On October 16^th 2009, at around 8:45 p.m., Paul Matott was walking home from work in Potsdam, as he does every day, when three men dressed in dark clothing attacked him. “One of the men appeared in front of me and attempted to spray me with mace. As I was trying to avoid the spray, someone hit me from behind with a piece of lumber. I turned to face that individual, and I was struck again in the head with the piece of lumber. That’s basically how it started.” His jaw was broken in two places and he fell to the ground.

“Those kids were trying to kill me.  They never hit me in the body once.  They just kept hitting me in the head,” Matott said. “Every time I tried to raise myself back up they would hit me in the head again.” The vicious attack initially suggested to police that this might have been a hate crime against Matott, who is covered in tattoos and once worked as the “Illustrated Man” at a sideshow on Coney Island.  However, Matott said, “They definitely hated me, whoever it was. No doubt about that.  But I don’t think it was the tattoos per se. Maybe it was some kind of dare.”

Robbery was also ruled out as a motive because neither the $1300 in Matott’s pocket nor the laptop he was holding was taken during the assault. Indeed, it was hard to see why Potsdam’s well known and universally liked “Tat2 Pauly” should be so mercilessly assaulted in a well-trafficked public area. Matott works as a  body piercer at Sleepy Hollow Studios, a place popular with local college students with whom he has a great rapport and a solid reputation. The aftermath required extensive reconstructive jaw surgery at Fletcher Allen Hospital in Burlington, Vermont, and Matott was left with mounting medical bills and unanswered questions. A possible motive for the attack would soon emerge, when Matott was attacked again, this time by our own St. Lawrence County legal system.

Another Attack

Six weeks after his brutal beating, Matott was shocked to learn that the St. Lawrence County District Attorney had obtained a grand jury indictment charging him with crimes that could carry up to a 90-year sentence – without ever speaking to him.  His 23 year old ex-girlfriend was now accusing him with three counts of first-degree rape. The incidents were said to have occurred in September of 2008, and again in February and June of 2009.  This was a travesty, because Matott was in possession of a mountain of evidence suggesting strongly that he was innocent of these charges.

Matott’s accuser had never spoken to police about these alleged attacks when they supposedly occurred. Not until November of ’09, after Matott had broken off their relationship, and more than a year after the first alleged incident, did she decide to tell investigators that she had been raped. Indeed, Matott and his accuser had been dating throughout the period of the alleged rapes, and had lived together from April to June of 2009, months after two of the alleged rapes had supposedly occurred. The local papers were quick to obtain comments from Matott after his indictment, and publish the allegations of his accuser on the front page of the Potsdam Courier Observer. His initial comments were simply “I never did anything violent to that girl. Never… Not ever.”

That was the tip of the iceberg in the torrent of evidence suggesting Matott’s innocence. Matott retained Massena attorney David Haggard the day after his indictment and they began compiling the a 176 page omnibus motion cataloging hundreds of explicit text messages and pictures sent by his ex, proclaiming her love and devotion to him.  These love notes, received through Matott’s phone, were sent throughout the time period of the alleged rapes. She sent more than 30 explicit photos to Matott in February, ’09 alone, the very month the second incidence of alleged rape was supposed to have occurred.

On December 16, 2009 Matott’s attorney, David Haggard, presented the evidence to the court arguing that the hundreds of text messages and explicit pictures were not covered by the state’s rape shield law.  This New York State law does not allow a rape victim’s character or past sexual behavior to be put on trial because this could unfairly sway the jury.  Haggard argued, “The purpose is to highlight the complainant’s state of mind on the issue of consent and the defendant’s state of mind regarding his own reasonable belief as to (her) intentions.” In an interview with these reporters, Matott stated, “Why would she move in with her rapist? It is just common sense.”

Along with the hundreds of text and picture messages, Matott had kept several hand-written letters from the complainant, as well as a cigar box commemorating their relationship that had been decorated by her and dated March 22, 2009, shortly after two of the three alleged incidents of rape had supposedly occurred and just before she began living with Matott.

The complainant only made her allegations to investigators months after Matott and the complainant had ended the relationship, ceased living together, and after Matott had been viciously attacked.  Matott now believes the attack was an act of revenge motivated by his ex girl friend’s tales of his alleged crimes. Based upon the increasing evidence, he also believes that the attack on his life was made by friends of his accuser.

