March 9, 2004

 Mohawk Nation Council of Chiefs Opposes Coast Guard Ice Breaking Activities

            The Mohawk Nation Council of Chiefs (MNCC) is the traditional government of the Mohawk people.  The Haudenosaunee Confederacy recognizes and sanctions the Mohawk Nation Council of Chiefs as the official government of the Mohawk or Kahniakahake (People of the Flint).   The fire or capital of the Mohawk Nation rests at Akwesasne. 

The Mohawk Nation Council of Chiefs opposes the planned ice breaking activity set to go through Akwesasne on Friday March 12^th, 2004.  In years past, early spring ice-breaking activities have led to physical and environmental damage to Mohawk lands. 

The Saint Lawrence Seaway and Coast Guard have not acknowledged or rectified these past damages, they have not taken steps to mitigate the damages to Akwesasne and the environment, nor have they acknowledged our environmental concerns.  Ice chunks have the potential to stir up toxic contaminants in the sediment, and ice chunks may scour banks causing erosion and the release of toxic contaminants in the soil, which will re-enter the water and food chain putting at risk the people of Akwesasne and the environment.

The Mohawk Nation Council of Chiefs is also concerned, as are U.S Senators Hillary Rodham Clinton and Charles E. Schumer, with the early opening of the Seaway because of potential environmental damages to critical fish and wildlife habitats along the shores and bays of the St. Lawrence Seaway.  In addition, the Mohawk Nation Council of Chiefs is concerned with the Seaway’s, untested, contingency plan in the event of an environmental oil spill during winter conditions.   The people of Akwesasne and the environment should not come second to the economic considerations obtained by opening the Seaway early.

The Mohawk Council of Akwesasne recently passed Akwesasne Mohawk Council Resolution 2003/2004 – 375 (MCR).  The MCR states that the Coast Guard Ice Breakers shall not enter Mohawk territory until their concerns are addressed.  The Mohawk Nation Council of Chiefs supports the MCR and further adds that the Coast Guard Ice Breakers shall not enter Mohawk Territory until the aforementioned issues and those raised in the MCR are addressed and resolved.  

March 2004

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