You are on page 1of 40

Smoke magazine

expressing The indigenous cannabis culture


$5

Signals

2017
The year Indigenous
Cannabis became
unstoppable

Indigenous Cannabis Cup coming to Tyendinaga in 2018

On the symbolism PLUS:


of the Tyendinaga
Police Badge
Longhouse meets to
The History of
discuss cannabis Indigenous Cannabis

Special Features:

Medicine wheel natural healing in Grand rivers newest indigenous jamie Kunkel of smoke signals on
0Kanasaraken on cannabis and
alderville first nation health and wellness centre the onkwehonwe cannabis as medicine
Smoke Signals Magazine fall 2017 page 1
We must all continue to fulfill our
responsibilities. For more information
about the Rotiskenrakhte and our
upcoming meetings, please talk with 613-921-8173
your family and clan. 416a Hwy 49, Tyendinaga Mohawk Territory

Paradise Gardens
Hydroponics & Headshop
Six Nations
519-445-2275
2158 ChiefswoodRd.

Home of the Serial Baker:


Meducating Cannabis patients since 1993.

Providing Onkwehon:we Medicines for the People

Green
Health for
519-865-6432

@greenhealthfor6

1143 Highway 54
Smoke Signals Magazine fall 2017 page 2
Smoke Signals Magazine fall 2017 page 3
A word from quality control

KANENHARIYO

ROB STEVENSON

JAMIE KUNKEL

Smoke Signals Magazine is a What is printed in Smoke Signals has


collaboration between three Indigenous gone through the editorial filter of these
cannabis entrepreneurs and medicine three experts, and has been edited and
people Jamie Kunkel of Smoke Signals published by Tom Keefer. Our
in Tyendinaga, Rob Stevenson of Smoke commitment with this magazine is 1.) to
Signals Seed Bank and Medicine Wheel support the rights of all people to use
Natural Healing in Alderville First cannabis as a medicine, 2.) to advocate in
Nation, and Kanenhariyo of Mohawk support of the Indigenous right and
Medicine in Six Nations and media responsibility to grow, process and
creator Tom Keefer, an editor and distribute this medicine, and 3.) to
TOM KEEFER co-founder of Real Peoples Media. support and promote the growth on the
cannabis industry in the broadest sense.
Jamie Kunkel, Rob Stevenson, Kanenhariyo, Tom Keefer - September 2017

Smoke Signals Magazine


Editorial Board Jamie Kunkel, Rob First Printing September 2017
Stevenson, Kanenhariyo. 2500 Circulation
Production: Words, pictures, editing,
and graphic design by Tom Keefer unless
For Advertising or sponsorship
otherwise specified.
enquiries email tomkeefer@gmail.com
Publisher: Tom Keefer
We are also looking for articles, images
and content ideas. Please get in touch!

Smoke Signals Magazine fall 2017 page 4


SMOKE SIGNALS
Table of Contents
4 A word from quality control
8 2017: The year that Indigenous cannabis became
unstoppable
10 Cannabis as a Medicine
Kenhteke Cannabis Association
12 A statement from the Kenhteke Cannabis Association
13 Kanasaraken Loran Thompson on cannabis.
16 The Tyendinaga Longhouse meets to discuss cannabis
18 On the Symbolism of the Tyendinaga Police badge
20 The History of Indigenous cannabis: Natives,
Indigenous Cannabis History
Explorers, and Colonists
24 Is cannabis an Aboriginal right?
31 The Smoke Signals advantage
34 This is the Future Medicine Wheel Natural Healing in
Alderville First Nation
36 Mohawk Medicine: Grand Rivers newest Indigenous
Kanasaraken on Cannabis health and wellness centre

Smoke Signals Magazine fall 2017 page 5


416a Hwy 49
9am-10pm
Everyday!

Cmon
613-921- 8173
in!

Smoke Signals Magazine fall 2017 page 6


11 Bayshore Rd. Tyendinaga
Mohawk Territory

(613) 242-5413 Open: 8am-10pm

www.peacemaker420.com
364 York rd. Tyendinaga Mohawk Territory
Smoke Signals Magazine fall 2017 page 7
Editorial

Fun Fact: Indigenous people taught Europeans how to smoke both


tobacco and cannabis.

2017: the year that


Indigenous Cannabis
became unstoppable.
It wasn't so long a go that we economy is growing at the perfect and have long since provided all manner
remember when Tyendinaga had but time, as Onkwehonwe nations dust of people with these plants as trade
one cannabis dispensary, one which was themselves o and prepare to resume goods.
under constant threat of closure by the their responsibilities in a post-Indian On his second visit to Nor th
local constabulary. Act world. America in 1535, Jacques Cartier noticed
Today there are over a dozen But don't get it twisted. The hemp growing in Indian gardens in the
d i s p e n s a r i e s i n Ty e n d i n a g a . L i ke Indigenous cannabis industry is not a as he floated up the St Lawrence river.
tobacco, there is scarcely one family on new thing by any means. This might be 400 years later, along the same stretch
the territory that does not have at least the first issue of the industrys first of river, the Montreal Gazette reported
one of its members directly benefitting magazine, but thats only because of the in 1938 that Indian Act agents were
from their involvement in the industry. longstanding repression and ripping out 3500 pounds of marijuana
In 2016, non-natives purchased over marginalization Indigenous people have plants a day from the community of
$30 million in cannabis in Tyendinaga. been subjected to by the Canadian Caughnawaga where Marijuana has
Those cannabis dollars are bringing government. been growing as long as residents can
political as well as economic With the Columbian exchange remember.
independence. The sense of economic initiated in the 1490s, Indigenous Today, along that same river,
self-confidence and growth in the people taught Europeans how to smoke Onkwehon:we people are still growing
community is palpable. The green both tobacco and the cannabis flower,

Smoke Signals Magazine fall 2017 page 8


and trading cannabis and using it for S i g n a l s f r a n c h i s e s to i n d i g e n o u s The recent announcement by the
their own purposes. medicine people (see ad below). Ontario government that they will
Long before Ontario ministers So the cat is out of the bag. handle cannabis legalization through an
announced the creation of an LCBO Indigenous people have an anity for LCBO style system of government run
organized cannabis monopoly with 150 cannabis and other forms of natural dispensaries raises the question of how
recreational stores across the Province, plant based medicine and a deep distrust the Provincial government will relate to
the Indigenous cannabis industry had of the pharmaceutical and governmental on reserve cannabis dispensaries. The
spread its wings from Tyendinaga. system that has caused such damage to Province made very clear that they
their people. They want in on what is an intend to raid and shut down any
On June 21st, 2017 National
obvious growth industry with huge illegal dispensaries as they open their
Aboriginal day Medicine Wheel legal ones.
Natural Healing opened in Alderville ramifications for everyones health and
First Nation with the tacit blessing of well being. And they want to partake in This is certainly bad news for the
Chief and Council and has shot to local this industry on their own terms and hundreds of non-native dispensaries that
prominence. There are now two have their own people benefit. are already open in non-native
dispensaries open in Six Nations, and Maybe this could be Canadas communities. But the real question os
First Nations Medicinal in Wahnapitae chance to show itself open to real and about what will happen on reservation
First Nation just held their Grand meaningful reconciliation with land. Indians are a Federal government
Opening on September 9th. Indigenous people? The beauty of it is responsibility and the Province has no
that Canada doesn't actually have to do jurisdiction on Indian reserves. And
Things are moving to a whole other
anything. It just has to respect that neither the Feds, Province or municipal
level with the upcoming Indigenous government has had any success in
Cannabis Cup, to be held on the May central tenet of the Two Row Wampum
non-interference in the way of the closing down the illegal Indigenous
18-21st long weekend in Tyendinaga. The
Indigenous system, as the canoe works t o b a c c o i n d u s t r y. S o t h e r e s n o
event will see live music, art, food,
out its own way to deal with the indication that they will do any better in
dancing, a Guinness Book of World
industry. a t te m p t i n g to i n te r f e r e w i t h t h e
Records longest peace pipe attempt, Indigenous cannabis industry.
and of course a contest to determine So far, what we are seeing is that
Turtle Islands best bud and cannabis Indigenous standards exceed those of In our view, 2017 will be known as
derivatives. their Canadian counterparts, and are the year in which the Indigenous
focussed on maintaining an ethic of Cannabis industry became unstoppable.
The event will no doubt be a
helping the people and providing This magazine is an expression of the
showcase for the state of the Indigenous strength and determination of this
cannabis industry in 2018, and a crucial medicine over making a quick profit.
This stands in sharp contrast to the rush industr y and sees its purpose in
gathering point for networking and
by government, pharmaceutical informing and strengthening the
organizing.
companies, and former narcotics ocers industry as a whole. One arrow alone
Smoke Signals in Tyendina ga, can be broken. Many arrows, bound
seeking to get rich quick in the new
owned by Jamie Kunkel a 25 year legal industry. together in unity cannot be broken.
veteran of the Indigenous cannabis
industry is now oering free Smoke

Smoke Signals is now offering a


free franchise opportunity
Smoke Signals in Tyendinaga Mohawk
Territory is putting its 25 years of
experience in the Indigenous Cannabis
Industry at the service of Indigenous
people. We are offering a free franchise
opportunity to Indigenous people that are
seeking to provide cannabis as a medicine to their people for the
right reasons. Contact dragginghorns@gmail.com for details.
Franchises include access to medicines, printed materials,
multimedia support, signage, and assistance with all business
related issues. Contact Jamie at 613-403-4864 for details.

Smoke Signals Magazine fall 2017 page 9


Cannabis as a
medicine
Kennikastosera:a outside of his store Smoke Signals in Tyendinaga Mohawk Territory.

An interview with Kennikastosera:a


Jamie Kunkel, owner of Smoke Signals in Tyendinaga.
said about hunting and fishing. If I Because I could say that I'm going
SHOULD HEALERS PROFIT could go drop o five hundred pounds to sit here and give out free medication
of fish at Bell Canada and they'll take and free knowledge all day long. Who's
FROM MEDICINE? that for payment of my phone bill, then going to feed my children while I do
If this was sixty years ago when wed be good. I still live o the land. I this? Who's going to pay my bills, my
people shouldnt be profiting from still hunt, I still fish, I still grow gardens, heat, my hydro, my insurance, the gas
farming and we were still a collective, I still carry through with all my that goes in my vehicle? In order for me
Id understand. If I still provided ceremonies, we educate our kids in this to provide those services on a daily
potatoes for everybody on this reserve w a y, b u t u n f o r t u n a t e l y i t ' s a n basis, I too have to be compensated.
so long as everybody else on this industrialized age. The services that are It's not the plant, the medicine, or the
reserve provided me with all the things I now requirements for life, cost. knowledge they're paying for, it's my
needed. Those days are gone. The So no, I cant trade and barter, but I time, my ability, the fact that while I
reality of it, it's 2017, they have can still take all of those things that I have to go through all of these steps
implemented things and forced things know how to do, living o the land, for everyone else's health and benefit, I
on us that we dont want but we now hunting, fishing, gardening, I can sell shouldnt have to do so at the cost of
have: vehicles, gas, driving license, that deer, I can sell that fish, I can sell the destruction of my own household
heat, hydro. So if I could phone Hydro those vegetables. Money didnt change or family.
One and say hey man, I owe you two my way of life, all it did was complicate A nd so therefore yes, these
thousand dollars for six months' worth things. Its just like the Canadian services or this knowledge, it's not that
of Hydro. I dont have money, but send branch of government we have here, we're charging you for it. So even here,
me your mother, send me whatever the MBQ, is the exact same thing. I when I have people that I can tell cant
people in your family that have have to take my natural way of life, put pay, or they reach in their pocket and
ailments, I'll do my best to fix, help, or a mediator in the middle to accomplish they're short, I dont turn that patient
alleviate their ailments, and we're even my goal at the end. That being said, away. Here, take it at that price. Here,
Steven on the Hydro bill. that's where the customer comes in. I if you dont have it, catch me next
Those days are gone, so I have to have to take my natural ability to hunt, time. So the critics can assume that
take my knowledge, my services that I fish, grow, or gather foods, or take the it's all about the money, but that's an
provide, turn them into what they now knowledge that I know, I have to turn accusation that we're cold people.
have as the Canadian dollar so that I that into the Canadian dollar so that I Somebody comes here with arthritis or
can pay these other companies for the can pay those entities. aching pain, or whatever it may be, do
products or services that we get in life. you think that over the five, ten, fifteen,
It boils down to the same thing like I twenty dollars that they dont have, I'm
Smoke Signals Magazine fall 2017 page 10
going to let them leave here and spend
days miserable, uncomfortable, or in
pain?
I accept the fact that hey, you know
what, I might not be able to drive to
town, grab a coee for myself and
McDonald's. I sit my ass home, make
my own damn tea and a baloney
sandwich because I give the customer
what they needed and because I gave
the customer what they needed, that
didnt put twenty, thirty, forty dollars in
my pocket. But while I'm eating the
baloney sandwich and drinking the
homemade tea, I feel ten times better
about myself that I didnt send that
person away unhealthy or to have to
deal with a night's worth of pain or
discomfort. Kennikastosera:a has been involved in the cannabis industry for the past 25 years. He
is currently building an addition to his store.

