A Mohawk community straddling the New York-Ontario border, Akwesasne is called the St. Regis Reservation by some non-Indians. The community of Akwesasne, whose name means "Land Where the Partridge Drums," was established in 1755 near the site of a Jesuit mission at the confluence of the St. Lawrence, St. Regis, Raquette, Grass, and Salmon Rivers. It is the only American Indian reservation with lands in both the United States and Canada. As a result, sovereignty issues involving Akwesasne have at times been particularly problematic, causing the Akwesasne community to maintain two separate councils for dealing with the U.S. and Canadian governments.
As part of the Iroquois League, the people of Akwesasne have continually asserted their sovereignty. For example, in 1917, when the United States declared war on Germany, the Iroquois Council also declared war as one of the allied nations. Somewhat surprisingly, the most direct assault on the community's life and prerogatives did not appear until the 1950s. During that decade the construction of the St. Lawrence Seaway—which diverted the course of the St. Lawrence River to allow large ships to sail farther inland—industrialized the area surrounding Akwesasne and created horrific environmental pollution. This degradation destroyed the fishing and dairy industries of Akwesasne and hence dramatically undermined the self-sufficiency of the Akwesasne Mohawks. In addition, toxic levels of polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs), mercury, and other pollutants have undermined the health and safety of Akwesasne residents. Further, by the 1970s the legal fight against industrial polluters had nearly bankrupted the Mohawk Council of Akwesasne.
Its tradition of asserting sovereignty across the international boundary, together with its struggle against pollution and economic exploitation, has often propelled Akwesasne to the forefront of Indian activism. For example, after the construction of the Cornwall-Massena International Bridge at Akwesasne as part of the St. Lawrence Seaway project, the Canadian government attempted to extract customs duties and tolls from Akwesasne residents using the bridge. In 1968, Akwesasne people, supported by the Indian Defense League of America, blockaded the bridge to protest these restrictions, and in February 1969 the Canadian government agreed to duty-free status for Akwesasne's residents.
The bridge blockade led to the founding of the monthly newspaper Akwesasne Notes, a journal that often employed the rhetoric of 1960s activism to press for the resolution of long-standing disagreements between the various Indian nations and the U.S. and Canadian governments. Its editors supported the occupation of Alcatraz in 1969, the Trail of Broken Treaties in 1972, and the occupation of Wounded Knee in 1973. It also published several important documents, including Basic Call to Consciousness, a presentation made by Iroquois elders to the United Nations in 1977, and Wounded Knee: In the Voice of the Participants. The editor of Akwesasne Notes, Doug George, has also been a leading opponent of the construction of a high-stakes gambling casino at Akwesasne since the 1980s.
See also
Mohawk.
