Mohawk Nation News: Showdown at the Western Door

SHOWDOWN AT THE “WESTERN DOOR”: SENECA V. NEW YORK STATE
Mohawk Nation News

Jan. 16, 2009. The Seneca Nation of the Rotino’shonni:onwe, Iroquois Confederacy, are demanding that the colonial state of New York stop illegally operating an unlawful business on our territory – which is the Interstate Thruway #90. It is an unlawful business on our land. At the same time NYS is trying to destroy a significant part of the Nation’s economy by imposing illegal taxes. They have no jurisdiction over Ongwehonwe or our territories which is all of New York State and beyond. Every inch of Onowaregeh, Turtle Island, is unsurrendered Ongwehone territory. The U.S. and Canada are colonies that have no land. They are illegal occupiers.
The trusteeship of the territory in the people is affirmed in the constitution known as the Kaianerehkowa, the Great Law of Peace, which is the true law of the land.
The Seneca Nation and New York State clashed back in 1992 and 1997 leading to civil unrest in the local Seneca communities of Allegheny and Cattaraugus. With a February 13th 2009 deadline looming for collection of taxes on cigarettes sold to Ongwehonwe communities by wholesalers, the Seneca Nation is preparing for another clash with NYS. Speaking for the Seneca of the “Western Door”, Barry Snyder says the people will take any action necessary to protect its people, economy and way of life. In the 1997 clash NYS spent $30 million to bring in heavily armed troopers and tactical squads into our communities. Physical assaults were committed against women, children and men. [Shades of Palestine!] Thruway #90 was closed. Tires were burnt. Charges were laid against some of our people. Then NYS Gov. George Pataki backed off and rescinded any enforcement efforts to collect NYS taxes or impose tax law on us and our land.

The Senecas are now devising a system to collect tolls on the NYS Thruway through Irving. People are being urged to stockpile basic needs. Up to $1 million of Seneca money is being set aside for emergency response. And the Seneca are petitioning U.S. President Obama for federal protection from NY State and respect for our jurisdiction.
To be legal the Thruway requires a license from the Seneca Nation whose territory it’s on. Billions of dollars that should be going to the Seneca are being poured into NYS’s economy. The landowners get nothing. In response to the latest affront to our sovereignty, on April 14, 2007 the Seneca rescinded the 1954 agreement with NYS to use Nation territory for its highway. Outstanding is the compensation for past land use which NYS refuses to pay. Since May 12, 2007, $1 has been assessed on each motorist using the Thruway, leaving NYS $20,247,557 in arrears.
As if that’s not bad enough, to put pressure on us to submit, NYS is once again taking illegal actions to impose an embargo on tobacco products. This is a direct threat to the people who are recovering from the economic devastation imposed on us by the state and federal governments. Since Sullivan destroyed the agricultural industry of the Rotino’shonni:onwe, tobacco has been one of the most successful economic endeavors of our people. It has emerged from our traditional cultivation, trade and commerce traditions. Our people have every right to take all actions necessary to protect and defend our freedom, economy and unsurrendered sovereignty and territories.

The $1 million being set aside for “emergency response personnel” is to provide access to medical care, ensure that children get to school, and that all residents can go about their daily lives without interference. People are stockpiling everything. The history of our relations with NYS has been troubled from the start. NYS has tried to interfere with our treaty rights to tax-free commerce twice in the last few years. The only responsible approach is to protect our people by preparing for the worst.

The people have instructed their Planning Department to build a system to collect tolls on the New York State Thruway. The Seneca also intend to increase the current per-car toll to $2. They also filed an action in the Seneca tribal courts to declare that the Thruway is an illegal invasion of sovereign Seneca territory.

The Seneca are asking U.S. President Obama to respect the provisions of the Canandaigua Treaty of 1794 to provide protection for the Seneca from the crimes being committed against us by NYS. Obama probably does no know the history of our relationship with the British and U.S. invaders. We never agreed to become British subjects, or NYS or U.S. citizens. Our relations have been highly irregular especially since the American Revolution of 1776. It’s time to stop the abuse and set things right.

