Mohawk chief cites hope from D.C. talks

HOGANSBURG — The importance of a strong tribal relationship with the federal government was never more clearly illustrated for leaders like St. Regis Mohawk Tribal Chief James W. Ransom than this summer, when new border crossing regulations were introduced and a conflict on Cornwall Island shut down the international bridge for six weeks.

So when Mr. Ransom was in Washington this week to watch President Barack Obama sign a memorandum calling on all federal departments to find ways to improve cooperation with American Indian tribes on a government-to-government level, the chief was thrilled.

He called the signing, and the daylong tribal meeting with top Obama administration officials that preceded it, a "terrific jumping-off point and a welcome change" to the "anti-Indian" policies of the Bush administration.

"It's a terrific start," Mr. Ransom said. "There's a potential to build a strong relationship and we plan to be a part of that."

Mr. Ransom was one of more than 500 people from an estimated 400 American Indian tribes to attend a special presidential summit Thursday on native issues and the relationship between federal agencies and the tribes.

After speaking to the tribal representatives for nearly an hour, the president left the group in the hands of top administration officials, including secretaries or deputy secretaries from the departments of Agriculture, Labor, Homeland Security, Commerce, Energy, Housing and Urban Development, Health and Human Services and Education, as well as the attorney general's office, the Environmental Protection Agency and the Department of the Interior, which directly oversees the federal Bureau of Indian Affairs.

While having a chance to meet with the president and his top officials, as well as tribal delegations from across the country, was a once-in-a-lifetime honor, Mr. Ransom said, one of the key moments of the entire trip was the call to action Mr. Obama gave to his staff.

The memorandum Mr. Obama signed instructed the White House budget office and domestic policy council to submit their recommendations on how tribal participation in federal policy that affects Indian tribes could be improved, Mr. Ransom said. The president also called on federal agencies to provide him with a report on how they interact with tribes within the next 90 days.

Cooperative relationships between the St. Regis Mohawk Tribe and federal officials already exist with agencies such as the EPA, where there has been a partnership on pollution issues over several decades, and the Department of Homeland Security. Mr. Ransom said intergovernmental cooperation with the EPA has allowed the tribe's environment division to grow and to be more effective in protecting the interests of the community.

Back in June, when Homeland Security instituted new rules for identification required to cross the U.S.-Canadian border, Mr. Ransom and tribal officials had worked out an agreement to allow Akwesasne residents to continue using tribal ID cards until enhanced tribal IDs were made available. That move allowed the tribe to avoid forcing residents to pay for more expensive passports or enhanced state driver's licenses.

When a conflict between the Mohawk Council of Akwesasne and the Canadian Border Services Agency over the arming of border guards on Cornwall Island prompted the closure of the Seaway International Bridge, Mr. Ransom pointed to a draft tribal consultation policy under development with U.S. Homeland Security that could have helped Canadian officials avoid the standoff had a similar practice been in place there.

Mr. Ransom was given an opportunity to address the administration's panel of department heads during Thursday's session on public safety and housing. In a three-minute speech, he touched on the tribal relationship with the Federal Emergency Management Administration, which he pointed out is one place in which true government-to-government cooperation does not exist.

"Tribes can't declare an emergency or get FEMA assistance on their own; they have to go through states and state governments to do that," Mr. Ransom said. "That needs to change."

The chief also touched on the federal government's unwillingness to accept the Haudenosaunee, or Iroquois, passport as acceptable documentation, although nations such as Japan and Germany do allow the use of the document.