St. Regis Mohawk Reservation

St. Regis Mohawk Reservation is a Mohawk Indian reservation in Franklin County, New York, United States. It is also known by its Mohawk name, "Akwesasne". The population was 2,699 at the 2000 census. The reservation is adjacent to the Akwesasne reserve in Ontario and Quebec. The reservation contains the villages of Hogansburg and St. Regis.

Under the terms of the Jay Treaty (1794), Mohawks may pass freely across the International Boundary. The two parts of the reservation are separated by the St. Lawrence River and the 45th parallel.

The Mohawks are members of the Iroquois and are the Keepers of the Eastern Door.

Gambling was introduced to the reservation in the 1980s, and has caused deep controversy. Broadly speaking, the elected chiefs and the Warrior Society have supported gambling, while the traditional chiefs have opposed it.

The elected tribal governments on the New York and Canadian sides and the traditional chiefs of Akwesasne often work together as a "Tri-Council" concerning areas of shared interest, for example to negotiate land claims settlements.

The Mohawk Tribe views the reservation as a "sovereign nation," but shares jurisdiction with the State of New York, The United States and the Town of Bombay, in which it is located.

The reservation features as a setting for a Tom Swift book, where the denizens are disparaged in a stereotypical way. The reservation was also the setting for much of the 2008 movie Frozen River.

Problems on Akwesasne

This reservation has become a center for smuggling of many items, including liquor, cigarettes and drugs. [ [http://www.indiancountry.com/content.cfm?id=1096412679 BIA grant to help Akwesasne combat border drug smuggling : ICT [2006/03/17 ] ] There is a concerted effort by federal agencies of the United States and Canada and the New York State government to stop this activity. These allegations have been hotly contested by Akwesasne police and government spokespersons. The chief of the Akwesasne Mohawk police has suggested that Akwesasne has been singled out for criticism when the smuggling problems stretch across the entire US-Canada border.

Another controversy is that New York state cannot collect sales tax on the reservations [http://www.tax.state.ny.us/pdf/publications/sales/pub750_804.pdf] and New York state citizens fail to report their applicable Use Taxes; this has become a problem both here and at areas surrounding other Indian reservations across New York. Merchants near the reservations complain that this is an unfair advantage for Indian-owned businesses. [ [http://www.americanchronicle.com/articles/viewArticle.asp?articleID=8598 American Chronicle | New York Company States American Indians Supporting International Terrorists ] ] [ [http://www.niagarafallsreporter.com/taxgrab.html Niagara Falls Reporter Analysis ] ]

Geography

The reservation is at the international border of Canada and the United States along the St. Lawrence River.

According to the United States Census Bureau, the Indian reservation has a total area of 54.3 km² (21.0 mi²). 49.2 km² (19.0 mi²) of it is land and 5.1 km² (2.0 mi²) of it (9.45%) is water.

Demographics

As of the censusGR|2 of 2000, there were 2,699 people, 904 households, and 668 families residing in the Indian reservation. The population density was 54.9/km² (142.2/mi²). There were 977 housing units at an average density of 19.9/km² (51.5/mi²). The racial makeup of the Indian reservation was 2.07% White, 97.41% Native American, 0.07% from other races, and 0.44% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 0.74% of the population.

There were 904 households out of which 44.8% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 40.9% were married couples living together, 23.9% had a female householder with no husband present, and 26.0% were non-families. 22.9% of all households were made up of individuals and 6.4% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.97 and the average family size was 3.44.

In the Indian reservation the population was spread out with 34.1% under the age of 18, 9.2% from 18 to 24, 30.8% from 25 to 44, 18.1% from 45 to 64, and 7.7% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 30 years. For every 100 females there were 98.6 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 96.2 males.

The median income for a household in the Indian reservation was $32,664, and the median income for a family was $34,336. Males had a median income of $27,742 versus $21,774 for females. The per capita income for the Indian reservation was $12,017. About 19.4% of families and 22.4% of the population were below the poverty line, including 31.3% of those under age 18 and 14.9% of those age 65 or over.

References

External links

* [http://www.tribalresourcecenter.org/ccfolder/st_regis_const.htm Tribal Constitution]
* [http://www.nativeamericans.com/Mohawk.htm Mohawk tribal links]
* [http://srmt-nsn.gov/his.htm St. Regis Mohawk Tribe - Tribal History]
* [http://www.ens-newswire.com/ens/nov2007/2007-11-06-097.asp "Environment News Service" "Saint Regis Mohawk First Tribe Approved for Clean Air Plan"]
* [http://www.nc3r.org/akwlibr/ Akwesasne Cultural Center, Library and Museum]
* [http://www.mohawkcasino.com/ Mohawk Casino]