By Louis Karoniaktajah Hall, Mohawk Warrior Society
Man is born to be free. He has the right to live. He has the right to his own nationality. No one has the right to take away his nationality. No one has the right to force him to join another nation. Every nation has the right to exist and to an area of land for its territory where it can exercise its own system of government and society according to its customs and traditions.
In the Iroquois way, every man is a warrior – lately, the girls and even older women have demanded instructions in the arts of the warriors, handling guns, etc. They mean to have a part of any future armed struggles for survival. As a youth, every Iroquois male is taught the arts of war, so that he’ll be ready to defend his country and his people. This makes it unnecessary for the Iroquois government to have an expensive War Department with its high salaried military echelon of officers of various degrees and ranks. It makes a standing army unnecessary who have nothing to do but sit around waiting for an order to go somewhere and kill some people. After a young Iroquois learns the skills of war, his teacher sends him back to the fields or other occupations.
Every Iroquois is also taught the Great Law so that he’ll know when it is violated. This is necessary because the War Chief and his men are charged with the task of seeing to it that the Great Law is followed which makes every male Iroquois a policeman and it is his duty to stop any crime being committed. There is no need for an expensive police department with a big bunch of men sitting around waiting for a crime to be committed. By the same token every Iroquois is also a fireman, so there’s no need for a fire department.
The Rotiyaner (Chiefs) legislate laws and decide issues in their Council. The War Chief and his men (called Warrior Society by the immigrants from Europe) enforce the Chief’s decisions. The Clan Mothers watch their Chiefs and see to it that no provision of the Great Law is violated. If both the Rotiyaner and the Clan Mothers go against the Great Law or do things which are against the welfare and happiness of the People, the Great Law provides the people have the power to depose them. The power lies with the people, who have to do the fighting and other work to preserve the nation. The Chiefs and Clan Mothers are of the people, elected by the people and are accountable to the people.
It is the function and duty of the Mohawk Warrior Society to defend and protect the people of the Mohawk Nation. Due to the genocidal assimilation policy of Canada, United States and other European governments in America, who mean to speed up the extinction of the Indian race, the Warrior Society has the option to proclaim to the world that the Warriors shall resist by every means, any and all motions to destroy and erase the Mohawk Nation from the face of the earth and that it shall stand on its human rights to exist as a nation, which rights are also guaranteed to all nations of the world by the United Nations. The proposed parliamentary legislation in Canada and the Congressional legislation in the United States to turn Indian lands into municipalities and counties, are acts of aggression against the Indians.
Since it means the oblivion of the Indian race, the destruction of a distinct people, it is also an act of war. The moment the legislation are enforced, the government thereupon declares war on the Indians. It follows that the Indians shall fight . It’s a bad time for the white race in America to start trouble with the Indians. White scientists have created monsters which can be turned against their own people. A condition has developed when even a handful of Indians can cause havoc and create scenes of desolation from one end of the continent to the other. The white man in America has mighty fire power but as a chain is as strong as its weakest link, the white man’s chain of defense has might weak links.
During peacetime and careless moments, the Mohawk Territory was stolen from the Mohawk Nation. This manifesto includes a map of the Ganienkeh (Mohawk) Territory in Canada and the United States. It includes islands in the St. Lawrence River including the Island of Montreal. We, the Mohawk Warrior Society, do now demand that the Mohawk Territory be restored to the Mohawk Nation. Ours is the strongest naturally legal right known to man, aboriginal right.
The Mohawk Nation entertains no such ideas as becoming extinct but has decided it’s time to take back what’s ours and to exercise our rights to have our own government and society on this land of our ancestors, with no interference from any foreign nation or government. The people shall live off the land and the Great Law of the Iroquois Confederacy known as Gayanerekowa, world’s first national constitution, shall continue as the constitution of the repossessed Mohawk land. The co-op system of economy, a most practical and worthy economic system, used by our ancestors and particularly suited to Indians, shall be used in the repossessed Mohawk Law. We shall grow food on every available acre, keep livestock and preserve the environment. Needed is a lot of land for corn fields, potatoes and other foods, hay fields and grazing land for beef cattle, dairy cattle, horses, buffalo and timber land for building materials. Other native nations of Asia and Africa have regained lost lands and human rights. Germany, Italy and Japan, after being unconditionally conquered in 1945, were given back their lands. They were not put on reservations as were the Indians. It’s too unjust! It is time the Indians in America got the same deal. Canada and the United States law claim to the civilized state and proclaim to be progressive countries. Surely, they can afford to restore some of the stolen areas of this huge land to its rightful owners where they, also, can enjoy the good life, instead of being captive nations. No nation should be so deprived it has to live on reservations under the bootheel of foreign nations. Now that the Indians have the ability not only to make peace but also to destroy the white man’s peace, it is time to require Canada and the United States to render real and true justice to the true owners of this land by restoring some of the stolen lands.
Meanwhile, the governments of Canada and the United States are passing legislation to make Indians extinct via forced assimilation. This legal massacre is without equal. This tyranny is on display in full view of the world. The world is a witness. We shall communicate with every nation on earth and their embassies at the United Nations with a request for foreign relations with the countries contacted, even if only on paper. We shall let the whole world be a witness to the victorious struggle of the Mohawk Nation to regain full attributes of nationhood.
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