The Onondaga Council of Chiefs Memorandum on Tribal Sovereignty
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DOCUMENT: GAMBLING.TXT
The Onondaga Council of Chiefs
Memorandum on Tribal Sovereignty
"In ancient history in a time such as this the Great Peace
Maker came among our people carrying the message of peace from the
Creator. He buried the weapons of war beneath the Great Tree of
Peace and he united our people under the leadership of the Council
of Chiefs who were told to follow the laws and protect the Great
Tree of Peace and our people who are sheltered there. We do not
have a word for warrior. The men are called Hodiskengehdah. It
means all the men who carry the bones, the burden of their
ancestors, the ancient ones on their backs."
The Onondaga Council of Chiefs issue this communique on
sovereignty because the word has been invoked in the current
situation in Akwesasne and because the Council of Chiefs at
Akwesasne have requested a statement and because a request for
legal clarification of treaty law was requested by a
representative of the gambling establishments. Sovereignty lies
with the people. Guyanahgowah, The Great Law of Peace states:
Issues affecting the Nation or Nations must come before the people
and that there must be an unanimous decision by the Council of
Chiefs before an issue can be sanctioned.
Every person has a right to peace and tranquility on his or
her lands. The Haudenosaunee Lands are lands held in common, one
of the few places left in Indian country exercising that
aboriginal right. Therefore, consent of all the people is
required before changes can occur that will affect the lives of
the people.
There are questions that must be answered by the gambling
casino owners, including high stakes bingo:
1st: Do they have outside non-Indian business partnerships? If
they do, and they did not get the consent of the Council of Chiefs
then they themselves have violated the sovereignty of the Mohawk
people by bringing into sovereign Mohawk territory non-Indian
people as business partners.
2nd: Are there revenues taken off the Mohawk Nation territories
without the consent of the Mohawk Nation? Then, Mohawk
sovereignty is being violated again by non-Indians and their
Indian partners. There should be an accounting of these revenues
to the people.
3rd: The sovereignty of the Mohawk people is being violated every
day by the invasion of non-Indian people crossing Mohawk boundary
lines to take part in illegal gambling activities on Mohawk Nation
territories, also violating the laws of the Mohawk Nation and the
Haudenosaunee.
The answer to these questions are important because Iroquois
territories are under ancient law, and if these laws are being
violated by a handful of people for personal gain, then positive
action must be taken to protect the interests of the people. The
Longhouse people are bound by our law and Akwesasne is part of the
Haudenosaunee, "The people of the Longhouse." We support the
Mohawk Nations' efforts to bring controls and peace to their
territories.
We also understand that the development of gambling
enterprises were authorized and unilateral actions were taken by
individuals to take advantage of the sovereign status of Indian
lands.
Because sovereignty lies with the people, then consent must
be obtained from every Mohawk citizen, or their actions begin to
destroy our sovereignty.
We have witnessed the corruption of young people by these
businesses in all Haudenosaunee territories. Money and jobs seem
to be the criteria for individuals while huge personal fortunes
are accrued by the partnerships of the gambling casinos without
accounting to the people or the governing bodies of the
Haudenosaunee territories.
The Two Row wampum is specific in its directives and
instruction to our people.
The gamblers and smugglers and supporters sitting in the boat
of our white brothers [are] tugging on our canoe. The great
values of our Nations are being threatened. The value of respect
for the rights of others is being trampled on by these aggressive
enterprises. Force of arms appears to be a factor. The
businesses have created mercenaries of some of our people.
These businesses have corrupted our people and we are
appalled at the Longhouse people who have become part of these
activities. They have thrown aside the values of our ancient
confederacy for personal gain.
It is inappropriate and misleading to designate oneself as a
sovereign force for the people without the consent of the people.
The warrior society is a self designated entity. We do not think
Haudenosaunee people will rush forward to protect the financial
interests of a few people and their slot machines called "one
armed bandits." The arguments of sovereignty from these people
are spacious considering the conduct of their gambling "business"
leaders. Further, these people are not shielded by the
sovereignty of the Mohawk Nation or the Haudenosaunee in courts of
law, because they did not have the sanction of the Nations to act
on their behalf.
