The New US/Canada Mandated Tribal ID's

For the most part, Native people are oblivious to the things that their, so-called, leaders subject them to. A case in point is the new Tribal ID card.

The US and Canada have developed new requirements for what they will accept for "legal" tribal identification cards. The arbitrary lines that they have drawn between them that have, by no small coincidence, separated our nations, communities and families; will not be passable by our people without these new cards or a fight. By and large the "recognized leadership" has laid down for the new regulations. There has been little or no resistance to the changes because our people have been left in the dark. There have been no meetings, no notices and no discussions within our communities about the details of these new regulations and information requirements. All anyone has been told is that new ID's are coming and that they will be necessary to cross between the US and Canada.

Well what are the new requirements? The new cards are high tech. They will include encrypted information on them that none of us will be able to access. The cards will not only be scannable to retrieve this info but it will be possible to send a signal that will allow the card to transmit information back to those who wish to retrieve it. So yes, we will be trackable. The technology is called RFID. See the link in the side bar for more info on RFID Chips.

If that isn't creepy enough, there is the issue of the information on file, where it comes from, where it goes to and who maintains and secures that info. This isn't just about identifying people any more. In the name of the "War on Terror", we will be placed on lists based on criminal records, tax and other financial records, biometric information, travel, political views, public statements, private statements, our associations, our relatives, our purchases and who knows what else. Determining whether an individual is on a given list will not even require an interrogation or an interview. Your card can simply be scanned and it won't even have to come out of your wallet because it will have remote access.

The fact that tribal ID's will be used for this purpose is the part that is the most unsettling. It is bothersome on two fronts. That our, so-called leadership would subject their people to this invasion of privacy is treasonous, but the ignorance of our people brandishing these things on the false belief that it is a symbol of our distinction and our sovereignty is pathetic.

How did we get this stupid? When did we become this passive? I hope that we aren't. I know there are those that have and will resist. We are the ones that always referred to a "card carrying Indian" with a certain amount of disdain. Disdain will not be strong enough for these card carriers. These cards will separate our communities dramatically if we allow them. Not only will it cause conflict in travel to and from community to community, but the divide between those that comply and those that don't may take generations to heal.

I personally would rather spend the extra twenty minutes arguing with the morons at customs and risk the challenge to my entry then let them determine how to identify myself. How many times have we heard all of the problems in our communities reduced to self esteem and identity issues. This is literally an identity issue. It has got to stop. We need to challenge these new cards and hold these tribal administrations accountable. Press the issue. Ask the questions. Demand the answers.

Attea is Not a Landmark Case Against Indians

When the media treats the Attea as such and when the State rattles it off as if the Supreme Court gave them unfettered access to our trade and commerce is one thing. We expect that kind of nonsense from them. But when our own people and the so-called "Tribal leaders" and their lawyers don't take the time to understand or even read the case, yet will concede to the newspaper's interpretation, it is time to set the record straight.

The Department of Taxation and Finance of New York et al. v. Milhelm Attea and Bros., Inc., et al. went to the US Supreme Court because Attea challenged the States attempt to precollect tax on tobacco products to be sold to Native retailers on one basis; that the Federal Indian Traders License issued to the Attea Bros. by the Bureau of Indian Affairs pre-empts state law. In the lower courts Attea won but the Court of Appeals reversed the ruling. The US Supreme Court held with the Court of Appeals. (see the side bar for a link to the syllabus and opinion)

The important thing here is what was tried. The court had one issue to determine; whether a Federal Indian Traders License pre-empts state law and that is all. To reach its decision the court relied on two cases out west; Moe v. Confederated Salish and Kootenai Tribes of Flathead Reservation and Washington v. The Confederated Tribes of the Colville Reservation. It is obvious but nevertheless important to note that no case was cited involving any of the Six Nations or New York State. In Moe and Colville the courts considered the status of the land, how the title was held, how integrated the Native community was with the non-native community, was the land contiguous or checkerboarded, municipal services, tribal government autonomy and a general assessment of the assimilation of the people and community into the surrounding non-native society. There was little or no mention of treaties, sovereignty or the inherent rights of the Native people to conduct trade or realize any regulatory advantages on their lands. In these cases the courts determined that the states could place a minimum burden on those Native retailers to collect tax for them. As a result of these cases the Supreme Court made an easy determination that if a state (not New York State) could place a minimum burden requiring Native retailers to collect state tax, then clearly the rights of a non-native wholesaler supplying a Native retailer could not pre-empt state law simply by virtue of possesion of a Federal Indian Traders License.