Reason Prevails in the Interest of Justice

On February 17th of this year, all the charges against Matott were dismissed by St. Lawrence County Judge Jerome J. Richards, in part because the District Attorney had brought the complainant’s sister and the complainant’s sister’s ex-boyfriend to testify against Matott in front of the Grand Jury, when they had no direct knowledge of these alleged crimes. Richards wrote, “The only apparent reason for such testimony was to create sympathy for the complainant, and to paint the defendant in an unfavorable light.”  Matott and Haggard presented hard evidence to the Court while the District Attorney had relied on irrelevant character assassinations to make its case to the grand jury.

Matott was relieved to have the charges removed because he had gone from possibly serving a 90 year sentence to being a free man.  However, the last few months have had an impact on the life Paul used to lead. He has been emotionally, physically, and economically affected by the traumatic event, and he will continue to suffer the repercussions of his relationship with the complainant for years to come. His medical costs totaled nearly $14,000, and his legal fees amounted to a year’s salary.  His name and face have been dragged through the mud on local TV news and in local newspapers.

False reporting of rape is not common.  Only 39% of rapes are reported annually and less than 6% of these rape cases are determined to be false accusations.  Nor are we suggesting that victims who report being raped should be looked at askance. It takes courage to report this crime, and rape victims should be supported in their efforts to bring their assailants to justice. What we are suggesting is that when false reports do occur, and we think one may have occurred here, they do a grave disservice to all the real victims of rape, because a false report may make prosecutors and jurors skeptical of such reports generally.

Why would the D.A. pursue this case without at least speaking to the alleged perpetrator or other potential witnesses? Paul’s case can be compared to the Duke Lacrosse rape scandal because there too the district attorney refused to consider the hard evidence showing the innocence of the accused.  In that case, Prosecutor Mike Nifong was eventually disbarred by the North Carolina State Bar Association for his “tragic rush to accuse.” Why would our own District Attorney commit such a travesty?

Rape is a very serious allegation and in New York State corroborating evidence is not needed to charge a person with this crime. The current state of the law in NYS coupled with the seriousness of any allegation of rape should give a prosecutor the motivation to see that both sides of the alleged crime are thoroughly investigated before charges are filed or indictments are sought.  Was this DA’s office attempting to rely on the jury’s prejudices, as they had at grand jury, at trial? Did the timing of the indictment cause the investigation into the attack on Matott to lose all of its momentum?

WHY?

Our investigation into this case has led us to other “strange cases” that the DA’s office has recently pursued – a series of procedural mistakes, dismissed cases, failures to show up at trial – that seem to raise questions about the competence of the St. Lawrence County DA’s office. For example:

The case of Raymond Miller. A high risk sex offender, Miller was charged with failing to register as a sex offender, as he is required to by law. The DA’s Grand Jury indictment of Miller was dismissed from St. Lawrence County Court. Among other things, the DA took evidence, without permission, from a transcript that had been sealed by the court and presented it to the Grand Jury. We spoke with a local defense attorney who called this “unethical, even criminal contempt” of the court. In his decision dismissing the prosecution’s case, Judge Jerome Richards slammed the DA’s presentation for use of “inadmissible hearsay” in front of the Grand Jury, which was “unfair and improper, and cannot be condoned.”

The case of Anthony Stark. In our judicial system, prosecutors present their cases first, then the defense rejoins. In the case of Mr. Stark, accused of sex abuse, the judge dismissed the case, and Mr. Stark walked free, before the defense presented its case. In other words, the prosecution’s case was deemed to have no merit even before rebuttal witnesses were presented.

The case of Harold Petke. In another case that cried out for competent prosecution, Mr. Petke was charged with three counts of “promoting a sexual performance by a child,” on a photograph or video. But once again, the Grand Jury indictment of Mr. Petke was tossed out by Judge Richards, who wrote that the prosecution’s instructions to the Grand Jury were “confusing, contradictory and just plain wrong.” For one thing, the prosecutor cited a rule of evidence to the Grand Jury that does not exist. “There is no such rule of evidence,” Richards wrote.

The case of Terry Derouchie. Mr. D. emerged from Family Court an angry man, and began a confrontation in the parking lot of the Courthouse with a friend of his ex-wife’s. When one of the court’s security guards tried to calm the situation, Mr. D. punched the officer, breaking his cheekbone. Derouchie was charged with Felony Assault, which carries a mandatory prison sentence. But due to a bonehead procedural error by the DA’s office,  he was allowed to plead guilty to the minor charge of harassment, and then walk free.