WHAT ABOUT THE kids are enjoying themselves is not bad. you it's going to stop you from
If they can boil everything else back to sneezing, you're absolutely right, it
FENTANYL DANGER? one sick, twisted individual, why are stops you from sneezing. But they
Theres this big discussion about they blaming the plant, why are they neglected to tell you that it's going to
fentanyl laced pot. Well fentanyl blaming the industry? eat a hole in your stomach, or that there
doesnt grow on pot, so considering pot It really boils down to it's not the are cancerous agents in it.
is one hundred percent healthy, I dont plant's fault, it's not the industry's fault, Theyve neglected while telling you
see what the two have to do with it's not the patient's fault, and it's not that hey, it'll do this one good thing for
eachother. Like I said, I watch you eat the provider's fault. If you want to go you. They neglected to tell you the 25
an apple every night, and an apple is and actually provide community safety, bad things it will do for you. So youve
one hundred percent healthy. You dont go find those people that are doing bad accepted that, I dont know, maybe all
turn around and deem an apple things and deal with them. Go find those 25 side eects are worth not
unhealthy or bad for public safety or put those people that are doing specific having a runny nose, maybe getting
out that there's safety concerns when actions with the purpose of harming cancer twenty years down the road, is
eating apples because some sick people or the community. that worth not having a runny nose on a
individual decided to put razorblades in Tuesday afternoon in the middle of
the apple. The plant's not bad, the summer? That's a bad choice, when
apple's not bad. It doesnt take away PHARMACEUTICALS VS. there are natural medicinal ways. And
from any of the health benefits. The fact I'm not just speaking about marijuana,
is that its one sick, twisted individual NATURAL MEDICINE but period, there is a natural plant
that put that needle in the apple. I cant believe it when I hear so remedy for everything out there that
When it comes to the cannabis called traditional people say that they exists. There is no need for Bayer,
industry, it's the exact same thing. agree more with pharmaceuticals than Pfizer, any of the big pharma companies
Marijuana does not grow fentanyl. It natural plant remedies. It absolutely whatsoever. They mask disorders, make
doesnt happen. It cant accidentally b a e s m e . T h i s p e r s o n s o n l y them bearable for the human being
end up on there. That happens from justification was, oh it goes through a because that's what's profitable. None
one sick, twisted individual who does science lab and there's quality control of those companies, if you look into
that to that plant, and then tries to push and there's a process for this and that, them, oer cures for anything. They
it out into the world, just like the and I've seen the beneficial outcomes oer masks. This will alleviate, this will
predator on Halloween that's putting of these pharmaceuticals. Well yeah, help you get through it, this will make it
bad things in kids' candy. Candy's not you have seen the beneficial outcomes less of an annoyance.
bad, Halloween's not bad, the fact that because when I give you a pill and tell

of the people, for the people,


by the people!
www.realpeoples.media
Smoke Signals Magazine fall 2017 page 11
Runners from the Kenhteke Cannabis Association deliver statement to Tyendinaga Police.

A statement from the Kenhteke


Cannabis Association
We are Onkwehon:we people As Onkwehon:we people we have Any attempt to close down our
who provide access to cannabis an intrinsic right to use natural operations will be treated as a
products and other natural medicines to heal ourselves, and threat to our livelihood and an
m e d i c i n e s i n Ty e n d i n a g a an intrinsic responsibility to interference in our way of life
Mohawk Territory. provide medicine to all those who and will be dealt with
need it. accordingly.
We are Onkwehon:we and as
such we uphold our peoples We do not need permission to We are willing to meet and
traditional decision making uphold our responsibilities to be council with those who wish to
process through our Clans, who we are. We have a process discuss this matter further with
Nation, and Confederacy. for making decisions and us.
resolving our differences through
We d o n o t r e c o g n i z e t h e our clans and traditional system. The Kenhteke Cannabis Council
authority or jurisdiction of is made up of the following businesses:
foreign entities such as the We w i l l n o t t o l e r a t e t h e
Tyendinaga Police or the Elected Tyendinaga Police or the Elected Smoke Signals
Band Council on our lands, Band Council encroaching on Field of Dreams
culture, economy, and politics. our rights and responsibilities Buddies Apothecary
and trying to usurp the authority Peacemaker 420
Cannabis is a healing plant and of our clans and decision making The Weed Store
we are providing it as a medicine structures. For Ever Green
Big Greens
for people who need it. Our
activities heal people and do not Rotorri Distribution
cause them harm. Smoke on the Water
Sweetgrass Farms
Released on July 17, 2017. For more information contact realpeoplesmedia@gmail.com
Smoke Signals Magazine fall 2017 page 12
Cannabis and
Onkwehon:we politics
An interview with
Kanasaraken Loran
Thompson
Kanansaraken Loran Thompson is a Kanienkehaka
(Mohawk) elder who has devoted his life to the
well being of his people. This interview was
conducted by Tom Keefer of Real Peoples Media
and can be listened to in its original audio at
interview is available at
http://bit.ly/2wX8UHw.
of our people.
ON THE CANNABIS Both the tobacco
and cannabis
INDUSTRY industries are very
Concerning those cannabis stores l e g i t i m a t e
that are open in Tyendinaga. What opportunities. We
umbrella are they going to fall under, have the right on Kanasaraken Loran Thompson is from Akwesasne.
and who is going to come to their aid our side as natural
if the American or Canadian peoples of this
government leans up against them? world, with the total sovereignty still
intact to do whatever we have to do to
BUSINESS PEOPLE BE
They need to have a political entity
backing them up. survive. We have to eat too, in this CAREFUL
world. So we have the right to survive
So what I would recommend is Be very careful, because the white
as we see fit.
that they get that from a long time man is who he said he was when he
governing entity that's aliated with We also have a responsibility to first got there, and he's still that way.
the longhouse, the Kayenere:kowa, grow our own politics, our own But he has changed us in two to three
the Great Law. And those people need people, our own sovereign country. As hundred years. I'm communicating to
to come in session and recognize an Onkwehon:we person you have you right now in a language that is not
what's in front of them, that these that responsibility as a person in that mine and is not rooted to this land.
people that are in front of them have canoe. And you have a responsibility And in court, they can use that against
all the right in the world to do what to paddle just like everybody else. you because you are not who you are
they're doing. So you stay in the canoe, you're saying you are. You're assimilated.
But if they hurt somebody, then paddling your own canoe down your That's why my father always said,
the people have to get involved in it own river, and you have to be loyal " Yo u g o t o c o u r t , y o u g o t o
because they're doing something to and honest like our way says, to your negotiation someplace, you use your
hurt people. Now they have to really own kind in your own land. You're language. I dont care how long it
look at it, but until then, they have the developing and strengthening the takes, you speak through an
right to do what they are doing. But coming generations by showing the interpreter. Always stick to your
they need to get a document from the proper way to do things. And that's interpreter. And dont ever give up."
traditional government, the longhouse the only thing were looking at here as But business people have to be
government, under the Great Law, traditional people. But every time we careful. Dont let the money outweigh
recognizing their right to do what they try to get up to do something, it is the the importance of our total
are doing. And that needs to be people in the ship that are used by the sovereignty. Total sovereignty is
spelled out. master to bring us into court. And what's really important, and that is
then we wind up paying a lot of what they have to protect. We have all
But that governing entity needs to
money in their court. of the rights in the world to do
understand what they are doing
clearly; that it's all above board and anything under the sun. Anything,
it's all for the betterment of the health except we have to be answerable to

Smoke Signals Magazine fall 2017 page 13


Total sovereignty is what's really important, We have
all of the rights in the world to do anything under the
sun. Anything, except we have to be answerable to
whats right and wrong. If they keep it a medicine and
it's not abused, it's kept a medicine, it's okay.
-Kanasaraken

whats right and wrong. If they keep it shorelines and the ocean is full is this helm. They make the money, they
a medicine and it's not abused, it's stu that animals are eating or print the money, and they determine
kept a medicine, it's okay. Let me give swallowing and they're dying from it. which politician is going to make that
an example. But you take hemp and you can make money. And your politicians are
a cup, you can make a dish, you can supposed to be protecting your rights,
make all kinds of working tools with it. not taking them away from you, so
TREAT IT LIKE A MEDICINE You can build a house with it, you can that corporations can make more and
Out west, they have something build a car with it, you can make all take more of your natural resources.
called a sweat lodge. And back in the kinds of things. And when youre done And that's what's happening in this
late sixties, there was a group of with it, it biodegrades. country, North America, they're raping
people that started a new Native everything that's in this country and
American religion. They started a everything is getting sick.
movement, using peyote. Old people DONT TRUST THE That's against the wishes or the
didnt agree with the manner the
young people were using the peyote.
CORPORATIONS betterment of the population that
they're supposed to be protecting, but
The trouble with this country is they're protecting corporate interests
What the old people said is "Our
that corporations are the ones at the instead. They should be backing up
people use peyote as a vision quest.
And they used it maybe every person that wants to
once, maybe twice in a put animals in place, that
lifetime." Theyre saying wants a garden. They
now people go in there should be backing up that
every day of the week and person, not the
use that stu. If they haven't multi-national corporations
had a vision by now, there's that are filling the children's
something wrong. And they food with dope and food
should figure that out. I colouring and pesticides.
mean, they could go on They dont want to let you
looking for a vision, but use natural medicines, they
there's something seriously want you to use the drugs
wrong with what they're that they are making.
doing. So we have to look People have to remember,
at that and make sure that corporations are not
that doesnt happen to the human beings, they're not
new opportunities that are alive. They dont eat, they
coming in front of us. dont sleep. They're an
The cannabis plant can invention for taking over
be used in areas where the world.
plastics are used, where
Styrofoam is used today,
which are filling up the
d u m p s , fi l l i n g u p t h e

Smoke Signals Magazine fall 2017 page 14


Get your
$1499 Trudeau Special
We provide a specially built medical grade grow

Grow Closet!
closet 4 feet wide, 2 feet wide and 6.5 feet tall.

