Press Release: KMSN wants gravel pit’s operations stopped, land claim settled

Kingston Mohawk Support Network Press Release

Action: Noon, Thursday, May 24, 2007. John Gerretsen, MPP’s office, La Salle Mews, Princess St., Kingston

 

 

No Bloodshed at Tyendinaga.

 

Take our blood instead.

The Ontario government is trying to solve a standoff on Mohawk land with the OPP tactical unit instead of following its own laws. When peaceful resolution is so easy, when Mohawk demands are so reasonable and yet they are ignored for so long, there is only one conclusion. The province of Ontario wants blood.

The Kingston Mohawk Support Network will try to satisfy Ontario’s bloodlust and encourage peaceful resolution by collecting drops of blood from passers-by and presenting it peacefully to John Gerretsen, MPP for Kingston and the Islands.

“Nobody benefits if someone gets hurt at Tyendinaga. We can’t tell if Ontario would rather see dead police officers or dead Mohawks, but neither is necessary. If they want blood on their hands, they can have ours instead and resolve the blockade peacefully,” says Matt Silburn, organizer with the KMSN. “This is an easy problem to solve. Ontario needs to follow its own laws and act honourably and justly by revoking the permit to the gravel quarry.”

The OPP tactical unit has been in a hotel in Napanee for two months. They were deployed at Tyendinaga during the rail blockade of April 20, 2007.

The Mohawks have said from the start of the quarry blockade that they would go home if the quarry permit was revoked. Despite violations of the Mining Act by the aggregate company, which dumped toxic waste into the quarry and which is leaching into the groundwater, the Ontario Ministry of Natural Resources refuses to act.

“Any bodies that fall will be laid at the feet of the Ontario government. This is an entirely avoidable conflict,” said Silburn.

 

KMSN Media Spokesperson: Jeff Welsh, cell 613-888-6416 (Jeff will be available on-site at the event.)

 

Why Canadians side with militant Indians

News article:
Why Canadians side with militant Indians
by Richard Day, Dept of Sociology, Queen’s University, Kingston, ON
published in the Toronto Star – Toronto, Ont – ONT Edition
May 20, 2007

It is well known in all quarters that the job of Phil Fontaine, as the head of the Assembly of First Nations, is to moderate

longstanding tensions between the Canadian state and those his organization purports to represent. That’s why it was rather surprising when Fontaine, speaking this week to the harrumphing curmudgeons at the Canadian Club, said that indigenous peoples and agents of the Canadian state are more likely to be meeting at the barricades than in the boardrooms this summer. That’s enough to put any captain of industry off his lunch, to be sure, and it should be of concern to all of us.

No one can deny that there has been a gathering wave of direct action over the past months, from the ongoing Six Nations standoff to the more recent occupation of a quarry by the Tyendinaga Mohawk. Out west, resistance to the Olympics is being spearheaded by the Native Youth Movement, and Harriet Nahanee, a Squamish elder, was

imprisoned for protesting against the expansion of the ironically named Sea to Sky highway (the road to Whistler actually leads to a town-sized shopping mall).

This week, a group calling itself the Railway Ties Collective sent out a news release inviting people to view a video posted on YouTube. The video showed how one might, with a single wire, cause all of the trains on a line to come to a halt. Although no one knows who produced the video, there are indications that it originated from settlers who support indigenous struggles at Tyendinaga and beyond, and that it was aimed at eliciting further support from non-indigenous activists. Transport Canada asked YouTube to pull the video, and they complied. It is very likely, however, that it is circulating on other sites and will make its way through the web to those who want to view it.

What is happening here? Why are so many people, all over the country, apparently giving up on due process and the rule of law? Why are we seeing this resurgence of the ‘Indian problem’, just when we thought we were beyond all of that? And, perhaps more importantly for the Canadian government, why are so many members of the settler society — non-indigenous Canadians — adding their voices and bodies to this tide of militancy?

