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INDIAN TIME • Photo Courtesy - Henry Burl ; \irfran Garrow in his Rep Speedivagon. \ at the establishment System While they may keep their it to suit the needs of Peacekeeper el, let us also took into this idea/ t of aH, *tftoseJaiW governs the reservations. It should t rlousr ^at aVc0QVfnu.Oity should govern itself, especially Natiye ^netlcan cbmmuhittes that purport to be different £nd distinct frOm.otKcr American (Canadian) communities. JfiA- WOtildt not b»|Wett?^ing the truth to state, that there are Sjb^e elements of sta*p/|*rovincial and federal governments wito would IHte nothing better than to extend their powers Over Indian lands and communities Once in, these forces or powers can be difficult lo remove That is the major fear of slhdiah people. By putting up with minor nuisances they nktifp Out outside powers off the reservations. But our pro- blems are n o longer minor, it is the same with all com- munities these days, not just Indians, minor nuisances have built tip to fear and intimidation Those who consider themselves, outside the law whether it be Mohawk- ' Ajncrican or Canadian *are the ones who do their work in tfte abscerice of police, yet their actions contribute most to community people who request policing activities. )NS AVAILABLE: Bring in outside police, with their laws and judges and jails, this is opposed by many people for the reasons outlin- ed above. By throwing our people in Jail, we are n o better than other communities who ship their people away into in- stitutions that foster more criminality, rather than really rehabilitate people caught up in crime. There are many young people who have chosen the easy way to make their leisure money, yet they are always on the run, and once they turn 18 they can be jailed. Often only this intense asd cm- barassing and debilitating course wilt change their minds/yet no matter how determined they are to stay out of jail or prison, if the same attitudes and actions arc present in the community among their peers, then it is that much harder to take the \straight road\. - U Alternatives to this option: support alcohol andifrug pro- grams. Make community efforts at adult and youth education by offering farming, agriculture programs in planting season. New Moon Lpjjge 1 in pueblo coudtry is an alcohol program that puts people to work in gardens. These people have won awards for their qjpps, and pride for themselves and their communities and have contributed to the community by re- establishing small farms that once were the basis of pueWo- Indian villages., The work'is real work, and they research solar power and greenhouses, and. most important of all, they stop their problem drinking. conui on page \z VOLUME 1, NUMBER 12 DECEMBER 2, 1983 Price 50 ccnt» Stoned Patterns Of Drug AJbuse \According to a recent survey done on the reservation on drug and alcohol abuse, there are children in Kindergarten using drugs.\ I ^ ^ Drugs and alcohol are one and the same. They have been . around Akwesasne for as long as there have been people . here. Over the generations they have become the most critical elements in a culture too long suppressed. In a native. society that places high value on family unity, drugs break that family apart. In a culture that is supposed to commune with nature, there are instead drinkers who drown and \acid heads\ who freeze. Where visitors once noted the physical beauty of a people, there are blood shot eyes, running noses, and quivering hands. Regardless of the name of the drug or the brand of drink, the results are the same; the death Of body, mind, and soul. . \ . ; .. The consumption of alcohol and the many types of illegal,, drugs in Akwesasne is more widespread and rnpre sophisticated than many people want to believe. Most residents are familiar with relatives who abuse these substances but few would suspect that very young children are using them. According to a recent survey done on the reservation on drug and alcohol abuse, there are children in Kindergarten using drugs and alcohol. The survey showed, that children throughout the primary grades from Kindergarten to grade six are well aware of the presence of drugs and are experimenting with them. Their level of understanding about drugs is surprisingly high. Their: knowledge of street names for drugs might impress a New York junkie. The Mohawks of long ago were well aware of the effects of psychedelics such as mushrooms and the numbness of alcohol. Before the arrival of the Europeans, it Was possible to make liquor from corn or potatoes and wine from wild • grapes. The use of such things was socially unacceptableat a time when the culture was whole, distinct, and strong. There was no need. The ravages of the sixteenth century smallpox epidemics however, killed millions of Indians leaving in its wake fragmented nations unable to resist as a unit the inva- sion of the European. War, disease and cultural shock created the need to escape grim reality. Alcohol provided;the release and the Europeans provided the alcohol. \ Throughout the colonial period the presence of alcohol in . the context of 4ndian-white relations had great affect. The fur trade was the primary reason for the English and French to venture into the continent's interior. The Indians would supply the furs in exchange for European goods but often a year's worth of trapping labor would be consumed in a few hours' drunk. : . , The native societies in America valued highly visions from the different.realities but these insights were achieved by gift ; ii) dreams or the rigors of the sweat lodge. With alcohol, the killing of the senses was easier, quicker and more complete. Europeans exploited the native need for visions and the desire for escape from a complex situation. They gave alcohol in return for furs but also gave it away. Of course, the crafty Eruopean never made a present without expecting a profit, in this instance the profit was measured in terms of millions of acres. Drunken Indians signing fraudulent treaties was so common and infuriating to the Mohawks as to cause them to take up arms against those Europeans most willing such a treaty, the American settlers. There is always a measure of risk in backing the favorite side in any conflict. When they lose, the winning underdog can be unforgiving, The Mohawks paid the price by being stripped of their territory. The sudden loss of land and im Jfluence created a cultural chaos that confirmed the MOhawk's fascination with the bottle. The abuse of alcohol was epidemic - controlled only by the strength of the family. The dominant nations of the U.S. and Britian were content to dismiss the Mohawks from their plans for the mpst part of the nineteenth century/Towards the latter part of that era,, the various governments decided that the Indian problem was enough of an irritant to warrant attention. ; Commissto^^ focated.integriJ^jrj x&^^^fcMmt^ GARROW BY CUOMO sS '•••-•**•-* i •.