Our custom made medical grade grow closet


is designed to grow four plants at a
Maximum height of one meter high as per the
provisions of Trudeaus Cannabis Act. Be
ready to go when legalization hits July 1st
Steel frame. high quality
Grow your own supply! get construction. LED Metal
Halite MH and HPS light
a foot into the legal system included with four
cannabis industry Today! four foot light bars.
everything you need to
grow!

value of Your first crop


now Available can equal cost of
1-403-276-5156 purchase!
mark@quickgrow.com
Smoke Signals Magazine fall 2017 QuickGrow page 15
Tyendinaga Longhouse
meets to discuss cannabis
Over 60 people gathered in the announcement to be made next year the said Chiefs, Warriors, Women and
L o n g h o u s e i n Ty e n d i n a g a o n that it will be legalized. People of the said Six Nations.
Wednesday, July 19th to discuss the Maracle added, I dont care who Many of the store owners who
issue of cannabis use and sales in the smokes marijuana, I just cant have were present at the meeting are
territory. dispensaries selling it openly. He also traditional people belonging to clans
The meeting was called after Ron bluntly stated, We uphold Canadian who have never surrendered their
Maracle, the Chief of Police for a force laws. And Canadian laws apply in this sovereignty. They were not impressed
jointly paid for by the OPP and elected community. with Maracles ultimatum.
Band Council, interrupted a meeting of Niwahkwaritaa, himself a member
the Kenhteke Cannabis Association at of a traditional medicine society,
Big Greens dispensary on Highway 49 suggested that the arrival of outside
on Monday morning. police forces arriving strapped with
The Association was in the midst glocks to a meeting of traditional
of drafting a public statement in Kanyenkehaka (Mohawk) people to
response to claims made by Maracle demand that they stop providing a
that he was going to shut down the plant based medicine, was a colonial
booming cannabis industr y in throwback.
Tyendinaga, when Police Chief Maracle Its just like medicine societies
and fellow officer Nathan Leland once upon a time ago. Remember when
entered the store and demanded to they would throw people in jail and
meet the individual owners of the take all their Hadui masks and take all
stores one on one. their traditional medicines away? And it
Maracle and Leland came into the had to go underground to survive. Its
store armed, something that store only in the last few years that its come
owner Rathahine objected to. Simply back into the open. In a sense this is
by the fact of showing up with a gun the same thing. Its an assertion of their
and making demands, you take away laws on us.
our choices, Rathahine said. After the nearly two hour meeting
Niwahkwaritaa of the Bear Clan, with Ron Maracle on Monday morning,
who was also there for the meeting, members of the association approached
agreed. He believes that Maracle and the Longhouse. They requested the
his officers are an institution of an holding of a meeting to address the
outside colonial force who are issue of cannabis in the community.
operating on Mohawk territory without
jurisdiction.
Fu r t h e r m o r e , w h y g o t o a
negotiation strapped? questioned Tyendinaga Police Chief Ron Maracle. QUESTIONS PUT TO THE
Ni w a h k w a r i t a a . So called Photo by Jason Miller.
Peacekeepers should be ea sing CLANS AT LONGHOUSE
stresses and conflicts, not making new Maracles statement that Canadian
ones he added. A meeting was already laws apply in Tyendinaga is at odds with
At the Longhouse meeting on
underway, and they came in and said how Kanyenkehaka (Mohawk) people
Wednesday night, members of the
that people needed to separate in order see themselves, since they never signed
Kenhteke Cannabis Association were
to talk to them. away their lands, freedoms or
asked what they wanted from the
responsibilities, and have been allies to
Maracle, in an audio recording of assembled clans. The request from the
the British Crown but never its
t h e e n co u n te r o b t a i n e d b y Re a l association members was that the clans
subjects.
Peoples Media, stated that the risks to consider several related issues.
public health and safety were such The Simcoe deed of 1793
Firstly, do you agree that cannabis
that all the dispensaries need to shut specifically states that the Chiefs,
is a medicine?
down. Maracle demanded that store Warriors, Women and People of the
owners take down their signs displaying said Six Nations and their Heirs are to S e c o n d l y, d o y o u a g r e e t h a t
enjoy the full and entire possession, cannabis is our medicine?
the cannabis leaf, and close their doors.
use, benefit, and advantage of the said Thirdly, do you agree that we have
Maracle stated that as it stands
District or Territory of Land to be held a responsibility to provide medicine to
right now, all these dispensaries are
and enjoyed by them in the most free people who need it?
selling marijuana and other stu that is
and ample manner and according to the The questions were put to the
technically illegal regardless of the
several Customs and usages by them assembled people, and people consulted

Smoke Signals Magazine fall 2017 page 16


in their clans as to how to proceed. A Ill take my store sign down. But if
preliminary discussion was held on the [people in need of medicine] still come
issue, and following Longhouse and knock on my door, I will not turn
procedure, the matters were put into them away. To do that is questioning me
the well so that the people could begin as a person, who I am, my way of life,
discussing the issue in their families and my culture, my constitution nobody
clans. has that right.
Tesakononwaratons, one of the
runners for the Kenhteke Cannabis
Association, offered the following
PATIENCE AND RESPECT
assessment on the evening: FOR TRADITIONAL PROCESS
From my personal perspective,
The holding of this meeting and the
tonight was a very productive beginning
posing of these questions to the nine
of a counselling procedure. The biggest Tesakononwaratons is one of the runners clan families that make up the Mohawk
benefit is that the people convened for the Kenhteke Cannabis Association. nation in Tyendina ga has began a
themselves and looked at an intense
process of internal discussion making
issue.
according to traditional protocols.
Tesakononwaratons went on to
note: I was so proud tonight of the
if people in need of However, traditional people are
people in that house because of three medicine still come concerned that outside forces like the
Tyendinaga police will not respect their
things: 1.) we all set our personal issues
aside and looked at the big picture, 2.)
and knock on my internal decision making structure.
the number of people that showed up door, I will not turn As Tesakononwaratons put it,
generally, during that time when our
that were newcomers that felt
comfortable debating an issue of that them away. To do that process is being looked at by the people,
patience becomes an issue. Sometimes
importance, and 3) that were actually
taking the time to look at what we can
is questioning me as a external forces get impatient with how
do to better ourselves as a people. Them person, who I am, my long our true democratic process can
take. Especially in todays society when
three things alone are a success.
way of life, my theres social differences that were
trying to deal with as discussed by the
culture, my Truth and Reconciliation commission.
constitution nobody Tesakononwaratons went on to
has that right. express concern about possible action
that might be taken by police: In any
- Kennikastosera:a other circumstance, the external forces
usually takes this time to attack us, to
disrupt our decision making abilities. I
the people that raised me, educated me, know theres men, women, and children
taught me how to conduct myself. amongst the community who are very
nervous that theyre going to use the
On the topic of regulations and
same tactic that theyve always used
g u i d e l i n e s f o r t h e i n d u s t r y,
before.
Kennikastosera:a indicated that he
wo u l d f o l l o w w h a te v e r r u l e s a n d So it raises a side issue that the
procedures a greed to through the men need to discuss about protection of
longhouse procedure. the peoples voice in counsel ling
procedures.
If they want to create a traditional
Kennikastosera:a has been involved in body rules, regulations and a process Despite the holding of the meeting
the cannabis industry for the past 25 for distribution, Ill gladly follow those and the initiation of the longhouse
years. He is the owner of Smoke Signals. rules. If they make an agreement or process, police chief Maracle has
come to the conclusion, not at this continued to do the rounds of cannabis
time, Ill take the open sign down and stores on the territor y and has
Kennikastosera:a, the owner of threatened police raids on any stores
Smoke Signals, has been providing that stays open. According to reports,
cannabis to members of the community Maracle has succeeded in convincing
for the past 25 years. He gave his two dispensaries not aliated with the
thoughts on the matter: Kenhteke Cannabis Association to close
I am operating within the confines their doors.
of my own law, constitution, and way of As for the rest of the members of
life. It boils down to who I am as a the Association, they have renewed
Mohawk, Bear Clan male. That is their determination to stay open and
literally whats on the table. I have no armed their responsibilities to provide
problem being judged by the people in plant based natural medicines to those
that longhouse, those are my people. in need.
That is my governing body. Those are

