Latest news with #Akwesasne
Yahoo
2 days ago
- Politics
- Yahoo
Felony charge against Akwesasne activist dismissed
Aug. 15—CANTON — The felony charge against an Akwesasne land activist has been dismissed because of a violation of his constitutional right to a speedy trial. Larry V. Thompson, 71, was charged May 22, 2024 with felony second-degree criminal mischief during a demonstration on Barnhart Island held in opposition to a proposed Mohawk land claim settlement. He and six other activists and an Akwesasne journalist who was there covering the event were all arrested after Thompson started digging a hole with a backhoe. Each of the eight people were charged with misdemeanor conspiracy and a trespass violation. Those charges were all dismissed in November 2024. Thompson was additionally charged with the felony mischief count for allegedly causing over $1,500 in damage to New York Power Authority land. It carried a maximum sentence of 2 1/3 to seven years in state prison. He and the six other demonstrators were holding the protest to express their views that the land rightfully belongs to the Mohawk people. Thompson's felony case made its way to St. Lawrence County Court in front of Judge Gregory P. Storie in December 2024. He had steadfastly refused to get an attorney and insisted on representing himself. In July of this year, St. Lawrence County Chief Public Defender James M. McGahan drafted and filed a written motion on Thompson's behalf seeking dismissal of the felony charge. He argued that Thompson's right to a speedy trial had been violated. Specifically, McGahan wrote that Thompson was arraigned May 22, 2024, which started a six-month clock for the prosecution to declare readiness for trial, which they didn't do until a St. Lawrence County grand jury indicted Thompson Dec. 5, 2024. St. Lawrence County Assistant District Attorney Alexander A.V. Nichols wrote a response saying that portions of that time period should have been excluded from the six-month timeframe. He argued that after Thompson's initial appearance in Massena Town Court for his arraignment on May 22, 2024, Thompson had re-appeared three subsequent times in June, July and August. His case was adjourned during the first two of those because Thompson refused to accept an attorney. Massena Town Justice Joseph Brown conducted a hearing during the third appearance on Aug. 27, 2024 to determine Thompson's ability to represent himself, which the town justice granted. That led to the case eventually being divested to county court. In Judge Storie's written ruling filed on Thursday, he sides with McGahan on the grounds that Massena Town Court should have conducted a "searching inquiry" as to Thompson's ability to represent himself during his initial arraignment on May 22, 2024. Storie said that's because that the record shows this was the first time Thompson refused legal counsel and asserted his desire to self-represent. Justice Brown did not do that until Thompson's fourth appearance in Massena Town Court on Aug. 27, 2024. "The arraignment court did no further inquiry as to the defendant's intentions regarding counsel, nor did it conduct a formal searching inquiry as to the defendant's ability to represent himself. Based on the record presented, this Court determines that a searching inquiry should have been conducted by the arraignment court, on May 22, 2024," Storie wrote in his ruling. "The defendant next appeared in Massena Town Court on June 11, 2024. At that time, he informed the Massena Town Court that he did not intend to retain an attorney and that he did not want counsel assigned to him. The local court, in this Court's view, was obligated to engage in a searching inquiry to determine if the defendant was able to represent himself. But it did not do so." "The [prosecution] further urge this Court to nullify the local court's determination approving self representation on August 27, 2024 but this Court elects not to disturb the lower court's ruling in that regard," Storie wrote. Thompson had also challenged the validity of the prosecution's filing a certificate of compliance formally stating they have turned over all discovery and are ready for trial. Storie noted he conducted a speedy trial inquiry on Dec. 12, 2024 and found the prosecution to be ready for trial. His ruling throws out that certification. "The defendant argues that the people's Certificate of Compliance should be invalidated because it was filed in excess of six months from commencement. As noted, the people are assessed six months and fourteen days of chargeable time from the defendant's initial arraignment to the people's announcement of readiness," the ruling says. "This period of time exceeds the statutory requirement for the people to be ready for trial within six months. Therefore, based on the people's untimely announcement of readiness, the people's certificate was not valid." Thompson had repeatedly argued in both Massena Town Court and St. Lawrence County Court appearances that they have no jurisdiction over him. He said he is Onkwehonweh, which in the Mohawk language means the original people of Turtle Island (North America), who was protesting on land that rightfully belongs to the Onkwehonweh. Therefore, the foreign court has no authority over him. He sees lawyers as officers of that foreign court. Therefore, according to Onkwehonweh law, he says he was not able accept an attorney's legal services. "I assert and maintain this honorable court does not have jurisdiction to take my plea ... accordingly, I will file a notice of removal," he said during his Dec. 18, 2024 appearance. "How can you charge someone who ... is native to the land," Thompson told the judge. "We were here first. We are the first law of the land." Following an appearance in Massena Town Court in July 2024, Thompson told the Times that he started digging on Barnhart Island with the intention to start building a foundation for Native housing so Akwesasne community members could move upstream from decades of industrial pollution caused by Alcoa, Reynolds Metals and General Motors plants. Thompson and the six protesters were demanding fair compensation for Barnhart Island, integral to the Moses-Saunders power dam, which has generated billions of dollars in electricity for the U.S. and Canada. They also sought redress for generations of pollution-related illnesses among Akwesasne people that result from upstream industrial activities by Alcoa, Reynolds Metals and General Motors. For decades, those plants used large amounts of PCB — a known carcinogen — in their operations. PCB stands for polychlorinated biphenyls. The activists cited the Two-Row Wampum, dating back to 1613, as the standing treaty governing the relationship between non-native peoples and the Onkwehonweh. It is among the earliest treaties between the Haudenosaunee people and European colonizers. Symbolized by two parallel purple rows on a white background, it signifies mutual navigation of the river in separate vessels — a Native canoe and a Dutch ship — pledging never to interfere with each other's paths. The federal government sold large swathes of the Akwesasne reservation without congressional approval, in violation of the Indian Non-Intercourse Act of 1796. It stands as the American law today, saying Native land cannot be sold without an affirmative vote of Congress. In 2022, a judge ruled New York state unlawfully took thousands of acres of Mohawk land in the 1800s. Negotiations for a settlement have been ongoing between Albany and U.S., Canadian, and traditional Mohawk councils.