On December 15, 2008 NYS Gov. David A. Paterson illegally signed a law to subjugate the commerce of all Ongwehone communities under the authority of NYS. We don’t know what theory of legality he is operating on. You can be sure it’s not based on human equality or the principles set out in international law and the U.S. Constitution, for that matter. NYS would never abide by Canadian laws if Canada ever chose to colonize New York. By a temporary order of State Supreme Court Justice Rose Sconiers, his law cannot be enforced. A hearing is set for January 27, 2009 to decide whether a permanent injunction should be issued against NYS to stop it from implementing illegal policies.

The actions by NYS Gov. Paterson look like a deliberate attempt to fuel anti-Ongwehonwe sentiment. He is drawing a line where none should be. He is refusing to respect legitimate Ongwehonwe jurisdiction and boundaries. There’s no sign that NYS intends to respect the law. NYS is on a collision course as before. NYS should know by now that the Seneca will not stand down. We will unite and fight for the right to support our families and to protect our homes and territories. [Send your comments to www.letstalknativepride.blogspot.com]
Karakwine, MNN Mohawk Nation News Staff, www.mohawknationnews.com jmkane1220@aol.com Katenies20@yahoo.com kahentinetha2@yahoo.com Note: Your financial help is needed and appreciated. Please send your donations to PayPal at www.mohawknationnews.com, or by check or money order to “MNN Mohawk Nation News”, Box 991, Kahnawake [Quebec, Canada] J0L 1B0. Nia:wen thank you very much. Go to MNN “New York State” category for more stories; New MNN Books Available now! Purchase t-shirts, mugs and more at our CafePressStore http://www.cafepress.com/mohawknews; Subscribe to MNN for breaking news updates http://.mohawknationnews.com/news/subscription.php; Sign Women Title Holders petition! http://www.ipetitions.com/petition/Iroquois
Contact: NYS Gov. David A. Paterson 518-474-8390 www.state.ny.us/governor/contact/index.html; president@whitehouse.gov ; US Dept. Justice askdoj@usdoj.gov; European Union public.info@consilium.eu.int ; Mohawk Nat Council Chiefs mohawkna@slic.com; OAS multimedia@oas.org ; UN Comm Human Rights tb-petitions@ohchr.org ; IMF mschrader@imf.org; hotline@worldbank.org ; info@gatt.org; supporter.services@int.greenpeace.org ; prsj2cr@sol.racsa.co.cr ;

Apartheid Borders: Palestine and Indian Country

By Brenda Norrell

Censored News http://www.bsnorrell.blogspot.com

 Julia Good Fox, Pawnee, describes the parallels between the ongoing genocide in Palestine, carried out by Israel with US support, and the genocide of Native Americans by the colonizers of the US. Good Fox describes the theft of land by the invaders, human rights abuses and complicit media.

Good Fox, professor at Haskell Indian Nations University in Kansas, spent two weeks in Israel and Palestine as a member of the Third World Delegation, which was joined by a Quaker delegation. In this segment, rebroadcast with permission from American Indian Airwaves,

Good Fox describes her first reality in Israel and the militarization of the region, with young armed soldiers a constant presence. Good Fox was a member of the Third World Delegation, which she describes as a delegation of color. She said people of color received different treatment from the soldiers.