Smoke Signals Magazine fall 2017 page 17


On the symbolism of the
Tyendinaga Police badge
On Jul y 19 of 2017, The white roots
Tyendinaga Police Chief represent the spreading
Ron Maracle showed up in and reaching out of the
person and armed to Kayenere:kowa to all
demand that Kanyenkehaka four corners of the
( Mo h a w k ) d i s p e n s a r i e s world. The great white
providing cannabis to a pine tree is a metaphor
primarily non-native for this ever-growing
clientele, immediately system of peace and
shutter their doors. harmony. On the top of
Maracle represents a the tree is the eagle,
policing a gency jointl y always watching out and
funded by the elected band ready to screech a
council (a department of warning should danger
the Canadian federal approach. The whole of
government) and the the yellow circle in the
Ontario Provincial Police, a centre of the badge is a
Provincial institution. The representation of the
people whose economic Iroquois Confederacy
activity Maracle is trying to and its people and way
shut down are of life.
Onkwehon:we people who The yellow is a symbol
have lived since time of sun light, and a
immemorial in their own representation of the
homeland, and who are total geographical
making a living by growing territor y of the
and selling a plant on their Onkwehon:we. The
lands. E a s te r n d o o r o f t h e
Maracle has insisted confederacy is where the
that he "is a man of his sun rises, and the
word" and says that he will Western door is where
kick doors down if the the sun sets.
The official police badge of the Tyendinaga Police
owners don't shut down their The next thing we see is
businesses and comply with united together by the Kayenere:kowa, a chain and a Two Row
Canadian law. The dispensary owners or Great Peace. Wampum belt surrounding the symbol
have stated they will remain open to of the Confederacy. Iroquois people put
provide medicine to their patients, and Were Maracle the employee of an a great deal of significance in such
have no intention of caving to what outside police agency and someone who symbolism and barriers or guardians
they see as foreign and illegitimate has not been given any authority by the protecting the inside from the outside.
police pressure. The Longhouse for its people of the Longhouse to follow the
instructions printed on his own badge, The Two Row Wampum is one of
part has met and initiated a decision t h e o l d e s t s y m b o l s i n Ir o q u o i s
making process concerning cannabis in he might discover an alternative way of
cosmology and represents two separate
the territory that dispensary owners say ensuring a mutually beneficial outcome
paths operating in relationship to each
they will respect. for all involved.
other but never over whelming or
Tensions are high on all sides, and So let's take look at the Tyendinaga interfering in each others way. The
should police decide to raid stores while Police logo and what it means. white rows between these purple
the traditional decision making process In the centre of the emblem is the entities are symbolized by the concepts
is underway, there is every possibility tree of peace with an eagle on top and of peace, friendship and respect. This is
that serious conflict will erupt. four white roots. This emblem the fundamental agreement that
The focus of this stor y is to represents the political system of the Iroquoian people made with European
examine the Tyendinaga police logo Kayenere:kowa, under which people newcomers.
which Ron Maracle and his officers from many Indigenous nations take The second symbol represents the
carry on their uniforms. The logo is rich shelter. The origins of this powerful Silver Covenant Chain a formal
in symbolism, and by attaching it to Indigenous confederacy sprang from the agreement between the Mohawks and
their uniforms, it would appear to mind of the Peacemaker an Iroquoian the British crown. This agreement dates
promise a cer tain ty pe of police man born within what is now the to 1710 and was rearmed as recently as
b e h a v i o u r i n r e l a t i o n s h i p to t h e community of Tyendinaga on the Bay of 2010 when the Queen herself gave the
confederacy of Onkwehonwe nations Quinte. Tyendinaga and Six Nations Mohawks a
Smoke Signals Magazine fall 2017 page 18
gift of silver hand bells engraved with great deal of weight in all human Making decisions about the usages
t h e wo r d s : " T h e S i l v e r C h a i n o f societies. Regardless of whether you of cannabis within Onkwehon:we
Friendship 1710-2010." speak French, English, or Kayen:keha, if territory is a matter for the political
Iroquois people commonly used the you understand the original agreements systems of those societies to resolve, as
metaphor of the rope or chain when made upon this land represented by indeed they are doing by meeting to
making relationships with other these symbols, you know exactly what discuss this issue.
n a t i o n s . Wi t h t h e D u t c h , t h e i r the people who are wearing this badge According to his own badge of
relationship was made with a hemp rope are purporting to uphold. oce, Police Chief Maracle is violating
which eventually frayed and broke. The pictogram signifies the treaties made with the
With the French the relationship was an responsibilities and relationships in a Onkwehon:we through his hea vy
iron chain which was strong but rusted. precise and concise way, and thereby handed and one sided threat to shut
With the British, the chain was made of also provides an answer for the question down Indigenous cannabis dispensaries.
silver and had to be routinely polished of how police should react to the The people of the ship have no
so the relationship would not become supposed public safety concerns business with what the people of the
tarnished. relating to the cannabis industry in canoe are doing on their own land,
According to the Silver Covenant unless it is directly harming them. And
Chain agreement, if either party had an m o r e o v e r, i f t h e y d o h a v e s u c h
issue with the other, they could pull on Pictograms such as concerns, rather than sending a police
the chain to get the attention of the
other party. The two groups can then
this badge carry a great chief in to make threats, the more
appropriate thing is to use political
counsel, with the group that is pulling deal of weight in all mechanisms such as the Silver Covenant
the chain organizing a feast and an chain to resolve diplomatic issues on a
offering gifts corresponding to the
human societies. nation to nation basis.
significance of the issue to be discussed. Regardless of whether This is indeed something that
This process was called polishing the
covenant chain. you speak French, prime minister Justin Trudeau was
elected with a mandate to do, and
Lastly, the logo shows two figures English, or continually repeats as a talking point.
armed with rifles standing with their Indeed, just the other day, the Federal
backs to each other but on opposite
Kayen:keha, if you government reiterated its desire to re-
sides of the Two Row Wampum. The understand the original commit to a renewed nation-to-nation,
figure on the left is wearing a Gustowa g o v e r n m e n t- t o - g o v e r n m e n t a n d
a feather headdress with the three agreements In u i t- C r o w n r e l a t i o n s h i p w i t h
feathers identifying the wearer as a
Mohawk. He is a member of the
represented by these Indigenous peoples one based on
recognition of rights, respect, and
Rotiskenrakete those who carry the symbols, you know partnership.
burden of peace the men of fighting
age who belong to the longhouse (often
exactly what the So why is Police Chief Maracle not
upholding the honour of the crown and
called in English translation the Warrior people who are wearing the wishes of the Prime Minister of
Society). The other figure represents a
non-native person similarly armed with this badge are Canada?
The mechanisms to initiate such
a long gun an armed guard for the purporting to uphold. nation to nation relationships may
Crown.
begin with the armed forces of the
These two armed figures are not in Crown tugging on the chain to alert the
Tyendinaga.
a situation of conflict with each other. Rotiskenrakete of an issue that has
Their guns point away from each other, The badge shows that the two
come up. But that is not the same as
and they are both protecting the system parties the Rotiskenrakete and the
entering the circle of the
of the Confederacy. They are bound by armed guards of the Crown have
Kayenere:kowa and making threats to
t h e a g r e e m e n t o f t h e Tw o Ro w a g r e e d t o d e f e n d t h e Ir o q u o i s
p e o p l e s w a y o f l i f e . T h e e l d e r
Wampum as friends, and the Silver Confederacy together and to protect it
Kanasaraken has explained how the
Covenant Chain functions as their by upholding the Two Row and Silver
Rotiskenrakete are a crucial component
dispute resolution mechanism. Covenant chain agreements.
of initiating Onkwehonwe diplomacy
The figures are of equal size and The concept that the armed forces and international relations, but
similarly armed. Neither one enjoys a of the crown could walk into the circle ultimately the matter needs to come to
monopoly on the tools of violence. o f t h e K a y e n e r e : ko w a w h e r e the Longhouse people as a whole for
Onkwehon:we people are peacefully discussion, which is where it currently
The final aspect of the badge is the
engaged in their own economic aairs is.
yellow line around the image and the
a n d m a ke u n i l a t e r a l d e m a n d s i s
words Tyendinaga Police. By axing Even after the Longhouse began its
preposterous. Chief Maracle has been
their name in this way, the Tyendinaga deliberations, Police Chief Maracle has
given no sanction by the Rotiskenrakete
Police are identifying with and taking continued to add pressure on dispensary
or the Confederacy itself to act in this
responsibility for upholding the symbols owners to shut down. Perhaps it is time
manner. He is a public servant of the
and relationships described in the for he and his ocers to reconsider
British Crown and its Canadian
badge. their choice of action, or cease wearing
subsidiary.
It i s i m p o r t a n t to n o te t h a t a badge whose very meaning they are
pictograms such as this badge carry a dishonouring.

Smoke Signals Magazine fall 2017 page 19


The History of Indigenous
Cannabis:

Natives, Explorers,
and Colonists
Artistic rendering of French explorer Jacques Cartier meeting with Onkwehon:we people in Hochelaga (now Montreal) in 1535.
BY ROWAN ROBINSON This text is excerpted from pages 124-129 of The Great Book of Hemp (1996).

The Vikings depended on hemp for This fiber has been identified as that of not eager to grow hemp, although the
their sails and rope, and they probably the Cannabis sativa, or wild hemp. seed is excellent food. But the European
carried hemp seed with them and Nearly two millennia after the age motherland wanted hemp, and in
planted it when they visited North of the Mound Builders, European ser vice to France Quebec colony
America about a thousand years ago. explorers seemed reassured by meeting minister Jean Talon simply confiscated
Sailors usually carried supplies of seeds up with a familiar plant upon their all the thread the colonists possessed
with them to provide the necessities of arrival in an alien new world. The and forced them to buy it back from
life in case of Florentine Giovanni da Verrazano wrote h i m w i t h h e m p . He l o a n e d t h e
shipwreck.Cannabiswas already in thoughtfully of the natives encountered necessary seed to the farmers who were
North America in prehistoric times, during a French expedition to Virginia required to reimburse Talon with fresh
possibly brought from China by in 1524: We found those folkes to be hemp seed from their harvest.
explorers, drifting shipwrecks, and birds more white than those that we found Hemp cultivation was deemed
migrating across the Bering Strait to the before, being clad with certain leaves mandatory for English colonists as well.
west coast of the continent. that hang on boughs of trees, which The Puritans grew hemp at Jamestown
Some of the earliest evidence of they sewe together with threds of wilde in keeping with their 1607 contract with
hemp in North America is associated hemp. the Virginia Company. Virginia governor
with the ancient Mound Builders of the T h e Fr e n c h e x p l o r e r Ja c q u e s Sir Thomas Dale brought with him
Great Lakes and Mississippi Valley. Cartier also reported seeing wild hemp instr uctions to plant a communal
Hu n d r e d s o f c l a y p i p e s , s o m e during each of his three journeys to garden in which to experiment with
co n t a i n i n g c a n n a b i s r e s i d u e a n d Canada between 1535 and 1541. His last hemp and flax. By 1616, the Puritans
wrapped in hemp cloth, were found in report enthused that the land groweth were able to claim of their flax and that
the so-called Death Mask mound of the full of Hempe which groweth of it selfe, there was none better in England or
Hopewell Mound Builders, who lived which is as good as possibly may be Holland.
about 400B.C.Ein modern Ohio. seene, and as strong. Later, Samuel de But however vital hemp and flax
In his 1891 study,Prehistoric Textile Champlain mentioned in 1605 that the w e r e t o t h e e c o n o m y, c o l o n i s t s
Art of Eastern United States, Smithsonian natives used wild hemp to tie their preferred to grow tobacco. Tobacco
Institute ethnologist W.H. Holmes bone fishhooks. prices were almost always higher,
describes the recovery of large pieces of The first European colonists used supported by Europeans already hooked
hemp fabric at one site in Morgan wild hemp when they arrived in on nicotine, and tobacco was less
County, Tennessee: the friends of the America. There was not enough of it, l a b o r- i n t e n s i v e . Despite the
dead deposited with the body not only however, and labor was in short supply overwhelming demand for hemp, only
the fabrics worn during life but a too. Food crops, especially corn, were when the tobacco market went through
number of skeins of the fiber from the first priority, and the colonists were periodic crashes would tobacco farmers
which the fabrics were probably made. rediscover hemp, and they always

Smoke Signals Magazine fall 2017 page 20


compel land owners to produce the
crop, fining farmers who did not comply.
Others states were more
diplomatic: South Carolinas legislature
voted in 1733 to pay a salary to Richard
Hall to educate the public about the
benefits of hemp and the need for hemp
and the need for hemp and its
cultivation. He was hired to write a
book on the subject, promote the hemp
industry for three years, and travel to
Holland to procure good hemp seed.
Local governments may well have been
hoping that this crop would provide
economic stability for the new colonies.
In the introduction of
hisObservations on the Raising and
Dressing of Hemp, written in 1777, Edward
Antil declared, Hemp is one of the
French explorer Jacques Cartier observed Onkwehon:we people growing hemp.
most profitable productions the earth
went back to tobacco after the market particularly hemp, flax, and tar, could be furnishes in northern climates; as it
recovered. used to pay debts and taxes. Hemp was employes a great number of poor people
In response the Virginia Company so valuable and necessary to the British in a very advantageous manner, if its
issued a directive in 1619 that every economy that in 1662 Parliament manufacture is carried on properly: It
Jamestown colonist was to set 100 authorized Virginia governor William becomes worthy of the serious attention
plants and the governor to set 5000 Berkeley to offer a bounty of two of every trading man, who truly loves his
hemp plants. In the same year, the pounds of tobacco per pound of finished country.
Virginia General Assembly also required hemp, and other colonies oered similar With the Revolution at hand, the
the colonists to grow both English and enticements. prominent Virginia landowner and
Indian hemp. Gabriel Wisher was By 1690 there was enough hemp, p o l i t i c i a n Ro b e r t K i n g C a r te r
assigned a budget of 100 pounds with flax, and cotton available in North anticipated in 1774 that his tobacco
which to hire several skilled Swedish America to supply a paper industry. The next summer will be in little demand,
and Polish hemp dressers and entice first paper mill in America was and he instructed his foreman, in place
t h e m ( w i t h te n p o u n d s e a c h ) to established in Pennsylvania by the firm of tobacco hemp and flax will be
emigrate to America. of Rittenhouse, and others followed grown. Mandatory cultivation laws
Some Massachusetts colonists led suit. were passed as a preparation for war.
b y T h o m a s Mo r to n f o u n d e d t h e The success of hemp cultivation Each tithable is bound to deliver every
Merrymount trading settlement, where impressed those who witnessed crops at year one pound each of dressed hemp
they began to view the world in a new their peak. The Dutch farmer Antoine and flax or two pounds of either under
way, inspired by smoking hemp in the Le Page du Pratz, who came to America oath that it was of his own growth.
peace pipe with natives. Their bonfire to act as overseer of French plantations A revolution is fought on more
and Maypole parties eventually evoked near the present site of New Orleans fronts that just the battlefield, and
the rage of the Puritans, who burned and who was familiar with true hemp, hemp, as the major source of paper in
down the outpost and sent Morton to wrote in his journal in 1719: I ought not the colonies was essential for
an English prison. to omit to take notice, that hemp grows communication. In addition to clothing
Ma n d a t o r y h e m p c u l t i v a t i o n naturally on the lands adjoining to the the revolutionary soldiers and equipping
continued in later years and in other lakes on the west of the Mississippi. The the navy, hemp-paper pamphlets and
areas of the New World. In 1637 the stalks are as thick as ones finger, and documents spread the revolution of
G e n e r a l C o u r t a t Ha r t f o r d , about six feet long. They are quite like ideas through the colonies and helped
Connecticut, ordered all families to ours in the wood, the leaf and the rind. establish the desire for independence in
plant one teaspoonful of hemp seed. Colonial governments encouraged colonists minds. By the time Thomas
Massachusetts did likewise in 1639. The hemp production with varying degrees Paine exhorted his fellows to fight for
General Assembly of Connecticut of severity and success. The 1720-1722 freedom withCommon Sensein
repeated its order in 1640, insisting that sessions of the Connecticut General January 1776, he could point out that in
the colonists sow hemp that we might Assembly approved a bounty of four almost every article of defence we
in time have supply of linen cloth shillings per gross hundred of partially abound, Hemp flourishes even to
among ourselves. processed hemp to encoura ge its rankness, so that we need not want
continued cultivation, while Virginia cordage.
Several colonies passed legal-tender
laws by which certain manufactures, continued to pass laws designed to

