Indianz.Com > News > Doug George-Kanentiio: Residential school survivors maintain our ancestral lands
Akwesasronon Shonataten:ron (Mohawk Residential School Survivors) And Our Ancestral Lands
Monday, July 25, 2022
One of the intents of the Canadian and U.S. governments in creating the boarding-residential schools was to alienate indigenous people from their ancestral lands. No other compulsion has been as powerful as the possibility of possessing land which in Europe was beyond the reach of most people, the “peasants” and “serfs” bound to a life time of servitude to their “lords” who wielded the power of the state and church in actively suppressing any attempt to challenge or even question the validity of the ruling elite.
Centuries of conflict ensued when the Indigenous nations fought to prevent the theft of their territories by a settler people gone mad when they were told that this “untamed wilderness” was theirs for the taking once the inhabitants were removed. To do that, the humans, the Onkweh, had to be demeaned. Genocide needed justification as morally and lawfully correct, hence the creation of the great myths, the lies, about those who were to be extinguished.
There should be no doubt about this cruel fact: residential schools were an extension of these acts. This was codified under the encomienda system established by the Spaniards which demanded tribute to the Roman Catholic Church and the Spanish Crown (both deriving their authority from “god”) in the form of labour or taxes. In exchange the Natives were given formal instruction in the doctrines and rituals of both entities.
Nothing will be done for us without us. No one may speak on our behalf without our express approval.

Doug George-Kanentiio, Akwesasne Mohawk, is a residential school survivor. He was given the number 4-8-2-738. He serves as the vice-president of the Hiawatha Institute for Indigenous Knowledge. He previously served as a Trustee for the National Museum of the American Indian, is a former land claims negotiator for the Mohawk Nation and is the author of numerous books and articles about the Mohawk people. He may be reached via e-mail at: Kanentiio@aol.com or by calling 315-415-7288.

Search
Filed Under
Tags
More Headlines
Native America Calling: Disparity widens for Native American life expectancy
VIDEO: ‘Sacred, protected sites’
VIDEO: ‘Frustrated by the Bureau of Indian Affairs’
Native America Calling: Preparing for paperless transactions
Sacred sites face renewed threats amid political shifts in Washington
Cronkite News: Sacred site slated for development after legal setback
Tom Cole: Supporting the ‘One Big Beautiful Bill’ in Congress
NAFOA: 5 Things You Need to Know this Week (June 16, 2025)
Chuck Hoskin: Cherokee Nation shines a spotlight on rare diseases
Native America Calling: Reversing public lands protections
AUDIO: Examining the President’s FY 2026 Budget Request for the Department of the Interior
Native America Calling: The U.S. Government’s liability for boarding school abuses
AUDIO: Legislative Hearing on H.R.411, H.R.2916, H.R.3620 & H.R.3670
Native America Calling: Cities take aim at homeless encampments
VIDEO: Rep. Jared Huffman (D-California) – H.R.3444, Tribal Self-Determination and Co-Management in Forestry Act
More Headlines
VIDEO: ‘Sacred, protected sites’
VIDEO: ‘Frustrated by the Bureau of Indian Affairs’
Native America Calling: Preparing for paperless transactions
Sacred sites face renewed threats amid political shifts in Washington
Cronkite News: Sacred site slated for development after legal setback
Tom Cole: Supporting the ‘One Big Beautiful Bill’ in Congress
NAFOA: 5 Things You Need to Know this Week (June 16, 2025)
Chuck Hoskin: Cherokee Nation shines a spotlight on rare diseases
Native America Calling: Reversing public lands protections
AUDIO: Examining the President’s FY 2026 Budget Request for the Department of the Interior
Native America Calling: The U.S. Government’s liability for boarding school abuses
AUDIO: Legislative Hearing on H.R.411, H.R.2916, H.R.3620 & H.R.3670
Native America Calling: Cities take aim at homeless encampments
VIDEO: Rep. Jared Huffman (D-California) – H.R.3444, Tribal Self-Determination and Co-Management in Forestry Act
More Headlines