The Attea case did not validate or rule in favor of New York State regarding any conflict with Native people. The court makes specific reference in both the Syllabus and in the footnotes to the opinion to clarify the limited scope of this ruling. It did not consider our sovereignty, our right to self governance and regulation. It did not consider specific limitations placed on New York State in treaties. It did not consider the fact New York State allows anyone to enter the State with up to two cartons of cigarettes without a New York State stamp or tax collected. It did not consider the fact that our land is not held in trust by the Federal government for our use. It did not acknowledge that the US does not own our land and that they vowed never to claim it. It did not consider our history of trade and commerce. Most importantly, it did not rule on any of these things. Attea was in court. He lost his challenge not us.

We have never challenged the right of New York State to tax its people. We simply are not the State's people. We have never conceded our right to conduct commerce to the State. We have never claimed that our non-taxable status extends to non-natives beyond our borders. It is New York State (and most other states) that allow a limited number of products to be used and consumed within the State without taxes applied. Surely the State is not suggesting that person can purchase cigarettes free from the State's tax for use in the State from anywhere on the planet except from a Native retailer on their own sovereign land. That simply would not hold up in court.

Shockwaves or Ripples?

With no TV crews or armed conflict, no protest rally or demonstration and no court room drama or billion dollar development plan the Kanienkehaka are rattling the Establishment. For those of you that have read my posts, affectionately referred to as "Land Claims; Mohawk Style" and thought it was kinda cool or some what interesting, let me put it in its proper perspective. The powers that be are freaking out. The US Department of Justice sent their ace mediator from their enigmatic Community Relations Service to try to do an assessment of the "conflict". Now most of us don't just suspect, but know the State, feds and even an occasional overly zealous city agency has sent their agents into our communities to keep an eye on us. Hell, we know that all too often "tribal leaders" call them in and even assist them. But rarely do the feds sideline their gun-toting, badge-wearing, warrant-waving tough guys from their undercover("Oh, We're here for some other reason") work, sneaking around asking elusive questions, identifying the bad guys and planning their assaults. Those of us who have been around long enough, have seen it before (we remember their last guy, Fletcher Graves), but we still know it is not their normal procedure. The new guy, Renaldo Rivera, like Graves is a man of color(Graves was black, Rivera is Puerto Rican). His demeanor is even more humble than the last guy and works very hard to endear himself to us. His stature and presence does not command respect but rather he asks very politely for it. So why is he here? He claims that a potential conflict is brewing over the land reclaimed by the Kanienkehaka Kanohnsesne and that the conflict is borne out of the fact that no one wants to touch this, at least not directly.

So in comes this meek and humble buffer.

We know the Mohawk Nation Council has weighed in on the issue as has Joe Heath which means Onondaga has as well. we know they have read the posts here on Native Pride. The Saint Regis Tribal Council is scrambling as evidenced by its pathetic planned civil action mentioned in the previous post. The County, the sheriffs, the clerks, the courts, the lawyers; no one knows quite what to do? This is the last thing Albany or Washington wants to deal with now or anytime. There is too much wrong with this mess and the only ones that are right are the Kanienkehaka.

But aren't those the guys the Warriors? We can't let them be right. They are the Bad Indians. Grand Council said so. The first thing those guys did when they took the land back was fly that flag. What if they mess up land claims? Think of the money that could be lost. What if they take over more? Could this screw up gaming? What about our precious Monticello? Hey! don't forget about me. I'm the white guy who was hoping to sell that land and make several million dollars. Sorry dude! you are the last thing any of us are worried about. Joe, you better figure something out. You haven't been paid all these years by Oren Lyons to have all the propaganda we have put out against these guy squandered by this. Our Handsome Lake Longhouse is barely hanging on to any relevance here in Akwesasne. We can't let that other Longhouse push us further into obscurity. That's it! Let's call the Feds. We will all look the other way while they drag our people around and remove them from this land. We will blame this all on the Warriors and tell everyone, that will listen, what a set back this has been and how much money it has cost us. It has always worked in the past; why not now?