Smoke Signals Magazine fall 2017 page 21


Field of Dreams 56 Shannonville Rd. Shannonville

Wheelchair
Accessible
Drive through
Option
Exit 556 and were Your first
stop off of the 401

Smoke Signals Magazine


613-743-4204
fall 2017 page 22
A safe and reliable
way to care for
your health.

Our THC and CBD infused hard candy


lozenges are now available in packs of:
5, 10, and 15. There are 50mg of THC in
each bear. Excellent pain medication in
easy to control dosage. To order, please
email cannacubmed@hotmail.com

Cannacub Bear
Product of Tyendinaga Mohawk Territory

Smoke Signals Magazine fall 2017 page 23


Is cannabis an
Aboriginal Right?

A controversial 2014 ruling by


Ontario Justice Gethin Edwards
may point the way to Indigenous
medicine claiming cannabis as an
Aboriginal right.
Ontario Court Justice Gethin Edwards.

After suffering life


made international headlines when her
INDIGENOUS MEDICAL threatening reactions to the
family took her off of chemotherapy and
chemotherapy, J.J.s mother suspended
RIGHTS AND THE the treatment program in favour of
sought alternative methods of treatment.
alternative health and Indigenous healing In both Makayla and J.J.s case,
CONSTITUTION modalities. Because the Hamilton community members rallied around the
In 2014, Ontario Court Justice hospital that had diagnosed her condition families and indicated that they would
Gethin Edward made a groundbreaking deemed that the survival rate for those physically resist any attempt by outside
ruling in a case having to do with with this cancer who did not use authorities to apprehend the children and
Aboriginal rights and Indigenous chemotherapy was effectively zero, the force them into chemotherapy. In
medicine. The case before him concerned hospital sought to have child services Makaylas case, community members
J.J., an 11 year old Six Nations girl apprehend J.J. from her family and formed a Makayla defence force which
raised in a traditional Longhouse family, force her into chemotherapy treatment. vowed to physically stop any attempt at
who had recently been diagnosed with removing the girl from her loving family.
The case came on the heels of a
acute lymphoblastic leukemia, a form of previous controversy as Makayla Sault Justice Edward ultimately refused
cancer in the bone marrow. from New Credit (an Indigenous the hospitals attempt to apprehend J.J.
community adjacent to Six Nations) He ruled that the mothers decision to
pursue traditional medicine for her
daughter J.J. is her Aboriginal right.
He also added that this Aboriginal right
held even if Western medical science
didnt approve of the methods used, or
even if objectively speaking, the
Indigenous medicine didnt work.
As Justice Edward noted, such a
right cannot be qualified as a right only if
it is proven to work by employing the
Western medical paradigm. To do so
would be to leave open the opportunity
to perpetually erode Aboriginal rights.
Justice Edwards ruling which was
informed by expert evidence from Six
Nations Professor Dawn Martin Hill and
saw the introduction of evidence from
the Haudenosaunee creation stories and
the submission of documents like
the Haudenosaunee Code of Behavior
for Traditional Medicine Healers
vindicated the Haudenosaunee view of
the relationship between Native and
non-Native society as separate, mutually
The young Makayla Sault speaks to the press.

Smoke Signals Magazine fall 2017 page 24


follow their own path. Although as
Mohawk lawyer Steve Ford has pointed
out, Edwards ruling is not binding on
any other courts, his was the first
Canadian court ruling to recognize and
respect the right of Indigenous children
in Canada not to be forced into medical
treatment in a context where for
hundreds of years, Indigenous children
have suffered medical neglect if
not outright abuse from the Canadian
state.
Justice Edward also further
clarified that the Haudenosaunee
have both an Aboriginal right to use their
own traditional medicines and health
practices, and the same right as other
people in Ontario to access the
Justin Trudeau and Bill Blair, the former Toronto police chief and Liberal MP.
Canadian medical system. This provides
Haudenosaunee culture and knowledge
independent worlds that continue to exist surprisingly, Edwards ruling was highly with protection, but it also gives the
in the present time. controversial to those unaware of the people unique access to the best we have
As Justice Edward wrote, this nature of this treaty relationship and the to offer.
Courts decision recognized that willingness of Onkwehon:we people to
physically stop the medical system from Justice Edward also clarified that he
Haudenosaunee medicine is an integral based his ruling in international law,
aspect of Haudenosaunee identity as a kidnapping and forcing their children
into chemotherapy. adding that for the Haudenosaunee, this
people. It has the protection of the ruling fulfills the aspirations of
Canadian constitution, as an Aboriginal A Globe and Mail editorial attacked the United Nations Declaration on the
right, and must be respected. His ruling the decision because Makayla and J.J. Rights of Indigenous Peoples, which
dovetailed with the Haudenosaunee both attended what it characterized as a states in article 24, that Indigenous
Code of Behaviour for Traditional dubious, unlicensed health institute peoples have the right to their traditional
Medicine Healers which states in that claims it can cure cancer through medicines and to maintain their health
reference to this matter that applying vitamin IV drips, massage, cold laser practices Indigenous individuals also
regulations to Haudenosaunee traditional therapy and the consumption of have the right to access, without any
medicine practices is an intrusion on the wheatgrass juice and pured organic discrimination, to all social and health
jurisdiction of the Haudenosaunee and vegetables. And because cold laser services.
violates the principles of the Two-Row therapy and shots of wheatgrass juice
Wampum. were [not] the cancer treatment of choice In this case, what in the Canadian
among the Iroquois healers of precontact system is understood as an Aboriginal
A c c o r d i n g t o t h e Tw o R o w right that must be respected, is for the
Wampum, the foundational conceptual North America the Globe argued that
the issue of Aboriginal right should not Haudenosaunee a much broader
relationship between Haudenosaunee recognition of the continuing existence of
and Europeans, each party shall travel apply in this case.
the principles of the Two Row Wampum
down the river of life within their two As a matter of fact, neither the Globe a mutually beneficial relationship
separate vessels according to the and Mail or Justice Edward were aware between separate but equal partners.
principles of peace, friendship and of the specifics of the traditional
respect. In this framework, the two Indigenous medical practices that were
separate systems keep all of their own applied along with the visits to the ARE INDIGENOUS MEDICAL
habits, customs, laws, and medicines Florida wellness centre, but the use of
within their own vessel and neither non-traditional healing modalities were CANNABIS DISPENSARIES
interferes in the others boat. for the Globe enough to cancel out the
The interaction between cultures is issue of Aboriginal right. This is similar AN ABORIGINAL RIGHT?
for mutual benefit, but one either lives in to the argument of anti-Native activists Over the course of the last several
the canoe or the ship. To have a foot who suggest that Indigenous people years, cannabis dispensaries have begun
in each vessel is a recipe for falling into should be forced to give up their treaty opening up throughout major cities in
the river to be outside of the protection rights because they now live with Canada. Cities like Vancouver, Toronto
of both systems. modern technologies that they didnt and Montreal now have dozens of
have pre-contact. dispensaries operating openly. Some
Justice Edwards decision effectively
Despite issuing a clarification on have followed the letter of the Canadian
recognized the distinctiveness of the
his ruling that the Aboriginal right to use law and only accepted clients authorized
Haudenosaunee way of life and view of
traditional medicine must be consistent to use cannabis for medical purposes by
medicine, and at the most fundamental
with the best interests of the child, their healthcare practitioner. Others like
level, respected the right of Indigenous
Justice Edwards decision retains its the Cannabis Culture dispensaries
people to seek medical treatment and to
s i g n i fi c a n c e a n d u p h e l d t h e owned by Marc and Jodie Emery,
make life or death choices free of
Haudenosaunee Aboriginal right to consider all usage of cannabis to be
compulsion by the Canadian system. Not

Smoke Signals Magazine fall 2017 page 25


medicinal, and sell cannabis to any It must be stressed that the notion of
adults seeking access to the plant. an Aboriginal right is in itself a
All dispensaries claim positive product of the colonial framework that is
therapeutic effects from the sale of the so fundamental to Canada itself. What is
cannabis related wares and are considered an Aboriginal right is being
enthusiasts of the cannabis culture decided by the legal system of a
broadly understood. And all of these decidedly colonial entity which has
storefronts have been deemed illegal by systematically carried out cultural and
the great legalizer Justin Trudeau, physical genocide against Indigenous
who has felt frustrated by the failure of people as it sought to appropriate their
various Canadian police services to lands and resources. The Canadian
crack down on the dispensaries. courts have always been an integral part
of this system, and have thus been
Elected band councils
careful to limit and construct the
in Tyendinaga and Kahnawake are now
Aboriginal rights in question.
openly saying that theyre interested in
investigating their options in getting into In his consideration of the question Canadian Supreme Court Justice Lamer.
the business as well. of Aboriginal rights, Judge Edwards
relied heavily on the Supreme Court of will have demonstrated that the practice
With Indigenous people deeply
Canada decision in R. v. Van der Peet 109 is an Aboriginal right for the purposes of
suspicious of a Canadian medical system
CCC (3D) 1. This case concerned s.35(1)?
which has long mistreated and neglected
Aboriginal fishing rights and arose after
them, many are turning to cannabis as a Evidence presented to the court
an Indigenous Sto:lo woman was
natural medicine to help with a wide indicated that traditional medicine
charged for selling ten salmon she
range of health issues including continues to be practised on Six Nations
caught herself. The majority decision in
addiction to opioid painkillers and as it was prior to European contact, and
that case was delivered by Chief Justice
treatment of PTSD. While there is an in this courts view there is no question it
Antonio Lamer.
undeniable economic and political forms an integral part of who the Six
advantage to Indigenous people playing According to Lamer, Aboriginal Nations are.
a role in the cannabis industry and rights exist because when Europeans
arrived in North America, Aboriginal As a result, Justice Edward wrote, I
staking out their own use of the plant cannot find that J.J. is a child in need of
before the anticipated date of Canadian peoples were already here, living in
communities on the land, and protection when her substitute
legalization on July 1st, 2018, a more decision-maker has chosen to exercise
immediate issue concerns the participating in distinctive cultures, as
they had done for centuries. Lamer her constitutionally protected right to
implications of Edwards ruling for the pursue their traditional medicine over
industry. Specifically, does Edwards narrowly defined an Aboriginal right as
being an element of a practice, custom the Applicants stated course of
ruling recognizing Haudenosaunee treatment of chemotherapy. Therefore
medical practices as an Aboriginal or tradition integral to the distinctive
culture of the Aboriginal group claiming the application was dismissed and the
right provide a legal bulwark that will Aboriginal rights of J.J. and her family
protect Indigenous cannabis the right.
upheld.
dispensaries from the raids currently Moreover, Lamer stressed that the
targeting non-native dispensaries in activity must be integral to the culture of
major cities in Canada? the IndigenousAboriginal group NO RIGHTS THAT THE
claiming it. The claimant must

