DIVIDE AND CHOOSE OR DIVIDE AND CONQUER?

By Jaclyn Hall Akwesasne, NY

Some of the elements of this ancient technique are:

• creating or encouraging divisions among the subjects to prevent alliances that could challenge the sovereign, and distributing forces that overpower the other

• aiding and promoting those who are willing to cooperate with the sovereign

• fostering distrust and enmity between local rulers

• encouraging meaningless expenditures that reduce the capability for political and military spending

Coming from an Onkwehonwe perspective with ancestral ties to the traditional territory of the Kanienkehaka, who continue to uphold the responsibility of adhering to our original instructions and way of life, known as the Kaianerekowa*; it is plain and clear that the colonial tactic of divide and conquer continues to be inflicted upon our people to this very day.

One very specific example would be the ongoing negotiations between the State of New York, the Saint Regis Mohawk Tribal Council (BIA-America), the Mohawk Council of Akwesasne (Indian ActCanada) and the Mohawk Nation Council of Chiefs regarding certain land claims of our traditional territory. Although it may look as though we are being presented with a choice, which looks and sounds like some sort of justice or reconciliation, in reality it is an ancient practice known as “divide and choose” or “cake cutting,” which is truly a divisive tactic at its core. The reality is that we are not being offered our land back, but financial compensation instead.

The fact of the matter is that the State of New York is in negotiations with Akwesasronon (People of the land where the partridge drums), not three separate peoples. The Saint Regis Mohawk Tribal Council is an administrative branch of the U.S government, which is the same de facto government that strategically implemented the Doctrine of Discovery into U.S law specifically to deal with our people by way of the Marshall Trilogy (three U.S. Supreme Court cases that led to the U.S asserting “jurisdiction” over our people and our lands by assuming that all Onkwehonwe nations are no longer capable of selfdetermination; instead we are seen as “Domestic Dependent Nations.”) One could ask themselves: how did we become a domestic dependent nation? And, what defines a domestic dependent nation? To date the foreign government does not have a clear answer.

One of the principles of divide and conquer — creating or encouraging divisions among the subjects to prevent alliances that could challenge the sovereign, and distributing forces that overpower the other — happens to be one of the most prevalent practices implemented when it comes to the Rotinoshoni, and speci fi cally Akwesasronon, whose lands are not only divided by the imaginary colonial lines known as the international border, but by state and provincial borders as well. These lines seem to have been created as a means for economic trade and commerce, making it easy for the underlying issue — of foreign entities asserting their jurisdiction over people of another nation who are situated on their traditional territory — to go unnoticed.

To take a more in-depth look at what exactly was intended when colonists decided to draw a line through our unceded territory, one would have to fully immerse themselves inside the borders of our modern-day concentration camp known as Akwesasne.

One way that colonists were successful in creating such divisions was by fi rst imposing the competitive mindset onto our people, instead of adhering to consensus through our ancient practices, such as bringing our minds together as one by beginning every ceremony and council meeting with the Ohenton Kariwatekwen (Words that come before all else — giving thanks to the natural world). We have degenerated into a society where people compete with one another for their own personal interests, under the guise of band council elections and referendums where the majority of “eligible” voters rules, completely disregarding the input and minds of the ones who are not “eligible” in the eyes of foreign governments and their indoctrinating policies. So, another question is: what makes a person of Akwesasne an eligible voter? Who decides who has a say in our internal relations and negotiations? On the surface of things, it may seem as though we are given the space to make our own decisions within the confines of our “reservations,” but when you really begin to break it down, you come to realize that it is all a façade, appearing as though we are truly a democratic people. But what is democracy in colonial terms and how does it differentiate from our ancient practices and principles, known as the Kaianerekowa (the great law of peace), which the colonists of the new world drew inspiration from when creating their constitutions?

A true democracy does not exist within the structures of foreign colonial polices. It is much more appropriate to refer to Canadian and American governments and their administrative bodies (i.e. elected tribal councils and band councils) as a “representative democracy” intrusively overseeing all tribal councils and their internal relations – where the people vote for representatives, who then enact policy initiatives. Whereas, in a true “direct democracy,” the people decide on policies without any intermediary or representative; there is no superior oversight, but equality and consensus.