There are young people armed with automatic and semi-
automatic weapons and they appear as a security force for
individual casino owners. We believe that the militarization of
these enclaves challenges good government by the leaders of the
community. What we see are our youths being deluded into thinking
that they are defending sovereignty when in fact they are
protecting the financial interests of a few casino owners and
their non-Indian partners.
The issue as it appears to us is not sovereignty but the use
of every Mohawk's sovereignty to benefit a few. The issue is:
WHAT DIRECTION ARE THE MOHAWK PEOPLE GOING TO TAKE FOR THEIR
FUTURE?
Gambling in Indian country throughout the United States has a
short life. It has led to federal regulations and control
according to state laws, laws that are already passed in Congress.
Las Vegas style casino gambling is about as poor an issue to
challenge sovereignty on as we could think of, yet it could
jeopardize jurisdiction in all Haudenosaunee territories. It's a
matter of time and the real crime is that these casino owners know
it and will get what they can, while they can. The nations of the
Haudenosaunee have all the options any nation has to deal with
these problems.
The insurgency of these entrepreneurial enterprises
challenges the long standing government of the Haudenosaunee and
the values of the Great Law that have inspired nations to
democracy. Treaty Law is available to our Nations, in particular,
Article Seven of the Canadaigua Treaty.
One of the major effects of these self-designated enterprises
is that it has complicated the income tax situation and brought
about tax issues directly into our territories. These
entrepreneurs will not pay the taxes that they may bring down on
Indian country.
Land claims are the most important issue we are engaged in
today, claims that will insure our future in our lands independent
and sovereign. It's ironic that it is a segment of our own people
who are diverting energy and attention away from this issue by
their greedy actions, handful of people willing to squander our
future for compensation now. Short sighted thinking indeed.
All revenues generated at the expense of Mohawk National
sovereignty should go to their national treasury, to be
administered by the Mohawk Nation. It is time for the
Haudenosaunee to activate the trade and commerce commission that
will regulate all commercial activities of our Confederacy.
Individual entrepreneurs should not receive these revenues
into their private bank accounts, subject to their select largess,
to buy the loyalty of key figures in the community and the youths
of the Nation, thus undermining the leadership of the Mohawk
Nation. These individuals whose leaders, idols, and values come
from Las Vegas, Nevada, and other centers of national and
international gambling activities, should not be allowed to direct
Mohawk National policy on economics, trade and commerce. These
directions belong to the people through their selected and
responsible leadership. These policies require vision and care if
we are to survive as nations in the 21st Century.
The direction that these few individuals are taking the
Nation is obvious as you look about and see the regulations
staring you in the face. They have forced the issue and have no
place to seek leadership except from those shadowy figures in the
background supplying financial aid and direction for gambling and
other illegal trafficking in cigarettes, people and drugs.
Money will not buy sovereignty. Only the political will of
the people will insure that. For sovereignty to be effective, the
Nation must be united. At the moment the Nation is divided and
confused by the clever rhetoric of individuals. Common sense
directs people back to their ancient established government whose
interests are for the people.
We have been told by a young man, who at one time upheld the
values of the Longhouse, that we do not understand. We understand
only too well what he meant by that statement. We do not agree
with their attempt to usurp the legitimate Mohawk government and
replace it with the free wheeling, unregulated, ungoverned
activities of wealthy individuals protected by their personal
armed security forces just like the drug barons of Central and
South America. Anarchy in Indian country is directed by Las Vegas
and other enclaves of gambling. We take your direction from the
Great Law of Peace that has insured our survival up to now, and
indeed is providing direction for the world at large in these
troubled times.
Our Nations have always been Nations of Law and Peace and we
shall continue to be Nations of Law and Peace.
"He broke one arrow to illustrate the weakness of one nation.
Then the Peacemaker bound five arrows together with deer sinew to
illustrate the strength and unity of working together as the
Haudenosaunee."
Da-Nay-To
Onondaga Nation
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