Wait a minute! This isn't what we meant when we said send in the feds. We don't want a guy whose strength is determining where the real leadership lies in a community (unless it is part of a plan to take them out). We don't want a guy to slow this process down and reduce provocations (unless it is only a ploy to lull them into a false sense of security). We want action. Smear them with guns, or drugs or even gaming might work again. But don't let them look good just because they are right. The Kanienkehaka Kanohnsesne has already made the rest of us look bad on border issues and policing issues. Now we all look completely incompetent on land issues especially with the SRMT paying property taxes on the the land purchased in Akwesasne from a native person and the deafening silence that followed. Mr. Rivera, you better have a plan. Those of us across these native communities that have fallen in lock step with everything the state and federal governments have ever asked of us did not turn our backs on our people and everything we believe in so these guys that really believe they are sovereign can look like heroes. Hurry up and do something so we can resume our positions as token Indians and get back to posing for National Geographic and pretending to be successful, wise and "traditional".

Rivera claims to be keeping the peace. He also tell us much of what we want to hear; the land is ours, we are right, he relates to us, we have the system upset and that he respects and would never do anything to dishonor us or our Longhouse. We'll see.

What is a Saint Regis Indian?

Although there is much that will remained unanswered here, we now have a better understanding of what makes up some of the beliefs of a Saint Regis Indian.

Some of the things we don't know include; who are the Saint Regis Indians, when did they come into existence and just who are the Seven Nations of Canada that these Saint Regis Indians owe some element of their existence to?

Based on a civil action that these Saint Regis Indians, also known as the Saint Regis Mohawk Tribe (SRMT), plan to file in US Federal Court and statements made in a public meeting to discuss this filing, we now know things that were perhaps not understood about these people before.

This is what is learned from the draft of a planned civil action by the SRMT:

The SRMT derives its authority from the US Federal government as a federally recognized Indian tribe. The SRMT believes that "the exercise of jurisdiction within an Indian reservation in New York is exclusively governed by federal law". The SRMT believes that an Indian reservation was established for the use of the Indians of the Village of Saint Regis in 1796 by an agreement between New York State and Seven Nations of Canada. The SRMT believes that New York State made this agreement "In an effort to set aside land for the Mohawks that would be federally protected from encroachment". At some point that is not clear in this filing, the SRMT believes that this "reservation" became the "federal reservation" of the SRMT. The SRMT believes that the US Constitution provides them with the right to bring this action and that United States District Court for the Northern District of New York has jurisdiction because "the Tribe's reservation is located in that District". The SRMT also believes that the "Tribe's reservation" is in New York State's Franklin and St Lawrence Counties and that land that was attempted to be carved out of the interior of the "reservation" by the State is part of the Town of Bombay. The SRMT believes that the Congress of the United States has never "enacted any law or statute or taken any other action to diminish the Tribe's reservation." The SRMT wants a federal judge to declare "that the jurisdiction of the Tribe, the State and the local governments within the Hogansburg Triangle(land within the "Tribe's reservation") is governed by federal law". Although they ask for a "grant of such other relief as the court may deem just and proper", one can't help wonder why they didn't ask for recovery of the taxes they paid in the purchases they made for property in the "Hogansburg Triangle".

In the public meeting to discuss the filing of this case it was also learned that SRMT and its legal counsel believes that it is unlawful for Native retailers to sell products to non-natives without collecting tax for the state. This begs the questions about the SRMT's involvement in this unlawful activity. We also learned that the SRMT believes that the only thing that keeps the State or its counties from siezing land in Akwesasne for taxes is a "gentleman's agreement" that the "Tribe" has with them not to do so.

It must be noted that in spite of the addition of the word "Mohawk" to the name of the Saint Regis Indians, there is no claim in this filing that the SRMT is or represents the Mohawk Nation, the Mohawk People or the Kanienkehaka or is a part of the Six Nations, Iroquois Confederacy or the Haudenosaune. On a historical note there is also no mention of any of these entities in the agreement of 1796 cited in the filing nor is there an established connection between these and the so-called Seven Nations of Canada. A reason for this may be because a federal court ruled in a previous attempt by the SRMT to use the court that Saint Regis Indians are not recognized as Mohawks and cannot use a connection to the Mohawk Nation or the Six Nations for their defense. On this one point many Kanienkehaka can agree with the findings of a federal court.

