MNN. Wed. July 5, 2023. This is a discussion with the men’s fire about standing up to the HCCC [Haudenosaunee Council of Chiefs] and HDI [Haudenosaunee Development Insttute] which are private incorporated companies. This is the intervention by the men’s fire against HDI and HCCC to settle all the Ontario and Canada land claims by Canada. They did not ask the people if they could do this because they know all the land is not for sale. The onkwehonweh [natural people of creation] have been given all the land of Turtle Island. The people discussed the responsibilities under the kaiaerekowa of each and every one of us.
MNN. June 20, 2023. The Kahnistensera, Mohawk Mothers of kahnawake, kanesatake, and akwesasne knew Louis karonhiaktajeh Hall, and were greatly influenced by his stories, philosophy and farsightedness. This podcast reveals many of his past, current and future insights into what lay ahead for the Mohawks.
The Mohawk Warrior Society is one of the most successful militant organizations in North America. Their predecessors were key to the defeat of the French in Quebec and the United States in the War of 1812. Today, the Warriors are best known for their role in the 1990 Oka standoff against the Canadian army. In the new book, The Mohawk Warrior Society: A Handbook on Sovereignty and Survival, the movement for the first time tells its own history.
We are joined by the editors of this unique anthology of resistance, Philippe Blouin, Matt Peterson, Malek Rasamny and Kahentinetha Rotiskarewake and also by Kwetiio and Karennatha who, along with Kahentinetha, are members of the group Kanien’kehà:ka Kanistansera, the Mohawk Mothers.
Louis will always be honored by the people. The world will never forget the warrior flag he designed. Even the Kingsmen back in the 60’s honoured Louis: Ah Louie Louie. Oh no, Said we gotta go. Yeah yeah yeah. Yeah yeah. Baby. Louie Louie. Oh baby. Said we gotta go. A fine little girl. She waitin for me. Catch a ship, across the sea. Sail that ship out all alone. Me never think how. I’ll make it home. I’ll make it home. Ah Louis Louie. No no no no. Make it home. . . .
MNN. FEB. 1, 2022. This amazing book contains new oral history by key figures of the Rotisken’rhakéhte’s revival in the 1970s, and tells the story of the Warriors’ famous flag, their armed occupation of Ganienkeh in 1974, and the role of their kaianerekowa constitution, the Great Peace, in guiding their commitment to freedom and independence.
The first collection of its kind, The Mohawk Warrior Society: A Handbook on Sovereignty and Survival uncovers a hidden history and paints a bold portrait of the spectacular experience of Kanien’kehá:ka survival and self-defense. In this anthology, Mohawk Warriors tell their own story with their own voices and serve as an example and inspiration for future generations struggling against the environmental, cultural, and social devastation cast upon the modern world. This 320-page book also has a stunning collection of over 40 full-color pages of paintings, artwork, and flyers by Louis Karoniaktajeh Hall. Learn more about the book and contributors below. Preorder your copy, check out all the rewards, and please consider choosing a “donation” option or add-on so we can send free copies to the kanien’keha:ka kahnistensera (Mohawk Mothers) who are based in Kahnawake to get them out into the world. Thanks in advance for your help getting this important book into the world!
The first collection of its kind, this anthology by members of the Mohawk Warrior Society uncovers a hidden history and paints a bold portrait of the spectacular experience of Kanien’kehá:ka survival and self-defense. Providing extensive documentation, context, and analysis, the book features foundational writings by prolific visual artist and polemicist Louis Karoniaktajeh Hall (1918–1993)—such as his landmark 1979 pamphlet, The Warrior’s Handbook, as well as selections of his pioneering artwork. This book contains new oral history by key figures of the Rotisken’rhakéhte’s revival in the 1970s, and tells the story of the Warriors’ famous flag, their armed occupation of Ganienkeh in 1974, and the role of their constitution, the Great Peace, in guiding their commitment to freedom and independence. We hear directly the story of how the Kanien’kehá:ka Longhouse became one the most militant resistance groups in North America, gaining international attention with the Oka Crisis of 1990. This auto-history of the Rotisken’rhakéhte is complemented by a Mohawk history timeline from colonization to the present, a glossary of Mohawk political philosophy, and a new map in the Kanien’kéha language. At last, the Mohawk Warriors can tell their own story with their own voices, and to serve as an example and inspiration for future generations struggling against the environmental, cultural, and social devastation cast upon the modern world.
