> On June 19, 1997 Dan David posted his autopsy of New York State's attempts
> to negotiate tax compacts with some of the Haudenosaunee nations.
>
> Unfortunately, and hopefully not deliberately, Mr. David chose the path of
> destructive rather than constructive criticism. It is easy to see how that
> could happen if he only saw the limited materials he bases his conclusions
> on. It is certainly difficult to get a complete picture of what was
> happening in Haudenosaunee territory while teaching in Toronto.
>
> There are mountains of information from the last few months. Much of it,
> like Mr. David's piece, is spin and doublespeak with the axes to grind all
> too evident. Here and there, however, the participants -- including both
> the Mohawk Anti-Tax Steering Committee and the Mohawk Nation Council of
> Chiefs -- added something positive.
>
> The positive is worth focusing discussion on.
Are you with the Committee or the Council? I'll leave it to others to decide
who's got a vested interest here, who's grinding the axe and who's spinning
things.
You still have not addressed a single one of the points raised by Mr. Johnson
and repeated by myself.
What about the lack of consultation? The secrecy of these negotiations?
Why weren't people in the communities -- as a whole -- involved and informed
before and during negotiations? Before any agreement? Before any
confrontations? The agreement affects everyone. The Council had a duty to
inform and people had a right to know.
The point I made was simple: The confrontations might have been avoided in
the first place if people had not been denied basic information and if the
democratic process had been exercised.
How can the Mohawk Nation Council of Chiefs say it was not party to these
negotiations (according to the release you posted and that I quoted) when the
very documents you've just presented show the contrary -- deep involvement by
the Council over a period of time. Why the denial?
My previous comments stand.
As for my questions... I'm not calling anybody down. I have a duty, as a
Mohawk citizen, to ask questions. As a Mohawk citizen, I demand answers.
Just answer the questions, please, and ease off the self-serving rhetoric and
personal attack.