This civil action planned by the SRMT is a land claim. As can be clearly noted from previous posts on Native Pride, this is not "Land Claims; Mohawk Style". Within the lines delineating New York State, not one acre of land has ever been reacquired in a federal court or a court filed land claim. Only Ganienke and the recent reclamation in Akwesasne have resulted in the return of lost land to the people.

This post comes a long way from defining what a Saint Regis Indian is, but it should be clear that Saint Regis Indians are not Mohawks. They are, apparently, Americans; something a Mohawk would never claim.

What Do We Do About These People?

In January of this year(2009), a group of Mohawk men, fed up with the unending bureaucracy and politics of “land claims”, took back a parcel of land, clearly within the community of Akwesasne. (See the post from February, "Land Claims; Mohawk Style".) The land, which is undeveloped, has been illegally under non-native control for quite some time, dating back to a time when White people could lease land, pretend they own it and the State and counties were fine with that. In this era of economic melt down; home foreclosures through the roof, a plunging stock market and scam artists like Bernie Madoff, it is important to put this land dispute in perspective. The self described "land owner" is a speculator. He has no ties to this land other than his hope to cash in on it. He “purchased” control of the land fully expecting to “sell” it back to the Mohawks for an obscene profit. Not even the Senecas would buy a parcel of their own land for $4 Million. Any judge, legislator or other official that hears this man’s sob story needs to put this complaint in its proper perspective. The man took a gamble and LOST. Sorry about your luck. Perhaps you should have speculated in the Catskills. The State and local officials would do well to stay clear of this one. There is no up side for you here. To all the so-called “tribal leaders” and their lawyers who are scared by what this could mean for them and their precious land claims, you better be careful in any condemnation of the actions of the people, especially when you know damn well they are right. Any native person who can't support this move likely has what they perceive as a competing interest. Everyone should support this because it is right and, yes , it’s fair. No money to fight about here, no courts, no lawyers; what could be better? If the speculator thinks he was sold something that was misrepresented, then let him sue the seller. To suggest that finally one of these land grabbers, who sits behind his grand oak desk on top of his fat checkbook, who lost a few dollars speculating on a real estate deal, is a victim is ridiculous. Remember; no one was evicted, no one’s home was taken, no one was run off or threatened. The only property of the speculator that was over taken was the “For Sale” sign with his New Jersey phone number brandished across it. Many of us realize that perhaps all land disputes can't be settled this way, but maybe many of them can.

The Center for Public Intoxication

The latest installment from the "Tobacco Underground" (see the side bar) was released last week from a group called the Center for Public Integrity. Now don't let the name fool you; the only place integrity shows up is in the name. The series is "generously" funded by the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health. As most Native people know, New York City Mayor and billionaire, Michael Bloomberg condemns only one thing more than "Indians" and that's the cigarette business. By "generously" supporting this project through his School of Public Health he gets to hire journalistic hit men to assassinate both. All that had to be compromised was journalistic integrity, fairness and the ethics of using a School of Public Health to criminalize and slander the most marginalized people in the hemisphere.

As we have seen in the past with this group through the use of: ....."was not available for comment" or ...."was unwilling to comment" they get to tell a very enhanced, one-sided story of the Native involvement in the cigarette business. Back in November of 2008, I posted on the Native Pride blog, an email I sent to the Center for Public Integrity. I followed up that email with a phone call to one of their reporters offering an intelligent rebuttal to their slanted coverage and a challenge to their use of the word "integrity" in their name for not interviewing anyone to balance their obviously opinionated stories. The reporter confirmed receipt of my email and took my contact information assuring me that they would contact me for their next article. Clearly the two morons in Kahnawake (Kirby and Splicer), who obviously loved the spotlight, suited their needs better than an intelligent explanation of Native issues.

