| The Akwesasne Task Force on the Environment
(ATFE) is a grassroots organization composed of
members of the Mohawk community and organizations
within Akwesasne for the purpose of collectively
addressing the environmental concerns of the Mohawk
Nation. ATFE works with other Haudenosaunee communities
and environmental organizations to promote environmental
restoration and protection based on traditional
teachings about the obligation to honor the sacred
web of life and guard it for future generations.
The numerous programs and initiatives organized
by ATFE include sustainable agriculture initiatives,
environmental education programs, wild species
restoration projects, scientific ecosystem monitoring,
waste management and clean-up efforts, and pollution
prevention projects. Sustainable, non-toxic, and
alternative agriculture projects sponsored by the
ATFE include aquaculture, orchards, and greenhouse
initiatives. As part of its efforts to secure adequate
clean-up of toxic waste sites at or near Akwesasne,
ATFE has sponsored advocacy campaigns, acquired
technical assistance from nearby universities,
and established the Kaniattarowanen’neh (Big
River) Research Institute to expand its environmental
restoration and pollution prevention programs.
Since its founding, the ATFE has secured stricter
environmental regulations, superfund clean-ups,
and scientific studies. |
| Indigenous Tradition |
United States of America
(New York) |
| 1987–Present |
Since the 1960s,
Akwesasne, which has been occupied by Mohawks
for many thousands of years, has born
the brunt of pollution and contamination from
industries in the United States along the St.
Lawrence River. Toxic substances have
contaminated the water and air, causing disproportionate
damage to the Akwesasne Mohawk Nation, which
lies downstream from these industrial locations.
Starting in the
early 1970s, Mohawks noticed the harmful effects
of toxic contamination on their food supplies,
wildlife, soil, and community members (especially
women of childbearing age and children). By the
late 1980s, some species of wildlife were contaminated
enough with polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs)
to be classified as hazardous waste. A result
of increasing
outrage on the part of Mohawks, the Akwesasne
Task Force on the Environment was founded in
1987 as
a community-based organization dedicated to addressing
the environmental problems faced by the Akwesasne
Mohawk Nation. In order to establish more control
over research data and funding allocation, ATFE
became incorporated in 1995 and is now overseen
by a Board of Directors.
|
| “The mission of the
Akwesasne Task Force on the Environment is to conserve,
preserve, protect,
and restore the environment, natural and cultural
resources within the Mohawk territory of Akwesasne
in order to promote the health and survival of
the sacred web of life for future generations and
to fulfill our responsibilities to the natural
world as our Creator instructed.” |
Huadenosaunee Environmental
Task Force
Indigenous Environmental Network |
| None Listed |
| None Listed |
| None Listed |
Akwesasne Task Force on the Environment
P.O. Box 992
via Hogansburg, New York 13655
Ph 1: 518.358.9607
Ph 2: 613.575.9967
Fax: 518.358.2857
|
