"Canada still has hundreds of outstanding land claims involving First Nations in Canada, but one of the largest involves the Mohawks of the 12,000-acre Kahnawake Reserve in Montreal. Grand Chief Mike Delisle, elected for a three-year term, sat down for an interview with Editor at Large Diane Francis recently to discuss a range of issues from the future legal settlement to the entrepreneurial activities of the Mohawks. They are known for high-altitude iron work in Manhattan, retailers of cheap booze and cigarettes and, more recently, as hosts and licensors of online gaming.

Q. What do you mean nation and aren’t you dual citizens by treaty?
A. “We’re not American citizens and we don’t want to be Canadian citizens. We are nations and communities. Some people use the name First Nations, aboriginal or Indian people. They call us bands and tribes, whatever they thought was politically correct. We are our independent nation. Canada and the U.S. only recognize us as dual citizens. We are not assimilated or acculturated and don’t want to be. If had to choose, I would be American in a minute. Our people go into the U.S. military forces not the Canadian forces. We have lots of family down there and connections because of our traditional lands and our history as ironworkers, I guess. And, by treaty, we can work on both sides of the border.”

Q. How many Mohawks are there on this reserve and in total?
A. “We have 8,000 Mohawks here and several more communities in New York and Ontario. The guesstimate is 150,000.”

Q. What is your land claim, rumored to be nearly $1 billion, and what’s the status?
A. “They call it land claim, we call it land grievance. We are looking at 25,000 acres on the south shore which includes five municipalities and parts of others. Here the issue is the seigneurs were granted [by France 300 years ago] the right [on Indian land] to rent the land and pay us. This revenue eroded away. This is about loss of rents, loss of use, loss of economic opportunity, loss of lands. It’s big. I think they’re [governments] afraid. From 1994 to 2003 we made a submission to the feds who said `we breached [agreements with Mohawks] without prejudice’. Ultimately, this means if negotiations fail we can go to court. We certainly hope to avoid using that route.”

Q. Do Mohawks pay taxes?
A. “If you work outside the reserve you play by the rules tax wise. We don’t pay taxes on activities which operate within the reserve and, by agreement, Kahnawake members don’t pay provincial taxes on many items in the local area. We have hundreds of businesses operating here. There is a misconception that we are a burden to taxpaying Canadians, which is absolutely false. The income we receive from Canada is based on natural resource income – it is their fiduciary responsibility. We were here first.”"

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Diane Francis : Mohawk land claim (The Financial Post 8/14)