Ray Cook: New York tribes face attacks on our land and sovereignty

Opinion

Wednesday, August 4, 2010

"We are in an era when Native rights and possessions are once again the focus of state and county strategies of dispossession. Dispossess us of our rights to remain inherently sovereign and to dispossess us of our lands, once again.

Recently, we have witnessed the humiliating actions of the United Kingdom and the United States as they denied our Iroquois Nationals lacrosse team entry into Britain and denied our departure from U.S. airports. The rationale used was that the Haudenosaunee travel documents did not meet international security standards — even though efforts are ongoing to produce and approve such travel documents the world of nations could accept.

Within the state of New York, all six nations of the Confederacy are fighting battles to maintain our rights to stolen lands, our right to commerce, our right to regulate our own activities and our right to express our sovereign jurisdictions. These are battles that will not go away anytime soon, and judging by the growing number of Indian fighters turning politician and Indian hate groups such as the Upstate Citizens for Equality, these struggles will only get increasingly messy.

Look at our Cayuga brothers: Seneca County acted to shut down the Cayuga retail stores believing that the county rightfully has the authority to interfere in Native trade on Native lands. Our Oneida brothers, after having bought back much of their stolen lands two local counties have moved to steal back the land through forfeiture proceedings, confiscation tactics and changing the law regarding Indian relations."

Get the Story:
Ray Cook: Mohawks again dispossessed (The Plattsburgh Press-Republican 8/2)