There is some truth to what was reported. The integrity of the reporting is missing not because of what was exposed, but because of what was not. In previous articles specifically dealing with tobacco sales by Native retailers in New York, the Tobacco Underground repeatedly referred to the trade as illicit or illegal and never once suggested that State and Federal authorities failed to stop it simply because they couldn't. And that was becaaaause IT'S LEGAL , you morons! The process of criminalizing Native commerce has been underway for a long time. Canada is just a little better at it than the US. I might add that they were better at the criminal use of residential schools and promoting racism against Native people as well, but then again Canada didn't have as many black people so we became Canada's Niggers. This series of articles does nothing to resolve any of the conflict that exists because of the tensions over Native sovereignty and our cultural distinction. It does nothing to address our right to conduct trade and commerce from and between our Native communities. It fails to confront the historical issues that bring us to where we are now. And it absolutely refuses to recognize anything positive about our communities or our people. It simply goes on and on about smuggling, gangs, mobsters, guns, drugs and illegal sales and manufacturing of cigarettes. All of that comes from your people. It comes from your dirty cities, your corrupt politicians and your greedy corporations. Tobacco is the only thing that came from us and you turned it into something sinful. You stole most of our land and polluted what you didn't. You tried to shove your religion, your laws and your phony democracy down our throats. You criminalized even the sale of our labor. As our men built your cities and your bridges they were condemned as tax evaders. You carved lines through and around our land, trying to cut us off from our friends and families from other communities. You tried to segregate us and limit our travel. You backed us into what's left of our communities with no means to survive except on your hand outs and when we push back and defend our right to exist and support our families, you criminalize us some more. So who makes it easy and morally effortless for Native people to cross those blurry lines into the "real" nefarious activities? You did. So if the Center for Public Integrity is going to offer it's skewed snapshot of our people to the public, then tell them how we got here. And put it in perspective because the streets of Kahnawake, Akwesasne, Cattaraugus and Tuscarora are still by a huge magnitude safer that those of Montreal, New York, Buffalo and Washington, D.C.. I will not defend those who bring harm to our communities. Our history does not justify or vindicate bad behavior, but it may explain some of it. To the Center for Public Integrity I ask; what's your excuse? Perhaps a better examination of the causes and roots of the problem would lead the way to solutions. Condemning and slandering our people and communities by suggesting that we represent all that is wrong with yours is wrong and serves no public interest.

We Want Half

Up till now most of the battles over the tobacco business on Native lands have been with the states. By and large most of those fighting for the right of Native people to carve out a market share of an industry with its origins in their own history and culture have looked the other way when it came to challenging the Feds. For over thirty years the federal excise tax has been paid with very little resistance. Up till recently, almost all the the products sold on Native land were produced by US manufacturers or imported by US distributors. Now Native brands have grabbed some major market share, at least on reservation sales. What once was just retail of established brands has become manufacturing, importing, wholesaling, marketing and retail that ranges from brick and mortar stores to e-commerce. For the Feds part they have quietly collected excise tax on the products before the product could leave their factories or customs agents and have played the spectator in the battle between the states and the Native people. With Native entrepreneurs becoming manufacturers and importers they found themselves in the awkward position of paying the federal taxes themselves directly. Some of the manufacturers dabbled with the sovereignty position and opposed the ATF regulations that called for the excise tax, but at $3.90 a carton, paying the tax was better for the overall business. Now in a the new era of unprecedented federal maneuvering, the excise tax has been raise to $10.00 per carton. To this the communities must tell the Feds, "Fine! But we want half". Communities that have product manufactured or exclusively imported for Native sales should have the option of having half, or $5.00 per carton, put into their own coffers. The feds will still see a significant increase from $3.90 on Native products and a dramatic increase on their domestic product sold by Native retailers. This process would allow much needed revenue for Native communities without placing higher tax burdens on Native products. As far as the Feds are concerned the $10.00 would be paid across the board on all cigarettes, but on Native products half would stay where it is needed most.