The case of Michael Shaw. Mr. Shaw had signed a confession admitting that he had sexually abused a little girl. But again, procedural errors by the DA forced the court to dismiss the case. At that point, under the rule of “timely prosecution,” the DA’s office had four weeks to obtain a new indictment. Somehow, appallingly, they missed the deadline, and Shaw walked free.

UPDATE: THIS WEEK: ANOTHER WASTE OF TAXPAYERS’ MONEY: On Tuesday, April 20, Judge Richards again dismissed a DA case without waiting for the defense to present its case. Rachael Patterson, an employee at the commissary of Gouverneur Correctional Facility, was charged with having sex with prisoners at the prison in 2007 and 2008. Judge Richards concluded that the prosecutor had failed to show that Ms. Patterson’s actions were illegal. “We’re extremely disappointed in the outcome,” said DA Nicole Duve. To which the voters who elected her might say, “Amen.”

What’s going on here? Time and time again, cases that should never be prosecuted, are; while cases that should be vigorously prosecuted are passed over, or dismissed for procedural failures, or for lack of timely prosecution, or because an ADA failed to appear at a preliminary hearing. The time of Grand Juries and courts is wasted, as is the taxpayers’ money.

Who, if anyone, is training the ADAs making these mistakes?

And where is the DA herself? While previous DA’s have done important trials, the current DA, Nicole Duve, has not been much in the courtroom. In fact, in the very important upcoming murder trial of Wayne Oxley, the county will hire a “special prosecutor” to try the case. Taxpayers will bear this cost, in addition to the six-figure salary already being paid to the DA. Why?

Approximately one hour Northeast of our campus lies a part of American history that few students are intimately familiar with: the Akwesasne Reservation. To many, reservations represent a living reminder of Euro-American colonialism, while for others reservations today are the last remaining examples of sovereignty and the cultural traditions of Native Americans. Regardless, the issues facing this specific group of individuals and the culture that they have worked so hard to preserve resonate with us all.

The Native American reservation is the spiritual and cultural center for all members of the tribe, including those living far from it. Throughout history, reservations throughout the country have been forced to face a variety of problems on social, political, and economic levels that have been imposed by the American government and its citizens. From unemployment to healthcare, controversy and apathy alike have prevented quick-fix solutions to these deeply ingrained issues.

Fighting Stereotypes, Prejudice, and Discrimination: Everyday Life

Racism and National Consciousness News

 

After the Mohawk tribe of the Iroquois Confederation settled on the Akwesasne Reservation, their population increased to approximately 15.000 residents. Chelsea Francis, a native Akwesasne resident and a student at St. Lawrence, helped us to understand everyday life and traditions on the Akwesasne Reservation. To uncover the truths and myths of our unknown neighbors on the reservation, we asked Chelsea about every aspect of her life.

Chelsea states that smuggling is “the skeleton in the closet” of the Reservation, and despite its prevalence, she doesn’t personally know anyone who is involved. Crime plagues the reservation in the same way that it does our society. However, this issues in no way defines the Mohawks that live on the Akwesasne Reservation, despite the fact that this is a stereotype very commonly applied to their community. Popular views of the reservation as smuggling hotspot have been catalyzed by films such as “Frozen River,” a locally-filmed, award-winning independent film that told the story of two desperate women who turned to smuggling to make ends meet. Taking advantage of their border conditions between the United States and Canada, a small percentage of Mohawks smuggle items such as tobacco, alcohol, illegal weapons, other drugs, and even people. Due to the presence of smuggling, regardless of how few Mohawks actually take part, Chelsea states that the border-control in between the reservation is extremely strict.

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Not only are Native Americans often misjudged on their involvement with smuggling, but also people often fail to acknowledge and accept their traditional beliefs. The Mohawk faith is based on a unique, centuries-old creation story that has changed throughout the years to reflect the foreign influence of Christianity. This began with an effort to establish military strength in colonial America by French general Samuel de Champlain. He entered into an alliance with the Algonquin and Huron tribes, who joined forces in order to attack their enemy, the Mohawks. After facing initial defeat, and seeking redemption, the Mohawks turned to the Iroquois Confederation. The battles raged for years and ultimately ended in the signing of a treaty. However, the French had a foothold in American soil and began to send Jesuit missionaries throughout the country. Many Mohawks were open to learning about Christianity and gaining knowledge of a new faith, and to this day a large group of Mohawks who still adhere to Christian beliefs live near the French in Canada close to Montreal.

