Brutality Canada Police Brutality O Canada

Report on Cornwall Border Caravan Action to Akwesasne

"Who controls the medium, controls the message"

The successful slowdown yesterday of 401 traffic between Kingston and Cornwall by the Border Caravan was grossly under-reported in spite of numerous media cameras and a large police presence. The caravan of some two dozen vehicles drove at 65 kph in front of a mass of eighteen wheelers and cars, some of whose drivers were quite perturbed. At one point a transport trailer bearing the name "Chrysler Company" roared up dangerously close behind this driver, furiously honking his horn until we got out of his way. Nearly clipping our rear end and terrifying our passenger, he roared off ahead of the pack. One or two more vehicles managed to get through but the rest stayed back in a procession that must have been miles long though we have as yet no reports from the air.

The caravan arrived at Walmarts near the bridge in Cornwall to meet with the OCAP bus there. The combined crowd numbered about 300 according to this reporter's estimate and there were about 20 Cornwall and OPP officers standing around.

The plan was to continue over the first bridge, the toll bridge onto the island in Akwesasne Reserve where the Canadian Customs offices are located. We were assured by our Mohawk allies that we would be able to safely park our cars there and then proceed on foot to meet the Americans on the second bridge. The Mohawks had hosted a fish fry on the American side to welcome the protesters coming to the Quebec Summit.

Some negotiations took place between our Mohawk allies and the police while the caravan waited patiently in the parking lot. Finally the procession headed out following the little white volvo with the sign "Welcome to Akwesasne" in the rear window. When we reached the toll booths we were forced to pay the toll even though it had been understood we would not. This was just the beginning of the betrayal and turnabout on the agreement just reached.

As soon as about 7 cars got through the tolls, the barricade was thrown up and the rest of the caravan forced to turn back to Cornwall. The few who had gotten through attempted to park and continue as planned but every time they stopped, law enforcement officers from either the Mohawk police or the RCMP or the OPP rushed over to aggressively demand they move on. They too were forced back to Cornwall with the police numbering about 100 officers. There was also a good number of Mohawk people standing behind a police tape on the roadway that leads to Chief Mike Mitchell's house. A few of those people looked hostile or worried while most seemed just curious.

A film had been shown in the Mohawk community a few days earlier depicting the violence and mayhem that the protesters would surely bring. Mike Mitchell, chief of the band council created and financed by the Canadian government claims to represent the Mohawk people at Akwesasne in his shunning of the protesters passing through. However, there are at least 6 other factions in this community. Mitchell, lackey and puppet of the Canadian government represents the Mohawks at Akwesasne about as much as Jean Chretien represents the rest of us.

Once back at the parking lot, a quick meeting of spokespersons gathered to decide their next steps. In spite of the long walk over the bridge and the prospect of that awful smell spewing from the many smoke stacks that line the shores here, it was agreed that the Canadian contingent would walk to meet their American counterparts. However, the police had meanwhile closed and blocked the bridge. A line of 76 officers (7 female) formed across the road with each officer holding the belt of the one in front of him. They were not dressed in riot gear but were a motley assortment of Cornwall and OPP officers in uniform. The protesters gathered in front of them with their flags and placards, occasionally chanting "let us through" etc. and making pointed remarks to the officers who remained silent and expressionless in their line.

There were many more police officers scattered about, probably numbering more than the protesters. The cost of the police presence to tax payers would be interesting to know while of course the protesters were traveling at their own expense. Many planned to continue on to Quebec City but many also were staying in Ontario, in their own communities were actions and consciousness raising are very much needed. Globalization does mean everywhere and it is not necessary to travel far to see oppression, injustice and destruction.

In a brief speech, Sue Collis of OCAP mentioned a study done at Akwesasne which recommended that women there not breast feed their babies due to the level of toxins found in the breast milk. What many people may not know is that this study was done some 15 years ago. With Cornwall being one of the most polluted areas in Canada, how much worse must the water and air and soil now be in this Mohawk community where factories have been spewing and spilling sulfurous and other toxic materials for over 50 years? Surely, most of the Mohawk people know that big industry runs rough shod over indigenous people destroying the land and seldom returning any of the profits to their communities. Globalization did not begin with the ftaa but 500 years ago with European expansionism and colonization of the rest of the world.

