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1 r1 h X I V; . '? • f .fe :%•..• i I I INDIAN TIME 3 Mohawk Bedtime Stories Indian time, as a culturally oriented paper, strives to in- clude something for everybody. Our culture is rich in legend and oral history and we would like to bring some of it to you in the form of these bedtime stories (or anytime stories). Indian Time would like to encourage contemporary writers and story tellers to share their stories and anectotes with us. We especially would like to hear some tales of humour which we will publish in both languages, Mohawk and English. Lesson stories are ideal for children and adults to share and we will be including some of that in future Issues of Indian Time. So/good reading and we would be glad to hear your suggest/ons or consider your work for publica- , tion. . .rokwdbo. '• wmm The Fierce Beast This story was told to me by Dehaweiahere*; a Mohawk of. Six Nations Country at Ohsweken. In ancient days, three brothers were camped beside a mountain in what is now New York State. They-were on a hunting trip and had left their main village on the Mohawk Rlver •(Day-hah-way-Yah-hay-lay) One morning, the oldest brother took hi* bow jnd quiver of arrows, and stepping into the forest, said that he was go- ing to hunt for deer. He told his two brothers to remain in camp until his return. The hunter did not return, and after two days, the next plder brother said that he would see if he could get a deer He said he would find the missing brother Taking his bow and arrows, he went into the forest The little brother waited patiently for his two brothers to return. After waiting for two days, the little boy finished eating the last of the supply of meat that was in camp, He; knew that if he did not get any fresh meat, that he would \ starve to death. So, taking his bow and arrows, he also went into the forest. After wandering for several hours, he came to a little stream.\Here he thought, \I will find game of some kind.\ Quietly, he followed the course of the brook, his sharp eyes watching for a rabbit or a squirrel. The stream wound in and out among the trees. The little boy followed., the winding stream for some time. The stream led the boy to a beautiful valley surrounded by high hills. . • ' As the boy wandered on up this valley, he happened to look up at one of the'hills that overshadowed the stream. At thefoOt of this hill, he saw a cave. \Perhaps I will find game in the cave,\ he thought. He left the flat land, and climbing - to the entrance of the cave, he glanced in. The inside of the cave was very dark, but the little boy was very brave. Firmly grasping his bow and arrow, he crept into, the dark shadows. For a while, he could see where he was going, but as he went farther back from the mouth of the cave, it; became very dark. In a little while, he could see nothing at all but still he walked on. As he was groping his way intp the heart of the hill, he stepped into a huge hole in.., the: floor of the cave. Without warning, he fell into a deep pit. He felt himself falling down, down, he knew not where. ' Every minute, he expected to crash against the ragged rocks at the bottom of the pit, but to his surprise, he continued fall- After falling for what seemed a long time, the boy saw far below him a pinhole of light. As he fell toward this light, it became brighter and larger until he saw that it was an open- ing in the bottom of the pit. Below the opening was a body pf Water that seemed to be a lake. As the.boy fell through the hole, he braced hi« body for a plunge into the water. Down he fell into the lake. Gasping for breath, the boy : swam up until his head was above water. Near at hand was land, and as he was a good swimmer, he soon reached shore. Stepping upon a sandy beach, he found himself in a strange country. The grass was so big that he had to walk around each-blade. A blade of grass was higher than a tree.. The: top branches were so high that he could not see them, An ant hill was as high as a mountain in this strange country. The little boy still held his bow and arrows and now, very cautiously, stalked around the tall grass. He came to a little hill, and was just about to climb it when he heard voices on the other side. Grasping his hunting knife, he slowly crept o walking from behind a blade $*w his $wb missing brothers. -r, - « ™*~y^r»-j v ery excited and were looking he branches pfa f glgantic tree. Tjie little brother went hY He .asked them why they were so excited. Ok at that great animal in the tree,\ said the older er v \We have been trying for several days to kill it. If could|kilr it and bring its great skin back to the village, we Uij^iai^^*^ •_-_ ^ « ^ L,_ _ this he shot an arfOW at The Rabbit Dance In a wild section of the Adirondack Mountains, there.. camped a hunting party of Mohawks. During the Leaf-Falling Moon (around October) many of the Mohawks left their main villages along the Mohawk River, and travelled north to the mountains where the hunting was good. There, in the;. heavily-forested mountain valleys, the hunters would store . up deer meat and deer skins for winter use. When a goodly ; supply had been gathered, the people followed the hunting .; trails south to the main Mohawk settlements. Some of the hunters usually remained in the mountains duringihe winter months because of the good trapping