The book is by Louis Karoniaktajeh Hall, Kahentinetha Rotiskarewake, Philippe Blouin, Matt Peterson, and Malek Rasamny.
Praise
“While many have heard of AIM & the Red Power movement of the ’60s and ’70s, most probably do not know the story of the Mohawk warriors and their influence on Indigenous struggles for land and self-determination, then and now. These include the 1974 Ganienkeh land reclamation (which still exists today as sovereign Mohawk territory), the 1990 Oka Crisis (an armed standoff that revived the fighting spirit & warrior culture of Indigenous peoples across North America), and the Warrior/Warrior Unity flag, a powerful symbol of Indigenous resistance today commonly seen at blockades & rallies. The Mohawk Warrior Society tells this history in the words of the Mohawks themselves. Comprised of interviews with some of the key participants, as well as The Warrior’s Handbook and Rebuilding the Iroquois Confederacy (both written by Louis Karoniaktajeh Hall, who also designed the Warrior/Unity flag), this book documents the important contributions Mohawk warriors have made to modern Indigenous resistance in North America.” —Gord Hill, Kwakwaka’wakw, author of 500 Years of Indigenous Resistance and The Antifa Comic Book
“This clear and stimulating book had me on edge from beginning to end. No matter who we are we can learn from these histories of the Iroquois Confederacy as related by its present-day members, lessons pertaining to non-hierarchical political organization and the care of the land. In the age of Black Lives Matter this work makes the case for autonomous life-spaces free of US or Canadian state control.” —Michael Taussig, Class of 1933 Emeritus Professor of Anthropology, Columbia University, City of New York
“This book is a window into a world seldom glimpsed by Europeans and their settler descendants. Revealed to us is the inner vision of First Nation liberation movements that emerged from forms of government within which group autonomy and individual freedom have been cherished for thousands of years. Despite inspiring the US Constitution, these confederacies were heavily repressed and forced underground. At the end of the 1960s, the Warrior Society was rekindled by seven original members who vowed to defend their people against state violence depriving them of their rights. Overnight, they were joined by hundreds throughout Mohawk lands, then thousands all over the Iroquois Confederacy, with supporters from the East Coast to the West Coast in North and South America. The Warrior Society emerged within a broader cultural renaissance that imbued traditional matrilineal cultures with new vitality. As part of the global awakening of the 1960s, they were more popularly rooted than AIM or the Black Panthers. Their Great Law provides an ecological and democratic framework for peaceful coexistence of all peoples.” —George Katsiaficas, author of The Subversion of Politics: European Autonomous Social Movements and the Decolonization of Everyday Life and The Global Imagination of 1968: Revolution and Counterrevolution
“This book takes the reader behind the masks of the Mohawk Warrior Society, exploring the deep roots of the controversial Indigenous movement that precipitated the 78-day standoff at Oka in 1990. Offering unprecedented oral histories, concept glossaries, and transcripts of internal documents, this auto-history presents the perspective of the Rotisken’rhakéte in their own words. All readers interested in contemporary Indigenous resistance to colonialism will find much of value in this unique compendium that goes beyond the well-known symbols to explain their origins and meaning.” —Jon Parmenter, Associate Professor of History at Cornell University, and author of The Edge of the Woods: Iroquoia, 1534–1701
“The Mohawk Warrior Society is an excellent collection of stories about colonialism and resistance in Turtle Island—a must read for settler allies seeking to learn and unlearn the histories of colonial violence that structure our contemporary relations. In providing vital histories of state repression and Indigenous resilience, the teachings in this volume can inform all contemporary efforts working towards decolonialization.” —Jeffrey Monaghan, Criminology and Criminal Justice, Carleton University, co-author of Policing Indigenous Movements: Dissent and the Security State
“I’ve been blessed because I came to know the Unity Flag by seeing Oka on TV when I was young. When I got married they wrapped us with the flag, it has been a part of all the spiritual ceremonies that I went to, it has been present at every blockade. Along with the Women’s Warrior Flag, it’s a symbol that’s embedded in our spirit, and it’s always been an inspiration. Louis Hall, Ganienkeh, and The Warrior’s Handbook were way ahead of their time, back when people were just starting to fight back, fighting to get their land back. The intention of The Warrior’s Handbook and Unity Flag was for all Indigenous nations throughout the hemisphere and really the whole world to unite, and first and foremost to fight. That’s why this book is so important, it’s something that Louis Hall has gifted to all red nations.” —Kanahus Freedom Manuel, Indigenous land defender, Secwepemc Women Warrior Society, Tiny House Warriors
