BY: SHANNON BURNS

INDIAN TIME - Vol. 24#08 - Ennisko:wa / March 2, 2006 Edition - Page 1 & 4

The St. Regis Mohawk Tribal Council issued a press release Monday demanding an apology from the WATERTOWN DAILY TIMES for an editorial that ran in Sunday's edition of the newspaper. In it, the WDT staff discusses the recent NEW YORK TIMES article, "Tribal Underworld: Drug Traffickers Find Haven In Shadows Of Indian Country." The Tribal Council seeks an apology for unfair statements made in the editorial, as well as for the version of the NY TIMES' article that they reprinted, which was an edited version.

The cropped version left out specific mentions of the efforts by Akwesasne to stop smuggling.

"The decision by the WATERTOWN DAILY TIMES editors, in reprinting the article, to omit any reference to the Tribe's efforts at fighting crime is unconscionable," said Tribal Chief James W. Ransom. "It only serves to project the image of lawlessness that they are trying to create."

The WDT version also included images of Akwesasne photographed by their own staff. It ran in the "Sunday Weekly" section of the newspaper.

In the editorial, the author(s) also warns the State to "take a hard look at any expansion of gambling enterprises linked with Indian Nations. New York State, for instance, plans to permit businesses connected with the Mohawks to build casinos in the Catskills. Gambling, even when legal, can attract criminal elements."

"It's unfortunate that the WATERTOWN DAILY TIMES is continuing to make short-sighted decisions," said the Tribe's Public Information Director Brendan White. "It was wrong for them to reprint the inaccurate reporting done by the NEW YORK TIMES and to contribute their own editorial on the issue. It put salt on an open wound and both publications have offended our community. We expected a local publication that we worked hard at developing positive relations with to join our efforts in telling the complete truth. It serves to make our community suspicious of reporters and less likely to grant permission for interviews."

Robert D. Gorman, managing editor of the WATERTOWN DAILY TIMES, said an apology is not forthcoming.

"We reprinted a story from the NEW YORK TIMES, which we often do, and we printed our opinion, which we always do," he said in an article that ran in the WDT Tuesday. "We aren't going to apologize for either. We have produced many stories over the years covering the reservation's social, educational, economic and athletic contributions to the north country, and we plan to continue doing so."

Despite reports that the Tribe would no longer grant interviews to the newspaper, White said Tuesday that the Tribal Council "doesn't want to hold an individual reporter responsible for the poor decision made by the publication's editor. We will continue to work with the reporter as much as posible, but will monitor their coverage for fairness and accuracy."