of fur-bearing animals in that region. Beaver skins were valuable for- trade even before the white man came with his guns and fire-water to. exchange for them. • •\•'•'•:• In this particular hunting camp lived two little boys. Orie: was called Onowara (the turtle) and the other was nicknam- ed Oweya (the Wing). '•'... \ Early one morning while the hunters were making preparations for a deer drive, the Turtle and the Wing set .out. on a little exploring trip of their own. In their hands, they carried their. little bows. A quiver of arrows was strapped across each of their backs. The little boys walked on and.on through the forest. They walked silently and. were very careful not to make any noise, for their eyes were pn the. lookout for game. Perhaps they could surprise a chipmunk j or a squirrel. After walking quite a distance from camp, they came to a little clearing in the Pines. As they approached this clearing, they noticed little trails or paths running into it. These, they knew, were rabbit runaways so they tightened•; their grip on their bows and were more on the alert for game. The boys walked to the center of the clearing and looked around for Rabbits. : . / Suddenly,.there was a loud thumping sound. It seemed to come from the ground. Looking ahead, the boys, to their amazement\ saw a huge brown rabbit. The huge creature was as large as the boys. It stood for a few moments looking at the little Mohawks. Turtle and Wing forgot all about hun- ting rabbits — never before had they seen such a huge rab- bit. At first, they were frightened, but as the Rabbit made no move to harm them, their fears left them. : ^ . After looking the boys over, the Rabbit again thumped the ground with his hind legs. Immediately, a long line of Rab- bits appeared, running rapidly down one of the runway's: •: Quickly they approached the clearing, where to the surprise of the two boys, they performed all sorts of queer antics. There seemed to be hundreds of Rabbits. There was an endless line of Rabbits running, hopping, skipping, and chas- ing each other down the narrow rabbit path and into, the clearing. They seemed to be-everywhere and all were very frolicsome as they hopped and skipped about. Sometimes they seemed to be playing the game, \Follow the Leader.\ They ran here and there, several in a line, all following one Rabbit. Occasionally, they ran in circles, hopping and kick- ing as they went. Meanwhile, the large chief Rabbit remained near the boys. He watched his lively People, but in no way did he take part in the rabbit games except to stand guard. ; As the boys watched the Rabbits skip and hop around them, they forgot their fear of the chief Rabbit. Boylike, they wanted to play tag with the Rabbits. Turtle made a grab for^ one of the Rabbits, and when he missed him, set out in pur- suit. Wing also forgot the big chief Rabbit arid Joined the chase. . . ; ; Without warning, a loud thump! Thump! THUMP! Was heard. The big chief Rabbit was warning his jp^opjte. Im- mediately every Rabbit stopped still in his track^! They seemed to be frozen to the ground, so motionless did they become. The now startled boys ceased their running and > gazed in fright at the big Rabbit. The chief Rabbit gave two more thumps. Immediately, the other Rabbits jumped into , action! Following each other in single file, they left the clear- . ing and disappeared up the runway from where they had come.'.' •••'.-' .. ' .-\ \'.' •••''.•'•••• The big chief Rabbit waited until the last Rabbit had left the clearing. Then giving a final thump, he too hopped up the rabbit trail and was soon lost to view. .'...-. The two boys were very surprised at what they had seen. Quickly, they returned to the hunting camp where they told their father what they had seen. Their father laughed and said (hey were good story tellers, but their wise old Grand- father said that the boys were fortunate to have-seen What had happened. \Yoy saw the Rabbit Dance,\ he said. \The Rabbits, like the People, have their own trails and their own council ground. They hold councils and moveTTom place to: place.- They have secret signals which are given by thumps on the, ground withTtheir hind legs. Very few people have seen thelj Rabbit Dance, and those who are so fortunate as to have seen it usually became very good hunters. The big Rabbit that you Saw was the big chief Rabbit, and he was watching over his People,\ and the Old Man wisely shook his head as he went back into the bark-house, (the correct pronunciation of the Adirondacks, in Mohawk, isAh-deeLOON'-ducks) i . ' little brother saw a fierce-looking animal branch.of the tree. As the little brother 1 up, the arrow that the older brother had just shot hit ^'r : ^;-.^':Moinu^i-With'?'deafening'roar, the huge /piyhe branch below him. vn at the three brothers and, opening h^s mouth, showed its great teeth, at the same time The heard for many miles other brothers had exhausted their supply p ws and, turning to the little brother, asked him for his LEGAL RIGHTS TO AMERICAN INDIANS MORN IN CANADA - CONTINUED FROM PAGE 2, IN NEXT COLUMN... h ^ shot arrow after arrow at the ; huge beast. Occasionally, ah arrow would hit a limb of the ^ree,orglance pf/ themonster's thick hide. At such times, the beast would;growl and jump to a lower branch, getting nearer and nearerthethree brothers. finally; there was but one arrow left, and the creature was still alive, \^e little brother then said, \Let me try. Perhaps I can hit him\ Taking up the last arrow, he carefully drew it to its head* Taking very careful aim, he let the arrow fly. Up, up it went, and with a thud, cut through the beast's thick hide and into its heart! ...'