While Akwesasne students attending St. Lawrence would like to perform their routine practices here in Canton and on campus, it is much more difficult to go to a local longhouse and burn tobacco than it is to go to a church or synagogue because the resources are simply not available to them here. Aside from the lack of resources, her culture is so different from ours that people raised outside of the Mohawk faith would likely have difficulty relating to her beliefs. Being one of the few members of her generation from home to know how to speak Mohawk, Chelsea feels as if she is losing the language by being here.

Although Chelsea feels as if she has lost part of her language and culture at school, they immediately come back to her when she goes home to the reservation.

With all of her childhood and family friends still living on the reservation, Chelsea still has the ability to go to longhouse and speak Mohawk with her family. There is a small loss of cultural and traditional practices and beliefs between generations because of the current generation’s inability to keep up with life on the reservation when they’re outside of it, and overall there is a lack of emphasis on beliefs. This is not due to lack of interest, but simply because the Akwesasne residents are excelling in other areas of profession and education. While Chelsea loves being a student here at St. Lawrence, her passion for her family and life on the Reservation are evident. Our society knows so little about this remarkable community that is so close to us, despite the fact that we have several members present in our everyday lives attending and working at St. Lawrence. The residents of the Akwesasne Reservation are culturally and traditionally connected to the land that we share with them, land whose history has been passed down from generation to generation and will be preserved forever in the hearts of the Akwesasne people.

Making Ends Meet: Unemployment

Unemployment has been a large problem facing Native Americans on the reservation in the past, and still remains an issue despite recent improvements. Two distinct industries have revolutionized employment on the reservation: ironworking and the Akwesasne Mohawk Casino. In the mid 19^th century, the Mohawks were predominantly concerned with fishing, trapping, and farming, and many men also worked in Adirondack lumber camps. However, the pollution that accompanied the large corporations situated along the St. Lawrence River made agricultural practices impossible, and jobs in the logging industry decreased sharply in availability with the invention of the chainsaw. There has also been a lack of jobs available on the reservation itself.

Bill Sears/akwesasne.ca

Ironworking, also known as high steel construction, involves the building of skyscrapers and bridges, and jobs can range in location from New York to Los Angeles. Since 1886, when the first Mohawk men were hired to aid in the construction of a railroad bridge that traversed the St. Lawrence River, ironworking has been a great source of pride among the Akwesasne, and today, working in high steel still provides people with a much-valued source of income that comes from outside of the reservation, where it can be difficult to find jobs, according to professor emeritus Robert N. Wells. However, ironworking has its dangers and drawbacks: many individuals suffer from arthritis by the time they reach their mid-forties and can no longer work, and the job itself is risky: it is not uncommon to become badly injured or die while on site. Even so, ironworking has brought prestige and recognition to the Native Americans who are involved, and ironworking has become a deeply ingrained part of culture on the reservations. Today, Mohawk high steel workers have left their mark on America by participating in the construction of such famous structures as the CN Tower, the George Washington Bridge, the Golden Gate Bridge, and the World Trade Center (Wells, 2010).

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The second business that has increased job opportunities on the reservation was the creation of the Akwesasne Mohawk Casino, located 12 miles East of Massena. The casino brought enough money into the reservation that construction of a grocery store, a senior citizen home, and the Mohawk Valley Freedom School were made possible (Wells, 2010). The casino employs approximately 700 people, all over the age of 21, and many of whom come from the reservation. According to its website, the casino has approximately 1,600 slot machines and 25 tables, and is open 24 hours a day, seven days a week.

When the casino was first planned in the early 1990s it was fraught with controversy. Factions that supported or were against gambling clashed in a series of random shootings, road barricades, power outages, and other violent forms of protest.

 

The Reservation was divided into two groups: one that supported construction and operation of the casino, and one that advocated holding onto more traditional values. Eventually, however, the need for the casino proved strong enough, and today it provides a steady source of income for the reservation.

Downstream Devastation: Environmental Problems

 

  

volpe.dot.gov

 

In the unique case of the Akwesasne, the environmental problems that face the reservation are a result of a perfect storm of geography and conflicting ideologies. Geographically, the reservation is located on the St. Lawrence River and is downwind and downriver from the once economically prosperous town of Massena, NY. Consequently, any pollution produced from the “economic success” of Massena is carried directly down gradient to pollute Akwesasne environments, crops, livestock, and people (Environmental Issues, 2002, 2). Although many seem to think it unintentional that white-owned corporations are conveniently diverting their environmental baggage to a minority group reservation, some would call it a unique form of racism known as “environmental racism.”