CTV News
4 days ago
- Sport
- CTV News
Quebec's Kahnawake Junior B Hunters win Ontario lacrosse championship for first time ever
Kahnawake Junior B Hunters, along with team owner Derek Stacey, celebrate their first-ever OLA championship with the trophy. The Kahnawake Junior B Hunters won the Ontario Lacrosse Association (OLA) championship for the first time in team history. With no equivalent league in Quebec, Kahnawake's most popular lacrosse team plays in Ontario, travelling to Akwesasne, Nepean, Gloucester and beyond, while welcoming opposing teams to the Sports Complex at home. The Hunters beat the Thunder from their sister Kanienʼkehá꞉ka (Mohawk) community in Akwesasne to set a finals matchup against the Elora Hawks. On Tuesday night, the Hunters made history, defeating the Hawks 13-7 to win the finals four games to one. After getting swept 3-0 last year, Hunters player Marcus Diabo said it was incredible to pull off a reverse sweep against a strong team like Elora. 'Getting them was huge. Coaching staff, seniors, everything. You just have to love it. You have to love the game to win it,' he said. The team's owner, Derek Stacey, who lives and breathes lacrosse, said that for a small Indigenous community of about 1,000 residents, the victory is a major achievement. 'The teams we grew up playing against have endless numbers of players to choose from. We have such a small pool to draw from, so it's a really big deal to win,' Stacey said. 'That's like beating all of Ontario against a little town from Quebec, a small Mohawk community. I couldn't be more proud, and I'm sure the community is proud too.' To fill his roster, Stacey has also brought in players from Akwesasne and Onondaga. On Wednesday evening, the returning champions were welcomed home by fans, family and friends. 'They had their fun last night, and now it's time to refocus and get back to work,' Stacey said. Kahnawake will now represent the league at the Founder's Cup national championship, which begins in Calgary on Monday. Hunters player Deeland Martin said nothing beats the feeling of winning and hopes the team can do it again. 'We did it as a family. We're going to Calgary and hopefully bring it home,' Martin said.
CBC
31-07-2025
- Entertainment
- CBC
Akwesasne artist wins juried art show with salute to ironworkers
An Akwesasne artist's sculpture celebrating Kanien'kehá:ka (Mohawk) ironworkers won the top prize at his community's juried art show and market last weekend. Karhatiron Perkins won Best in Show for his Lunch on a Highbeam sculpture, which is his take on a famous 1932 photo of 11 ironworkers having lunch on a beam 260 metres off the ground in New York City. "Growing up, I always thought those were all Mohawk men," said Perkins, about the famous photo. In Perkins's bronze and metal cast piece there are nine ironworkers sitting on a beam in ribbon shirts representing the nine Haudenosaunee clans: turtle, wolf, bear, snipe, beaver, deer, hawk and heron. Instead of lunch boxes, they have bowls meant to represent a Kanienʼkehá:ka staple, corn soup. Perkins comes from a family of ironworkers; his father and grandfather were in the trade. "I wanted to do a piece just like highlighting the Native men who were ironworkers," said Perkins. In the late 1950s, Kanienʼkehá:ka ironworkers made up about 15 per cent of New York's ironworkers and had a hand in the construction of many iconic buildings like the Rockefeller Center, Empire State building and Chrysler building. There are believed to be three ironworkers from Kahnawà:ke, a Kanienʼkehá:ka community near Montreal, in Lunch atop a Skyscraper, according to community members. The men are thought to be Peter Skaronhiati Stacey, Joseph Jocks and Peter Sakaronhiotane Rice. All artists from Akwesasne The Akwesasne art market and juried art show, which took place July 25-26 in the community straddling the Ontario, Quebec and New York state borders, was hosted by Akwesasne Travel and gives out a grand prize of $2,500 US (about $3,400 Cdn.) This year there were 44 artists who displayed work in the show, said Randi Barreiro, a marketing specialist for the Saint Regis Mohawk Tribe Office of Economic Development and works with Akwesasne Travel. "This year's Best in Show was just a phenomenal piece," said Barreiro. "I'm a daughter and a granddaughter of ironworkers so I immediately could recognize his inspiration." All of the participants in the show were from Akwesasne. "It's really a spotlight of the talent that we have here in the community," said Barreiro. Cultural elements Perkins is a recent graduate of the Institute of American Indian Arts in Santa Fe, N.M. and made the sculpture for a class. This was the first time he had submitted to an art competition. "It felt unreal; I didn't really believe it," said Perkins about winning the show. Perkins is a multi-disciplinary artist in drawing, painting, ceramics, and making digital art. Right now he is busy selling his work at markets. "Most of my art that I make has to do with cultural elements," said Perkins. "[I] mainly create to empower people to practise their culture and be interested in it." Perkins said he would love to see the sculpture one day in a museum or on display at a community building.
