Haudenosaunee Environmental News Report

Haudenosaunee Environmental News Report

This month's report contains 5 articles. The first article discusses Chronic Waste Disease in the deer population and offers a historical overview of the disease and possible impact on the traditional act of brain tanning.

The second article is a comment on a recent journal article in the American Indian Cultural Research Journal concerning the reliability of maps used to legally define native lands and tenure. The third article is a book review on Stephen Pevar’s, 3^rd edition, “The Rights of Indians and Tribes: The Authoritative Guide to Indian Tribal Rights.”

In the “Great Web of Life” section, where we highlight efforts by the Onkwehonweh to protect the environment and culture, we bring you an article about the Akwesasne Freedom School and their efforts to protect the future generations.

The fifth article is a reprint from the Watertown Daily Times. The article is about the Haudenosaunee efforts to preserve culture by replanting black ash trees and teaching basket making.

TABLE OF CONTENTS

1. Chronic Waste Disease in the deer population

2. Comment: Imre Sutton. “Catrographic Review of Indian land Tenure and Territory: A Schematic Approach.” AICRJ (26):2, 63-113

3. Book Review: “The Rights of Indians and Tribes: The Authoritative Guide to Indian Tribal Rights” by Stephen Pevar

4. “Great Web of Life” section: Akwesasne Freedom School : Protecting the Future Generations

5. Preserving Tradition: Mohawks working to replenish species of tree used for basket weaving

1.)

Chronic Waste Disease in Deer Population

by Barbara Gray (Kanatiiosh)

Chronic Waste Disease (CWD) in deer and elk populations has led to special concerns for native peoples. CWD is a disease of the brain. It is a transmissible spongiform encephalopathy of deer and elk. The disease causes extreme weight loss, which ultimately leads to death in infected animals.

There is no live test for CWD. In other words, the animal must be killed and the brain tissue removed for testing. Transmissible Spongiform Encephalopathy (TSE) was diagnosed in 1967, in mule deer at a Colorado research facility.

In the 1980’s, CWD was found in farmed and free ranging deer and elk in Colorado and Wyoming . In 1997, CWD had spread to elk and deer in South Dakota , Oklahoma , Montana , Wisconsin , and Saskatchewan .

Unfortunately, the mode of transmission of the disease within deer and elk populations is unknown. Some free ranging and farmed herds have tested positive. It is also unknown whether exposure to, or the eating of infected deer or elk can infect people. Further research is being conducted to explore the possibility of transmission of CWD to other species including humans.

Although, at the time there is no research that humans can become infected with CWD, it is recommended that hunters and those seeking to brain tan hides take precautions. Protective clothing like gloves should be worn when butchering a deer or elk especially when handling brains. This is especially important if animals are taken from areas where CWD infected deer and elk have been found.

In Wisconsin , the State is testing approximately 500 deer this season for CWD. John Gilbert of the Great Lakes Indian Fish and Wildlife Commission is creating, for their tribal members, a cache of negative testing deer brains. These will be available to members who want to use brains in the traditional tanning process.

Please keep in mind that not all herds in these areas are infected. This article is meant to inform the public so appropriate precautions can be taken, it is not meant to cause fear and panic. Knowledge is one tool for self preservation and a means to remove fear.

For more information on CWD see:

United States Department of Agriculture:

www.aphis.usda.gov/oa/pubs/usdacwd.html

CWD in Canada visit the Canadian Food Inspection Agency:

www.inspection.gc.ca/english/anima/heasan/disemala/cwdmdce.shtml.

2.)

Imre Sutton. 2002. “Cartographic Review of Indian Land Tenure and Territory: A Schematic Approach” American Indian Cultural Research Journal (26):2, 63-113.

Comment by Barbara Gray (Kanatiiosh)

Imre Sutton’s “Cartographic Review of Indian Land Tenure and Territory: A Schematic Approach” is concerned with the reliability of maps used to define Indian lands. This article raises issues that may be of importance to the Haudenosaunee and other Native Nations who use maps to define aboriginal territory for land claims, repatriation area, environmental jurisdiction, and/or off reservation hunting and fishing territory.

Sutton’s article is good in that it inspires further thought. I will share below Sutton’s argument and thoughts that came to mind as I read through the article.

