For the many hundreds of years the Mohawk people have lived 
in what is called the St. Lawrence River region we have carried on 
trade and commerce not only between our communities but certainly 
with other nations including the Cree, Anishnabe, French and 
English. 

We did not then, and should not now, seek the permission of 
any external agency to conduct such an activity providing we can 
demonstrate that the Mohawk Nation is fully capable of regulating 
such commerce in accordance with our own laws and customs.

Remember, in 1987 an almost unified Akwesasne community was 
close to persuading both Canada and the US that the Mohawk Nation was 
ready to oversee international trade through our territory and would, 
through the enacting of an Akwesasne Justice Code enforced by a 
singular Mohawk Nation Peacekeeping Service, bring an end to 
smuggling.

Eager to avoid confrontation, Canadian and American officials 
were ready to work in partnership with the representatives of the St. 
Regis Tribal Council, the Mohawk Council of Akwesasne and the Mohawk 
Nation Council of Chiefs for they realized any attempt by an external 
agency to qualify our cross border commerce rights would be met with 
fierce resistance.

The defeat of this grand plan, which included the signing of 
a trade agreement with the Cree Nation, was orchestrated not by 
outsiders but by internal elements within Akwesasne who feared a 
united Mohawk Nation would bring an end to their lucrative smuggling 
activities which included tobacco, alcohol, narcotics and human 
beings.

The actions of the smugglers brought in hundreds of millions 
of dollars in illicit profits, some of which was used to undermine, 
and ultimately defeat, the drive towards Akwesasne unity. The 
smuggling also gave Akwesasne a public relations black eye and may 
have well been the key determining factor in the Canadian Supreme 
Courts decision to reject Grand Chief Mitchell's arguments about our 
aboriginal commerce rights.

We should recall it was Mike Mitchell who was the articulate 
defender of the Mohawk Nation in 1968 when he played a key role in 
the blocking of the International Bridges, a bold act which attracted 
media attention from throughout the world and raised the spirits of 
Native people throughout Anowarakowa (Great Turtle) Island.

Also arising from the bridge blockade was the formation of 
the American Indian Press Association, the creation of Akwesasne 
Notes, both of which marked the birth of the Native media as we now 
know it.

In 1968 Mitchell was supported by the Mohawk Nation Council 
because he took direct action to protect an historic right. He did 
not then look to the courts for approval. From our own experiences 
we have learned that we must be fully prepared to do what is 
necessary to defend the status of the Mohawk Nation yet we must be 
cautious against allowing the courts the power to decide precisely 
what that status means.

Given the current politically climate in Canada, which is 
becoming increasingly anti-Native, the Courts ruling should have come 
as no surprise to anyone but the ramifications will be far reaching 
and possibly devastating to the movement towards aboriginal free 
trade.

The Mohawk Nation was not directly involved in Mitchell's case 
so it remains to be seen if the Courts decision will be applied to 
adherents to the Indian Act only. This legal defeat can be used as a 
rallying point for all Native people to press their leaders to reject 
the rules and regulations of Canada when it comes to commerce; they 
should be prepared to pool their resources and to insist the federal 
government enter into immediate trade negotiations not with the band 
councils but with the lawful representatives of the Mohawk Nation.

The Nation should also reject any action which places our 
aboriginal rights in a legal system which has little understanding 
of, and no tolerance for, a separate, independent and functioning 
aboriginal nation on Anowarakowa. 

This legal defeat should underscore the importance of direct 
action; we should not be handcuffed by the courts but must be 
prepared to put aside arbitrary differences in defense of our 
national rights.

But we must also be ready to bring an end to the outlaw 
actions which have for too long stymied the development of a healthy 
economy. And to do that, the three Akwesasne councils will have to 
show they can not only govern effectively within their own 
jurisdictions but act in concert for the benefit of all Mohawk people.

Until then, the Canadian Supreme Courts decision will have 
full reign to bring unforeseen harm to each and every Akwesasne 
Mohawk.

To read the Canadian Supreme Court case see:  Mitchell vs M. N. R.

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