Something is Rotten in Maryland

To suggest that there is something a little strange about the region claimed by the Commonwealth of Maryland, that on one hand has such a rich and deep history of Native people, yet has no State or Federally recognized Native people in the entire State, is an understatement. That is, apparently till now. In spite of the fact that a consistent group of Piscataway people have been asserting their presence in Maryland for over 50 years, the State has refused to formally recognize them. But now all of a sudden the State is trying to relax the requirements for recognition. A bill before both the House and the Senate of Maryland is attempting to change the process that would require a petitioner applying for recognition to be descendants of a tribe indigenous to the State before 1790 to now being descendants of a tribe from the State prior to 1900. A request for this change did not come from thin air, so why would the State be considering such a change? Was there a pile of rejected applicants that couldn't trace their occupation back to 1790? No, the Piscataways can't even get an answer to their application. Was there a Native influx during that 110 years that the rest of us don't know about. I'm quite certain someone would have noticed. We know these things happen for a reason and the only reason is lobbying. The question is who is doing the lobbying or more importantly who is paying for it. It certainly cannot be a coincidence that a gaming and entertainment interest named the Cordish Group has been trolling for Indians in the region. They seemed to have caught some live ones that may have had just a little trouble with their historical claims, but nothing 110 years can't fix; I guess. All sarcasm aside, this game has been played before. The idea of creating a process that will facilitate the propping up of false leaders and worse yet, false "Indians", so someone else's interests can be served. That's how land was stolen, cultures destroyed and 98% of our populations extinguished. The Indian Gaming Regulatory Act (IGRA) has become the modern day "small pox blankets". Casino compacts handed out like gifts with hidden yet devastating consequences. States that don't want the debt or stigma associated with casinos can prostitute the local Indians instead. If the Native people don't want to play ball, the State will find or create someone who will. States are desperate for revenue. Most dance a little with lotteries and other low level gaming, but the states that get the highest yield for the smallest investment are the ones that let the Indians get dirty and just sit back and collect. We all need to watch Maryland. There is a stench in the air. Any legitimate Native person or people should have no trouble tracing their past to 1790, but the reality is State and Federal recognition won't validate a real Native person - Onkwe ohnwe. Call or write to the Maryland State Assembly for explanation and answers. Thomas V. Mike Miller is the Maryland State Senate President write to him at thomas.v.mike.miller@senate.state.md.us.

Land Claims; Mohawk Style

This is the statement released by the Men's Council of the Great Law Longhouse in Akwesasne.

February 6, 2009

Land Reclamation Position Remains the Same

On January 21, 2009 the Kanienkehaka Kanonhsesne released a statement regarding the reclamation of a parcel of land on what has been referred to as the “Hogansburg Triangle”, within the Kanienke territory of Akwesasne. The statement made it clear that the land is and always has been the property of the Kanienkehaka. The people will no longer tolerate anyone else laying claim to this land and interfering with its use. Any attempt to purchase, cede into Federal trust or otherwise transfer title to this land will be rejected and resisted by the Kanienkehaka Kanonhsesne. Any financial transactions, including profiteering, bribery, fraud or other pay-off schemes will not be acknowledged as a part or in any way connected to the title to this land, which is absolute and inherent to each generation of Kanienkehaka. The territory of the Kanienkehaka, including Akwesasne, is not established, defined, set aside, reserved or granted for or to the Kanienkehaka by treaty or any other pretended legislation. There has never been a legally binding transfer of Kanienke title, which is specifically vested with the women for perpetual ownership for those faces that will always be beyond the sight of each generation. Although the Kanienkehaka do not currently control or occupy all of their homeland, the Kanienkehaka Kanonhsesne rejects any and all of the fraudulent transactions spoken, written or otherwise claimed to suggest anything but our clear and absolute title to the territory of the Kanienkehaka. As with this current reclamation, there is no intention to dispossess anyone of any legitimate personal property or forcibly remove anyone from our lands. The Kanienkehaka Kanonhsesne will, however, work diligently with the people to make Akwesasne whole again by addressing those parcels that have been claimed to have been removed or some how carved out from within the community. Efforts to reclaim and reoccupy Onkweh Ohnwe homeland are authorized by a long-standing resolution of the Grand Council of the Haudenosaunee to reclaim lands ‘by hook or by crook”. It is the position of the Kanienkehaka Kanonhsesne to not simply seek permission to use certain lands under the control and authority of other controlling interests but to assert and affirm the rightful control and historic birthright of the People to their homeland.