.. With a deafening roar, the giant creature pawed the air, lost its balance, and fell crashing to the earth. Over and over it fell, breaking the heavy branches of the tree as if they were spider's >vebs. D(Jwn he fell; straight at the boys, who jumped to one side and hid behind three blades of grass. With a loud thump, the monster fell on its back, the earth trembling as he hit the ground. Eagerly the brothers rushed out from behind the grass. They stared in awe at such a gigantic monster. Never before had they seen such a big creature. \The meat Will last for many days,\ said the little brother. \It will take all three of us to carry its huge hide,\ said: oldest brother. - \We are great hunters,\ said middle brother. The brothers grasped the legs of the monster and tried to pull, it over on its side. They pulled and pulled, and exerting all of their, combined strength, they managed to pull the giant animal over. What do you think it was? It was a mouse... (Reprinted from TALES OE THE IROQUOIS, Vol. / , by Tehanetorens. This book can be obtained from Akwesasne Notes at Racquette Point for $5 00) Eligibility for Services: 1. Employment ' You can work ;in the United States in private employ- ment Without alien registration, but you will need to ob- tain a social security number. The Social Security Ad- ministraion will recognize the forms of verification listed. Some public jobs are. restricted to American citizens by Statute or executive order: Federal employment and defense related positions tend to fall in this category. Jay Treaty rights t>Q NOT extend Canadian born persons \dual citizenship.\/ Citizenship rights and Native American rights come from different roots. The entitle- ment to U;S. citizenship derives from U.S. law. 2. Federal and State Benefits and Employment Assistance AFDC,, food stamps, Supplemental Security Income (SSI), and general relief are available to citizens and legally admitted aliens. YOU can obtain these benefits if you meet the income guidelines and qualify under rights ex- tended to Native Americans born within the boundaries of Canada but residing within the boundaries of the U.S ; . In some instances, individual states have regulations which explicitly identify your eligibility, as in the cases of Maine and Massachusetts.' Employee benefits such as unemployment and compen- sation and social security benefits are also available to you if you have worked in the U.S.. You carrshow legal status by the forms of verification listed in this article. What if you are denied services? If you, or someone you know, has had problems with government agency or private employer concerning alien registration, knowledge of the following history and legal references will aid in resblving the matter. Source of the right — Historical Background '_'* Before Europeans came to North America, Native American Nations and Confederacies conducted their affairs throughout what is now Canada and the U.S. respecting their own bordes. After 1792, France, Great Britain and the U.S. recognized that such territorial borders were independent from the borders that the Europeans established for themselves. ' * .. The U.ST and Great Britain entered into two key treaties which are binding today: . the Jay Treaty of 1974 The boundary line between the United States and Canada was fixed Without regard to the boundaries of Native Americans or Confederacies. When the Peace of Paris ended the American; Revolution in 1783, affected Native American nations were deeply disturbed that the boundary had been established through the middle of their territories. In response of the anxiety and confusion, the U.S. and Great Britain adopted Article III of the Jay Treaty in 1793 which provided in part: It is agreed that it shall at all times be free to...the In- dians dwelling on either side of said boundary line, free- ly to pass and repass by land or inland navigation, into the respective territories and to navigate all the lakes, rivers, and waters thereof, freely, to carry on trade and pr . - - At the CheiWril Escartc, near present day Darnia, Ontario, the British $$pUty Superintendent of Indian Affairs explain- ed this provMoft to the Chiefe of the Chippewa and Ottawa Nations, on^taiigrt 30> 1796, in terms of the rights of the Native g|$f|^ have at last fulfilled the Treaty of 1783 r tbf king toward alt the World, would io withhold (your) rights ..(the King) has ea'fit<offttf rtgbjtoandjndependence of ' \' the lot* treaty with America n their trade and \rtfiassfreely indisturb- Life On The Farm by Dave MacDonald When Joe and I were doing the farm work, Dad told us to dp a small painting job on the house. I had gone into the garage to get the paint and was carrying it with me when Joe came up to me from the barn. The paint can was open and I had a stiff piece of wire in the paint to use as a stir. As Joe ap- proached me I went to put one hand under the can so as to hold it up better for Joe to see if I had the right color paint. As I moved my hand toward the bottom of the can, I struck the wire sticking out of the can, it snapped out of the fresh paint, and made a perfect dotted line of fresh white paint right from Joe's forehead all the way down to his belt. His shirt was open and he had no tee-shirt on, so it made a perfect impression of a white \zipper\ on his bare skin. His only comment to me was a very tefse \what'd you do that for?