WHAT DEFINES AN demonstrate that the practice, custom or CANADIAN SYSTEM IS


tradition was a central and significant
ABORIGINAL RIGHT? part of the societys distinctive culture REQUIRED TO RESPECT
That it was one of the things that truly Despite the significance of Edwards
In Canadian law, an Aboriginal made the society what it was. ruling on Aboriginal rights, the
Right is a right recognized under the Justice Lamer added that where an unfortunate reality is that Aboriginal
application of Section 35 (1) of Aboriginal community can demonstrate people have no rights that the Canadian
the Constitution Act of 1982 which that a particular practice, custom or system is required to respect. Even
reads as follows: the existing Aboriginal tradition is integral to its distinctive though in R. v. Van der Peet Judge Lamer
and treaty rights of the Aboriginal culture today, and that this practice, suggested that the rules of evidence
peoples of Canada are hereby custom or tradition has continuity with should be relaxed because of the
recognized and affirmed. the practices, customs and traditions of evidentiary difficulties in proving a
These rights exist as a result of the pre-contact times, that community will right which originates in times where
way in which Canada was created not have demonstrated that the practice, there were no written records of the
through the conquest of Indigenous custom or tradition is an Aboriginal practices, customs and traditions
people, but rather through a series of right for the purposes of s. 35(1). engaged in, his perspective is still firmly
treaties which gave the subjects of the colonial.
In the case of J.J., Justice Edward
British Crown the right to establish their had to determine whether the Six That is because it allows for a very
country on Native lands. In return, the Nations practice of traditional medicine narrow interpretation of an Aboriginal
Crown agreed to uphold and protect the is integral to its distinctive culture today, right. As opposed to seeing Aboriginal
rights that were never relinquished by and that this practice arose during communities as distinct, self-organized
the treaty signers. pre-contact times, so that the community societies that are actively evolving and

Smoke Signals Magazine fall 2017 page 26


constantly redefining their traditions and industry run by Indigenous people that the flu away. It was impossible
practises, Lamer recognized only such will compete with the substantial and for us not to have used it. For us
Aboriginal rights that have been frozen in compelling public objectives of Canadian to acknowledge so much other
time. corporate control over the plant and its plant life and living things in this
world and their uses. For us not
It is worth noting that in Lamers revenue.
to acknowledge what this benefits
ruling, the Supreme Court of Canada According to the legal precedents for and how we could use it. I refuse
actually upheld the conviction of the determining an Aboriginal right in the to believe that we just pounded
appellant, Dorothy Marie Van der Peet of Canadian courts, Aboriginals would have the stem until it turned into fibre
the Sto:lo Nation. She was convicted for to be able to prove that cannabis was an and that we didnt smoke or eat
selling ten salmon she caught in her integral part of their culture pre-contact. it.
peoples river because according to Lamer, Although the issue is contested, there is There is also some evidence that
the Aboriginal right to fish for food and evidence of cannabis use in pre-contact pre-Columbian cultures in modern day
ceremonial purposes did not include the Indigenous cultures. The seeds of the Ohio used cannabis for ceremonial
right to sell such fish. cannabis plant the oldest plant purposes. As Rowan Robinson wrote in
In another foundational case on the cultivated by humans could have been the Great Book of Hemp:
issue of Aboriginal right the Mitchell v. brought by bird or human migration Some of the earliest evidence of
Minister of National Revenue case Chief across the Bering Strait as the first traces hemp in North America is
Michael Mitchell (Kanentakeron) argued of cannabis in the historical record identify associated with the ancient
its existence in Asia. We also know that Mound Builders of the Great
that Mohawks had an Aboriginal right to
the Vikings who arrived in North America Lakes and Mississippi Valley.
bring goods across the St. Lawrence River Hundreds of clay pipes, some
/ US-Canada border without paying over 1000 years ago used hemp sails on
containing cannabis residue and
customs duties. In this case, the Supreme their boats and travelled with stocks of
wrapped in hemp cloth, were
Court of Canada ruled that the hemp seed on board so they could grow found in the so-called Death
government retained the jurisdiction to the plant in their new settlements. Mask mound of the Hopewell
limit Aboriginal rights for justifiable When Jacques Cartier, who came from Mound Builders, who lived about
reasons in the pursuit of substantial and a hemp growing region of France, sailed 400 B.C.E in modern Ohio. In
compelling public objectives. This ruling up the St. Lawrence in 1532 he noted that his 1891 study, Prehistoric
Textile Art of Eastern United
is worded vaguely enough to mean that we found a great quantity of mackerel
States, Smithsonian Institute
any Aboriginal right could be overturned that they had fished from shore with fish e t h n o l o g i s t W. H . H o l m e s
by the Canadian system as long as there nets made of hemp, which grows in the describes the recovery of large
were substantial and compelling public country where they live normally. pieces of hemp fabric at one site
objectives [for Canada] in overturning it. The Tuscarora, an Iroquoian people in in Morgan County, Tennessee:
In the Mitchell case, the Supreme the Carolinas, were known as the people the friends of the dead deposited
Court ruled that Mohawks had to pay of the fancy shirts or the people of the with the body not only the fabrics
worn during life but a number of
custom duties when crossing the hemp shirts and they extensively used skeins of the fiber from which the
imaginary line of the border into fibres to makes shirts, cordage and textiles. fabrics were probably made. This
Canada, despite the fact, that since time The main plant they used was Apocynum fiber has been identified as that of
immemorial the Mohawks had crossed cannabinum or Indian Hemp, which while the Cannabis sativa, or wild
the St. Lawrence river which runs directly an excellent source of fibre, has no hemp.
through their territory without paying psychoactive properties and is in fact toxic
duty to anyone. In fact, during the fur when consumed. However, as a Tuscarora
trade, the Mohawks controlled the river man working at a Six Nations cannabis BETWEEN EQUAL RIGHTS,
and collected their own form of duty in dispensary pointed out, there are many
trade goods from other Indigenous peoples different strains of hemp that could be
FORCE DECIDES
travelling through their country to New used for different things. The nature of the relationship that
France. Indigenous people will be allowed by
They just all blaze over there.
Theyre people of the hemp. Canada to have with the cannabis plant
Theyve been using it since has yet to be determined. The Canadian
IMPLICATIONS FOR THE forever. Theres a tons of different government of Justin Trudeau appears to
kinds of Indian hemp. Weve had be quite determined to hand over the 8
INDIGENOUS MEDICAL trade, weve got artefacts [with billion dollar black market cannabis
cannabis in them] that come from industry to their friends in the police,
CANNABIS INDUSTRY the Incan and Mayan cultures in pharmaceutical industry and the Liberal
On the surface it would thus seem the mountains of South America. party. These are the people who are
unlikely that a Canadian court would rule Weve had different forms of it.
heading up the corporations that will be
Youre goddamn right that we
that the establishment of cannabis the only Licensed Producers of the plant
smoked it at one point or another.
dispensaries by Indigenous people are It went into a bowl and it got under the promised Liberal legislation.
protected as an Aboriginal right. The smoked. Just to see what Indigenous people have the potential
Canadian courts are inescapably colonial happened. Because medicines of breaking the proposed corporate
institutions, and if they ruled in favour of didnt find themselves. I give it monopoly on the plant. And in breaking
criminalizing an Indigenous woman up to the ancestors of the past
that corporate monopoly, they have the
seeking to make ends meet by selling ten that put their bodies on the line
who said, Im going to eat this, chance to re-establish their own economies
salmon she caught in her peoples river, on their own terms. As the Mohawk
they would hardly want to provide a legal Im going to drink that, Im going
to smoke this. And I hope it takes Dacajeweiah (John Boncore) said in 1995:
justification for a multi-million dollar

Smoke Signals Magazine fall 2017 page 27


regulated. By the spring of 2017 there If the courts will not grant
were over a dozen different dispensaries Aboriginal right, the alternative may
open in Tyendinaga. just be the daily exercise of sovereignty
The problem ultimately with the that is already taking place through the
concept of Aboriginal right in operation of these dispensaries. There is
Canadian law is that it does not allow for an old saying that between equal rights,
the most fundamental and basic right of force decides. Repeated conflicts with
all nations the right to self state authorities in Caledonia,
determination. This right implies the Ty e n d i n a g a , K a n e h s a t a k e a n d
ability for a nation to establish a Kahnawake have proven that Canadian
sovereign political representation for security forces dont have the stomach
itself on its own land base. As Mohawk for serious confrontation with
Lawyer Steven Ford points out, even Onkwehon:we people. In Caledonia, the
though the right to national self OPP were no match for Six Nations, and
determination is the fundamental basis of were driven from the field and defeated
international law, it is a right explicitly on April 20th, 2006. This day constituted
denied to Indigenous people by the the biggest operational defeat in the
Canadian state. forces history and affected how the OPP
Dacajeweiah (Splitting the Sky). subsequently dealt with the Idle No
If cannabis dispensaries are not
More protests of 2012.
viewed as an Aboriginal right by the
Canadian courts, the question is, can and So the fact that Six Nations residents
The more I look into the
detailed history of hemp in this will they be defended by Indigenous organized themselves to offer physical
country, the more I realize the political entities? The answer from protection to the family of Mikayla Sault
question again boils down to Mohawk elder Kanasaraken (Loran to ensure that she would not be
destroying the economic base of Thompson) of Akwesasne, recalls the kidnapped from her home, should not be
all Indigenous, good people in way that Haudenosaunee people have discounted in the ultimate reasoning that
this world. Long before other led to Justice Edwards decision. If
protected their tobacco trade.
nations came to this continent, Justice Edward, himself a member of the
native peoples had knowledge They need to have a political
Six Nations, had upheld the request from
of this sacred plant, this sacred entity backing them up. So
what I would recommend is the hospital to apprehend J.J. there was
medicine Those who
understand the power of this that they get that from a long every likelihood of a major political crisis
plant and the uses of this plant time governing entity thats erupting.
have become potential victims affiliated with the longhouse. From the standpoint of the courts,
upon the sacrificial altar of The Kayenere:kowa the Great what is paramount is their continued
multinational corporations Law. Those people need to
ability to acknowledged as the ultimate
that have vested interests in come in session and recognize
in front of them, that these sources of authority and judgement in
products that make you sicker,
and against a natural plant that people that are in front of them society. If that means legal frameworks
will bring you back to health. [the Indigenous cannabis have to be changed, and the rights of
growers and retailers] have all increasingly powerful Indigenous actors
And when I think of all the
the rights in the world to do recognized, than so be it.
potential for the growth of
hemp for textiles, for fuel, for what theyre doing. But they
This is indeed exactly how the legal
food, for clothing, for anything need to get a document from
the traditional government, the victories of womens suffrage, union
imaginable by the thousands of rights, and civil rights era were won.
uses, I think there could longhouse government under
the Great Law, recognizing Mass mobilizations and displays of
possibly be, among Indigenous
their right to do what they are peoples power convinced the courts to
nations, a revival and a
resurrection of economic doing. That governing entity change the laws rather than risk
s t a b i l i t y, o f e c o n o m i c needs to understand what they rebellion and ultimately revolution.
are doing clearly that its all
self-dependency by coming to Legal decisions occur in particular
above board and that its all for
grips with the possibility of political and social contexts. In times of
growing this sacred plant by the betterment and the health of
our people. social transition and political upheaval,
Native, Indigenous nations, and
The perspective that Kanasaraken decisions that courts make in order to
then interacting through
international exchange and outlines is one of traditional Indigenous legitimize and maintain the system they
cooperation.. I believe that this governance systems that pre-dates belong to can change quickly. Whether
sacred plant could have colonialism, coming forward to protect recognized as an Aboriginal right, or
world-wide implications. their economic base and to take back protected through daily acts of self
This revival of economic their rights to grow and benefit from determination and the support by
self-dependency based on cannabis is plants grown on their lands. A similar Indigenous political institutions, the
growing fastest in Tyendinaga Mohawk such approach was implemented by the Indigenous cannabis industry is out of
Territory, where multiple dispensaries Haudenosaunee Confederacy Chiefs the gates and moving fast.
exist. In February of 2017, the Council in Oswego with their tobacco The old days when Canada had full
Tyendinaga band council expressed its law aimed at regulating and protecting control of Indigenous people on reserves
interest and support for existence of the Indigenous tobacco industry from are long gone, and a new green
medicinal cannabis dispensaries on Canadian interference. economy and a new generation of
reserve, providing that they be Indigenous people ready to fight for
what is theirs has arrived.
Smoke Signals Magazine fall 2017 page 28
A TRIBUTE TO KANONHSTATON'S
FALLEN WARRIORS

