Press Release
September 4, 1996
The St. Regis Mohawk School was reclaimed by the community of Akwesasne
this morning. It is our intent that this school will be used by our
community to provide our children with a quality education.
This process is being undertaken with the full support of the three
governments in Akwesasne, the Mohawk Council of Akwesasne, the St. Regis
Mohawk Tribe and the Mohawk Nation Council of Chiefs.
The actions today are being taken because it is our responsibility as
parents to provide our children with the best education they can get.
The State of New York and the Salmon River Central School District have
had almost 30 years to address the concerns of this community.
Our goal is to offer more choices of education for the families of
Akwesasne, both a community based school in Akwesasne and the school
systems in Cornwall, Massena and Fort Covington. It is understood that
some families are satisfied with the existing school systems and it is
their right to send their children where they want to.
However, there are a great many who believe that it is time for a unified
school district in Akwesasne, a unified Board of Education and control of
the education process. The residents of Fort Covington, Bombay, Massena,
and Cornwall have that. We want no less.
The actions taken today is not a boycott of Salmon River. It is an
assertion of our rights and responsibilities as parents to educate our
children. It is important to note that the community is not part of the
Salmon River School District. Historically, the State has had two
contracts with the district to educate our children, one for the Salmon
River School and one for the St. Regis Mohawk School. The community of
Akwesasne is not allowed to be a signatory on a contract that affects our
children's future. It is time for the State to contract directly with
the Mohawk people, not with a third party.
The Salmon River Central School District leases the Mohawk School from
the State of New York for $1.00 per ten years. This morning Dr.
Singleton was given this money back. This school belongs to the Mohawk
people.
The decision to take control of this building was made yesterday at a
community meeting with over one hundred people in attendance. It was the
third community meeting held over the past week. More meetings will be
held tonight. One will be held at the school for parents to speak and
one at the HUD building for students to speak.
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