Mohawk Council of Akwesasne Grand Chief Faces Petition– “This petition has collected over 200 signatures of the 478 needed for a successful removal…”–

Akwesasne, Canada- August 15^th, 2016, it was brought to the attention of the Mohawk Council of Akwesasne that a petition is being circulated within the Northern districts of the territory for the removal of Grand Chief Abram Benedict from office.  This petition has been filed, citing a lack of transparency within council, mainly due to the port divestiture agreement with Akwesasne and the City of Cornwall.

President of the Seven Nations of Canada and Akwesasronon, Mike Thomas, started the petition arguing that the land belonged to the Iroquois for hundreds of years, and believes no one had the right to sell without community consult.  Unfortunately, the first recorded ownership of the Cornwall Port was recorded belonging to “Her Majesty the Queen”, according to Service Ontario.  Thomas feels that the community was uninformed of the goings-on between Akwesasne and the City of Cornwall.

Grand Chief issued a statement to press on Monday, stating, “We welcome all community engagement, it is very unfortunate that some community members have unfavorable opinions of me with regard to transparency and have chosen to exercise their right to petition for my removal from the position of Grand Chief of the Mohawk Council of Akwesasne by attempting to garner support from other community members for their cause.”

This petition has collected over 200 signatures of the 478 needed for a successful removal, according to the Akwesasne Election law.  The number of signatures must have an equal amount plus one, from the number of votes received at the time of election.

In regards to the Cornwall Port Divestiture Benedict stated that, “the Mohawk Council of Akwesasne is committed to this project simply because it creates the opportunity for employment, economic development, and relationship building with neighboring communities.  The potential for these benefits to be advantageous to our community members was taken into careful consideration by Council when deciding to become a party to the port divestiture agreement with Cornwall.  Our Council chose to seize upon this opportunity in order to create more jobs and opportunities for our people.”

The Mohawk Council of Akwesasne has been entertaining this idea and updating the community on this venture since the 2013 General Meeting.  On January 28^th, 2016 General Meeting Chief Loran provided an update to the community on the negotiations and the MOU, and ARRO (Aboriginal Rights & Research Office) were in attendance to answer questions.

Several informational meetings were held in regards to the port divestiture in each district prior to the signing: April 23, 2016- Kanatakon School, 10am-12pm; May 18, 2016- Kawenohke- Anowarakowa Arena, 6-8pm; and June 1, 2016- Tsi Snaihne Rec, 6-8pm.

Grand Chief Benedict has assured that MCA reports provided to the community have increased since the most recent election in June of 2015.  “Community meetings now happen regularly opposed to quarterly meetings prior to our Council taking office.  Reports are routinely provided at monthly District Meetings, monthly General Meetings, regularly-held Information Meetings, and regularly-held Focus Meetings.”  Council meeting reports are also shared on Benedict’s Facebook page.  MCA Facebook is routinely updated, and many specific issues are aired on CKON- Tetewatharen.  MCA Newsletter- Onkwetake contains updates and has been published quarterly.  The Onkwetake will soon start being published bi-monthly.

In closing Benedict stated, “We will continue to strive to meet the need for increased input from community members and output of information to community members and look forward to receiving any suggestions that they may have on how to better meet this need.”

BY: Ohseraseia:hawi