Christopher
Mel "Waterboy" Styres DickHill 'Thunder' Hill
Lawrence Nanicoke, Eric 'pacman' VanEvery,
James Logan, Chief Arnie General, Bonnie
Martin, Charlie Green

Ruby "Redhat"
Montour

Jagwadeth Chris
Sandy

SUNDAY OCTOBER 1ST - KANONHSTATON


Free admission Fundraising for a permanent memorial plaque Silent auction Bring a dish to share
Music and a social dance Tobacco burning in the morning and free breakfast Volunteers please get in
touch with Rhonda at otayohni67@yahoo.com

www.realpeoples.media
Smoke Signals Magazine fall 2017 page 29
Smoke Signals Magazine fall 2017 page 30
The Smoke Signals
Advantage
Jamie Kunkel, a Mohawk from Tyendinaga is the owner of Smoke Signals and has been in the cannabis industry for over 25 years.
By Fernando Arce
When it comes to purchasing Today, Smoke Signals is a one-stop touch with doctors willing to write a
medical marijuana, experience is king. shop for medicinal cannabis and all its cannabis prescription.
Unfortunately, ignorance usually reigns. derivatives from dry flower to extracts You can acquire your medicinal
With so many dispensaries popping to CBD pills and tinctures. Many license there, provided you have a
up around the country as the laws and products are made in house in order to doctors note or proper proof of your
attitudes towards marijuana use change, ensure quality control. Others are ailment, Kunkel says.
it can be a real trip to wade through the imported directly from medical
The idea behind referring people to
innumerable strains, products and producers in British Columbia.
p o t- f r i e n d l y d o c to r s i s a l l a b o u t
opinions available. While experienced Most of the products are also community outreach rather than
users may remember some basic enhanced with natural plant terpenes, profit-making, he clarifies.
questions to ask their local, friendly which not only add flavour to the
In fact, thats been one of Kunkels
n e i g h b o u r h o o d d i s p e n s a r y, t h e products but also enhance the eects
goals since the late 1990s and early
inexperienced many of whom are of both THC (the psychoactive
2000s, when he began selling tobacco.
first-time medicinal users, not seasoned ingredient) and CBD (the analgesic
At the time, business was going so well
stoners will undoubtedly struggle to ingredient), Kunkel adds.
make sense of it all. that he was able to employ many of his
Smoke Signals also carries their family members and even help to build
Thats where people like Jamie own bear salve mixture a combination his mothers home.
Kunkel, founder and owner of Smoke of bear grease, coconut oil, vitamin E,
More importantly, he says, he was
Signals located at 255 Hwy 49, on essential oils and cannabis. The recipe
fortunate enough to be in a position
Tyendinaga come in. for this salve has been used in Kunkels
family for over 150 years and been where he could support his community
Wi t h m o r e t h a n 2 5 y e a r s o f when the band oces and councils fell
experience in the medicinal cannabis passed down generation to generation.
short.
industry, and with a background in Not only does it already have a
For anything that I ever heard the
botany, horticulture and business, 150-year reputation of being a good
band oce tell the people that they
Kunkel, a Mohawk of the Bear Clan, has product, Kunkel says. But now that
established a reputation in his weve infused it with the cannabis couldnt have, I purposefully went out
and figured out how they could have it,
community as a go to person for plant it has even more medicinal
he says. Theyre my neighbours, theyre
medical relief. benefits.
going without, I have more than I need,
Everybody has come to me for Smoke Signals is extremely strict how can I not give back to them? Ive
help, knowing that Ive put 25 years into about being a medical cannabis facility, known them my entire life and I know
this industry, he says. They always and they will not sell any product to deep inside that if it was the shoe on
have before any of this existed, before anyone without a medical cannabis card. the other foot, theyd do the exact same
this storethey came right to my front However, the store does refer thing for me.
door-step and asked me for these things, prospective customers to BMA Though the tobacco business
knowing that I had the know-how. Hydroponics which will put people in brought him fortune as a young man it
Smoke Signals Magazine fall 2017 page 31
Jamie Kunkel shows off some of the product he has for sale at Smoke Signals.

did not bring him stability or At the time, he had just opened up each other. You could be sharing how
friendship. After choosing to leave the a new vapour lounge the kind of youre going about your sickness, how
business and the money when his business that was just coming onto the youre treating it, what are the actual
mother became ill, he also lost all the scene. The store, which operated for symptoms of your sickness. There are a
fake friends and people around him who about 10 months, only sold edibles and lot of things out there that people dont
only wanted to leech o of his success. had a big screen television, games and a know, and until you can allow these
When you cut the money out, you bar-like area that did not sell alcohol but people to actually sit together and
can also get rid of all the fake and phony where people would often sit and talk. socialize, a lot of that stu is not going
friends and actually keep the true and to come out.
honest ones, he says. The real ones I believe it is a If marijuana has helped heal people
will stick around whether you got the of their medical ailments, people like
money or not. Its the mindset they are traditional right for Ku n ke l h a v e h e l p e d t o h e a l h i s
interested in. Knowing they could have community and all those wanting to
the money, it is the knowledge they are us Weve always used learn of their ignorance around this
interested in. it and we always will powerful plant.
Today, he surrounds himself with When (people) ask you a question,
these people, many of whom work It was just a place that everybody they dont want the answer that the guy
alongside of him. could sit and socialize, he says. And on the corner would give, or the stoner
Kunkel stresses that what he is that was the very first kind of a boom to at the mall, he says. They need an
doing is perfectly legal. Smoke Signals the medicinal market vapour lounges. educated answer. They need to know
sells only medicinal product and only to why its going to help them. How its
Soon, marijuana users were able to
people carrying a medicinal license get together and discuss their medicine going to help them. And whether there
and/or prescription. of choice without being hassled. For, as any side eects? There are a lot of
Kunkel says, although patients were things that people need to know.
The newer generation are
accepting of cannabis because they are already able to get medicinal licenses, Kunkel is also a firm believer in his
educated in it, he says. They know of cultural attitudes around marijuana peoples sovereign right to use and
its healing benefits. They know its not were still driven by the type of irrational benefit from the plant.
just there to get high with. Whereas for and ignorant fear-mongering that had I believe it is a traditional right for
t h e o l d e r g e n e r a t i o n , i t s b e e n kept the plant underground for decades, usIts been here since the beginning of
stereotyped. and its users relegated to cold timeWeve always used itIts no
The importance of the plants basements and empty parking lots. dierent than our Indian tobacco, our
healing powers as opposed to its You got a medicinal license but sweetgrass, our sage. Its another plant
recreational use became most evident you still gotta be made to feel like a that comes from Mother Earth, that we
about three or four years ago, he criminal, Kunkel says. So when I first as an Indigenous people have always
explains. opened the vapour lounge, it was a place used, always use now, and always will
to give everybody that had a medicinal use.
license, a place to sit and socialize with

Smoke Signals Magazine fall 2017 page 32


2017 Grand opening

Kevin Shaganash Rob Stevenson

Watch our Video coverage online at


www.medicinewheelnaturalhealing.com

thank you to all who made


our August 26th event such
a great success!
Smoke Signals Magazine fall 2017 page 33
This is the future
Medicine Wheel Natural Healing in Alderville First Nation
The revolution in natural Indigenous about being natural and this is much Wheel. Glen is also a big believer in his
healing associated with the cannabis more than just about cannabis we sons cause.
plant has taken another significant step want to be all encompassing about all Launching into an impassioned
forward. Readers may be familiar with natural healthsolutions. description of the benefits of the
thebooming medical cannabis cannabis plant, Glen affirms that,
industr yinTyendina ga Mohawk
Territory, where there has been an A FAMILY AFFAIR sharing of knowledge and information
is really what its all about. Were
explosive growth of Indigenous run The 21st of June was an auspicious coming out of the dark ages; cannabis
cannabis dispensaries. day for Stevenson, not only because it is has been suppressed for too long. I
That movement has inspired Rob the summer solstice andNational think if people take the time to research
Stevenson, an Anishinaabe man of the Aboriginal Day, but also because it is his the plant, they will find that it provides
Bear Clan belonging to theAlderville birthday. The 37-year olds tight knit huge benefits for human beings.
First Nation, to launch his own business family were present for the celebration Education and talking about it will take
the first Indigenous medical cannabis at the store. the stigma away.
dispensary outside of Tyendinaga on Robs mother Charlene works for a Glen added, This plant should be
June 21, 2017. local womans shelter. She is proud of respected. There are so many ways it
Me d i c i n e W h e e l Na t u r a l the work that her son is doing. With her can help people from making fiber,
He a l i n g o f f e r s a w i d e r a n g e o f daughter working as a physiotherapist, building products, plastics, etc. These
products. This includes an array of and with her son establishing the clinic, are exciting times, to say the least.
different cannabis flowers including Charlene knows that her family is
The results of Glen and Robs work
sativa, indica, and many specialized committed to helping their community in reno vating the ne w facility is
hybrids. The store also has dierent to heal. As she puts it, Robs latest eort remarkable. The Medicine Wheel
kinds of shatter, rosin, oil, distillates, is about healing the community and building is a brightly lit and spacious
gummies, tinctures, syrups, and vape making us better as a whole in mind,
chalet with big windows and a decidedly
pens. They also have an assortment of body, and spirit.
clean and modern look and feel. The
dierent edibles. Robs father Glen runs the family two main interior walls are made with
Stevenson has also brought in other business,Stevenson Building Products, dry stack Fusion Stone which gives the
natural Indigenous medicines such as and has spent the last several months inside a natural feeling of protection
bear grease, marshmallow root, and working with his son to completely and safety. The building itself has been
arnica to the store. As he puts it, It's all renovate the new home of Medicine carefully renovated to meet all security