Many people consider environmental racism to be the ideological element of the perfect environmental storm that has caused the agonizing problems that the Akwesasne reservation is forced to deal with today. One expert, Rachel Godsil, a professor at Seton Hall University, defines environmental racism as “both the intentional and unintentional disproportionate imposition of environmental hazards on minorities” (Godsil, 1991, 397). In short, what causes environmental racism as Godsil defines it is the “Not In My Back Yard” syndrome, or NIMBY syndrome. When environmentally conscientious citizens take a stand and fight back against potential polluters, they are exhibiting the classic symptoms of NIMBY syndrome. If a NIMBY battle against potential polluters is successful, a polluting developer looks for another community to work out of and eventually ends up in “Somewhere Else, USA” (Bullard, 2000, 98). However, as expert Robert Bullard demonstrates in his article Anatomy of Environmental Racism, “Somewhere Else, USA” often ends up being a minority community such as the Akwesasne Mohawk Reservation (200, 98).

Despite the arguments that support environmental racism as applied to the Akwesasne, some scholars, such as St. Lawrence’s own Dr. Glenn Harris, question the intentions of polluting companies and the role of racism in creating the environmental problems on the reservation. A professor and environmentalist, Dr. Harris has had a significant amount of experience with the reservation. However, if there’s one thing scholars can agree on, it’s that the environmental problems on the Akwesasne reservation are severe.

  

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So what are these harmful environmental problems that the Akwesasne suffer from on a day-to-day basis? As Dr. Harris and the Akwesasne Task Force on the Environment agree, the greatest antagonists in the environmental wastes story are the big companies who run the factories located along the river. Companies such as General Electric, Reynolds Aluminum, Domtar Cornwall Paper Company, and the St. Lawrence Seaway Development Corporation have caused a variety of specific environmental hazards. General Motors, for example, has leeched PCBs into the river that have in turn bioaccumulated in the tissue of fish to levels that make them unsafe for human consumption (Harris, 2010). Reynolds Aluminum has produced a fluoride gas that has polluted the Akwesasne air and compromised cattle populations by weakening their bones and threatening their survival (Harris 2010). Domtar Cornwall Paper Company has gifted the reservation with a foul hydrogen sulfide odor that haunts their international bridge (Akwesasne Task Force on the Environment, 2009, 2). And finally, to top off that list, actions of the St. Lawrence Seaway Development Corporation have led to irreversible land erosion and a dramatic decline in fish populations because of the bilge dumped by traveling ships (Akwesasne Task Force on the Environment, 2009, 3).

Working synergistically, these environment polluters have contributed to an overwhelming amount of harmful environmental influences on the Akwesasne reservation. Yet as easy as it is to list the environmental stresses that the Akwesasne people live with, it remains next to impossible for words to convey how devastating these biohazards actually are to their unique lifestyle and rich culture. As the Akwesasne people themselves put it,

“Native communities cannot, and will not, move. Land is not merely property, it is the bones of ancestors, it is sacred, it is our mother. If the earth becomes contaminated, it not only endangers the health and wellbeing of individuals who are exposed to toxicants, it threatens the well-being of an entire Nation of unique and endangered people.”

-       Akwesasne Task Force on the Environment (2010)

 

Craig Arquette/ATFE

However, there is more than just hope for the Akwesasne people: Dr. Harris has described a new generation of individuals that is emerging from within the Akwesasne population. These people have witnessed and experienced first hand the environmental atrocities on the reservation, and are part of a hopeful and promising group of educated environmentalists that has managed to convince an environmental expert like Dr. Harris that in terms of necessary action for reform, the Akwesasne “have gone from behind the curve to in front of the curve” (Harris, 2010).

America’s New Free Trade: Smuggling

For over a century, the Akwesasne reservation’s boundaries have been exploited, and a number of its inhabitants have been involved in smuggling various types of contraband. These illegal imports range from seemingly innocuous substances such as tobacco and alcohol to increasingly dangerous items like hardcore drugs and weaponry, to illegal aliens. Organized crime bands, such as Hell’s Angels in Quebec and various New York Mafia groups, use the reservation’s political jurisdiction as a safe haven (Marsden). Without these gangs, there would be no smuggling and Akwesasne Mohawks would be able to live without the stigma that has been attached to them by the media.