Cayuga and Seneca Counties Sponsor Racist Web Site

Cayuga and Seneca Counties have launched a web site to be used as a tool to keep the Cayuga People from settling back in their homeland. NoCayugaLandintoTrust.net(see link in the sidebar) is sponsored by the counties and is set up to acquire as many comments against Cayugas returning home as possible. The web site is filled with misinformation and outright lies relating to the Cayugas claim to their homeland and the negative impact of their return. The intent of the counties is to use this process to gather as many negative opinions and comments on the Cayuga people and submit these comments as part of the federal process for setting aside land for Native use. The Cayuga People do not need the Fee-To-Trust process for reclaiming their land. The federal government is not acquiring it for them. The Cayuga Nation has compensated those that were misled into believing they had legal title to the reclaimed land, land that has never lost its status as part of the Cayuga land base held since time immemorial and recognized by the US in the treaties with the Six Nations.
The web site is racist and should be attacked from all sides. A comment submitted by this writer to the site criticizing the counties and the site was rejected for submission. There is no ability to view your submissions after-the-fact to determine the accuracy and editing/omissions used in their recording process. Only those who would want their words to be use to attack and continue to drive the Cayuga people from their land can be assured their words and voices will be seen and heard.
The name of the site itself is somewhat oxymoronic. While I agree that Cayuga Land should not be held by the federal government for their use; the title suggests acknowledgement of the fact that the Cayugas have land but oppose their right to use it as Cayugas. The rightful title to the land is held by the Cayuga women for the future generations. The title is absolute and neither the counties, the State nor the federal government can hold or claim its title.
I call on all our friends and relatives to take action against these two counties that attempt to rob our lands while calling themselves Cayuga and Seneca. The racism and discrimination as well as fraud and slander cannot be left unchecked.

Judge Derails New York State Tax Law

New York State Supreme Court Judge Rose Sconiers handed Governor Paterson, Attorney General Andrew Cuomo and the State Legislature a "Do Not Pass Go, Do Not Collect Tax Dollars" card on Tuesday morning. In a foolish attempt to stack another bad law on a law this judge already flagged as incomplete and unenforceable, the State earned another injunction from Judge Sconiers. The injunction blocks the State's latest attempt to either force Native cigarette retailers into collecting tax for the State or shut off the access to product. The order is a preliminary injunction only that addresses flaws in the law and failure of the State's tax department to develop the mechanisms laid out in the statute. The ruling did not address issues of the State's authority or the sovereignty of our people and territories. The injunction can be lifted if the court determines that the State has met the burdens placed on its tax department. There is no question that the ruling is a set back for the State, but caution in declaring this a major victory must be taken. The time granted in this reprieve should be used to ween Native retailer from dependency on State licensed wholesalers. The best long-term strategy to protecting our right to conduct trade and commerce is to interact with the State as little as possible and concentrate on Native products produced on Native land and distributed to and from Native communities. Governor Paterson has proven to be an extremely ineffective executive and does not deserve the time of day from our people let alone the right to sit at a negotiating table with us. We owe it to those that will come after us to maintain a strong posture and refuse to yield any ground to the State on this issue or any other attempt by the State to disturb us or our activities. We need to be vigilant and make sure that the weak links in our midst are not lured into deal making or concessions.

Seneca Gathering a Success

The Seneca People want to extend a sincere thanks to all those that came out to their Gathering on Sunday and to all those that support the Native position against New York State's interference with commerce on Native land. The Gathering was a huge success with participation from many communities. The news media gave considerable coverage to the event as did the New York State Police and its Governor. About half way through the event word spread that the Governor sent a fax to Barry Snyder pledging his commitment to a "mutually productive relationship". In reality this is neither David Paterson's nor Barry Snyder's call. The People must be extra vigilant when the wheels of the deal making process starts. The Senecas, in particular, must recall the events of 1838. Our history is full of our so-called leadership, or at least those that our opponents would prop up, selling us out for what they were led to believe was the "best deal". There is no room for negotiations on our right to conduct commerce unencumbered by the State. The State is free to figure out how to squeeze every dollar out of its people on their land and it will be up to those people and their courts to decide if it is legal and appropriate. The Seneca People need to state clearly to anyone that would claim to negotiate on their behalf that not only will the People refuse to yield anymore to the State but that the "staus quo" won't do either. The People refuse to live under these threats from uninformed politicians in Albany everytime a new administration takes over. The People must not let their representatives compromise taxation for gaming or land use for some other red herring. Paterson's willingness to talk is not a concession yet Snyder has suggested he would "reconsider the initiatives instituted two weeks ago to protect the Seneca people". I would hope that this insulting lip service would not move the Seneca People even if it, for some strange reason, lulls Mr. Snyder into a false sense of security.