Sutton writes, “Most of these maps do sustain knowledge of tribal presence and distribution, but do not serve as cartographic representation of tribal lands and territory in any definitive way.” The author discusses concerns with scale, that many maps are replications of old faulty maps, and there is missing information about Indian locales because the map’s purpose was to promote non-Indian land tenure and expansion.

The article discusses flaws in maps. Including maps created by people like famed Bureau of American Ethnography cartographic Charles C. Royce whose maps are considered to be the official source for recognized title in the United States .

He also discusses Alfred Kroeber’s maps, which focused on culture at the time of contact. He explains how these maps, which were questionable at the time, are now presented as pure truth. Kroeber, as well as some other map makers, used Indian informants. However, Sutton explains that the reliability is still questionable because the maps are often not the interpretation of the native person, but that of the scholar.

The author suggests a schematic approach, a critique that looks at the data used, who created the map, and its original purpose. He suggests that maps that use only one source such as historic data presents a one-sided view that may not be reliable.

I am reminded of what Robert Williams, Jr., author of “The American Indian in Western Thought” refers to as the problem with Euro-American history is that it “perpetuates the conquerors version of the Truth.” In other words, and Sutton might agree, if the map was commissioned by the United States for western expansion, then it may not adequately report the diversity of native presence or vastness of Native American territory. Thus, it seems logical that the purpose was to facilitate American goals not to protect native people.

To complicate matters if we, as Haudenosaunee, do not question the Euro-American data (maps, writings, and history), then we are perpetuating the myth and possibly short changing our actual aboriginal territories. Personally, I had never really thought about how flawed maps could be and how they could be used to deny our territorial rights and claims.

Sutton writes, “Keep in mind that adjudicated tribal areas determined by law and justice generally supersede or displace any territoriality defined by tribes.” This is a scary thought when one takes into consideration that the maps used to define such territory might be flawed.

As we develop Haudenosaunee maps, we need to be critical of the Euro-American sources and data we use. To assure reliable maps we need to develop a schematic approach. However, we need to develop an approach that incorporates oral tradition, traditional knowledge, and other Haudenosaunee cultural science and traditions.

An additional thought came to my mind as I read the article. Some of us are academically trained, and while that can be beneficial to the Haudenosaunee, it can also be harmful, if we insist to argue and depend solely on information within these boundaries. While the Haudenosaunee, arguably, exist within these parameters, we also exist beyond them. American jurisprudence and history is flawed by Euro-centrism. If we become trapped within these parameters, we put at risk the generations to come, our traditions, and sovereignty.

3.)

Book Review:

by Barbara Gray (Kanatiiosh)

The Rights of Indians and Tribes: The Authoritative, ACLU Guide to Indian Tribal Rights. By Stephen L. Pevar. Carbondale : Southern Illinois University Press, 2002. 3^rd ed. 412 pages.

This book should stand on your bookshelf between Felix Cohen’s, Hand Book of Federal Indian Law, and William Canby Jr’s, American Indian Law: In a Nutshell. The book is that good! The book has a wide potential audience: Students, teachers, lawyers, native leaders, and really anyone with an interest in Native American issues and rights.

The straight forward format creates an easy way for all people to understand the often complicated issues of federal Indian law. The book begins with an overview of the History of Federal Indian Policy. Then, the book progresses through an array of chapters. The chapters cover: Treaties and the Federal Trust Responsibility; Federal and State Power over Indian Affairs; Tribal Self-Government; Criminal and Civil Jurisdiction; Hunting, Fishing, Gathering, and Water Rights; Gaming; Taxation; Civil Rights; and, the Indian Child Welfare Act.

Each chapter begins with an overview of the subject. The overview is followed by a question and answer format that allows for in-depth answers. For example, in the chapter concerning Indian hunting and fishing rights one question asks: What kind of off-reservation hunting and fishing rights do Indians have? The answer given is in everyday language with no legalese to confuse readers.

Somewhat novel to legal books is that the questions posed are actually answered. Answers often contain examples, citations to law cases, and/or treaty references that are useful for further research and reference.

A lot has happened in federal Indian law since the release of the second edition, so the third edition of this book would be a great addition even if you have the other editions.