"Our group was often singled out." During the fact-finding mission, Good Fox was present at the Apartheid Wall, where every Friday, Palestinians protest. "We were tear-gassed," Good Fox said. Although there were European politicians present with her, the group was shot at with metal rubber-tipped bullets. While there, Good Fox remembered her own Native American ancestors and what they experienced at the hands of the soldiers. She listened to the stories of the Palestinians who were forced from their villages and farmlands by Israel. In a wave of memory, she realizes that this is what happened to her own Native American ancestors. She realized what they would have felt when they were forced to leave their homes for the last time. "We saw the similarities when we were in Palestine." Good Fox said in the ongoing invasion of Palestine, she feels outrage "that Israel, with United States sponsorship, is allowed to get away with this." The one-sided media in the United States is also responsible, she said. While in Palestine, she watched as people were taking care of their parents, going to school and trying to live normal lives. They were defenseless against Israel, she said. "It is the largest prison in the world. The people are just sitting ducks for this big show of military might." While meeting with people forced to evacuate their villages, she listened to the stories of farmers and villagers now barred from their village by a fence. Where they once farmed, Israelis now picked fruits. In another community, she describes the destruction of a Palestinian village, in ruins now, where Israelis swim. "It was the only time I broke down and cried." Walking on that trail, she remembered her own Native American ancestors as they were forced out of their villages and took one last look. Good Fox describes the human rights violations being committed by Israel with support from the United States, including the murder of women and children, high fatalities, incarcerations and destruction of property. There is also a great deal of environmental damage. Of Palestine and Indian Country, she said there are striking similarities of abuse. It centers on land theft. The shrinkage of Palestinian controlled land follows the pattern of the US seizure of American Indian lands. There is another similarity as well. Palestinians are discouraged from speaking Arabic in public, as Native Americans have long been forced to stop speaking their own languages. Families have also been separated by the Apartheid Wall cutting through their own territories, in the same manner that the US/Mexico Apartheid Wall is now slicing through the Indigenous communities along the US/Mexico border, including the homelands of the Tohono O'odham. Both Apartheid Walls, in Palestine and the US, now violate Indigenous patterns of migrations. Referring to Elbit Systems in Israel, she points out that the same corporation constructing the Apartheid Wall in Israel now has a contract for construction of the US/Mexico Border Wall.

Good Fox points out the media coverage of Palestinians has failed to report the struggle for self-determination and sovereignty. In a similar manner, the media has also been unsympathetic to Native Americans' struggle for self-determination. Another parallel between Palestine and Indian Country are the "unrecognized villages," in northern Palestine. In the same manner, some Indian Nations in the US remain unrecognized by the US government. There are similarities as well between the US Bureau of Indian Affairs (BIA) and the Palestinian National Authority (PNA). In Palestine, she said common men and women distrust the PNA and said it is not serving the best interest of the Palestinians. In Palestine, she said people wake up one day and there is a bulldozer at the door. Homes are being demolished and the homes are all gone within a week. Good Fox hopes now, following the fact finding mission, there will be an exchange of information about cultures, with Native Americans sharing their own experiences with the ongoing colonization. But it is clear that what is happening in Palestine is genocide, she said. Good Fox also describes how the colonization continues in the United States, with American Indian children forced to say the Pledge of Allegiance to the US in schools. In Oklahoma, there is a movement by SPIRIT, which opposes elementary schools that compel Indian children to dress up like the pioneers who stole Native American lands. Meanwhile, in the US, schools continue to promote a curriculum of genocide and colonization. Good Fox points out that Native Americans are taught to identify with the US and military. At the same time, many Native Americans know little of their own treaties and cultures. "That is a form of genocide." Although the United Nations has issued documents recognizing the rights of Palestinians, there has been no enforcement. Good Fox encourages those who want to understand the parallels between the genocide in Palestine and Indian Country, to undertake research, become involved in human rights, read literature and become informed from sources outside the mainstream press. There are also internships and opportunities to volunteer in Palestine. Further, Native Americans can have dialogues with their own tribal councils and share facts. In closing, Good Fox points out that the millions of dollars that the US is sending to fund Israel's military could be used at the university where she is a professor, Haskell Indian Nations University, and other schools. It could also be used to fund the Indian Health Service. Pointing out the high rate of Native Americans joining the US military, she asked, "Why are we supporting the US military?" 

 http://www.blogtalkradio.com/Brenda-Norrell