A placard in the crowd reminded us all of the Jay Treaty and the two row wampum. However, many Canadians have no idea what this refers to. The Jay Treaty was made nearly 200 years ago between the British crown and the People of the Longhouse. This treaty guaranteed the Mohawk Nation free and undisturbed passage of their people, belongings, family and friends across the border established by the British and American governments in the midst of Akwesasne. territory. In typical fashion, this treaty has not been honoured but instead, the people of Akwesasne, traveling back and forth across the border are subject to search and seizure and constant harassment by both Canadian and American customs and immigration on a daily basis.

The two row wampum was a record kept by the Mohawks in a beaded and woven form which exists to this day. The two row wampum was the Mohawk Nation's copy of the treaty agreements with the Crown which promised that the two nations would exist side by side like two boats in the water, separate but friendly and never interfering in each others business. The performance by various Canadian law enforcement officers at Cornwall/Akwesasne on Thursday, April 19, 2001 was a mockery of this sacred trust.

As the Americans trickled in on foot, they were met with cheers. The street had gained an almost party atmosphere with food and music being offered from the back of a pickup truck. One Mohawk family returning from a two week vacation were furious when the police would not let them pass. The police spokesman said, "It is for your own safety." The Mohawk gentleman did not accept this answer and neither did the crowd who shouted angrily for him to be let through. He demanded that they contact Louis Mitchell, head of the Mohawk police which they reluctantly agreed to do.

Facing a long drive home, we decided to leave then, hopeful the Mohawk family would be let through and that the crowd would be allowed to disperse peacefully and continue their long drive to Quebec City in time for Friday's day of Actions.

Jenn Tsun

Here's the message from our Mohawk allies.

We have lived the past 100 years under the Indian Acts of two colonial governments. For 100 years, we have endured the indignities of poverty, isolation, hunger and disease. For 100 years, we have been environmentally destroyed. Our women give birth to babies that suffer from the effects of pollution, children born without intestines or intestines that grow on the outside of their bodies. We are told that new mothers can no longer breast feed their newborns because of toxin levels within their bodies. For 100 years we have not been allowed to speak out for fear of reprisals from our own duly elected Indian Act governments.

On April 19th, we did something that this community has never seen before.

Prior to the arrival of the American Caravan, Akwesasne community people were told to stay indoors, not to let their children outside, and to prepare for the looting and burning of their homes. Band Council and other counter-intelligence organizations disseminated false information in an attempt to keep people out of our community, and to keep Mohawk people from participating in the realization that we share a common political struggle.

The overwhelming majority of community people understood the issue and were honored to have warriors from other nations coming into Akwesasne.

Despite local governments hysteria, 80 people participated in cooking and organizing for the day. Two hundred and fifty people participated in the event by attending the feast, crossing the bridge or observing from behind customs lines. The Ontario Coalition Against Poverty helped us with organizing, but we stressed that it was something that must come from within the community. We planned the April 19th event with the intention of organizing our people, so that we could legitimately play a part in the plans to defeat the government. We acknowledge the mistakes we made in organizing, however, these tactical errors should not override the success of the day. We defeated the attempts of five governing bodies that were committed to stopping the event. We showed courage and integrity to the 13 policing agencies that had threatened to attack, beat or kill us, and our families, if we continued with our plans.

We met adversity with honour to the very end. Any shortfalls within the day are necessary to understand so that they do not appear in future issues, but clearly , we feel that this was an issue of the people of Akwesasne and we gauge our success on that. We have opened the door to building links with non-native people and organizations. We stood together to demonstrate to governments that they will no longer be able to isolate us from each other.

Your courage to overcome the political adversity surrounding the day, will not be forgotten and we can now legitimately work toward understanding your issues and having you understand ours.

We are not prepared to endure another 100 years.

Yours in solidarity,
Mohawk Organizers of Akwesasne

"Accumulation of wealth at one pole is, therefore, at the same time accumulation of misery, agony of toil, slavery, ignorance, brutality, and moral degradation at the opposite pole" - Karl Marx

This is one reader's reply:
 
From: GrayDeer@aol.com

My daughter wrote this:
Greetings,
 
I am writing in regard to:
 
http://207.126.116.12/culture/native_news/m8952.html
 
The above had inaccurate information. The Jay Treaty was wrongly defined in your paper. The Jay Treaty was between the United States and Great Britain, not between Great Britain and the Iroquois.