The Appendix contains copies of the following statutes: The Indian Civil (25 U.S.C. §§ 1301-3) Rights Act; Public Law 83-280 (18 U.S.C. § 1162, 28 U.S.C. § 1360); The Indian Country Crimes Act (18 U.S.C. § 1152); The Major Crimes Act (18 U.S.C. § 1153); and Indian Country (18 U.S.C. § 1151). There is also a complete list of federal and state recognized Indian Nations.

Although this book is an excellent resource for native people and Nations, one should keep in mind that the rights of Indians, as depicted in this book, are limited to the Ship’s, the United States, understanding of Indian rights as determined by the parameters of federal Indian law. Our rights and status, the Canoe’s, could best be described as being extra legal, in that they exist beyond, parallel, and superior to the unilateral parameters of Federal Indian Law and jurisprudence.

4.)

Akwesasne Freedom School: Protecting the Future Generations

by Barbara Gray (Kanatiiosh)

Recently, I was invited to the Akwesasne Freedom School to hear Tom Sakokwenionkwas Porter recount how the Freedom School was created. Prior to the arrival of Sakokwenionkwas, I took a tour of the building. The classrooms were very nice. Each one had a different theme and looked inviting.

As parents and teachers arrived, I hurried back to the front class room where the meeting was to take place. We sat at round tables or along the walls on beautiful handmade pine benches. The meeting was opened with the recitation of the Ohen:ton Karihwatehkwen (Words before all Else), which is also known as the Thanksgiving Address. The Thanksgiving Address serves as a foundation for the school’s curriculum, which is based on living one’s life in a manner that shows respect and thankfulness to all of creation.

Everyone was expected to recite, in Mohawk, a section of the Thanksgiving address. Elvera Sargent explained that every day the students open the day, as we did that day, each taking a turn and reciting the address in Mohawk. There were a few people who needed help during the address and the teachers helped them say the words.

When my turn came, I was a little nervous. I did not want to make a mistake. However, because the room was filled with such love and respect, my fear melted away. I was handed a piece of paper written in Mohawk that gave thanks to Grand Mother Moon. I struggled with some of the words, but was able to complete the task.

The importance of parents and extended family taking an active role in the education of the children is stressed at the school. Parents, who do not speak Mohawk, are encouraged to learn the language. Speaking the language at home and attending the ceremonies with our little ones not only strengthens the experience of the children, it strengthens the school and our culture for the future generations yet born.

Sakokwenionkwas spoke about how the freedom school began. He said that in the early 1970s, parents began to become increasingly concerned that their children were losing their language and culture. The parents were also concerned with incidences of racism and the quality of education their children were receiving.

Sakokwenionkwas said that, “concerned parents put their Good Minds together looking for a solution.” He said that one of the people really working towards getting a school started was his, now deceased aunt, Ann Jock. Sakokwenionkwas’ eye’s twinkled and a smile came over his face as he remembered the devotion his aunt had for protecting Haudenosaunee culture and the future generations.

Ann Jock built, behind her house, a building. This building became the Onkwehonweh Way School . The school had a few students and operated as a school for a short time. Sakokwenionkwas said, “The Onkwehonweh School paved the way for the Akwesasne Freedom School .”

Soon after, in 1979, the Mohawk Nation, concerned community members, and parents opened the Akwesasne Freedom School . The school is a Mohawk language immersion school. Language is a key component of culture. Language creates how one views and interprets the world. The school not only preserves the language, it also protects the traditions. Students can begin at the Akwesasne Freedom School at the age of 5, pre K through 8^th grade.

The school holidays are in correlation with the Kanien’keha:ka Aohsera (Mohawk Ceremonial Year). During the school year there are 15 traditional ceremonies: Midwinter, Dead Feast, Tobacco Burning, Maple Tree, Thunder Dance, Medicine Mask, Seed-Planting, Strawberry, Raspberry, Beans, Green Corn, Harvest, Thunder Dance, Dead Feast, End of Season. The children may not go into the formal classroom during these days, but they are expected to go to the Longhouse and attend the ceremonies, which through participation is an active way to learn about one’s culture.

The Akwesasne Freedom School does not currently have a high school. Perhaps in the future the Freedom School may have a High school, but for now students reaching the 9th grade attend the local public schools. There is a yearly “moving up day,” a graduation day for all students. When students finish the 8^th grade, each student is given an Aiionwatha flag. This flag represents the Aiionwatha belt depicting the formation of the Haudenosaunee Confederacy under the Great Law of Peace.

