MEET THE TRIBE: Ken Jock, Environment Director
Jan 9, 2017
(Years of Service: 29 years and 9 months)
(The Saint Regis Mohawk Tribe is proud to highlight Ken Jock as this month’s employee for our series, “Meet the Tribe.” It is our pleasure to share these tribal employee profiles and all the exceptional work they are doing on behalf of the Akwesasne community.)
The Saint Regis Mohawk Tribe’s Environment Division is at the forefront when it comes to preserving, protecting and enhancing the environment. Largely due to the Akwesasne community’s close proximity to two Superfund Sites, the tribal division is known for being one of the most advanced environmental units throughout Indian Country. Much of this is the result of efforts by a number of tribal employees, who include Ken Jock.
Ken first began working for the Tribe in April of 1987 as an Environmental Specialist for the Environment Office, with the responsibility for doing oversight of the remedial investigation being conducted of General Motor’s Industrial Landfill. Added by the Environmental Protection Agency to the Superfund National Priorities List just three years prior, it was a time when a temporary cap was being installed to prevent exposure to toxic contaminants at the dump.
When Ken started in the Environment Office it was under Health Services and included just three staff working out of a small office located on the second floor of the Tribe’s Community Building — Randy Hart, Jim Ransom and himself. They primarily dealt with water and sewer system installations and testing, as well as development of a new hazardous waste cleanup program. It has since become one of the most important and active tribal divisions in the community, with nearly 60 tribal employees.
When asked about some of his most memorable moments, Ken reflected back on a number of achievements that Environment Division has helped bring about. He noted, “I think there have been a bunch of achievements. I am proud of including the lawsuit that forced Reynolds to put air emissions scrubbers on their stacks and established the Education Scholarship Fund, the cleanup of the GM site to be completed soon, and the removal of the Hogansburg Dam; but I think the greatest one was the settlement of the Natural Resources Damage Assessment (NRDA) Lawsuit with Alcoa and GM.”
The NRDA settlement resulted in nearly $20 million in restoration funding for the protection and preservation of our natural resources and, more importantly, included more than $8 million in cultural restoration funds to restore cultural practices impacted from industrial contamination. It was the first NRDA settlement that included cultural restoration funding in Indian Country, which has contributed to the current Akwesasne Cultural Restoration Program.
For Ken, every moment at the Environment Division continues to be memorable, as he is doing what he loves, which is helping to protect our community’s environment for the next seven generations.
On behalf of the Saint Regis Mohawk Tribe, “Niawen:kówa” for all you do Ken!
# # # # #
The Saint Regis Mohawk Tribal Council is the duly elected and federally recognized government of the Saint Regis Mohawk People.