\

Peruse Magazine
An archive of magazines from around the world, with a focus on small circulation, independent publications that covered subcultures from 1960 to 2000. All magazines owned by @arjununcle. Not for sale.

back to arjun’s portfolio
The Mohawk Nation of Akwesasne is situated on the banks of Kaniatarowanenneh, straddling the modern day border of Quebec and New York. The Mohawk people founded the community in the mid-18th century, the name meaning “Land Where the Partridge Drums.”


In 1968, the community blocked a bridge between Canada and the United States to protest the violation of the Jay Treaty, which guarantees free movement across the border for Mohawk and other native people. This direct action inspired Ernest Benedict, chief of the Mohawk Council, to start covering the activism of the burgeoning American Indian Movement. He worked with his community to publish Akwesasne Notes, a newspaper that became one of the most important Indigenous publications in North America.


The introductory column is written by poet Peter Blue Cloud. He recounts his visit to the publication’s office, known as “Nation House,” where staff slept, ate, and worked. He notes that the woman who cooked breakfast also sorts clippings, does purchasing, and handles accounts receivable. In a small ad, the paper lists some needs. It asks for translators, calculators, and art supplies, but also animal hides, dehumidifiers, and maple syrup-making equipment. It was more than just a magazine.


There is detail in every inch. Pages are decorated with intricate spot illustrations. Each of them are able to speak on their own, telling stories without words. But in context of the layout, they sing in unison a song of collective power. Notes acted as a communal voice against the capitalist individualism of colonizers. It spoke about the defense of sacred lands, the rights of Native women, and the protection of Native languages. It spoke about inter-tribal unity and inter-racial collaboration against common enemies. It used détournement to reclaim the narrative, reappropriating images of Native people that were captured and commodified by white photographers. When it came down to it, the voice belonged to our Earth itself.


There is a Mohawk proverb that says, “Listen to her—our Earth, our Mother; listen to what she is saying.” Notes was merely transcribing her words.