[IPSM] MNN Kahnawake Band Council Sells Mohawk language to Microsoft (fwd)

[lcarle at po-box.mcgill.ca]

Hello everyone, just a suggestion for action:  google the Microsoft website and
surf around it for a while, look for ways to contact them, etc.  An electronic 
survey will come up before long.  Fill it out, click back and forth between the
windows of it so you can see the aspects of it before submitting it.  They want
to know if you think MS cares about communitites and is a good "corporate
citizen."  Tell them what you think!  A corporation is not a citizen, for
starters.  There is lots of room provided for comments, but not at the end of
the survey.  I just did it, and pasted this entire letter after my own
comments.

hope this helps.

Loren Carle

>
> ---------- Forwarded message ----------
> Date: Thu, 21 Apr 2005 21:53:32 -0400
> From: kahntineta <kantineta at paulcomm.ca>
>
> Kahnawake Band Council Sells Mohawk Language to Microsoft
>
>
>
> MNN.  April 20, 2005.  The Canadian government Department of Indian Affairs
> band council in Kahnawake is launching a "language" auction. They're selling
> the Mohawk language to the highest bidder.  They're signing an agreement with
> multi-national corporation, Microsoft, to "co-develop an innovative
> Kanienkehaka language project"!
>
> Section 4- Ownership of Work By Microsoft; License To Microsoft Materials
> states as follows:  "The Mohawks" agree to dissolve all rights that we may
> have
> to any and all copyrights in the work and assigns all rights, title and
> interests over to Microsoft including but not limited to . the right to sue
> for
> infringements which may occur before the date of this Agreement, and to
> collect
> and retain damages from any such infringements.."
>
> A Maori student visiting from New Zealand warned, "Language is a sacred thing
> not to be appropriated by Microsoft.  This is how they co-opt our culture.
> Microsoft will make a lot of money on this.  Now you have no river, no land,
> you don't even have your own language.  Your language is your essence of
> being
> and they are stealing it".  She said that the song of one of their people has
> been copyrighted by a football team down there. Now they can't write about it
> unless they pay money to the football team.
>
> Disgusting giveaway.  The band council of Kahnawake is giving away the rights
> to the Mohawk language which our ancestors have been developing since Sky
> Woman
> fell to earth.  This is an unprecedented insult.  The band council cannot
> sign
> away our rights on behalf of us or the generations yet unborn.  We will be
> opening ourselves up to policing and lawsuits by this mega corp which will
> become the ultimate authority on the use of our language.
>
> No consultation.  If Microsoft sincerely wishes to contribute its expertise
> to
> the Kanienkehaka people so that it can benefit from the wisdom collected and
> preserved in our language, it needs to come and meet with us, the People.
> Microsoft must present its project to a proper traditional consultation
> process.  This agreement was made in secret.  It is not legal because there
> was
> no valid consultation with the People.
>
> The Kanienkehaka language belongs to the Kanienkehaka people.  It has been
> passed down from one generation to the next since time immemorial - long
> before
> Europeans came here to colonize us.  The language contains the collective
> knowledge and wisdom of all of our ancestors.  It is our duty to learn it,
> preserve it and pass it on to the generations to come.  It establishes our
> tie
> to our land where our ancestors have lived for thousands of years.
>
> Tongue-tied!  Most members of the current band council have neglected their
> duty to learn the language.  They do not own it and yet they are selling it.
> The band council is always signing agreements that continuously put our
> nation,
> our people, our lands, and now even our language at risk.
>
> Microsoft represents the conglomerate that massacred our ancestors, put us in
> concentration camps on our homeland, forced laws and ways meant to eliminate
> us.  Now we are being forced to ask for their permission to speak and use our
> language!
>
>            The Kanienkehaka Onkwawen:na Raotitiohkwa Cultural Center in
> Kahnawake refused to support the agreement.  They accused the band council of
> "knowingly and unilaterally agree[ing] to sell our intellectual property
> rights
> . to a foreign corporate entity that seeks to gain full ownership, monopoly
> and
> control of our language".
>
> The band council rejects our traditional governments.  They are creatures of
> the Canadian government created under their illegal Indian Act.  The
> councilors
> commit themselves to defend and uphold the laws of Canada. This is proof that
> they have discarded their responsibility to their people.
>
> Residential schools.  From the time the Europeans arrived, our people have
> been
> subjected to colonization.  Our children were forced into residential schools
> and denied the right to speak our language! In some schools almost 100% of
> the
> children died.  Overall, around 50% did not come out of these institutions
> alive.  Those who did lost their languages.  In Kahnawake there were nuns and
> priests who had the same job, to force the Indian out of us.
>
> Kanienkeha is who we are.  It is our identity.  It defines our ties to the
> land
> and to each other.  No one has ANY right to sell us!
>
> We the Kanienkehaka of Kahnawake must stand up now and defend ourselves
>
> Tongue tax.  As the agreement states, "In the event that taxes are required
> to
> be withheld on payment made under this Agreement by ANY government authority,
> Microsoft may deduct such taxes from the amount owed the Mohawks and pay them
> to the appropriate taxing authority".
>
> In other words, Microssoft has agreed to be an instrument of colonization
> parasiting on our heritage.  They want to cook our tongues for breakfast. The
> band council has agreed to chop off bits of our flesh to give to whatever
> bandit demands a slice of the action.  And people called us "cannibals"!
>
> We Kanienkehaka will now be forced to pay taxes on the unique way we flip our
> tongues.  Nothing is more quintessential to Kanienkehaka identity than the
> Kanienkeha language.  The colonizers stole our land and now they are trying
> to
> steal our language.  They will be selling our language to other people.  It's
> a
> product to them.  They will have a market for it in Germany and elsewhere.
>
> How do we stop this?  This is one of the richest corporations in the world.
> They have all the lawyers they want at their beck and call.  We can't afford
> any.  But we have tongues to speak for ourselves.  Everyone should email
> Microsoft to complain.
>
> Otkon!  Microsoft!  Go ahead and sue me.  You might get some more choice
> Mohawk
> words from me.
>
>
>
> Kahentinetha Horn
>
> MNN Mohawk Nation News
>
> Kahntineta at hotmail.com
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