The beginnings and conflict at Ganienkeh

*(Courtesy: Ganienkeh Territory Council)*

Ganienkeh, also known as the Land of the Flint, is a Mohawk community located in Upstate New York. Belonging to the Kanien’kehá:ka nation, Ganienkeh is considered sovereign from the United States, and is notable as the first group of Indigenous people to take the land back on their own terms.

On the late night of May 13th, 1974, a group of Mohawks coming from the Kahnawake and Akwesasne reservations crossed the border and followed the St. Lawrence River looking for suitable land to reclaim. They aimed to stay within their traditional territories, which included parts of Vermont and New York, to make their claim defensible.

They came across an abandoned girl’s summer camp on Moss Lake near Old Forge, New York, and decided that it would be the perfect place to establish their new community where they could practice their traditions. While the media and surrounding hamlets refers to this event as the takeover of Moss Lake, the Kanien’kehá:ka nation calls it the repossession of Ganienkeh.

The morning after the Mohawks’ arrival, they began circulating copies of the “Ganienkeh Manifesto”, to surrounding communities. This publication stated that the Mohawk nation was reestablishing the independent state of Ganienkeh that would govern under the Great Law of the Six Nations Confederacy, asserting that it was their ancestral land and they intended to use it as a self-sustaining farming community. The manifesto emphasized that Ganienkeh would be a safe place to escape the drug and alcohol issues prevalent on the reserves and would be open to all Indigenous nations of Turtle Island.

*(Courtesy: Kanien'keháka Onkwawén:na Raotitióhkwa Language and Cultural Center)*

Kahnawa’kehró:non artist, Louis Karoniaktajeh Hall, created the Unity flag/ Ganienkeh flag to be used as a show of “Indigenous unity, nationalism, and resistance.” Beginning in Ganienkeh, the flag gained significance and was eventually used again as a sign of sovereignty in the Siege of Kanehsatake, where it become known as the Warrior flag.

These new Ganienkeh lands were under jurisdiction of the Adirondack State Park and the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation (DEC). On May 16th, 1974, the DEC reported in a press release that they would not act against this new occupation.

As the new community continued its emergence on the 612 acres of land, tensions escalated between the Mohawks and their white neighbours. On several occasions, there had been gunfights between the two groups. There was a total of three shootings by non-Indigenous, one being caused by a state troopers’ son, in which the Mohawks chose not to press charges or testify against them.

There was one occasion where they were intentionally shooting at the children of Ganienkeh. During one of the shootouts a nine-year-old girl was injured, and a young man was killed by the Mohawks. When police had attempted to enter Ganienkeh for investigations surrounding the shootings, they were denied access.

Upon this denial, the local police told the citizens of Ganienkeh that they had two hours to remove the children and women before the police would forcefully enter. However, the women decided not to return to their reserves, stating, “We won’t send our children to die of alcoholism and drugs on the reservation.” Seeing the determination of the women and children, the police decided not to enter Ganienkeh.

In November of 1974, citizens from areas such as Eagle Bay, Plattsburgh, Clinton County, and Moose Lake formed an organization called, the Concerned Persons of the Central Adirondacks (COPCA) to oppose Ganienkeh after hearing about the numerous shootings.

COPCA distributed newsletters about Ganienkeh to its members, issued press releases, and organized protests against the Mohawks. Their main objectives were to return the Moss Lake area to its former owners and the private landowners who had purchased it beforehand.

By August of 1975, a group of five non-Indigenous landowners in the Moss Lake area filed a lawsuit against the state police and the DEC for not taking any action against the Mohawks. The state supreme court ruled in favour of the Mohawks, stating that they would not be removed from the territory.

A group of non-Indigenous supporters, under the name of Rights for American Indians Now (RAIN), had set up legal and financial support to those from Ganienkeh, so that they could fight their court battles against COPCA and the state of New York. RAIN faced opposition from year-round locals in the area, and its representatives were often belittled and bullied by those who worked for COPCA.

Over the next three years, the Mohawks continued to populate the land while the New York state and Ganienkeh went back and forth negotiating land disputes. In May of 1977, a joint press release by the secretary of the state and a spokesperson from Ganienkeh stated that the Kanien’kehá:ka nation would leave the Moss Lake site by November of 1977. In exchange, they would be given two parcels of land located near Clinton County, New York. The state imposed one condition - the Mohawks must teach the surrounding communities about their culture and traditions. Thus, the Turtle Island Trust was established to hold land for the purpose of preservation of both culture and traditions, as well as creating autonomy and self-governance amongst the Mohawk nation.

Although the Mohawks were off the Moss Lake territory, they were still being hassled by surrounding entities. In March of 1990, a Vermont Army National Guard helicopter was flying around the Ganienkeh territory heading towards Massena. 3 gunshots were directed towards the helicopter in which a doctor was shot in the collarbone, forcing the pilot to make an emergency landing in a nearby field. The incident caused an 11-day standoff between the Mohawks and federal law enforcements, in which the agents wanted to come in and investigate the region. However, they eventually reached an agreement in which the agents were able to come take photos and measure out the area. The ordeal ended with there being no connection between the Mohawks and where the gunshots originated from.

After the land swap, the people of Ganienkeh were officially on their own, disconnected from the reserve and no aid from the government. They faced hardships, including years with no running water or electricity. Without money or resources, they began building infrastructures with leftover wood that they had found at Moss Lake, including their Longhouse that still stands today.

Although it was detailed in the Ganienkeh Manifesto that they strived to be a moneyless society, the community recognized the need for income to survive. The women began making arts and crafts out of donations clothes to sell or exchange for cigarettes. Once enough cases were obtained, they began to sell them not only at a low rate, but tax-free. This provided a significant source of income from surrounding populations who could get cigarettes at a reduced price.

The income generated from the cigarettes aided in building a gas station, café, bingo hall, traditional medicine and wellness center, and a school that emphasizes Kanien’kéha in the classroom setting as much as possible. What started out as a goal, was quickly achieved by those who lived in Ganienkeh.

In present times, Ganienkeh celebrates its 50th anniversary. Located on 600 acres near Altona, New York, the community remains sovereign from the United States and is instead governed by the Haudenosaunee’s Great Law of Peace or Kaianere'kó:wa. Ganienkeh still follows the main goal of its manifesto by being an alternative place to escape the downfalls of reserves. Now being home to five generations, the people of Ganienkeh strive to remain creating a safe place from all external governments and agendas, a place where Onkwehón:we can practice their traditions.