MNN. July 1, 2013. Twenty-three years ago Akwesasne was mired in controversy supposedly over gambling. The two sides were dubbed the “Antis� and the “Warriors�. The antis would invite the press in and stage shootings. They falsely claimed gangs of marauding youths with semi-automatics were roaming the streets. The Warriors pledged they would never fight against our own people.
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The real issue continues to be sovereignty and jurisdiction. New York State and the FBI have no authority to come into Mohawk sovereign territory. Â
The condoled Confederacy chiefs feared the Men who maintained the Great Law. They began a false campaign that Warriors no longer existed in Haudenosaunee society. Conflicts were ignited in our communities.Â
NY State Governor Mario Cuomo had a weekly radio show on current events. One night he spoke about the issues at Akwesasne. Two calls came in. One during the show and another afterward. A man wanted Cuomo to send in the National Guards against the Warriors. The caller asked, “What is it going to take for you to send in the National Guards?â€�Â
Cuomo replied, “Dead bodiesâ€�. Within hours two men were killed, Harold J.R. Edwards and Matthew Pike, both shot in the back. The caller accused a well-known individual and the Warriors of the murders. The Governor knew that the accused was far away from Akwesasne at the time, that the caller was lying. Â
The Warrior Society asked NY State Police to enter Akwesasne to investigate the two killings. They did not come in.Â
A well-known native reporter was arrested and jailed based on eye-witness testimony. The witness was visited by unnamed persons. He recanted his statements. The charges were stayed. There was not enough evidence. Â Â
Today no proper investigation has been done. No one has explained the strange timing of the killings. Was this a product of organized crime? If so, who were the organizers? So far the Grand Council of Onondaga has never cleared this up, which is a violation of the Great Law.  As Gene Pitney sang about gunslingers: “Everyone heard two shots ring out, a shot made Liberty fall/
The man who shot Liberty Valance, he shot Liberty Valance/He was the bravest of them all.” The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance.
Read the 2006 story attached: UNSOLVED MURDERS IN AKWESASNE REVISITED:Â http://groups.yahoo.com/group/indigenous_peoples_literature/message/18603?var=1
http://www.amazon.com/One-Nation-Under-Rick-Hornung/dp/0679412654 describes how the killing of two Mohawks during a staged fire fight in Akwesasne in 1990 led to a conflict set up to bring in the outside police forces, NYS Police, RCMP, Quebec SQ, Ontario Provincial Police, National Guard, etc. Â Â
MNN Mohawk Nation News kahentinetha2@yahoo.com Thahoketoteh@hotmail.com For more news, books, workshops, to donate and sign up for MNN newsletters, go to www.mohawknationnews.com More stories at MNN Archives. Address: Box 991, Kahnawake [Quebec, Canada] J0L 1B0  For free download of Mohawk music thahoketoteh.ws
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