lot of ills.

The author is a writer, lecturer and chairman of Round Dance 
Productions, a non-profit cultural foundation on OneidaTerritory. He 
has published a number of articles in Akwesasne Notes including How 
Much Land Did the Iroquois Possess, Iroquois at the U.N., and 
Iroquois Population in 1995. He is former editor of Akwesasne Notes-Indian Time.
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MAP posted-by: Elaine