Khwe Akwataru,

I am forwarding the letter below to the Huron News List as the issues arising from failure to comply with the stated guidelines in the Jay Treaty have become an increasingly fought problem for the Mohawk Nation, as well as the Huron people.

Ishgooda

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Tan Kahk,

One of my acquaintances is fighting the Federal Government here in Canada over border crossing issues. (This will be of interest to you Patricia regarding our private mailings over this very topic).

You will have to excuse my poor legally-challenged mind and my attitude today because I am EXTREMELY upset over this continued *flying in the face of justice* attitude that the government has against us (that's the mild version to the rantings that my husband has had to listen to for the past hour).

I've asked permission from the local newspaper here to forward a copy of the article but that has not been forthcoming, so I'll try to do a concise summary of the complete issue. Direct quotes from the article are place in " (quotes). The article if taken from today's issue of the Standard Freeholder and was written by Lisa Hrabluk (hopefully that will cover the copyright issues, should they arise).

Background:

Several years ago (sorry I don't have the exact date, but will look it up in my files and get that information to you at a later date), Mike Mitchell, a former Grand Chief of Akwesasne bought some household items in the US (in NY territory to be exact) and tried to cross the border back into Canada to the Canadian side of the Akwesasne reserve without claiming or paying duty on these household items. (I believe the items were a fridge and stove or a washer/dryer) His agrement then (and now) is that the treaty rights signed 200 yrs. ago entitle or allow Mohawks duty-free access between the Canadian and U.S. borders.

First Day of Trial:

The Crown counsel, Dogan Akman (arrogant &*&%#*& - sorry I'm really bias here) argues that the Mohawks have absolutely no aboriginal rights here in Canada because they are immigrants and not First Nations People of Canada and have no right to claim aboriginal rights.

He furthers his argument by "dismissing the Mohawk claims to duty-free access" by bringing up that historically native communities charged each other duties for passing through their territories/land. "...traditionally Mohawks charged duties but would not pay other nations' demands for duty."

The counsel for Mr. Mitchell, Mr. Peter Hutchins arguments are based on the facts that the Treaties signed promised the native peoples that they would be duty-free.

This trial will be a 7 week trial (as it stands now) and "revolve around historical interpretations of those rights and Crown counsel Akman argued that Justice William McKeown should dismiss Mitchell's contention that Canadian history does not reflect Mohawk history".

The Crown counsel also argued that the oral historians (Mohawks are one of the greatest oral historians in native history), the Mohawk Chiefs and Elders should be banned from the courtroom during each others testimonies (this is where he implies that natives are such liars that they will add to the oral history's just to get a point across, of course the scholarly historians who have had papers printed by Universities and Colleges are welcome to stay in the room during their colleagues testimonies)!

The Mohawks (Chiefs and Elders who will testify), in order not to cause further contempt from the Crown, volunteered to be absent during their peoples testimonies.

My comments/observations:

As you can see this issue is a complex one. Canada does not have the greatest record when it comes to adherence to Treaties -- the letter of law is not always followed and of course it is wide open to governments bias opinion and how they interpretation of said Treaties.

The Crown is so arrogant in his preliminary summary to the court that he basically states that the Canadian Customs Act supersedes that of Treaty rights.

What are your views on this? I know that this ramble is long, but in order to get the basic facts established, that is the shortest I could make it. I'm am wholly on the side of Mike Mitchell and make no bones about this, but I hope I have giving a clean indication of how each side hopes to proceed.

The fact that Mike Mitchell is held in high regard by both the Mohawk Native community and the local R.C.M.P. (who go to him for guidance and have attended several workshops on Native Spirituality and History given by him) should hold some credibility. This man while not a close friend (and I doubt that he would recognize me if we met on the street), has been kind enough to help me on several occasions when I needed some guidance and information.

Has there been anything like this in the U.S.?

Thank you for your time.

Apc oc,

Carmel Vivier

carmel@saw-whet.ca