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

Massena, NY, Oct 04, 2012 — The St. Regis Mohawks say the federal government's plan to clean up toxic chemicals from the Grasse River has improved, but it's still not good enough. The Alcoa aluminum plant in Massena dumped cancer-causing PCBs into the river before they were banned in the 1970s.  Go to full article

Oct 04, 2012 — Native tribes' claims to ancestral lands in New York haven't fared so well recently. In 2005, the U.S. Supreme Court essentially dismissed the Oneida Nation's land claim, saying too much time had passed since the 18th century treaties the claims are based on. Other courts have followed that ruling with other tribes' land claims.

So this week, when a judge recommended throwing out 85% of the Mohawk land claim in St. Lawrence and Franklin counties, the St. Regis Mohawk Tribe focused on the 15% that has a chance to survive. David Sommerstein reports.  Go to full article

Cornwall, ON, Sep 13, 2012 — The weekend after Labor Day is a special one on the Akwesasne Mohawk reservation near Massena. People from across the region gather on Cornwall Island for the Akwesasne Pow-Wow, a friendly competition of dancing, drumming, and singing that's at the heart of native culture.  Go to full article

Cornwall, ON, Sep 13, 2012 — The hometown favorites of the pow wow, the Akwesasne Singers, perform the Alligator Dance, a song from tribes in the Everglades in Florida.  Go to full article

Hogansburg, NY, Aug 12, 2011 — At the Akwesasne Freedom School on the Akwesasne Mohawk reservation near Massena, kids spend their whole day, including recess, completely immersed in the Mohawk language. Nora Flaherty has more.  Go to full article

Irving, NY, Aug 11, 2011 — Seneca Nation president Robert Odawi Porter is using an historic piece of cloth to deliver a message to New York State about native sovereignty. He said payment of the cloth and a small sum according to an 18th century treaty symbolizes native nations' freedom from state taxation and right to land.

The history lesson came on the same day that Governor Andrew Cuomo announced he is considering legalizing gambling in New York. That would have a profound effect on native nations and tribes around the state who rely on their casinos for revenue. Martha Foley and Dave Bullard report.  Go to full article

Albany, NY, Aug 10, 2011 — Governor Andrew Cuomo says he's re examining the state's approach to casino gambling, and is looking at whether and how gaming in New York should be expanded.

Karen DeWitt reports.  Go to full article

Salamanca, NY, Aug 08, 2011 — This week, we're going to take a look around Indian Country in New York. Taxing native smoke shops have grabbed headlines lately. But we're going to look deeper at some of the political, economic, and social trends shaping New York's native tribes and nations.

Today, the Seneca Nation, south of Buffalo. Casinos and tobacco sales have turned it from an empoverished territory to one of the top ten employer in western New York.

The Nation's new president, Robert Odawi Porter, has taken a lead role in negotiating native issues with the Cuomo Administration.

Porter wants the Senecas to go beyond smoke shops and slot machines. He's a Harvard-educated lawyer and academic. And he wants to recast one of the darkest moments of the Seneca people into an economic boon. David Sommerstein has this profile.  Go to full article

Warren, PA, Jun 08, 2011 — In southwestern New York, a battle is shaping up for one of the Northeast's great hydropower complexes. The Kinzua dam was built 45 years ago by the federal government. In the process, dozens of homes and sacred sites belonging to the Seneca Indian Nation were flooded.

Today, the Seneca Nation is making a bid to take ownership of the dam. It's created an energy company from scratch. And it's investing heavily in its bet to beat out the company that currently runs the dam in the federal dam relicensing process. As the Innovation Trail's Daniel Robison reports, tens of millions of dollars are at stake.  Go to full article