“This is a compelling account of the political struggle for the return of indigenous thought through the words of those Kaianerehkó:wa Mohawks affiliated with the original 1970s Warrior Society. It offers a trenchant and witty critique of settler colonialism together with a body of teachings aimed at re-establishing balance and harmony. It is for the Kanien’kehá:ka, the indigenous peoples of Turtle Island, and all people troubled by the state of our relations to each other and to the beings of the land that make us as well as those who care for it.” —Eduardo Kohn, Associate Professor of Anthropology at McGill University, and author of How Forests Think
About the Contributors
Louis Karoniaktajeh Hall (1918–1993) was a prolific Kanien’kehá:a painter and writer from Kahnawake, whose work continues to inspire generations of indigenous people today. A man of all trades, Karoniaktajeh worked as a butcher, a carpenter, and a mason. Initially groomed for a life in the priesthood, Karoniaktajeh (on the edge of the sky) began his life as a devout Christian before later turning against what he saw as the fallacies of European religion, and deciding to reintegrate himself into the traditional Longhouse and help revive “the old ways.” Appointed as the Secretary of the Ganienkeh Council Fire, he became a prominent defender of indigenous sovereignty, and was instrumental in the reconstitution of the Rotisken’rhakéhte (Mohawk Warrior Society). His distinctive artwork includes the iconic Unity Flag, which still symbolizes indigenous pride across Turtle Island (North America). His legacy as a revivor and innovator of traditional Mohawk culture includes his works The Warrior’s Handbook (1979) and Rebuilding the Iroquois Confederacy (1980). Both these texts, which served during their time as a political and cultural call to arms for indigenous communities across Turtle Island, were initially printed by hand and distributed in secret.
Kahentinetha Rotiskarewake is a Kanien’kehá:ka from the Bear Clan in Kahnawà:ke. Initially working in the fashion industry, Kahentinetha went on to play a key role as speaker and writer in the indigenous resistance, a role which she has fulfilled consistently for the last six decades. During this time she witnessed and took part in numerous struggles, including the blockade of the Akwesasne border crossing in 1968. She has published several books including Mohawk Warrior Three, and has been in charge of running the Mohawk Nation News service since the Oka Crisis in 1990. She now cares for her twenty children, grandchildren, and great-grandchildren. Kahentinetha means “she who is always at the forefront.”
Philippe Blouin writes, translates, and studies political anthropology and philosophy in Tionni’tio’tià:kon (Montreal). His current PhD research at McGill University seeks to understand and share the teachings of the Tehiohate (Two Row Wampum) to build decolonial alliances. He has published essays in Liaisons, Stasis, and an afterword to George Sorel’s Reflections on Violence.
Matt Peterson is an organizer at Woodbine, an experimental space in New York City. He is the co-director of The Native and the Refugee, a multi-media documentary project on American Indian reservations and Palestinian refugee camps.
Malek Rasamny co-directed the research project The Native and the Refugee and the feature film Spaces of Exception. He is currently a doctoral candidate in the department of Social Anthropology and Ethnology at the Ecole des hautes études en sciences sociales (EHESS) in Paris.
Details
The Mohawk Warrior Society: A Handbook on Sovereignty and Survival Editors: Louis Karoniaktajeh Hall • Edited by Kahentinetha Rotiskarewake, Philippe Blouin, Matt Peterson, and Malek Rasamny Series: PM Press ISBN: 9781629639413 Published: 05/24/2022 Format: Paperback Size: 6×9 Pages: 320 Subjects: SOCIAL SCIENCE / Native American Studies • HISTORY / Indigenous Peoples of the Americas • POLITICAL SCIENCE / Colonialism & Post-Colonialism
Table of Contents
Part I. 1. An Introduction to Sovereignty and Survival Part II. An Oral History of the Warrior Society 1. Tekarontakeh 2. Kakwirakeron 3. Kanasaraken 4. Ateronhiatakon Part III. Rekindling Resistance 1. Basic Principles of the Kaianerekó:wa, by Kahentinetha (1997) 2. The Iroquoian Use of Wampum, by Ateronhiatakon (1988) 3. I Am A Warrior, by Karhiio Part IV. On Karoniaktajeh 1. Who was Karoniaktajeh?, by Kahentinetha 2. Karonhiaktajeh Remembered Part V. Karoniaktajeh’s Writings 1. Ganienkeh Manifesto (1974) 2. Warrior’s Handbook (1979) 3. Rebuilding the Iroquois Confederacy (1985) Part VI. Appendices 1. Mohawk Warrior History Timeline 2. Skakwatakwen Concept Glossary 3. Place and Peoples Names 4. Pronunciation Guide
Detail of the reversible benefit bandana
All proceeds go to Resist Line 3–Camp Migizi. The bandanas are union made and printed with the text:
Water is Life / Resist all pipelines
Land Back / Burn down settler colonialism
Designed by Mantis, a Diné Two-Spirit Tattoo Artist living and fighting alongside Migizi on the frontlines of Line 3. Working towards decolonization and land back baybeeee.
