Latest news with #Akwesasne
CBC
09-07-2025
- Health
- CBC
Haudenosaunee women are reclaiming traditional teachings around their periods
Social Sharing Haudenosaunee women are learning traditional "moon time" teachings so their daughters can approach their menstrual cycle with support instead of stigma. Prompted by a need for increased health support and education in her community as well as her own personal struggles with her moon time, Sateiokwen Bucktooth started Snipe Clan Botanicals in 2018 and is sharing her knowledge by providing workshops. Bucktooth is a traditional ecological knowledge teacher from Akwesasne Mohawk Territory, on the Ontario-Quebec-New York state border. "I had a really rough moon time every month," she said. "It was pretty uncomfortable and it affected my quality of life so I started really delving into what types of plants I can use to help support my reproductive health." She said raspberry leaf, stinging nettle, chamomile, hibiscus and yarrow are her go-to herbs to help to ease menstrual symptoms. In addition to education, engaging youth through activities like botanical scavenger hunts, Bucktooth said her workshops normalize talking about reproductive health so these types of conversations can become more common. She said people who menstruate who learn to better understand their bodies can then advocate for their own health at the doctor's office, for example. "Most times it's the moms who are willing to share because the young girls are still a little bit uncomfortable talking about the details of a menstrual cycle," she said. "I like to bring that up so it becomes almost normal for us to discuss these things out in the open and not that it's a dark, bloody secret that we can't really share." Bucktooth said the response so far has been great and there's requests for additional workshops that follow the whole journey of reproductive health from menarche into perimenopause and menopause. Facilitates mother-daughter talks Steevi King brought her daughter Kanekanoron Lazore, 12, to a workshop she helped organize in Akwesasne last year. She said it provided a space for mothers and daughters to discuss and celebrate reproductive health through Haudenosaunee teachings. "As a mom, I want to give the things that I didn't get when I was her age," King said. "I kind of just had my mom and my aunties there to help guide me and nobody talked about these things and it was almost kind of like shame behind it. My moon time was shameful." King said she didn't want her daughter to feel that way and wanted her to feel guided through this sacred time in her life. "I just wanted her to love her body. I wanted her to not be blindsided by it," King said. She said the workshop made it easier for them to talk about it without feeling uncomfortable. King said she's also empowering herself by relearning these teachings. "We have people who are showing us the way and bringing back [teachings] and putting that love and that empowerment onto our young girls and even women my age," she said. Lazore said Bucktooth provided them with little packets of herbs and taught them how to prepare teas for their moon time. Although she hasn't had her first period yet, she said she feels more prepared and comfortable talking about it now. "It definitely does make me feel, like, weird about it but it's all right because it's how Shonkwaia'tíson [Creator] made us," she said.
National Post
02-07-2025
- National Post
Canada-U.S. citizen in custody in deadly St. Lawrence River human smuggling case
A dual Canadian-American citizen that United States authorities allege was part of a deadly human smuggling operation that left migrants drowned in the St. Lawrence River will remain in custody following a detention hearing in the Northern District of New York District Court on Tuesday. Article content The U.S. Justice Department said 34-year-old Timothy Oakes was arrested as he attempted to enter the United States on June 15. Article content Article content Article content Oakes, who is from Akwesasne which straddles the Canada-U.S. border west of Montreal, was indicted in April for conspiring with others to smuggle people from Canada into the United States, as well as four counts of alien smuggling for profit and four counts of alien smuggling resulting in death. Article content Article content The family, which were not named in the U.S. court documents, have been identified as Florin Iordache, his wife Cristina (Monalisa) Zenaida Iordache, their two-year-old daughter Evelin and one-year-old son Elyen. 'This case shows the terrible perils of illegally crossing the border,' U.S. Attorney for the Northern District of New York John A. Sarcone III said in a news release Tuesday. 'Four family members died because a smuggling network put them in harm's way.' Article content Court documents allege that Oakes routinely smuggled people into the United States by boat across the St. Lawrence River. Documents said he was paid $1,000 per person. Article content Article content Court documents said Oakes housed the Romanian family for about 24 hours in March 2023 before transporting them along with a boat to a public launch site. His brother, Casey Oakes, was piloting the boat intending to reach northern New York. Article content Article content The boat ultimately capsized, killing all four members of the migrant family and Oakes' brother. Article content A family of four from India were also on the boat and drowned but the U.S. indictment against Oakes does not include their deaths.