\ ••• ' -'••••.•••'•.-'•••.. I had gotten to the age where I found out what all-night barn dances were about. T had gone to Mose Cpok's to a typical dance when I suddenly realized it was almost 5 o'clock in the morning^ time to do chores! I raced home hoping I'd get there befo'jfe Dad woke up, too late, he was already bringing the cows'home for milking. (My job). So, I changed clothes and decided to wait for him in the barn doorway, sitting in a wheelbarrow. I figured that way I'd help him put the cows in the barn. Apparently the all-night dance and booze were top much for me, I dozed off!! When 1 woke up, Dad was hollering \get the hell out of the way, if you don't want to help, find some other place to sleep!\ I had placed the wheelbarrow right in the doorway and-the cows couldn't get in the barn! When Dad couldn't get the cows to go in, he finally noticed what was keeping them out, Me! •:'•' •' \ \'-: ••\• '' • The neighbors had a rooster that kept coming over and digging up our little garden next to the house. Dad didn't want to hurt the animal, but is was getting him mad! One day in exasperation, he threw a shovel at the rooster to. scare him away, he sliced it's head clean off it's body! Naturally, I got the job to return the dead rooster to the neighbors with the explanation, \the tractor ran over it!\ The Treaty of Ghent—1815 , The Treaty of Ghent restored international recognition of all tribal rights, privileges and entitlements disturbed by the War of 1812 Article IX of this treaty stipulates: The United States of America and Great Britain engage •'•-••• to put an end... to hostilities with all tribes and nations of Indians.,.and forthwith to restore to such tribes or na- vtionS) respectively, all the possessions, rights and privileges which they may have enjoyed or been entitled to in 1811, previous to,such hostilities... Other Treaties The United States .and Native Americans entered into treaties which recognized that tribal authority and interests functioned independently of the ,border. For example in 1795 Congress entered into a treaty with the Seven Nations of Lower Canada which established the St; Regis Reservation in New York. Colonel John Allan, who served as a Federal Superintendent of Indian Affairs in New England, explained this policy in a letter to Samual Adams: Indians are not subject to, or amenable to any power: they have always been viewed as a distinct body, govern- ed by their own custom and manners, their mode of life leads them thro' the territories of different Nations...I presume that within ejt<ery treaty and conference with the United States a large portion live on lands, to which our Government has no claim, and I know this to have been the case with the ^French and English. Customs and Immigration The Jay Treaty, the Treaty of Ghent, and individual treaties with tribes dealt with the rights of \Indians\ and \tribes\ or nations o f \Indians\ as collective groups. The laws and regulations which have evolved from these treaties today deal with the rights of individuals. The Jay Treaty provision relating to duties were incor- porated in various tariff acts from 1795-L897. They have not been included in any subsequent legislation. As a result the U.S. Customs Service does not recognize the Jay Treaty customs provisions. There is no explanation for the deletion of Indian custom exemptions for the 1897 Tariff Act. This change has been under continuous protest by Native Americans for the last eighty years and is currently under review by a special committee established by the U.S. Customs Service. The Custom Service is required by law to recognize the right of Native Americans to bring religious objects across the U.S./Canada border under provisions of the American In- dian Religious Freedom Act of 1976. (PL. 95-341, 42 USC). The Jay Treaty provisions dealing with the rights of Native Americans to cross the border were not addressed in statute until 1828. Earlier immigration laws, passed between the late 1800s and 1924, were intended to restrict the influx of cer- tain groups of Europeans and Asians. These statutes did not relate to Native Americans. In 1924 Congress passed two acts: one entitling Native Americans born within the boun- daries of the'United-. States to American citizenship, and one other restricting entry to individuals ineligible for citizenship (a provision intended to exclude Japanese.) Soon thereafter, U.S. agents have used these laws in an at- tempt to deport an individual member of the Mohawk Na- tion, who was bom within die boundaries of Canada, from the United States. The individual was working in the United states. After the successful challenge of this deportation in a Federal Court, in McCandless v. United States exnel dtabo. Congress enacted the Act of 1928. This act substantiated the aboriginal rights of Native Americans to cross the U.S./Canada border. The law was restated in th« 1952 Im- migration and Nationality Act. (Reprinted from THE CIRCLE, a publication of the Boston Indian CouncU, Vttl. VI, Wa. 9, i8$l
