BY: SHANNON BURNS

INDIAN TIME - Vol. 24 #09 - Ennisko:wa / March 9, 2006 Edition - Page 1 & 3

The St. Regis Mohawk Tribe has twice responded to comments made by St. Lawrence County Legislator Shawn Gray in the past week.

According to statements from the Tribe, Gray has made "totally inappropriate" remarks about Akwesasne and his "prejudices have no place in politics."

In a MASSENA OBSERVER and MALONE TELEGRAM article last week, Gray said, "My concerns are growing. There are some things happening that only bode ill for us and for the people of our County. Look historically at what has happened in Franklin County. I don't know why we would want to invite the reservation into our County, where it does not currently exist."

The Tribe wrote a letter to St. Lawrence County Legislature Chairman Tom Nichols, threatening to reassess its relationship with the County if Gray's comments represented the opinion of the Legislature.

Nichols responded stating that no person speaks on behalf of the Legislature except for himself.

On Monday, the Tribe released another statement correcting additional statements made by Gray that were incorrect.

In a March 4, 2006 MASSENA COURIER OBSERVER article, Gray stated, "There are a number of issues Franklin County has had with the Tribe such as the Tribe's transfer station. The Tribe completely circumvented the Franklin County landfill and built the transfer station without any regulatory agencies involved and with no permitting process and yet they say they want to be good neighbors."

In fact, many officials from various regulatory agencies were involved, and many were present at the grand opening of the transfer station last year. The Tribe also took appropriate steps to keep Franklin County informed.

"Public notice of the Environmental Assesment was published in the MALONE TELEGRAM and thus distributed throughout Franklin County," the Tribe said in a statement. "Two public meetings were held to get comments and a Finding of No Significant Impact (FONSI) was issued for the project. The Tribe took great efforts to keep the Town of Fort Covington and its residents informed of the project throughout its design and construction."

"The Tribe would like to know where Legislator Gray is getting his information," they said.

Gray does not have authority to comment officially on behalf of Franklin County.

In the March 4th article, Gray also mentioned the incident of late last year when a group of hunters obtaining meat for an upcoming ceremony were criminally charged on Barhart Island, a no-hunting zone.

"Their argument is they can hunt on Barnhart Island because they are not subject to our laws," Gray said. "If there is an agreement reached (on land claims), how can we be sure it will be abided by if some factions believe they are not subject to the laws here."

The Tribe responded by warning Gray to "be careful to not use the actions of a few and then apply it to the entire community. It is also important to point out that this hunting was done for ceremonial purposes, a use consistent with the long-standing history of the Akwesasne community. The hunters did not attempt to hide their activity and cooperated with the authorities when they were approached. Hunting on Barnhart Island was first requested Akwesasne Mohawks during discussions with the New York Power Authority as part of the land claim negotiations."