A simple answer might be: the Canadian state is not itself following the rule of law, nor has it ever done so with regard to indigenous peoples. The double standards are many and obvious, but this does not stop them from being applied. One need only reverse the roles to see the violence and absurdity of the situation. Imagine that someone walked up to your front door with a gun, told you to get out of your house, and took it and everything you own. You go to the police, and they tell you to get in a line, they’ll deal with you soon. You stand there for a day, a month, a year, several decades, while generations of home invaders run your formerly well-kept home into the ground.

This would never happen, of course, to a member of the settler society, but it is, and has been, the norm for the indigenous peoples of the Americas. If it did ever happen to a ‘mainstream’ Canadian, I imagine that most people would understand if they decided, even after only a day or two — rather than several centuries — to simply take the house back.

Railway lines have long been iconic fibres, making geographical and symbolic connections that could be said to constitute Canada as we know it. It is therefore fitting that they now are being used to demand justice for the indigenous peoples of this continent, without whose help we would not be here today. Obviously disrupting a railway line is an imposition on travelers. Probably commerce will be slowed. It is doubtful, however, that Canadian society will be all but destroyed by these kinds of actions, as so many indigenous societies have been. Rather, we can hope that it will be improved, that the Canadian government will take this as a clear message to stand by the rule of law, in every case, for every race.

Given the shameful behaviour of our economic and political leaders, it is not at all surprising that many Canadians are siding with militant indigenous groups. For, by all of the principles that Western civilization holds dear, they are in the right and we are in the wrong.

 

TORONTO PUBLIC MEETING: Tyendinaga and The Struggle for the Land

TORONTO PUBLIC MEETING: Tyendinaga and The Struggle for the Land

7 PM Wednesday, May 16th

Parkdale Community and Recreation Centre

1499 Queen Street West, Toronto

Speakers include:

Peter Rosenthal: Lawyer with Roach, Schwartz, and Associates

Shawn Brant: Tyendinaga Mohawk Territory

More than forty days after the Mohawks of Tyendinaga reclaimed a portion of the Culbertson Tract, the community continues to hold strong and the Ontario government continues its refusal to revoke the license legitimizing the quarry operation located on the land.

Over the past month, the battle for the Culbertson has escalated on all sides. In the face of government refusal to reverse an age-old act of robbery and injustice, the Mohawks of Tyendinaga blockaded rail lines running through stolen land for upwards of 30 hours. Dozens of trains were stopped, business as usual in Ontario was ground to a halt, and the Canadian public was forced to consider the hundreds of years of ‘inconvenience’ lived by First Nations peoples. The community removed the blockade once this message had been sent.

In response, CN Rail has served suit against three Tyendinaga community members and the Mohawks of the Bay of Quinte (MBQ) Band Council in an unprecedented move, for ‘damages arising from a First Nations blockade of its tracks’ to the tune of $108 million. CN is also seeking a ban on future blockades. Furthermore, criminal charges have been laid against Mohawk spokesperson Shawn Brant. The decision to press charges came directly from OPP Commissioner Julian Fantino. Toronto lawyer Peter Rosenthal will be in court next week, for an initial appearance regarding the civil suit filed by CN Rail.

The Culbertson Tract, was stolen from the Mohawks in 1832. And while the government and the Mohawks began in 2003 to negotiate a deal to repatriate the land, and compensate the community for its losses, the land in question continued to be exploited by non-native developers while the negotiations dragged on.

While the government stalled, the land itself was literally being trucked away by quarry operator Thurlow Aggregates at a rate of more than 100,000 tonnes per year. Additionally, illegal dumping of waste was allowed to continue at the quarry, undiscovered until the rightful holders of the land reclaimed it in March.

Now this robbery has been stopped. Rock from the quarry is being used on the Territory. But the Mohawks of Tyendinaga continue to demand an expedient and just return of the land to their community. It has been more than 170 years too long. Join us to hear more about the struggle for the Culbertson Tract.

This event is hosted by the Ontario Coalition Against Poverty.

