 | |
| Broadcast area | Akwesasne |
|---|---|
| Frequency | 97.3 MHz (FM) |
| Branding | 97.3 CKON |
| Programming | |
| Format | Adult Contemporary Country |
| Affiliations | CBS Radio News WPTZ |
| Ownership | |
| Owner | Akwesasne Communication Society |
| History | |
First air date | September 29, 1984 |
Call sign meaning | Reference to "sekon", the Mohawk word for "hello". |
| Technical information | |
| ERP | 3,000 watts (unofficial) |
Transmitter coordinates | 44°59′58″N 74°39′19″W / 44.9994°N 74.6552°W |
| Links | |
| Website | www.ckonfm.com |
CKON-FM is a private radio station located in Akwesasne, a Mohawk nation territory that straddles the Canada–United States border (and also, on the Canadian side, the interprovincial border between Quebec and Ontario). The station's studios are located in the Akwesasne Communication Society Building; that building is itself on both sides of the international border, with part of it being in Hogansburg, New York, and part of it in Saint Regis, Quebec.[1] The ACS building was deliberately constructed on the international border as a symbol of Mohawk defiance between Canada and the United States, as well as an expression of communal unity.
Its licence was issued by the Mohawk Nation Council of Chiefs and Clanmothers.[2] The station broadcasts on 97.3 MHz and is owned and operated by the Akwesasne Communication Society, a community-based non-profit group.[1]
The call sign CKON is a reference to the Mohawk word "sekon" (or "she:kon"), which means "hello" in English.[1]
While the station uses a call sign that would give the impression of being a licensed Canadian station, according to an article from the Canadian Journal of Communication, it is not,[3] and there is no record of the station being licensed by the Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission (CRTC), or by the United States Federal Communications Commission (FCC). As such, official technical information about the station is unavailable; however, the station is reported to use 3,000 watts of effective radiated power,[3] and its transmitter site is reported as being located on the Canadian side of the border,[4] in St. Regis (part of the Quebec portion of the reserve). The building CKON is housed in is located on the Canada-United States border. CKON's tower is located on the US portion of the reserve.[5] The station is licensed by a proclamation from the Akwesasne Mohawk Nation [3] given via the Mohawk Nation Council of Chiefs.[6] It is the only radio station in North America operating under the exclusive jurisdiction of an aboriginal government. Its founding board consisted of the following members: Frank David, Brian Cole, Salli Benedict, Lloyd Benedict, Diane Lazore, Doug George-Kanentiio and Francis Boots.