We think karonhiaktajeh Louie Hall would love the words in this song: “Louie, Louie, we gotta go. yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah!”
MNN. July 23, 2019. The Dish with One Spoon existed since time immemoriaL. onowarekeh, great turtle island, from pole to pole, ocean to ocean, is our mother. All people and life on this land are one family. We are to share in its bounty. The basis of our alliance is to strive to live in peace and harmony. At this gathering we will re-kindle our friendship and renew our alliances which were broken by the European immigrants.
This gathering is about the Dish With One Spoon Wampum Agreement, to re-ignite our protocols and nourish our relationship between our Peoples, the earth and all life.
Welcome are rateriwionteri, knowledge keepers and community members of all ages from across turtle island. We will strengthen our people to people, family to family relationships and our alliance as Original Peoples. All land, lakes, rivers and streams are there for the free use and enjoyment of all our people. Everyone is welcome to come, listen, see and participate.
This will be a powerful moment of re-kindling our fires of friendship between all peoples. Nearby hotels and camping are available.
DETAILS:
Friday July 26th, Saturday July 27th & Sunday July 28th
DAY 1 – Revisiting the History of the Alliance (Dish With One Spoon Wampum). DAY 2 – Present Day Issues DAY 3 – Re-kindling the Fire
Come and find out for yourself what is going on. Come to camp. A cooking fire is available.
WE WILL PROVIDE: Dinner Each Day, toilet facilities, Porta Potty’s, Security, Cooking Fires. Tobacco Ties
TO BRING: Feast bundles (your plates, cutlery), Tent / Camping Equip., Blankets, sleeping bag, chairs, Good Minds, Strong Hearts.
LOOKING FOR VOLUNTEERS: Please email: – Servers, Dish Washers, Child care, Singers, Beach Watch, Site Clean Up
LET’S SING: “I am me , she is she, he is he but when we put our minds together we are We the People. All children of mother earth we are one , celebrate. The power of one mind when we participate, we are We the People.
The Power is the people not the money or the war. Lets raise our voices so they can hear us, let them roar. No more killing of our own family let’s give peace a birth. We’re all in this together we the people of Mother Earth.” [thahoketoteh “We the People”]
MNN. 23 MAY, 2019. WE ARE ONE PEOPLE PLACED BY CREATION on all of TURTLE ISLAND.We are one with our land, water, air and all life. Come join us to rekindle the fire of our family for 3 days on July 26, 27 and 28.
We will discuss the renewal of our alliance. We are not a conquered people. The invaders are interfering with our peace, friendship and alliances by believing if he could divide us, he could conquer us. This is not so. We will unite our families. We will stand together to defend the birthright of our children and the future generations. As a united people we will overcome the aggression against the current attempt to totally annihilate us.
We extend the hand of friendship to all our brothers and sisters throughout turtle island, from ocean to ocean and pole to pole.. onedish2019@gmail.com
MNN. Oct. 28, 2018. Invaders are suffering from mass colonial alzheimers, ia-te-tse-ni-kon-ra-io-ten. Their brain feeds on lies. The USA [United States of Alzheimers] is eating itself from the inside. The world is finding out about the horrors they inflicted on us and our mother. It will stop. Everything has to be made right. INFO BELOW ON GATHERING AT 6 NATIONS, NOV. 19-23: https://mohawknationnews.com/blog/2018/10/04/gathering-6-nations-ohswekon-nov-19-23-2018/
“TO SURVIVE, WE MUST WORK COLLECTIVELY”.