The Akwesasne Freedom School is dependent on community support and fundraising. Parents are expected to contribute their time and to help raise funds. Each year, around July, the Akwesasne Freedom School holds a quilt and silent auction. The quilt and silent auction helps to raise money needed for running the school. Artisans come to the two day event, food is served, and singers and dancers perform. The event is a lot of fun.

Quilts are made by the parents, societies like the Akwesasne Women Singers, and there are some off reservation groups and individuals who donate quilts. This past year there was a big beautiful quilt with peace as the theme. I was high bidder on a smaller full sized quilt made with red calico fabric. I found out later that it was quilted by my cousin Elizabeth Perkins who is also one of the teachers at the school. I now have the quilt draped over my sofa in my home.

The silent auction was also fun. People could bid on traditional style clothing, artwork, baskets, and numerous items made and/or donated by the community. I cannot wait for the next quilt auction. If you are in the area for next year’s quilt and silent auction, stop by and participate in this worthy fundraising event.

The Akwesasne Freedom School teachers are awesome. The teachers must be knowledgeable of the Mohawk culture and fluent in the language. The teachers and administration really respect and love each and every child. They treat each student as if they were their own. The love and respect is reflected in the way student’s behave in class and revere their teachers.

Photo by Dave Arquette 2002(c)

The students, being steeped in their traditional teachings, are environmentally conscious with a deep respect for the community and all of creation. The teachers, parents, and administration have developed curriculum, events, and programs that promote the students to positively interact with the community and the Natural World.

While education does take place in the classroom, the students learn the basics like math, and social studies, etc.; the Akwesasne Freedom School student’s also have the entire outdoors as a classroom. The woods, rivers, marshes, and the community garden provide a learning environment. Recently, the student’s efforts were acknowledged with awards.

The Akwesasne Freedom School traveled to Washington , D.C. to receive the President of the United States ’ Environmental Youth Award. The award was given for the student’s efforts to restore wetlands along Route 37, at the new school site. During this project, the children learned about the importance of wetlands.

The student’s also won first place in the Akwesasne Task Force on the Environment’s (ATFE) Annual Roadside Cleanup. The student’s, supervised by parents and teachers gathered the most trash. Ultimately, we all win by the efforts of the students and other teams who picked up trash during the one day event.

Recently, the students planted 3000 trees in an effort to create a forest. The forest will be on Akwesasne Freedom School land. The ATFE, members of the Haudenosaunee Environmental Task Force, Pat Sullivan of the Natural Resource Conservation Service, and Elvera Sargent administrator of the school, helped in getting the necessary supplies and equipment, including the trees, needed for the project.

The students planted a variety of trees. They planted black ash, white ash, swamp oak, black walnut, red oak, maple, hickory, silver maple, white cedar, and white pine trees. Lessons were developed to teach the students about the importance of trees within the ecosystem and culturally.

Photo by Dave Arquette 2002(c)

A few weeks ago the students learned from Dean George how to pound a black ash log. The students each took a turn at pounding the log. They learn at the Akwesasne Freedom School by listening and by active participation. With each pound of the blunt axe hammer, the annual growth rings separate. The students learned how the splints are used in basket making and for the frames of Kastowehs (feathered hats). The students then were instructed by Delia Cook one of the Turtle Clan Mothers of the Mohawk Nation how to use these splints to weave a basket. Baskets made by the students are personal sized. They are used during longhouse ceremonies.

Last year students learned how to tap maple trees. They tapped trees, and then they watched the process of how maple syrup is made. Lessons surrounding the tree tapping included cultural lessons and medicinal uses.

The Akwesasne Freedom School is of great importance to Akwesasne and the continuation of the Haudenosaunee culture. The children are our future, and with the Akwesasne Freedom School , our future looks brighter each day!

The school does not receive any federal or state funds. Donations are always appreciated. Donations are also tax deductible. If you would like to help the school or want more information, please contact: Elvera Sargent at Bela@westelcom.com

Friends of the Akwesasne Freedom School
P.O. Box 290
Rooseveltown, New York 13683
Phone # (518) 358-2073
E-mail: Bela@westelcom.com

5.)

