May 22, 2013 — Mohawk tribal chiefs joined Governor Cuomo in Albany yesterday to announce a new deal on casino exclusivity.

They signed off on settling a long-running dispute over revenues from the Mohawks' Akwesasne Casino near Massena. In return, the Mohawks will get exclusive gaming rights in the 8-county North Country region.

David Sommerstein joined Martha Foley to sort out what the deal means for the North Country and the Mohawk land claim.  Go to full article

Rensselaer, NY, May 21, 2013 — Fresh off a deal with the Oneida Nation, Governor Cuomo stood with chiefs of the St. Regis Mohawk Tribe this afternoon to announced a deal to resolve gaming issues that affect the North Country.  Go to full article

Hogansburg, NY, May 15, 2013 — A prominent voice from the early days of North Country Public Radio has died. Louis T.K. Cook, of Akwesasne, was the late night host of "Jazz Waves" in the 1980s and early 1990s.

Cook also educated listeners - and producers at this radio station - about native political and cultural issues with his series, "You Are On Indian Land". Cook is remembered here at the station as full of life and was known as a wild guy.

His cousin, Ray Cook, who is now Op/Ed editor at Indian Country Today Media Network, says he owes his career in media to Louie Cook. He describes Cook as a natural teacher. "He was an artist in the traditional form," says Ray Cook. "He believed in the power of music and how it can soothe the soul and he always treasured the stories that he recorded and the people he talked to when he was in the production mode."

Louis T.K. Cook died Monday from injuries he suffered in a car crash last week on the Pine Ridge reservation in South Dakota. He had been working with a not-for-profit there that helps families on the reservation build and maintain gardens.  Go to full article

Hogansburg, NY, Mar 11, 2013 — The effects of across the board federal spending cuts - known as the sequester - are still being sorted out. Mohawks in Akwesasne are bracing for cuts to health care and law enforcement.  Go to full article

Hogansburg, NY, Mar 07, 2013 — Venezuelan president Hugo Chavez is stirring up as much controversy after his death as he did during his life.

Chavez was a strident opponent of the United States. But he also helped many poor people, even in the U.S.

Republicans slammed New York Democrat Jose Serrano yesterday for praising Chavez on this point. Under Chavez, Venezuela's national oil company, CITGO, donated 200 million gallons of home heating oil to low income Americans, including to Mohawks in Akwesasne.

David Sommerstein reported on the program in 2006. He checks back in for our Story 2.0 series, where we revisit stories from the NCPR archive.  Go to full article

Ottawa, ON, Jan 11, 2013 — First Nations chiefs are meeting with Canadian Prime Minister Stephen Harper in Ottawa today. The meeting is a response to months of protests by a grassroots aboriginal group called Idle No More.

The group is demanding the government address issues such as poverty, land claims, and profits from natural resources.

As Karen Kelly reports from Ottawa, it may be difficult for today's meeting to soothe decades of discontent.  Go to full article

Cornwall, ON, Jan 04, 2013 — A group of Mohawks is planning to march on the bridge to Canada near Massena, NY, and shut down traffic Saturday. The demonstration is a part of an indigenous rights movement that's spread across Canada.  Go to full article

Hogansburg, NY, Nov 27, 2012 — The U.S. Attorney General's office is defending the St. Regis Mohawks' land claim in its entirety. That's after a judge recommended throwing out most of it last fall.

In a brief filed earlier in November, Assistant Attorney General Ignacia Moreno made two important points about the decades old Mohawk claim to 12,000 acres in St. Lawrence and Franklin counties.  Go to full article

Ottawa, ON, Nov 21, 2012 — In Ottawa, a Native American DJ collective is transforming traditional music to challenge stereotypes. In the process, they've built one of the hottest club nights in the city.

A Tribe Called Red mixes electronic dubstep beats with pow wow singing and drumming, and a big dose of politics. David Sommerstein reports on the 'Electric Pow Wow'.  Go to full article

Kahnawake, QC, Oct 18, 2012 — Catholics across Upstate New York and Canada are celebrating the canonization of a 17th century Mohawk woman. She'll become the first Native American saint in a ceremony this Sunday at the Vatican.

Kateri Tekakwitha (pronounced "gah-deh-LEE de-gah-GWEE-tah") was born in the Mohawk Valley, near what is today Albany. Smallpox killed her parents and partially blinded her when she was six. She fled her village and devoted her life to the Catholic Church at the Kahnawake Mohawk reserve near Montreal. She died when she was just 24 years old.

That church, St. Francis Xavier in Kahnawake, is holding vigils, masses, and other special events throughout the weekend.

Hundreds of faithful are travelling to Rome to witness the canonization in person. Among them is the mother of Darren Bonaparte, a Mohawk historian and author of a book called A Lily Among Thorns: the Mohawk Repatriation of Takeri Tekakwitha.

Bonaparte told David Sommerstein Kateri Tekakwitha's story needs to be seen in its historical context. He says the Dutch and the French were vying for Mohawk lands in the 17th century, spreading smallpox to the native people as they went.  Go to full article