One man rule must stop

Page 7

Dear Editor:

(An open letter to Minister Robert Nault-Re: Mohawk's of Akwesasne don't want a "One Man Rule" by grand chief.)

Mr. Minister: In 1763, the British government assumed responsibility to be the trustees of Indian lands and the protectors of Indian rights. The Constitution Act of 1982 has reaffirmed that the Royal Proclamation is part of Canadian constitutional law. You as minister remain responsible for the rights of the people of Akwesasne, whether you like it or not.

The Royal Proclamation makes it clear that Indian lands and Indian rights are held communally, and that one grand chief cannot speak for everyone. All Indian business must be done at public meetings. The reason was because the British government did not want frauds and abuse to be used to steal Indian lands.

In 1763, land speculators were approaching chiefs getting them to sign away millions of acres of lands on behalf of the tribes. To avoid such frauds, it was put into law that whenever Indian rights were altered the entire tribe or nation had to be consulted at a public meeting.

The position of grand chief was created by the federal government for the purpose of giving one individual power to speak on behalf of the tribe. This allows government agencies and land speculators to deal with that one person secretly, without consulting the people. This is clearly contrary to the spirit and to the letter of the law as set down in the Royal Proclamation of 1763.

On Jan. 30, a well-attended general public meeting was held on Cornwall Island. The grand chief and 11 band councilors were in attendance at the meeting. The people were asking very serious questions about their rights. The main issue on the minds of the people was how Akwesasne could go back to conducting business according to the principles of the Royal Proclamation of 1763.

The people want to abolish the grand chief position because it gives too much power to one individual to deal with outside government agencies and outside land speculators. The people don't want Indian lands to be stolen through the power of one individual acting alone on behalf of the people.

There are more than 10,000 Mohawks who live on about 25,000 acres of land and have claims on islands in the St. Lawrence River and on lands in Ontario and Quebec. These lands are worth billions of dollars. The land developers in Eastern Ontario and Western Quebec have been eyeing these choice pieces of real estate for many years now.

There are presently discussions going on regarding the construction of new bridges to go across the reserve and alterations of the St. Lawrence Seaway, plus the giving away of Cornwall harbor by the federal government. Everybody wants to cut the Indians out of any of these deals.

The outside government agencies have been deliberately criminalizing all Mohawks and authorizing at least 14 law enforcement agencies to spy on all the Mohawks, preparing them for the legitimizing of the theft of Indian lands by branding the reserve as a haven for criminals.

The people want answers. They want their elected officials to represent them, not outside government agencies.

The people are outraged and want answers now. We Mohawks are not criminals. We want everyone to know that.

Public meetings cannot be adjourned at the whim of the grand chief. He must be accountable to the people.

The grand chief cannot be an "all powerful king" appointed by the government of Canada to keep the Mohawks under control. We are living in a democracy not in a dictatorship.

Mr. Minister, you know very well that "power corrupts, and absolute power corrupts absolutely." Mr. Minister, you must not allow the continuation of the "one man rule" to continue over the Mohawks of Akwesasne.

Michael Thomas

Marshall Oakes