May 08, 2009 — Mohawks are gearing up for a fight with the Canadian border agency. Canada will begin arming its customs officers on June 1st. But Mohawks say the step is inappropriate at the port of entry on Cornwall Island, which is tribal territory and a residential area. A protest is planned for Saturday. David Sommerstein reports.  Go to full article

Apr 23, 2009 — The St. Regis Mohawk Tribe is hoping an 1851 letter it recently acquired will shed light on ownership of former tribal land. But right now the document raises more questions than answers. The tribe bought the letter from Gregory Caron of Hopkinton for $1000. Caron bought it at an auction for the same price. The letter is written in dense legalese. It makes a case for British settlers to pay the tribe years of back rent for using Barnhart and Baxter Islands in the St. Lawrence River. The Mohawks owned the islands until they were ceded to the United States (without Mohawk consent) after the war of 1812. Today, Barnhart Island is the home of the massive New York Power Authority hydropower dam across the St. Lawrence. Arnold Printup is the historic preservation officer for the St. Regis Mohawk Tribe. He spoke to David Sommerstein about the letter and its significance.  Go to full article

Apr 09, 2009 — A new report details the billion dollar trafficking of untaxed cigarettes into Canada from the Akwesasne Mohawk reservation near Massena. The investigation by the Center for Public Integrity documented 5 to 10 unlicensed tobacco factories in Akwesasne and on the Kahnawake reserve near Montreal.

Smugglers carry cigarettes across the Canadian border and sell them in Ontario and Quebec for $20 a carton. A legally taxed carton costs $80 to $90. The Canadian government estimates it is losing $1.6 billion a year in taxes while health care costs associated with smoking are rising. William Marsden of the Montreal Gazette reported the story. He told David Sommerstein the tobacco smuggling has attracted more organized crime and drugs to an already porous region of the U.S.-Canada border.  Go to full article

Mar 05, 2009 — The St. Regis Mohawk Tribe lashed out against Governor Paterson and the New York Power Authority Tuesday for sending low-cost hydropower to Long Island. The 9 megawatts was reserved for the Mohawks and their growing casino, which has been running on generators. David Sommerstein reports.  Go to full article

Nov 28, 2008 — The Iroquois lost over 95% of their land base to European settlers. How is it possible to be an Iroquois leader when your people are impoverished anmd the dominant government pursues an aggressive policy of assimilation and termination? Laurence Hauptman considers these issues in his new book, Seven Generations of Iroquois Leadership, the Six Nations since 1800. Betsy Kepes has this review.  Go to full article

Jun 16, 2008 — Tens of thousands of native children were forced to attend Indian boarding schools in the United States, too. A government report in 1969 declared the system "a national tragedy." Yet the schools leave a complex legacy. Many native families received their first formal education at the schools. Tony David is a Mohawk from Akwesasne, near Massena. His great-grandfather was taken from Akwesasne to attend the Carlyle boarding school in Pennsylvania. He spoke with David Sommerstein.  Go to full article

Jun 16, 2008 — The First People's Festival runs this week through Sunday in Montreal. It showcases the best in art and culture from America's indigenous people. Showing tonight is a new documentary about a neighborhood in Brooklyn that was the epicenter of a community of Mohawk ironworkers in the 1940s and '50s. "Little Caughnawaga: To Brooklyn and Back" tells the story of that neighborhood through the eyes of the ironworkers' wives, and through their descendant, Reaghan Tarbell. Tarbell directed the film. She spoke with David Sommerstein.  Go to full article

Jan 15, 2008 — The St. Regis Mohawk Tribe is suing the federal government over its decision against a Mohawk casino in the Catskills. The Department of the Interior ruled earlier this month that the site is too far from the Akwesasne Mohawk reservation near Massena. David Sommerstein reports.  Go to full article

Jan 07, 2008 — The federal government has rejected the St. Regis Mohawk Tribe's plan to build a $600 million casino resort in the Catskills. In a letter sent late Friday, the Department of the Interior ruled the 350-mile distance between the planned casino and the Akwesasne Mohawk reservation near Massena was too far. The DOI said too many residents could leave the reservation in search of a job at the proposed casino and cause "serious and far-reaching implications for the remaining tribal community." The Mohawks having been working for more than a decade to build a casino in the Catskills. The proposed resort had the support of Governor Spitzer. It was expected to create 3,000 jobs for the region and generate millions of dollars in revenue for New York. St. Regis Mohawk tribal chiefs harshly criticized the decision. A press release called it "arbitrary, capricious, and laughable". Chief Lorraine White said it was "a brazen paternalistic assault against all of Indian Country." David Sommerstein spoke with Chief White this morning. She explained why she called the decision a "paternalistic assault."  Go to full article

Nov 12, 2007 — North Country Public Radio has been looking at the impact of massive hydro drams on the Cree Indians of northern Quebec. But construction of those dams is only the latest collision between the Cree and the outside world. In the course of a single lifetime, the Cree peopple have made a remarkable -- and sometimes painful -- transition. They've moved from a traditional, nomadic lifestyle to full engagement with modern culture and technology. Until the 1970s, native children in Canada were forcibly removed from their villages and their families. They were placed in residential boarding schools, where they were punished for speaking their native languages or practicing their people's religions. Thousands of children were physically and sexually abused. Thomas Jolly made this journey and has come full circle. He grew up in the bush, moved south to live in Canada's cities, and then returned to the remote Cree community of Nemaska. Jolly, who works now as an economic development planner, told his story to Brian Mann.  Go to full article