Contraband is transported across the river in homemade rafts and boats (O’Brien). In the winter months, when the river is frozen, the goods are driven across in snowmobiles. After the items reach the shore, they are loaded into hidden compartments and stored in criminally owned pickup trucks and vans. (O’Brien). From there, the contraband is driven to its final destination. If the smuggled imports are heading North to Canada, they will most likely end up in Montreal, Ottawa, or Toronto. If the goods travel into the United States, they will be delivered all along the East coast, with the majority stopping in New York City (Hill).

cinematographique.com

Smugglers have to be on the lookout for both Border Patrol and “river raiders.” If caught by the authorities, the smugglers will lose their contraband goods and they can be heavily fined and even face jail time. River raiders, on the other hand, pose a unique problem: they are Mohawks who do not abide by the law. Members of the Akwesasne community describe these river raiders as independent, armed, modern-day pirates who wait on the banks of the St. Lawrence. When they spot a smuggler, they will attack him or her and take the contraband to sell it themselves. This is quite a sensitive occupation because the reservation is a very close-knit community, and river raiders will often find themselves attacking smugglers who turn out to be acquaintances, neighbors, or even friends. Although the smuggling process is risky, the rewards are greater than the risks for these Mohawk transporters, who often have nothing to lose and everything to gain, and they have nearly perfected their ability to avoid detection and capture.

The most valuable cargo that the Akwesasne will smuggle across the border is an illegal immigrant. Most illegal aliens are snuck into the United States from Canada with the goal of reaching New York City. The vast majority of these smuggled individuals are Asian (Martin). Asian gang members will ask the smugglers to transport people for about 1,000 dollars per person and are seldom caught; it is a risk that they are willing to take (Fennel).

The media places the blame for all of the various contraband on the area’s entire population. In reality, however, only a small percentage of the community is involved, and the select few that are smuggling are heavily influenced by gangs and desperately need the money.

The most commonly exchanged contraband, however, is actually tobacco, which the Mohawks are legally allowed to purchase from U.S. tobacco distributors without paying any taxes (Marsden). After buying the tax-free tobacco, the Native Americans then sell the merchandise to the public at extremely cheap prices: the evidence of this practice can be clearly seen in any gas station or smoke shop on the reservation. The Akwesasne belief is that it is their native right to trade tobacco because it brings wealth into an otherwise impoverished area (Marsden).

CBC News

Weapons and drugs are two more types of perilous contraband that pass through the reservation on a regular basis. Legal weapons are purchased in the U.S. and then travel through the reservation into Canada to be sold to anyone who has the money (Daily Gazette). Illegal firearms are acquired and distributed among organized crime groups, then delivered to the Mohawk transporters to be smuggled across the border (Daily Gazette). Like alcohol, contraband drugs are not manufactured on the reservation itself: organized crime constituents supply them (Rayno). The most commonly traded substances are marijuana, cocaine, and ecstasy. The drugs are brought across the St. Lawrence River in the same manner as tobacco, but before they are loaded, they are sealed in airtight bags so that they can be shaped to fit in almost any space (Rayno). This makes it possible to conceal the drugs in the smallest, least noticeable compartments of any vehicle. The illegal imports are then delivered to organized criminals and distributed within their own networks.

As long as Canadian and American border patrols continue to apprehend only a small percentage of these outlaws, and if organized crime groups persist in the exploitation of the reservation’s boundaries, then smuggling will remain an integral, unavoidable part of Akwesasne culture.

“Kill the Indian, Save the Man”: Faith and Tradition

 

 In 1879, a United States Army Captain by the name of Richard Henry Pratt established an Indian boarding school called The Carlisle Indian Industrial School in Carlisle, Pennsylvania (Landis, 1996). The purpose of this school was to take young Native American children and transform them into American “citizens.” The faculty and staff of this school would cut the Native Americans’ hair and put them in military uniforms while giving strict rules that were enforced with beatings (Landis, 1996).  The French Jesuits, along with many other Christian groups such as Protestants, Mormons, Methodists, and Baptists, adopted these schooling tactics and used them on the Mohawks.

