A “Jake Ice” for the American Side
of Akwesasne
by Darren Bonaparte
(Originally published May 13,
2005)
Everyone in Akwesasne knows by now the story of Jake
Ice, the Mohawk man who was shot dead by Canadian Dominion Police on
May 1, 1899. Ice was a supporter of the life chief council and an
opponent of Canada’s plans to introduce elections to the Canadian side
of Akwesasne.
What most people don’t know is that in this same
time period, the State of New York passed legislation doing away with
hereditary chiefs on the “American” side of Akwesasne. There were also
two other Mohawk shootings within months of Jake Ice’s death.
Although unrelated to the American elections per se, the shootings
added to an already oppressive environment throughout the territory.
The Massena Observer published the following article
on June 23, 1898:
THE INDIANS IN TROUBLE
Over a Law Doing Away With The
Law of Heredity of Chiefs
The St.
Regis tribe of Indians of Franklin County claim that they were buncoed
by the last legislature, and are so incensed that an outbreak at the
reservation is feared. Joseph Wood, the head chief of the tribe,
and William Reep, an interpreter, were in Albany last week to see
Governor Black and Attorney General Hancock in relation to the
matter. The cause of the trouble is the passage of chapter 642 of
the laws of 1898, which does away with hereditary chiefs in the tribe
and provides for their election every three years. The Indians
are opposed to this because it is contrary to their traditions and from
the fact that they were unaware of its passage by the legislature until
a few days ago. Chief Wood said that the young bucks of the
tribe were hot-headed over the matter, and that he has had a hard time
keeping them from creating a demonstration on the reservation. He
feared that there might be an outbreak at the election Monday.
The attorney general’s department informed him that there was no way to
test the constitutionality of the law until after the election was
held. The chief claims that the treaty entered into between the
tribe and the state is violated by the law.
Violence
did break out within six months, but it came at the hands of a drunken
police officer, not the hot-headed young bucks of the tribe. The
Palladium of Malone reported the following story on December 22, 1898:
AN INDIAN FATALLY SHOT BY OFFICER
An Indian
named Ransom, aged about 50 years, was shot and instantly killed by an
officer in his home at St. Regis reservation near Hogansburgh, last
Thursday afternoon about three o’clock. At the time it was
announced as a murder, but a coroner’s jury agreed that the Indian came
to his death by the accidental discharge of a revolver in the hands of
the constable. District Attorney Paddock, Coroner Geo. H. Oliver
and Under Sheriff Ketchum visited the scene on Friday morning in
response to a telegram from the victim’s brother. They found the
facts about as follows: -- Samuel Labrake, a constable of Fort
Covington, had a body execution for Celos Ransom, a half-breed Indian,
and in company with a man named Bashaw, he proceeded to arrest
the man. Instead of stopping at his house, they drove to
Hogansburgh and became intoxicated and then returned to do their
official duty. They entered the house as peddlers with a satchel,
and tried to induce the Indian and his squaw to drink, and succeeded in
creating considerable disturbance. Labrake finally announced his
official errand and coaxed Ransom to accompany him. This he
refused to do, and he ordered the two men from his house. After
their exit, the door was closed, but the Indian immediately noticed
their satchel on the floor and opened the door and threw it out.
The fatal shot was then fired, and in just what manner opinions
differ. At any rate, Ransom had only time to turn around when he
dropped dead…
A coroner’s
jury made up of “substantial Fort Covington men” determined that there
was no wrong-doing on Labrake’s part. Ransom’s family and
friends were angry at this decision and pressed the justice of the
peace in Moira to issued a warrant for Labrake’s arrest on a murder
charge.
Labrake got his day in court in June of 1899...less
than two months after the killing in St. Regis village of Jake Ice,
also at the hands of a non-native lawman. At his trial, Mr.
Ransom’s wife, Delia, testified against Labrake, as did other natives
who were nearby. They confirmed that Ransom was shot while
tossing the satchel to Labrake. The defense countered by painting
the deceased as prone to violence, citing his assault on an officer who
had previously come to arrest him on the same charge. It was also
claimed that Ransom picked up a piece of firewood and attempted to
strike Labrake with it as he retreated from his doorway, causing the
gun to go off. After deliberating for four and half hours, the
jury rendered a verdict of not guilty. As the June 29, 1899
edition of The Palladium reported:
The
courtroom was crowded with spectators, who, upon the announcement of
not guilty, broke into loud applause, which could not be checked for
several minutes.
The message that everyone got was that it was open
season on Indians around Akwesasne. It wouldn’t be long before
another incident occurred, as we can see a report carried in the
Massena Observer’s September 14, 1899 edition:
MORE TROUBLE AT ST. REGIS
Another Indian Shot By A
Saloon Keeper
Frank Terrance, a half breed,
shot in back as he was leaving the place and left alone for hours
A Malone
correspondent says that another shooting affair occurred at the St.
Regis reservation in which Frank Terrance, a half breed, was shot in
the back. He is in a precarious condition and there are grave
doubts as to his recovery. It appears that he was on the streets
of Fort Covington village Friday afternoon and in a partly intoxicated
condition. Toward evening, in company with two Bashaw brothers he
went to the old Riley line store kept by Frank Demarce, an Italian who
sells a few cheap groceries and plenty of fire water. Soon after
the three men arrived one of the Bashaw boys bought a half pint
of high wines, and a little later Terrance called for White Whiskey, in
which the health of all present was drunk. Terrance then refused
to pay, and became involved in a dispute with Demarce, the proprietor.
The Bashaws
finally left for home, leaving Terrance and Demarce to settle their
difficulties as best they could. Terrance says that he soon left
the saloon and started for the shed to get his horse. This was
about nine o’clock. When only part way to the shed there was a
report of a gun and he fell shot in the back, the ball entering the
right shoulder blade. He lay where he fell about two hours when
two young men, Arthur Miller and William Smith, heard him calling and
found him wounded and bleeding. Demarce came to their assistance
and the wounded man was conveyed to Fort Covington for surgical
treatment. He was taken to the American House and Drs. McArtney
and Blackett probed for the bullet without success. Terrance
claims that Demarce said he shot him, and the fact that the man was
shot in the back while some distance from the store indicated that it
was deliberate on the part of Demarce, who practically admits the
shooting by giving himself up.
After suffering three violent shootings within the
span of a year, two of which were at the hands of non-native police
officers, one might expect that all the fight might have gone out of
the people who opposed the elections on both sides of the border,
especially when you consider that reservation elections were always
attended by outside police. But opposition did continue, as
the newspaper accounts from later years attest, and today the elected
and “hereditary” chiefs share an uneasy coexistence in Akwesasne.
Neither form of government has completely won out over the other.
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