FINAL REPORT - International Joint Commission

ANNEX 2
G. Aboriginal Peoples Contextual Narrative
This context focuses on the intersection of the lives of the people of Akwesasne and the issues at play in a
revision of the rules for regulating releases from Lake Ontario. Study team members also communicated
with the Tyendinaga Mohawks, about 2,200 people who live along the shores of the Bay of Quinte, just east
of Belleville, Ontario, and the Kahnawake Mohawks, about 8,000 people living south of Montreal along the
south shore of Lac St. Louis. The Study Board addressed the primary concerns these communities have
with regulation in its work on Lake Ontario flooding (Tyendinaga) and low and high levels of Lac St. Louis
(Kahnawake). Comparisons of plan results for those issues are in the Main Report.
1. General Socio-economic Context
(a) Number of stakeholders
The Akwesasne community numbers about 13,000 mostly Iroquois people living in a 104 km 2 (40 mi 2 )
area that straddles the border between the United States and Canada along the St. Lawrence River in the
immediate vicinity of the Moses-Saunders Dam.
(b) Organizational characteristics
Akwesasne is the only North American reservation with land on both sides of the Canada-U.S. border, and
this unique geographic setting has brought sovereignty issues to the surface that might be less pressing
for other tribes that did not deal with customs duties and border checks (Hoxie). The superimposition of
the U.S. and Canadian governments has produced three Akwesasne governing bodies. The Mohawk Council
of Akwesasne administers the Akwesasne north of the Canadian border, including the Quebec and Ontario
portions, while the St. Regis Tribal Council administers the New York portion. These bodies were formed
with Canadian and U.S. agreement. The older Mohawk Nation Council is not recognized by Canada or the
U.S. but is supported by people who maintain allegiance to the Iroquois Confederacy. This study is one
part of a larger fabric of interaction and discussion, between the International Joint Commission and aboriginal
people along the Canada-U.S. border, on Lake Ontario regulation and other issues. Two positions on the
Study Board were reserved for Akwesasne representatives to ensure that the interests and perspectives of
the Akwesasne Mohawks would be considered. These seats are held by James Snyder and Henry Lickers,
who were the primary conduits for information between the Akwesasne Mohawks and the Study Board.
(c) Values and perceptions of the interest
Maxine Cole of the Akwesasne Task Force on the Environment (ATFE) wrote the principal summary of
Akwesasne concerns and perspectives (Akwesasne Task Force on the Environment). The ATFE was formed
in 1987 to promote environmental protection and restoration based on “traditional tribal teachings about
the obligation to honor the sacred web of life and guard it for future generations.” According to those
teachings, the process of collaborative natural resources management should include the following:
• Skennen, which is a state in which all people rationally and empathetically try to achieve a just
resolution;
• Kariwiio, a condition wherein the participants “use their purest and most unselfish minds,”
remembering that creation is intended for the benefit of all, including plants and animals; and
• Kasastensera, a strength of purpose that results when people act collaboratively and unselfishly in
pursuit of wise and just decisions.
The goal is to ensure that seven generations are endowed with the same gifts as the current generation.
134 Options for Managing Lake Ontario and St. Lawrence River Water Levels and Flows