— •*\ with education the means of eliminating Mohawk culture. As education in the values of the European based;society was the only one available, Mohawk language, history and customs were ignored and deliberately made to seem as if it were bad. This debasing of Mohawk society ytas assisted by the Christian churches who bore no tolerance for pagan customs. v. Npi many people can stand up to being called \inferior\ or backwards by the powerful combination of church, ; school and state. The negative image the Mohawks had of themselves reinforced their use of alcohol as a means Of ; escape. When one is drunk, equality is at hand. The failure of the dominant societies to recognize Mohawk culture- as something worthwhile led to the rush for more education as , parents sought to have their children avoid their painful exr periences by having them integrate into the middle class . world of the whites; They could not know the break in the generations beginning with the loss of language meant the weakening of the family and would lead to even greater drug and alcohol abuse as the last strength of the Mohawks was taken away. : '•\ •• \-. .- '- • •• '\; \ : . _•••• .' •• Akwesasne is at present surrounded by bars and drug dealers. The hard times of the early century have changed ihr to theT prosperity of the present. There arc no starving families, there are few poor houses, but many have satellite dishes and video disc players. With the rise ofthe middle class there has come material things^and much leisure time. Children are generally idle when not in school. This free • time added to a lack of youth oriented activities leading to boredom. The failure of the family and school to provide meaningful exist results in drug abuse Discipline is weak in families where the norm is to have two working parents grandparents were formerly there to lend stability but are now alone or in homes, breaking the precious cultural con- tinuity. ••••'.'..•• . •\ • The bars are now the place to meet friends, unfortunately, often the only place. What was at one time the family or clan Hying together providing security and Identity now has become the perogative of the peer group, which in some cases has far more influence on the individual than the fami- ly, The changes in Mohawk society is welcome news to the bars. The more problems here the greater the profits for them. The money is now so great as to cause; the bars to,\ make a bold move onto the reservation itself meaning more drinking, more accidents, more deaths \^fhe residents of Akwesasne are well familiar with the ef- fects of drug and alcohol abuse. The statistics are everywhere and are repeated so often as to be numbing Data will not stop the present rate of abuse. Creative pro- grams for the alcoholic are available but little exists to pre- vent the massive inflow of diugs , tfhe greatest danger to a culture arrives when that culture , stops believing it is unique. At Akwesasne that point is here, now. A people cannot remain alive and healthy when its grandmothers are peddling dope It cannot hold Its head up with pride when it gambles away its children's |ood moAfcy- * U cannot grow when babies are born intoxicated^ ft h^s n& - reason to be when parents get their children stoned, ' ' Council Gnief* Leonard Garrow, has been ap- hy Govcrnbr Mario Cuomo to the advisory council CohtmunitySfervices Block Grant Program, an anti- Pi members (rfjhe. council, whicli was created in 1982 and includes represen- tatives of local government, private non-profit agencies and the public sector. The council's duties, primarily concerned With consultation on the preperation of reports, are to be ex- panded, according'-10 Secretary of State Gail Shaffer. The *lox:k Grant Program provides funds to local agencies to run programs and services in areas such as housing, education, health and emergency assistance for low-income residents of New York State. NEW TAX RULING THREATENS REZZ BUSINESSES The Taxpayers Service Division of the New York Depart- ment of Taxation and Finance has issued a new ruling on In* dian Tax exemption that will greatly effect businesses on the reservation. The new ruling states that products sold to In- dians on the reservation are no longer exempt from state sales tax if the products are to be resold. '-, The ruling was issued in July and affects goods such as gasoline, cigarettes and food. The ruling was apparently issued as a result of outside merchants complaining that the lower prices offered on the reservation because of the tax exemption status gave the Indians an unfair business advan- tage. — The State has begun to circulate a tax exempt form that states that the Indians must pay the sales tax on any product that will be resold. As a result of this ruling area wholesalers are now 1 reluctant to sell to Indians. A few reservation businesses have now been forced to use their reserve sup- plies and will soon face the prospect of going out of business. A series of meetings is scheduled to be held by the native merchants to discuss the ruling and how to fight it. In- terested parties are urged to contact Paul Thompson at 358-2873 to arrange meeting times. BAKERY OPENS ON RACqjUETTE POINT The Tsl-kaoata-roni Bakery opened for business November 9th with the sale of a loaf of whole wheat bread. Located near the Akwesasne Freedom School on Racquette point, the bakery makes use of a stone hearth earth oven to create baked goods free from processed sugar yet drenched In honey According to bakers Peachy Bonaparte and Madeline David, the business is still on a \trial\ basis but the initial sales have been: favorable. The bakery will be part of a com- bination cpffe*\housc and bread store with the coffee house scheduled to open as soon as the bread sales are high enough to support twb employees. The idea. Of locating a bakery at Akwesasne grew from a question raised in «lass by Dawn LaFrance, a student at the AkwesasneJ^^dOm Stihool, about the workings of an earth i oven. The answer to Ms. LaFrance's inquiry led to the library -attiie state univetsjty at Potsdam where it was found that a large enough eartft Soven could satisfy the bread needs of the reservation. ] * ' • t .•''.:''•.•' Irom 8*00 a.m to 7 p.m. weekdays •piio, on Saturdays. The bakery presently and white bread at prices starting can be tailor made by calling I Brian Cole testing a newly completed earth avm at the Freedom School. ; } V