Fox News
01-07-2025
- Fox News
Man arrested for deadly immigrant smuggling operation that killed Romanian family of four and his own brother
A dual U.S.-Canadian citizen was arrested last month for his alleged role in an attempt to smuggle a Romanian family of four into the United States, which left them dead, including two young children. Timothy Oakes, 34, from the Akwesasne Mohawk Indian Reservation (AMIR) in Canada, was arrested on June 15 while trying to enter the U.S. via the Massena, New York, port of entry, the Justice Department said. He is charged with conspiring with others to engage in alien smuggling, four counts of alien smuggling for profit, and four counts of alien smuggling resulting in death. He appeared in a federal court on Tuesday and was ordered held. His U.S.-based co-conspirators — Dakota Montour, 31, and Kawisiiostha Celecia Sharrow, 43, both of Akwesasne-Mohawk, New York, and Janet Terrance, 45, of Hogansburg, New York — have all entered guilty pleas. "Oakes and his co-conspirators profited from a human smuggling operation with a singular, cold-hearted aim: making money by bringing illegal aliens into the United States, regardless of the danger to human life involved," said Matthew Galeotti, head of the Justice Department's Criminal Division. "Their greed resulted in the deaths of a mother, a father, and two small children, as well as one of the defendants' own brothers." Oakes smuggled illegal immigrants from Canada into northern New York using boats to get across the St. Lawrence River, federal prosecutors said. He earned $1,000 per person, authorities said. In March 2023, Oakes housed a Romanian family of four, together with other aliens, for about 24 hours before allegedly taking them on his boat in an attempt to illegally bring them into the U.S. Oakes, his brother Casey, and the Romanian family were on the vessel when it capsized, killing the family, including two children under the age of 3, and his brother. "Two toddler-aged children and their parents were the tragic victims of an alien smuggling attempt gone horribly wrong," said Chief Patrol Agent Robert Garcia of the U.S. Border Patrol's Swanton Sector. "Their deaths were a direct result of callous smugglers who exploited the vulnerable." Terrance, Montour, and Sharrow admitted in their plea agreements that they were employed to illegally transport the Romanian family — a mother, father, 1-year-old boy, and 2-year-old girl — from Canada into New York. Montour admitted that he was aware of the dangerous weather conditions on the day of the smuggling attempt — high winds, freezing temperatures, and limited visibility, the Justice Department said.
Globe and Mail
01-07-2025
- Globe and Mail
Dual Canada-U.S. citizen in custody in fatal St. Lawrence River human smuggling case
A dual Canadian-American citizen that United States authorities allege was part of a deadly human smuggling operation that left migrants drowned in the St. Lawrence River was arrested last month. The U.S. Justice Department says 34-year-old Timothy Oakes was arrested as he attempted to enter the United States on June 15. Oakes, who is from Akwesasne, west of Montreal, will remain in custody following a detention hearing in the Northern District of New York District Court earlier today. Oakes was indicted in April for conspiring with others to smuggle people from Canada into the United States across the St. Lawrence River and U.S. court documents allege he was a key facilitator. Documents say Oakes housed a Romanian family of four before they were transported by boat with the intention of landing in northern New York in March 2023. The boat ultimately capsized, killing all four members of the migrant family and Oakes' brother who was piloting the vessel.
CTV News
01-07-2025
- CTV News
Canada-U.S. citizen in custody in deadly St. Lawrence River human smuggling case
Searchers look for victims Friday, March 31, 2023 after a boat capsized and left six people dead and one infant missing in Akwesasne, Que. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Ryan Remiorz WASHINGTON — A dual Canadian-American citizen that United States authorities allege was part of a deadly human smuggling operation that left migrants drowned in the St. Lawrence River was arrested last month. The U.S. Justice Department says 34-year-old Timothy Oakes was arrested as he attempted to enter the United States on June 15. Oakes, who is from Akwesasne, west of Montreal, will remain in custody following a detention hearing in the Northern District of New York District Court earlier today. Oakes was indicted in April for conspiring with others to smuggle people from Canada into the United States across the St. Lawrence River and U.S. court documents allege he was a key facilitator. Documents say Oakes housed a Romanian family of four before they were transported by boat with the intention of landing in northern New York in March 2023. The boat ultimately capsized, killing all four members of the migrant family and Oakes' brother who was piloting the vessel. Kelly Geraldine Malone, The Canadian Press
