RECENT ARRESTS WILL NOT END SMUGGLING AMONG MOHAWKS

Will all due respect to Minister of Public Safety Stockwell Day the
breakup of a dope and tobacco smuggling ring operating out of my home
reserve of Akwesasne will not make much of a dent in the midnight
runs across the border.

While there has been an increase in the number of arrests stemming
from smuggling activities Minister Day ignores a basic human
motivation: so long as there are obscene profits to be made carting
contraband to and from the United States people (and not only
Mohawks) will take the risk.

Smuggling along the border for Natives and non-natives is nothing new.

Practically from the day the border was drawn between the U.S. and
Upper and Lower Canada goods, both legitimate and otherwise, have
found their way to whatever market paid the highest prices.

Akwesasne has been a Mohawk community from time immemorial. Disease
and warfare caused our ancestors to retreat from the St. Lawrence
Valley to their largest towns located along the Mohawk River in
upstate New York but once our population rebounded we reestablished a
community in an area which had not only fertile soils along with an
abundance of wildlife but was strategically located astride the main
waterway into the continental interior.

Trade and commerce were vital elements in the affairs of the Mohawk Nation.

By controlling access of goods to other Native nations we wielded
great economic and political authority, power which we were not
hesitant to use towards our advantage.

After the conclusion of the American Revolution a new reality was
forced upon us. Where we had been a united community under the
authority of a single government we were split into equal sections
when authorities in London conceded to American demands and drew an
international border through the heart of Akwesasne.

We protested vigorously then but to no avail. Now restricted to
living on a small reservation some of our people elected to use our
unique geography by carrying goods back and forth across the St. Lawrence.

During the War of 1812 American troops stationed in northern New York
complained bitterly that the farmers in the region were selling their
harvests to the British soldiers across the border. The Brits paid in
good silver versus inflated US script.

The easiest way then, as it is now, was to hire Mohawks to carry the
harvested crops through Akwesasne.

By Prohibition time the smuggling routes through the vast marshes at
Akwesasne were well established. My uncle told stories of guiding
flat bottom barges, heavily laden with barrels of liquor, wine and
beer from brewers and importers in Montreal to Akwesasne where they
were broken down into smaller loads before being stuffed into sedans
and trucks, the drivers of which knew every back road from the
reservation, through the Adirondacks and down into Boston or New York City.

The, as now, the Mohawks were condemned for exploiting a border which
was not of our making and one which we have long sought to remove.

The current situation, while serious, is hardly isolated to the
Mohawks. The money made by smuggling sticks to many hands as the
goods make their way to the consumer. It would be impossible for
smuggling to exist unless there was a pressing demand for the
tobacco, alcohol and drugs which make their way to desperate smokers,
boozers and tokers.

Yes, the Mounties and Minister Day may rejoice in many arrests made
over the past few months but imposing external regulations upon an
indigenous community is bound to fail - just ask an Iraqi.

The solution is simple: empower the Mohawks to control trafficking
through Akwesasne. Begin by working with the legitimate Mohawk
leaders to establish a free trade network in which certain products,
such as tobacco, can be transported from one Native nation to
another. Help create, in effect, a Native North American Free Trade
Act. Regulate the tobacco trade and the criminal element is removed.

Just as important is to begin discussions with the Mohawk Nation to
remove the international border south of its current line.
Acknowledge that the Mohawks have the freedom to form our own
indigenous government. Once we have full jurisdiction over our land,
with one set of laws applicable to all residents, we can move swiftly
to discipline those among us currently exploiting a tangle of
competing laws, police forces and government agencies.

Smuggling does not have to be a way of life for us. It should not be
the cornerstone of our economy. As excited as Minister Day is about
nabbing a few smugglers he should be more enthusiastic about the
opportunity to remove a major security headache along the St. Lawrence.

A single Mohawk community with its own law enforcement powers would
sure cure a lot of ills.

The author is a writer, lecturer and chairman of Round Dance
Productions, a non-profit cultural foundation on OneidaTerritory. He
has published a number of articles in Akwesasne Notes including How
Much Land Did the Iroquois Possess, Iroquois at the U.N., and
Iroquois Population in 1995. He is former editor of Akwesasne Notes-Indian Time.