Tribe Hosts Ceremonial Kickoff Event with Eleven Native Nations and CITGO

AKWESASNE – The St. Regis Mohawk Tribe is pleased to announce that it will host a ceremonial signing event with eleven other tribes from Maine and Minnesota next week to kickoff their participation in CITGO’s home heating fuel program. The event is scheduled to take place at 5 p.m. on Tuesday, November 28, 2006 at the Tribe’s Senior Center in Akwesasne.

The St. Regis Mohawk Tribe will be joined by representatives from four tribes in Maine including: the Penobscot, Micmac, Maliseet, and Passamaquoddy tribes; and delegates from the Minnesota Chippewa Tribe and their six band member nations including the Fond du Lac, Grand Portage, Bois Forte, Leech Lake, Mille Lacs, and the White Earth Band of Ojibwe. This unprecedented gathering of Native nations from the Northeast will celebrate and honor the CITGO corporation for assisting Native communities with winter heating costs. Executives from CITGO will also be in attendance, including Felix Rodriquez, the chief executive officer of CITGO Petroleum and Venezuelan Ambassador Bernardo Alvarez.

CITGO’s home heating fuel program, which began in 2005 and included four tribes in Maine , was expanded this year. In 2006, CITGO has committed 100 million gallons of fuel to participants in the program, which includes communities in sixteen states and 163 Native communities. The tribes from the Northeast will receive enough fuel to provide heat for Native homes across Maine , Minnesota , and the North Country this winter. In addition to the twelve tribes in the northeast, 150 Alaskan Native villages are also participating in the program.

 “The Tribe is very gratified to have the opportunity to host an event such as this with eleven of our fellow Nations of the North,” said Tribal Chief James Ransom. “We will bring together the voices of twelve Native Nations to express our appreciation to CITGO for providing warm homes across our many reservations this winter.”

The ceremonial signing event will feature cultural performances by Mohawk singer Bear Fox, the Akwesasne Mohawk Women Singers, and a social dance following dinner. Seating for the dinner and event is by invitation only.

“Native people take great pride in their communities and this is a terrific opportunity for the tribes participating in the CITGO program to come together, share our culture, and honor CITGO for their efforts,” said Tribal Chief Lorraine M. White. “Whenever you have a major corporation open its arms to Native communities such as this, it provides us all with a chance to shine and for people to get to know us better.”

Fuel deliveries began on November 17 at Akwesasne and will continue throughout the winter. The home heating program ends on March 15. 

“We are already getting very positive feedback from the community,” said Tribal Chief Barbara A. Lazore. “In our culture, we express our thanks year round for what sustains us. But today, we are glad to be working with CITGO and especially thankful to them for helping us help our families with heat this winter.”

The St. Regis Mohawk Tribal Council is the duly elected and federally recognized government of the Mohawk people.