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According to Bonaparte, the phrase, “Kill the Indian, save the man!” became the primary motto used throughout all of the Native American Boarding schools (Bonaparte, 2009, p.34). Sue-Ellen Herne of the Akwesasne Mohawk Library and Museum said, “My grandfather was a student in one of the Carlisle Indian Industrial Schools and he would tell me stories that they would beat every student that would speak their native language to another student. They would also beat him if he would ever question the faith he was being taught…they would have their students live with other white families that would enforce the same methods as the schools did so they could beat the Native out of them” (Herne, 2010).

This is one example of a Native youth going through the education system that was instilled by the Jesuits; a related example comes from Chelsea Francis concerning her grandfather. “What he used to tell me is that [the school] was headed by a bunch of Nuns, he and his brother Leo were put there as orphan children. He used to say that when they got caught speaking their language with one another they would get slapped with this huge ruler on their hands. He also used to tell us how the food was always cold and old, and the head Priest would always get steaks and potatoes that no one else was allowed to have. They were terrible to him and the other kids” (Francis, 2010). These schools and methods would be strongly enforced until the 1970s, where the U.S. began to take a stand against the brutality that the Native Americans had been faced with for so many years (Bonaparte, 2010, p.35). Today, there are still a handful of schools that still stand by the Carlisle methods found in the Montreal, Quebec area.

Optimism For the Future

 

 Strong individuals who have managed to preserve their unique culture despite external pressures and prejudices populate the Akwesasne Reservation. Groups such as the Akwesasne Task Force on the Environment and individuals such as Chelsea Francis exemplify the Mohawks’ drive to fight the problems facing the reservation. Though a diverse array of internal issues face those living on the Akwesasne Reservation, the Mohawks are far better off than those living on other Native American reservations throughout the United States due to increased awareness of these issues, well-organized attempts to correct them, and a superior sense of identity and self-confidence.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Footnotes

Akwesasne Task Force On The Environment, Local Industries. ATFE, 25 Nov. 2009. Web. 24 Jan. 2010 <http://www.northnet.org/atfe/Industy.htm>.

Bonaparte, Darren. “The History of Akwesasne from Pre-Contact to Modern Times.” The             Wampum Chronicles (2009): 5-17. 13 Aug. 2009. Web. 16 Feb. 2010.             http://www.wampumchronicles.com/

Bonaparte, Darren. “A Lily Among Thorns The Mohawk Repatriation of Káteri             Tekahkwí:tha.” The Wampum Chronicles (2009): 23-35. 5 June 2009. Web. 16                        Feb. 2010. http://www.wampumchronicles.com/alilyamongthornsspeech.html

Environmental Issues. ATFE, 25 Nov. 2009. Web. 24 Jan. 201 <http://www.northnet.org/atfe/Ej.htm>.

Francis, Chelsea. Interview. 06 Feb. 2010.

Godsil, Rachel D. “Remedying Environmental Racism.” Michigan Law Review 90.2 (1991): 394-427. JSTOR. Web. 24 Jan. 2010. <http://www.jstor.org/stable/1289559>.

Harris, Glenn. Personal interview. 18 Feb. 2010.

Herne, Sue-Ellen. Interview 4 Feb. 2010.

Hill, Michael. “Akwesasne busiest spot for cigarette smuggling.” pressrepublican.com.

24 nova 2008. The press republican, Web. 7 Feb 2010. <http://www.pressrepublican.com/0100_news/local_story_328051513.html>.

Landis, Barbara. “Carlisle Indian Industrial School History.” 3 July 1996. Web. 05 Mar.             2010. http://home.epix.net/~landis/histry.html

Marsden, William. “Canada’s Boom In Smuggled Cigarettes.” Tobacco Underground. 27

mar 2009. The Center for Public Integrity, Web. 11 Feb 2010.

<http://www.publicintegrity.org/investigations/tobacco/articles/entry/1230/>.

Martin, Douglas. “Smuggled Aliens Now Cross Mohawk Land.” New York Times 14 Oct

1996, Print.

O’Brien, John. “Feds: Pot smugglers on border territory sold more

than $700 million.” Central NY Real-Time News. 03 may 2009. Syracuse.com, Web. 7 Feb 2010. <http://www.syracuse.com/news/index.ssf/2009/05/feds_pot_smugglers_on_border_t.html>.

O’Brien, John. “Tougher sentences proposed for drug dealers using Indian

reservations.” Syracuse.com. 15 Dec 2009. Central NY Real-Time News, Web. 7 Feb 2010. <http://www.syracuse.com/news/index.ssf/2009/12/tougher_sentences_proposed_for.html>.

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