MEET THE CHIEF: Akwesasne Grand Chief Abram Benedict, says border issues present difficulty for community during COVID

Grand Chief Abram Benedict

By Victoria Gray Writer The border between US and Canada that runs through the Mohawk Nation at Akwesasne has posed some challenges to the elected council throughout the COVID-19 pandemic. Although Grand Chief Abram Benedict and his council administer the Canadian side of the community the border closure has had a negative economic impact on the community. “We continuously struggle with the challenges of the border,” he said. “With COVID-19 and the border being closed, it hasn’t had a direct impact socially, but more so economically.” The border closure has also annoyed about two thirds of the community, who are landlocked by the U.S.A. on one side and St. Lawrence Seaway on the other side. The only way out, is going into the U.S.A. Indigenous people continued passaged between Canada…

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