Now to circle back to how this competitive mindset contributes to the divide and conquer tactic: When one sees others in the sense of “you and I” or “us and them” it does not leave room for the understanding of the collective interest as a whole, which is the ideological thought process at the core of the Kaianerekowa (the great law of peace).

When it comes to Akwesasne, colonial lines have been drawn and competitive mindsets have been instilled and continue to be reinforced by the ongoing genocide in fl icted on our peoples, through the assimilative processes of the residential school system and the modern-day education system. The number of Kanienkehaka people who participate in the elective band council systems seems to have increased since its implementation, due in part to another tactic mentioned earlier: aiding and promoting those who are willing to cooperate with the sovereign . When monetary incentives are offered to a people who have had their selfdetermination and selfsustainability violently stripped away, it is no surprise that they are more than eager to fulfill the expectations of foreign entities in order to receive the “benefits and privileges” being offered.

I have not even begun to touch on the last two principles, because there is such a vast amount of experience and knowledge that comes along with it. For now, I will focus on the tactics that are clearly being utilized in present-day Akwesasne, in regards to the ongoing negotiations with the State of New York and certain foreign entities being enabled by the participation of an assimilated peoples.

I feel it is necessary to point out that not all Akwesasronon have completely assimilated into modern-day society. The Kaianerekowa people of the Longhouse are still very present within the confines of Akwesasne, although it may not be as apparent to an outsider perspective. We are still speaking our language and conducting our ancient ceremonies, practices, and diplomatic relations with other nations. Despite all the genocidal attempts to completely wipe out our people and our culture in order to occupy our lands and extract our resources, we are still here.

There are those among us who continue to assert our power as the natural human beings of this land we call Anowareke (Turtle Island). We continue to defend our lands and waters, in order to preserve what little we have left for the next seven generations. When we speak of the next seven generations, we are not only speaking of our kin, we are speaking of all humanity who reside on our mother, the earth.

One of the main things we are taught as young children, immersed in the teachings of the Kaianerekowa, is that the natural world is not to be bought or controlled. Instead, we are taught to be caretakers of the earth. I truly believe that the principles of the Kaianerekowa have the power to bring humanity back together, and allow us to reconnect with the lands that were intentionally and competently tended to by our ancestors — who had us in their minds and hearts — as we are the seventh generation.

*For those who are unaware of the Kaianerekowa, it is an ancient practice of consensus with peace, power, and righteousness firmly instilled in our minds and hearts; these principles are the very foundation of how we conduct ourselves as a natural people, and there are those of us who will continue to do so, even in the face of adversity.

Three Fifths a Person if Not Free

By James B. Kobak Jr. Keene Valley, NY / Jersey City, NJ

Three fifths a woman, three fifths a man

From the beginning it’s always been the plan

First the Southern, then the other, white folk prosper

On the backs of voteless blacks.

Talk of racial equity, if you prefer, But sixty per cent

Is all it’s ever meant

Sixty per cent:

About as far as equal treatment ever went.

Three fifths the wealth,

Three fifths the health,

Three fifths a Person if not free

You can find it in our founding document:

It’s all right there; caste system written in:

Article One, Section Two—

Our nation’s will, its testament.

They will have three dollars, you’ll have five And odds the same to escape catastrophe alive

Three fifths the quality of home

Three fifths the chance a jail won’t be that home

Oh, yes, we fought a civil war

And yes, some did and do repent

But never all and never to the full extent.

Article One, Section Two

Embedded in our psyches from the start

A false duality that then took root

In speech and customs keeping us apart.

From subjugated others, wealth, a major nation state,

It’s time at last the country must atone

For the commerce made

By those thought fit to be by others owned.

Article One, Section Two:

Abandoned but undead, it pervades

Our thinking still; around us all its tainted residue,

Day after day it festers and accrues

A mortgage on our souls that’s yet to be repaid

Complacent or complicit, many are afraid To confront the reckoning that must ensue. But sin rots all until is atoned

And bitter are its fruits until disowned.

Unpaid toil, no right to own the land—

Three fifths a Person, if not free

The shameful legacy

Three fifths of what America should be.