Charles Kader: New York tramples over Mohawk treaty rights

As an enrolled member of the St. Regis Mohawk Tribe (SRMT), I have been made aware of yet another dilution of scant tribal rights and the absolute failure of treaty parties to live up to the spirit of the agreements made as the absolute law of the land.

Recently, New York State Judge Jerome Richards addressed the legal appeal of a 2011 Department of Environmental Conservation (DEC) citation which had been issued to Rodger “Roger” T. Thomas of Akwesasne, also an enrolled member of the SRMT. The DEC ticket had been issued for unlawful harvesting of wildlife (out of season) while fishing on the St. Lawrence River, which happens to run through the Mohawk Reservation.

Mr. Thomas had been convicted of possessing the walleye fish which had been cultivated three days before fishing season began, in a Massena Town Court proceeding before Justice James Crandall in April 2011. The bench trial verdict was appealed by Mr. Thomas through the invocation of the 1796 Treaty between the United States and the Seven Nations of Canada, citing his tribal affiliations.