CBC
09-07-2025
- Health
- CBC
Haudenosaunee women are reclaiming traditional teachings around their periods
Social Sharing Haudenosaunee women are learning traditional "moon time" teachings so their daughters can approach their menstrual cycle with support instead of stigma. Prompted by a need for increased health support and education in her community as well as her own personal struggles with her moon time, Sateiokwen Bucktooth started Snipe Clan Botanicals in 2018 and is sharing her knowledge by providing workshops. Bucktooth is a traditional ecological knowledge teacher from Akwesasne Mohawk Territory, on the Ontario-Quebec-New York state border. "I had a really rough moon time every month," she said. "It was pretty uncomfortable and it affected my quality of life so I started really delving into what types of plants I can use to help support my reproductive health." She said raspberry leaf, stinging nettle, chamomile, hibiscus and yarrow are her go-to herbs to help to ease menstrual symptoms. In addition to education, engaging youth through activities like botanical scavenger hunts, Bucktooth said her workshops normalize talking about reproductive health so these types of conversations can become more common. She said people who menstruate who learn to better understand their bodies can then advocate for their own health at the doctor's office, for example. "Most times it's the moms who are willing to share because the young girls are still a little bit uncomfortable talking about the details of a menstrual cycle," she said. "I like to bring that up so it becomes almost normal for us to discuss these things out in the open and not that it's a dark, bloody secret that we can't really share." Bucktooth said the response so far has been great and there's requests for additional workshops that follow the whole journey of reproductive health from menarche into perimenopause and menopause. Facilitates mother-daughter talks Steevi King brought her daughter Kanekanoron Lazore, 12, to a workshop she helped organize in Akwesasne last year. She said it provided a space for mothers and daughters to discuss and celebrate reproductive health through Haudenosaunee teachings. "As a mom, I want to give the things that I didn't get when I was her age," King said. "I kind of just had my mom and my aunties there to help guide me and nobody talked about these things and it was almost kind of like shame behind it. My moon time was shameful." King said she didn't want her daughter to feel that way and wanted her to feel guided through this sacred time in her life. "I just wanted her to love her body. I wanted her to not be blindsided by it," King said. She said the workshop made it easier for them to talk about it without feeling uncomfortable. King said she's also empowering herself by relearning these teachings. "We have people who are showing us the way and bringing back [teachings] and putting that love and that empowerment onto our young girls and even women my age," she said. Lazore said Bucktooth provided them with little packets of herbs and taught them how to prepare teas for their moon time. Although she hasn't had her first period yet, she said she feels more prepared and comfortable talking about it now. "It definitely does make me feel, like, weird about it but it's all right because it's how Shonkwaia'tíson [Creator] made us," she said.
National Post
02-07-2025
- National Post
Canada-U.S. citizen in custody in deadly St. Lawrence River human smuggling case
A dual Canadian-American citizen that United States authorities allege was part of a deadly human smuggling operation that left migrants drowned in the St. Lawrence River will remain in custody following a detention hearing in the Northern District of New York District Court on Tuesday. Article content The U.S. Justice Department said 34-year-old Timothy Oakes was arrested as he attempted to enter the United States on June 15. Article content Article content Article content Oakes, who is from Akwesasne which straddles the Canada-U.S. border west of Montreal, was indicted in April for conspiring with others to smuggle people from Canada into the United States, as well as four counts of alien smuggling for profit and four counts of alien smuggling resulting in death. Article content Article content The family, which were not named in the U.S. court documents, have been identified as Florin Iordache, his wife Cristina (Monalisa) Zenaida Iordache, their two-year-old daughter Evelin and one-year-old son Elyen. 'This case shows the terrible perils of illegally crossing the border,' U.S. Attorney for the Northern District of New York John A. Sarcone III said in a news release Tuesday. 'Four family members died because a smuggling network put them in harm's way.' Article content Court documents allege that Oakes routinely smuggled people into the United States by boat across the St. Lawrence River. Documents said he was paid $1,000 per person. Article content Article content Court documents said Oakes housed the Romanian family for about 24 hours in March 2023 before transporting them along with a boat to a public launch site. His brother, Casey Oakes, was piloting the boat intending to reach northern New York. Article content Article content The boat ultimately capsized, killing all four members of the migrant family and Oakes' brother. Article content A family of four from India were also on the boat and drowned but the U.S. indictment against Oakes does not include their deaths.
