Whether purposeful or unintended, evidence suggests that minority communities are more often impacted by toxic landfills, incinerators, dumping, mining and other environmentally damaging activities. Environmental justice issues are very relevant to the Mohawk community of Akwesasne. If we carefully examine the issues regarding who receives the benefits and who has paid the price for industrialization of the St. Lawrence River, we see that the city of Massena, located upstream and upwind from local industries, has benefited tremendously from thousands of jobs and tax dollars that industry has provided. The community of Akwesasne, on the other hand, gets none of these benefits. Local industries are not a major source of employment. In terms of the costs, Mohawk people have suffered disproportionately from the pollution that local industries have created. Akwesasne, which is located downwind, downstream and down gradient from these facilities, has for years borne the brunt of the environmental costs while non-Indian people in the city of Massena have enjoyed the economic benefits without also sharing the costs. This situation, however, is much more complex. We are not only looking at identifying disproportionate impacts but identifying the need to respect the cultures of peoples who have completely different world views. Confrontations surrounding environmental issues begin when cultures have a different stake in the siting, regulation or remediation of environmentally hazardous activities. When two cultures clash on determining the future, who gets to define what is a rational course of action? Whose values and belief system are more relevant, more respected, more "real"? Americans must learn to understand that Native Nations have very different views of land, natural resources and environment and they must begin to recognize the importance of nurturing and supporting that diversity.
When governments or their agencies do not realize or acknowledge the unique nature of Native peoples, they not only express their ignorance but also continue to institutionalize the attitudes that have led to the discrimination Native peoples have faced for over 500 years. Many people in the US hold a fundamental belief that everyone in the US should be treated the same because no one is different. They believe that we all share the same culture and have common goals and values. The argument goes that because we all benefit from technology and modern society, then everyone, Native peoples included, must pay the price for the progress of civilization. The argument also demands that we scientifically and rationally examine any risks associated with our activities and understand that sometimes, individuals must pay a price for the benefit of society.
In the case of Akwesasne, environmental justice has been an important component to arguments for adequate remediation. Government agencies have responded to the issue of environmental justice by stating that Akwesasne was not being treated any differently than any other community. Unfortunately, this response showed an apparent lack of appreciation for the fact that Mohawk people and their culture are unique. Because of the factors previously discussed, Akwesasne, like many other Native communities, needs additional consideration and more stringent remediation. Standards and regulations have been tailored to meet the needs of industrialized society, not subsistence cultures and endangered peoples. These standards are often minimalist in nature and do not begin to address special tribal rights. Conventional risk assessments which drive remediation are severely limited in their application to Native peoples because they fail to adequately value cultural, social and religious factors as well as sovereignty, treaty rights and issues of self determination. Many government agencies need to be educated to understand that fulfillment of their responsibilities to Native peoples requires environmental protection above and beyond the standards set by environmental law and policy. If we were considering the status of endangered or threatened species, many agencies would agree that special consideration must be given to ensure protection of those species. It seems difficult for non-Native people to view human beings as having unique and endangered cultures. It is also much easier for many to understand that we must protect the habitat of endangered species in order to ensure their survival. For some reason, it is much more difficult to convince non-Native people that the survival of Native cultures and their subsistence economies demand a clean environment.
Native communities can not and will not move. Land is not merely property, it is the bones of ancestors, it is sacred, it is our mother. If the earth becomes contaminated, it not only endangers the health and well being of individuals who are exposed to toxicants, it threatens the well-being of an entire Nation of unique and endangered people. Local contamination is devastating to endangered cultures. The environmental racism inherent in this situation is typified by the tendencies of local industries and government agencies to view Akwesasne as a typical industrial site. Akwesasne is anything but typical.
Though this document has focused on the disproportionate environmental effects experienced by the Mohawk community of Akwesasne, this case, has implications for environmental justice issues affecting other Native Nations, as well as communities throughout the United States that are dealing with remediation and restoration of Superfund sites.
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