To save themselves, the corporate world will continue to lie and try to force everyone to fear them and continue to believe their lies. Natives know creation, our mother and nature are based on total truth of our past, present and future. The truth is coming out about the mass slaughter of almost all life on turtle island.
INDIANS! WHO & WHAT ARE THEY? IA-TE-HON-TSE-NI-KON-RA-IERI, THE INVADER’S BRAIN DON’T WORK. THEY CAN’T BELIEVE WE’RE STILL HERE!
The few who know will ask what they can do to makes things right. The rest will pretend to or have alzheimers to avoid guilt, responsibility or even knowledge of their atrocities.
tio-kwan-hok-sta is the circle of the families, the love that underlies native societies. All families are combined, to always work together, never to take up arms against each other and to survive together. te-kari-wa-ien-na-wakon means that we would link arms and always hold each other.
A gathering is happening in Oswego from November 19 to 23, 2018, to talk about our concerns on kanonshononni’onwe, the way of the people of the longhouse. Come with your thoughts, questions and ask for clarity. Your presence will make the agenda.
The world is invited. Let us stand together to stop the injustice and untruth.
IENIKONRIIO, A NATURAL MIND.
Buffy Sainte Marie sings about counterbalancing environmental greed: “Got Mother Nature on a luncheon plate. They carve her up and call it real estate. Want all the resources and all of the land. They make a war over it; they blow things up for it. ”
MNN. Oct. 21, 2018. For over 50 years this National Film Board documentary film was seen by millions of people around the world. Participants regularly get comments on the blockade of the International Bridge at Akwessne. It is one of the most important milestones in which natives made a definite statement to the world and governments that we have special rights and that the Canada-U.S border does not exist for natives people. The Jay Treaty of 1794 was for the intruders only. The treaty between the British and Americans has withstood many legal challenges by governments in the United States and Canada. It affirms our natural rights as the original peoples of turtle island.
It is an international treaty between foreign nations with a provision [Article III] respecting our natural freedom and right to live freely on our land where creation placed us without any hindrance.
All natives benefitted from this action by kanionkehaka/Mohawks who stood at the Customs House on that cold day on December 20, 1968.
The rotinoshonni’onwe Iroquois have a long history of making such statements to the world. Annually in Niagara Falls the natives have marched across the Niagara River since the 1920s to remind them of our free passage and their borders do not apply to us.
Another history making event was when Paul K. Diabo of kahnawake, an ironworker, was ordered by the American government to be deported to Canada as an alien. The Supreme Court of the United States upheld the rights of natives to cross freely between Canada and the United States without hindrance or molestation.
In 1968 the world saw a small group of Mohawks and other natives make a declaration that we are not going to allow anyone to interfere with our natural rights.
This commemoration at Concordia University is a significant event. Everyone is welcome.
THIS FILM AND OTHERS WILL BE SHOWN: CINEMA POLITICA NETWORK, “YOU ARE ON INDIAN LAND”, 1455 de Maisonneuve, Hall Building, Montreal, Quebec. Monday, Oct. 22nd 2018. Arrive at 6.30 pm. 37 mins. followed by open discussion.
MNN. Oct. 4, 2018. Come, relatives, friends and allies, into the outstretched arms of our family! We will use our voices. ie-kwa-nikon-ra-ien-ta-neh, so that we will always work together for our survival. te-tia-to-ret, we will learn and understand our old words.
Your participation will make the agenda. Let us gather together to understand the way of the kanon’shonnni’onwe. Come with questions, ask for understanding and make comments. Each of us knows something.
We will make for all our children an onkwehonweh future. Come and discuss the otiokwanhoksta, the Circle of the Family, which is the rotinonshonni [Iroquois Confederacy] and our relationships.
Everyone is welcome to come and share the kaianerekowa, great peace.
Robbie Robertson and the Women of Six Nations of Grand River beckon us in “Stomp Dance”. So let’s go and have fun while we talk about our future together: “In circles we gather. Moonlight fires are kindled. Sending it back We just make it go back. Beating hearts, beating hearts, Come as one, come as one. This is Indian country. This is Indian country. Together we dance. All the first nations. There’s no chance We ever gonna give up.”
We are joined by the editors of this unique anthology of resistance, Philippe Blouin, Matt Peterson, Malek Rasamny and Kahentinetha Rotiskarewake and also by Kwetiio and Karennatha who, along with Kahentinetha, are members of the group Kanien’kehà:ka Kanistansera, the Mohawk Mothers.