"The Jay Treaty. Treaty of Amity, Commerce, and Navigation, signed at London November 19, 1794, with additional article Original in English. Submitted to the Senate June 8, Resolution of advice and consent, on condition, June 24, 1795. Ratified by the United States August 14, 1795. Ratified by Great Britain October 28, 1795. Ratifications exchanged at London October 28, 1795. Proclaimed February 29, 1796.

Treaty of Amity Commerce and Navigation, between His Britannick Majesty; and The United States of America, by Their President, with the advice and consent of Their Senate."
http://www.yale.edu/lawweb/avalon/diplomacy/jay.htm

In addition, the portrayal of Mike Mitchell is unfair. The person writing the article that you published has isolated one single event in the life of a man who has fought for decades for Kanienkahake, Mohawk Nation, border rights. Perhaps the writer should have interviewed Mike Mitchell and asked him why he was against the bridge blockade. I think you and your readers deserve a holistic look at the issue not a myopic biased look as was presented by Ms. Tsun. In addition, perhaps looking at the man and his action over the past 40 years will cast a differet light on the man and the issue.

The following is an article from Indian Times October 22, 1999, Vol. #38 p. 3. Supreme Court of Canada to hear Case on Mohawk Border Crossing Rights.

(Akwesasne-Kentenha/October, 15, 1999) - The Supreme Court of Canada announced on October 14, 1999, that it would hear an appeal by the Federal Government of a judgment from the Federal Court of Appeal on the Border Crossing Rights of the Mohawks of Akwesasne.

The Federal Court of Appeal ruled, in November 1998, that the Mohawks of Akwesasne have an Aboriginal right to cross the Canada-U.S. border from New York into Ontario and Quebec without paying duty or tax when they bring in goods for personal and community use and for trade on a non-commercial scale with other Ontario and Quebec First Nations. The decision of the Federal Court of Appeal upheld a previous decision by Mr. Justice McKeown of the Trial Division. In that judgment, the trial judge relied on evidence submitted by the Mohawks, including documentary evidence and oral history, and ruled they have an existing Aboriginal right to cross the border with goods duty-free for personal and community use and for trade with other First Nations.

Grand Chief Mike Mitchell began the legal challenge by entering Canada from the State of New York on March 22, 1988, at Cornwall Island with various goods meant for sale on Akwesasne Mohawk Territory and as a gift for the residents of Tyendinaga Mohawk Territory near Belleville, Ontario.

Mitchell declared the goods at the Cornwall Customs Office but refused to pay duty, citing his Aboriginal and Treaty Rights. A trial on the issue of whether he owed any duty to the Government of Canada began in September 1996.

Since this case was conceived as a test-case, and is being carefully watched by many First Nations across Canada and the United States, the Mohawk Council of Akwesasne was certainly not surprised to learn that Supreme Court of Canada considers the matter to be of public importance and granted the Federal Government's application for permission to appeal. The mandate of the Supreme Court of Canada includes hearing cases which the Court considers raise issues of public importance. The Mohawk Council of Akwesasne believes that the issues in this test-case should be determined by the Supreme Court.

Grand Chief Mitchell stated: "We have been fighting this case for almost 12 years. We have come this far and have won at both levels of courts which have heard our case. We are confident that the decisions of the Federal Court are consistent with the recent judgments of the Supreme Court of Canada on Aboriginal Rights. We have seen that the Supreme Court of Canada is sensitive to the perspective of Aboriginal Peoples in interpreting and giving meaning to our Rights, and we trust that the Court's decision in our test-case will be consistent with the previous decisions of the Federal Court and with other decisions of the Supreme Court of Canada.

O:nen
Barbara Gray

All we can say to this is that bad people sometimes do good things and vice versa. So it is no big deal if Mike Mitchell did something good. He probably did it to make himself look good and at what real risk to himself? The man is still a liar just like Mike Harris and Jean Chretien et al.

Send your comments and stories of police brutality to: ruitsdawtah@Hotmail.com

This page created May 25, 2001