Smoke Signals Magazine fall 2017 page 34


a c t i v i t y w i t h a s u c ce s s f u l f a m i l y lot of the benefits of cannabis that
construction business, and surrounded people may not know about.
by a great group of highly motivated
and talented employees f rom his
community, Stevenson is hoping to PROTOCOLS AND
create a model that other Indigenous
people can use in their medical cannabis PROCEDURES
eorts. Before a customer can buy any
Anyone else who opens up a product, they must first go to Medicine
dispensary on this reserve, or any other Wheels consultation counter. At the
Rob Stevenson at a rally on Parliament Hill. reserve, Im glad to share any of my counter, they meet with a sta person
information here. Im documenting and are required to fill out a one-page
concerns. Indeed, Medicine Wheel is
everything Ive done, from security and form about their medical history and
hands down the best looking and most
renovations to training employees, relationship to cannabis. After
professional cannabis dispensary in
product education and all that stu. Im identifying their need for cannabis,
Indian country.
willing to share all this information at customers are provided with a
no cost with the people willing to do membership card. The card is scanned
ORIGINS OF THE BUSINESS this. The reason being, I want to see into the point-of-sale system with all
purchases, and this allows Medicine
Stevenson has long had an interest this done right, and I dont want
dispensaries to be seen in a negative Wheel and the customer to track and
in the cannabis plant and its healing monitor their medical progress. This
properties. In the fall of 2016, he was in light because people are doing them
wrong. could result in either increasing dosage
the process of establishing theSmoke or changing strains or using dierent
Signals Seed Bankspecializing in products altogether.
high-grade cannabis seeds. Theres more than All medical materials are kept in
Then Stevenson caught wind of enough for every single the strictest confidence. The aim, as
what the Mohawks were doing in Rob Stevenson puts it, is to keep
Ty e n d i n a g a . In Ja n u a r y o f 2 0 1 7, person in my community records of customers and what
S te v e n s o n s a w t h e i n v i te to t h e to find opportunities to conditions they may have. We work
founding meeting of theNational
In d i g e n o u s Me d i c a l C a n n a b i s
benefit from this with customers in consultations and
industry and all of its keep track of what the dierent eects
Association. Intrigued by the groups of the dierent strains are.
mandate of encoura ging the related domains. Me d i c i n e W h e e l s p r i m a r y
self-regulation of the Indigenous
Medical Cannabis Industry through the incentive is not profit but helping
application of Indigenous political and Stevenson wants to see the industry people. Aware that they are functioning
economic principles, he decided that grow, and he welcomes competition and in the era of a new information
he had to come and see for himself. even the growth of other dispensaries in technology economy, Stevenson seeks to
his home community. Theres more operate their store on the cutting edge
Because the Canadian government than enough for every single person in of medical technology.
showed no willingness to consult my community to find opportunities to
In d i g e n o u s p e o p l e s a b o u t t h e i r That means using the internet as a
benefit from this industry and all of its learning tool, and seeking out the
upcoming proposals for cannabis related domains, points out Stevenson.
legalization, NIMCA decided that it cannabis experts emerging from the
wouldnt wait around for Canadian Stevenson is also making sure that underground as Glen puts it. The
approval, and proceeded proactively on his new business is a win-win operation keeping of medical data and records for
the basis of Indigenous rights. for the community. He notes that their patients, and using that medical
weve hired seven full-time employees data to help people and to advance what
Energized by meeting with some that reside on this reserve. Were also to date is an understudied field of
40 other Indigenous people looking for giving a percentage of our profits back medical learning, is a key part of this
ways that cannabis as a plant could directly to the community by practice.
benefit their communities, Stevenson suppor ting different e vents, and
became active with the group and was Rob Stevenson drives the point
contributing towards our local womans home. Were trying to set the standard.
soon nominated to a position as the shelter and youth groups.
O n t a r i o Vi c e Pr e s i d e n t o f t h e We are trying to show that you dont
In d i g e n o u s Me d i c a l C a n n a b i s B e f o r e h e o p e n e d t h e s to r e , need to be greedy and hoard all kinds of
Association. S t e v e n s o n m a d e a Po w e r Po i n t money. Put it back in the community.
presentation to his local Band Council You get much more satisfaction by
In that role, Stevenson worked to outlining the framework under which giving back to the community. You get
distil some guidelines and best practices h e w a s o p e r a t i n g . Ac c o r d i n g t o to help people and you really cant ask
from dispensaries already operating in Stevenson, Ive had a good for more satisfaction than that.
Tyendinaga and learned as much as he acknowledgment of what were doing by
could from the Tyendinaga dispensary Chief and Council, they are ver y
model pioneered by Tim Barnhart supportive of it. I made a presentation Medicine Wheel Natural Healing is located
andLegacy 420. at 8986 County Road 45 Roseneath. Call
to them outlining everything we wanted
Stevenson wants everything in his anytime at 905-352-3322.
to do, our practices and protocols, and
business to be above ground and it was met with a lot of respect from
legitimate. Coming from a lifetime of Band Council. I made them aware of a

Smoke Signals Magazine fall 2017 page 35


Grand Rivers newest
Indigenous health and
wellness centre
Smoke Signals Magazine fall 2017 page 36
Mohawk
Medicine

Grand Rivers
newest Indigenous health and wellness centre
Theres a new place to go for techniques. You can see examples of ingredients that are needed for feasts
In d i g e n o u s ce n t r e d h e a l t h a n d his tattoos and design work on and ceremonies.
wellness in Six Nations of the Grand InstagramandFacebook. In overcoming the legacy of
River.Mohawk Medicineis the Because there are so few colonialism, many Indigenous people
creation of the husband and wife team traditional Indigenous tattoo artists, are re-adopting ceremonies and
of Kanenhariyo Seth LeFort and many of Kanenhariyos clients travel traditions as adults. In some cases
Karenniyo Caroline VanEvery-LeFort. in from afar. To accommodate this they may not have access to the
Their storefront operation is located need, Mohawk Medicine oers a bed necessary knowledge or resources to
at917 Sour Spring Rd (2nd Line)in and breakfa st rental suite. The carry through with what they need to
Six Nations. apartment has a private entrance and do. For example, someone may get a
At Mohawk Medicine, you can comes with a luxurious king sized bed, reading done, which tells them that
get a traditional tattoo, the products a full private bath and shower, TV and they need a certain ceremony to be
you need for a ceremonial feast, over high speed internet. The suite is put through. Dierent ceremonies
100 medicinal herbs for various available starting at $150 a night. require dierent items or ingredients
ailments, customized health and Iroquois Organicsis a line of for meals. Feast Basket provides a one
beauty products, and the personalized health and beauty products created by stop shop where you can purchase
attention of knowledgeable specialists Karenniyo that includes a facial these items (such as corn mush,
in Indigenous medicine. system, a two minute manicure, an squash, liver, pigs head, beans, or
Mohawk Medicine has come anti-inflammatory/arthritis salve, soap frozen berries) and ask questions
together as an amalgamation of and candles, lip gloss, pain ointments, about how to cook or prepare things
several different businesses and tinctures, tonics, and a variety of teas without feeling embarra ssed or
s e r v i ce s t h a t Ka n e n h a r i y o a n d for various ailments. ashamed.
Karenniyo have been providing for In addition to the pre-made In front of the store, clients will
some time. Mohawk Medicine uses an product line, Karenniyo custom see the various food growing eorts.
Onkwehon:we approach to medicine makes particular formulations to treat The farm has two greenhouses, a
and healing that addresses the issues certain problems on a case by case variety of dierent gardens, and is a
of the whole person on a mental, basis. So for example, if you have place for experimentation with
physical, spiritual, and emotional severe acne or eczema, Karenniyo will various permaculture and various
level. formulate a medicine especially for Onkwehon:we growing techniques.
The businesses that make up you. As Kanenhariyo puts it Theres a
Mohawk Medicine are Iroquois Ink, Feast Basketis the aspect of huge need for the revitalization of our
Iroquois Organics, and the Feast Mohawk Medicine that is focussed on h e a l t h a n d m e d i c i n e p r a c t i ce s .
Basket. traditional Ir o q u o i s Western medicine was pushed really
Iroquois Inkis a tattoo shop foods,permaculture gardening, and heavily on us, but its not even that
that specializes in black ink food as healing. The aim is to not only old. Our knowledge has thousands of
traditional Onkwehon:we tattoos and provide quality organic produce, but years of practice and knowledge yet
sacred geometry. Kanenhariyo uses to also stock special foods and its not in the mainstream. We plan on
both machine and traditional tattoo changing that.

Smoke Signals Magazine fall 2017 page 37


Pictured above are several of the traditional Iroquoian tattoos that Kanenhariyo has inked. Photos by Kanenhariyo.

For Kanenhariyo, tattoos are an and has had a lifetime of involvement medicines and foodstus which are
important form of medicine and in traditional Onkwehon:we relatively safe to use unsupervised.
healing. Traditional tattoos can be a ceremonial and medicine practices. For example: peppermint, sa ge,
marker of important life changes Kanenhariyo is a co-founder ofReal moisturizer, raspberry leaf, or items
birth, deaths, battles and each one is Peoples Mediaand the co-host of the for ceremonial feasts such as corn
unique to the person. Sometimes they Whats Going on Podcast. mush or frozen berries, etc.
help people move past negative Restricted products are herbs and
experiences and allow them to grieve, tonics that might be harmful if
and sometimes they mark the
beginnings of new journeys. Tattoos
Tattoos are improperly used or which might have
contraindications if used with other
are medicine as they help the healing medicine as they medicines. Examples include
process both emotionally and
spiritually for people. help the healing bloodroot, valerian root, sassafras,
comfrey, and cannabis. To access
Kanenhariyo and Karenniyo both process both restricted products, clients must go
have extensive formal qualifications in through a client intake with either
the non-native world Karenniyo is emotionally and Karenniyo or Kanenhariyo to ensure
completing her PhD in Indigenous
knowledge from Trent University. She
spiritually for that the product is right for them.
The goal of this consultation is to
is a trained herbalist with a diploma in people. discuss the patients illness and come
herbal medicine from the up with a health plan whether it
International College of Natural involves an herbal recommendation,
Health and Traditional Chinese As a member of the Mohawk dietary change, exercise regime, or
Medicine, and she also holds a Bear Clan, Kanenhariyo was taught more. As Karenniyo puts it, the goal
Masters degree in education from medicine teachings by his elders. In is holistic health, on a mental,
Brock University. Iroquois society, names are kept spiritual, physical, and emotional
Karenniyo has had a stellar career within clans and re-quickened after level. There is a $60 consultation fee
in field of education. But ultimately their original holders have passed on. and full client confidentiality.
she came to a place where she had The last person to hold Kanenhariyos The initial consultation cost for a
choose behind a professional Onkwehon:we name passed away in tattoo is free, but the follow up
academic life and doing something the 1930s. Interestingly, that man was appointment when art work is drawn
that was more fulfilling emotionally a herbalist and medicine man from up costs $100. The costs for the actual
and spiritually, and where she could Caughnawaga, who not only provided tattooing is $125 an hour for either
work from home and be around the medicine for Indigenous people machine or hand poke tattoos.
five children that her and across Iroquoia, but who also made
Kanenhariyo jointly raise. medicine that was used directly by the Mohawk Medicine is now open for
For his part, Kanenhariyo has English royal family.
business from 12pm to 7pm every day of the
completed a degree in Indigenous At Mohawk Medicine customers week. Stay tuned for more details about
studies at Trent University, holds a may purchase products or services. our upcoming Grand Opening.
certificate in permaculture design, a Products are either unrestricted or
diploma in adult Mohawk immersion, restricted. Unrestricted products are

Mohawk 12pm-7pm
Medicine Everyday
613-920-4771
THC and CBD Herbs
Feast supplies Tattoos
Smoke Signals Magazine fall 2017 page 38
Smoke Signals Magazine fall 2017 page 39
Natural medicine that you can trust.

8986 County Rd 45 Alderville First Nation


www.medicinewheelnaturalhealing.com
Smoke Signals Magazine fall 2017 page 40

You might also like