Preserving Tradition

Mohawks working to replenish species of tree used for basket weaving

by James Schlett (Times Staff Writer)

Reprinted with permission from the Watertown Daily Times. The article originally appeared in the paper on Friday November 22, 2002 , B, B6.

Richard David trudged through the swamp in Brasher State Forest for hours one day in January just to find a black ash tree. Then it took the Mohawk basket weaver an hour to find it again when he returned in October to cut down the tall, thick prize.

“I know there were once a lot more of them than there are now,” said Mr. David, assistant Director of the Mohawk Council of Akwesasne Department of the Environment. “Finding good black ash trees was not a problem.” But it is a problem now. Since the 1970s, when the black ash started to become sparse in the north country, Mohawk basket makers have had to journey as far as the Canadian province of Quebec to find black ash decent enough to use in their craft. But quality trees are dwindling in number in the Canadian marshes, too, turning the Mohawks back to their own land for black ash.

Long before Europeans colonized the New World , the black ash was one on North America ’s most popular timber trees. Its wood is the primary material used in the baskets that are embedded in Mohawk culture. Weavers peel strips of the tree’s annual rings and use them as splints for baskets. One 12-inch-thick log can produce as many as a 100 baskets. Mohawks have spent at least five years restoring the ash’s place on the Akwesasne reservation and in the north country. The next generation of basket makers may not have to go too far to find their tree of choice. The tree’s popularity in part caused the problem of diminished supply in the first place.

“People access resources close to them, and until that is expended, they won’t go anywhere else,” said Les K. benedict, a member of the Akwesasne Task Force on the Environment. Along with poor forest management and over-cutting, the black ash has suffered from having its prime environment, wetlands; disappear since the early 1900s, according to Mr. Benedict. The damming of the St. Lawrence River has drowned or dried up other tree stands, Mr. David said.

Mr. Benedict and Mr. David have traveled from Brasher Falls to as far as the Canadian province of Manitoba to collect the winged seeds of black ash to plant locally. More than 3000, 3 year-old trees are grown at a nursery in Petawawa , Ontario , to be planted in spring at the wetlands Alcoa Inc. established near the former Reynolds plant this autumn.

Making way for the black ash forest that Alcoa arranged with Mohawks to plant the company cleared about seven acres of grass and brush at its new 100-acre wetlands off Route 37 earlier this month. Moist areas usually yield thick annual rings, which make excellent basket splints, Mr. David said.

After destroying three marsh lagoons contaminated with harmful chemicals at its west plant in 2000, Alcoa is creating wetlands in the East plant. It will take at least 20 years before trees are mature enough to be cut down for use in baskets. Embankments the company built have caused water to flood and saturate the area. State environmental laws states that if sensitive ecosystems are damaged, they must be replaced, according to Alcoa Remediation Project Director Richard C. Esterline.

“The quality has dropped down. There are still some good ones at Brasher,” Mr. Benedict said of black ash.

Using various tree thinning treatments, Mohawks have been nurturing black ash in a five–acre plot at Brasher State Forest since 1999. With about 100 people on the reservation knowledgeable about the basket craft, the Mohawks have one of the highest populations of weavers among the six Indian nations of the Iroquois Confederacy, according to Sue Ellen Herne, the museum coordinator at the Akwesasne Cultural Center .

The baskets sell at the center for as little as $7 for a thimble basket to $500 for fancy ones usually made of black and white ash and sweet grass. Some estimates have more Indian baskets weavers on the Akwesasne reservation than in Maine , which is also seeing a decline in black ash.

Every year the Akwesasne Cultural Center hosts weaving classes to keep the craft going strong on the reservation. Classes that started November 12 will run to December 19. The courses are taught by Henry Arquette, whose reputation as a basket maker is close to reaching guru status.

“Oh my gosh, we have had such an over-enrollment that we’ve had to stop advertising,” Akwesasne Cultural Center Director Carol C. White said about the seminars. Although the 10-person classes are already filled, people are sometimes allowed to observe them and the center periodically hosts special events centering on basket making. Mr Arquette has been Mr. David’s mentor for about 10 years. The high number of skilled weavers on the reservation has been an asset to the Mohawks. “You always have someone to strive toward to meet their standards.” Ms Herne said.

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