[IPSM] St. Regis Mohawk Tribe Talked Out Of Agreement On Cigarettes

[hhazel at gmail.com]

PRESS RELEASE

From	The Men of the Kanion'ke:haka Territory of Akwesasne

To:	St. Regis Mohawk Tribe

According to the Kaianereh'ko:wa, this is the second warning to you. 
We have the duty to inform you once again to change your course of
action:

1.	You have no authority to bring anything or any entity from the
outside, such as the ATTB, into the territory of the Kanion'ke:haka
community of Akwesasne.  The St. Regis Mohawk Tribe Council is a
foreign entity into our sovereign territory.  According to Article II,
Section 2, Clause 2, paragraph 1, of the U.S. Constitution, the legal
relationship between the Kanion'ke:haka and the U.S. is
constitution-to-constitution, nation-to-nation.

2.	SRMT is not Kanion'ke:haka.  It is a municipal level government
incorporated under foreign laws and has no jurisdiction here.  The
people never consented to this entity being imposed on us.  Akwesasne
is not tribal land.  IT is sovereign Kanionkehaka land.  The true
government of our people is the Kainanereh'ko:wa.

3.	You need the approval of the true title holders, the
Kanion'ke:haka, to carry out any business on our territory.

4.	Any violation of our law, such as bringing in a foreign entity like
the ATTB, will be taken as an act of aggression and will be dealt with
accordingly.

At Akwesasne and presented to the St. Regis Mohawk Tribe meeting on
Saturday, December 3rd 2005:

AGREED BY THE MEN OF THE TWO LONGHOUSES

----------------------------------

WWTI NewsWatch50

Trouble Brewing On St. Regis Reservation

12/5/05

Trouble may be brewing between factions on the St. Regis Mohawk
Reservation over the right to bring officials from the Alcohol and
Tobacco Tax Bureau into the cigarette manufacturing plants on the
reservation.

According to a press release dated December 3rd from the Men of the
Kanion'keihaka Territory of Akwesasne issued to the St. Regis Mohawk
Tribe, the group claims that the tribe has no authority to bring
"anything or any entity" from a foreign power such as the ATTB into
the community.

The release goes on to say the group does not recognize the legitimacy
of the St. Regis Mohawk Tribal Council, calling it a "municipal level
government incorporated under foreign laws", and saying that it lacks
jurisdiction on sovereign territory.

Saying this is a "second warning" to the tribe and informing them to
change their course of action, the group ends the release with a
thinly veiled threat, saying "Any violation of our law, such as
bringing in a foreign entity like the ATTB, will be taken as an act of
aggression and will be dealt with accordingly".

---------------------------

Mohawk Tribe Opts Out Of Agreement On Cigarettes

12/6/05

The St. Regis Tribe has decided not to enter into a Memorandum of
Understanding on cigarette manufacturing with the Alcohol, Tobacco,
Tax and Trade Bureau.

Instead, the Tribal Council says it will be up to individual cigarette
manufacturers whether to pursue a permit from the ATTTB.

The issue of unregulated cigarette manufacturing has been a bone of
contention between the Tribe and the state and federal governments.

The ATTTB approached the Tribal Council earlier this year about
reaching a Memorandum of Understanding on the issue.

Tribal Chief Lorraine White said the tribe appreciates the
"professional and respectful manner of the ATTTB" in working with the
Tribal Council to resolve issues involving cigarette manufacturing in
the Akwesasne community.

However she said that based on input from the community, the Tribal
Council is opting out of the MOU.

The Tribal Council says if individual businesses seek a permit from
the ATTTB, the tribe's Compliance Department will be available to
assist or have a presence during the on-site inspection stage of the
federal application process.

ATTTB representatives are still required to seek permission from the
Tribal Council to enter Akwesasne territory before conduction such
inspections, the Council said.
--
actz of rebellion inspire me