St. Regis Mohawk Tribe: News & Resources

LETTER TO THE COMMUNITY

Onerahtokha/April 12, 2006

Re: Tribal Constitution Researchers

Watkwanonweraton/Greetings,

The Saint Regis Mohawk Tribal Council extends our best wishes and hopes this letter finds you in good health.

We write to you at this time to share information and provide an update on the Tribal Constitutional, an issue that has been unresolved in our community since June 1995. Along with the Constitutional Group, we have been researching and taking part in discussions as we all work towards a cooperative resolution to this matter. We firmly believe that researching and documenting the events surrounding this issue, as well as including community involvement, will help to bring about a solution that is acceptable to everyone.

A complete review of the Tribal Constitution that includes an accurate historical accounting of events surrounding the June 3, 1995 referendum is a necessary step in resolving this issue. To that extent, we have applied for and received $39,000 in funding from the Bureau of Indian Affairs for hiring two constitutional researchers to undertake this review.

We’re pleased to announce that in March 2006 Darren Bonaparte and Russ Jock were hired for six months to research and gather information related to the Tribal Constitution. They are documenting the history that led to the development of the constitution, the referendum and the events related to this issue. They will share their findings with community members and conduct an education process on the history of the constitutional issue. Their overall goal is to obtain an accurate accounting of this issue.

Researchers will collect and review documents that will be identified through their research that pertain to the Tribal Constitution. These will include original pieces of work and may be materials from government officials, community members, reports, court briefs, letters, and other sources. Individuals with material related to the development of the constitution are being asked to submit them to the attention of the Constitution Researchers at the Tribe’s Community Building .

To a lesser extent, interviews will be done with individuals that were involved in the process of developing the constitution and documents. This interview process will allow key people to speak about the events that transpired, as well as their roles and responsibilities during that time. Prospective interviewees will be contacted prior to conducting the interview and provided with a list of potential questions.

We aim to have the researcher’s review and community presentation completed by the end of August 2006. At that time, the Tribal Council and the Constitutional Group will take community feedback into account in determining future steps in resolving this issue.

As always, we look forward to answering any questions and addressing any concerns that you may have.

Sken:nen/Peace,

Tribal Council








		LETTER TO THE COMMUNITY Onerahtokha/April 12, 2006 Re: Tribal Constitution Researchers Watkwanonweraton/Greetings, The Saint Regis Mohawk Tribal Council extends our best wishes and hopes this letter finds you in good health. We write to you at this time to share information and provide an update on the Tribal Constitutional, an issue that has been unresolved in our community since June 1995. Along with the Constitutional Group, we have been researching and taking part in discussions as we all work towards a cooperative resolution to this matter. We firmly believe that researching and documenting the events surrounding this issue, as well as including community involvement, will help to bring about a solution that is acceptable to everyone. A complete review of the Tribal Constitution that includes an accurate historical accounting of events surrounding the June 3, 1995 referendum is a necessary step in resolving this issue. To that extent, we have applied for and received $39,000 in funding from the Bureau of Indian Affairs for hiring two constitutional researchers to undertake this review. We’re pleased to announce that in March 2006 Darren Bonaparte and Russ Jock were hired for six months to research and gather information related to the Tribal Constitution. They are documenting the history that led to the development of the constitution, the referendum and the events related to this issue. They will share their findings with community members and conduct an education process on the history of the constitutional issue. Their overall goal is to obtain an accurate accounting of this issue. Researchers will collect and review documents that will be identified through their research that pertain to the Tribal Constitution. These will include original pieces of work and may be materials from government officials, community members, reports, court briefs, letters, and other sources. Individuals with material related to the development of the constitution are being asked to submit them to the attention of the Constitution Researchers at the Tribe’s Community Building . To a lesser extent, interviews will be done with individuals that were involved in the process of developing the constitution and documents. This interview process will allow key people to speak about the events that transpired, as well as their roles and responsibilities during that time. Prospective interviewees will be contacted prior to conducting the interview and provided with a list of potential questions. We aim to have the researcher’s review and community presentation completed by the end of August 2006. At that time, the Tribal Council and the Constitutional Group will take community feedback into account in determining future steps in resolving this issue. As always, we look forward to answering any questions and addressing any concerns that you may have. Sken:nen/Peace, Tribal Council