______

For more information, please contact:

Ontario Coalition Against Poverty

10 Britain St. Toronto, ON M5A 1R6

Telephone: 416-925-6939

Email: ocap@tao.ca

Website: www.ocap.ca

 

Article: CN Rail sues Mohawks; Company launches suit over rail blockades

CN Rail sues Mohawks; Company launches suit over rail blockades

Brock Harrison

The Kingston Whig-Standard

Local News – Thursday, May 10, 2007

 

CN Rail has taken the unprecedented step of suing the Bay of Quinte Mohawks for disrupting freight delivery and passenger traffic by twice blocking a busy rail line near Deseronto.

The rail company lodged the action, which specifically names Shawn Brant, the main spokesman of the protesting Mohawks, with the Ontario Superior Court of Justice yesterday.

Deseronto is about 40 kilometres west of Kingston.

CN spokesman Mark Hallman would not say how much the rail company is seeking in damages.

He did say about $100 million worth of cargo travels daily on the Toronto-Ottawa-Montreal rail line, which Tyendinaga Mohawk Territory protesters blocked on April 21, 2006, and on April 20 of this year. “The blockades certainly interrupted our business,” Hallman said.

The lawsuit is the first time CN has taken legal action against a First Nations group, Hallman says.

Both blockades were launched to protest housing developments on land natives claim was taken from them.

Last year’s blockade, in which about 100 Tyendinaga Mohawks blocked the CN line near Deseronto, was a show of support for a separate native land dispute in Caledonia. It lasted about 23 hours. About 3,500 Via Rail passengers had to find other arrangements because of that blockade.

Last month’s protest, in response to slow-moving negotiations between natives and the federal government over a 380-hectare tract of privately owned land in Deseronto, lasted 30 hours.

Hallman said 25 freight trains and 22 Via Rail passenger trains were cancelled because a school bus was parked over the tracks by protesters.

The protesters maintain the land tract in question was illegally taken from them in 1832.

Further complicating the protest is the Thurlow Aggregates quarry, which falls within the disputed land tract. The Mohawks have been occupying the quarry since March because they don’t want it being used during negotiations.

The action also seeks to ban future blockades on the rail line. CN is asking for the court order served to protesters that ended last month’s blockade to be extended.

Protesters initially ignored the injunctions.

The suit also names Tyendinaga Chief Don Maracle and the band council, but band administrators have maintained that last month’s protest was not sanctioned by the council. Maracle couldn’t be reached for comment.

Brant, who was arrested on May 4 and has been slapped with a number of criminal charges for leading the protests, says the lawsuit is a scare tactic intended to deter other native groups from demonstrating.

“Blocking the rail line is the only historical means to get the government’s ear,” said Brant, who was released on bail after his arrest.

“We see this as warning shot to other First Nations communities; if you have grievances you want to voice, not only will you be targeted criminally, you’ll be targeted financially.”

CN’s financial concerns are legitimate, Brant says, but he warns that the lawsuit isn’t going to stop natives from speaking up.

Brant has enlisted the services of social justice lawyer Peter Rosenthal, who represented the family of slain aboriginal protester Dudley George at the inquiry into the 1995 Ipperwash standoff. bharrison@thewhig.com

 

 

CN Rail sues Ontario Mohawk protesters

Wednesday, May 9, 2007

CBC News

CN Rail has launched a lawsuit against Mohawk protesters who blocked a major Ontario rail corridor for more than a day last month, disrupting freight and passenger traffic.

The land dispute protest near Deseronto that began in the early hours of April 20 disrupted freight between Toronto and Montreal. The disruption blocked the transport of freight worth more than $100 million, said spokesman Mark Hallman.

‘We’ve sort of looked at this as being a warning … that they’re quite willing to make our miserable lives more miserable.’— Protester Shawn Brant

“We have launched an action to recover the costs associated with the blockade,” Hallman confirmed Tuesday. “This represents the first time that CN has served suit for damages arising from a First Nations blockade of its tracks.”

CN estimated that about 22 freight trains travel the Toronto-Montreal route every day, but did not specify how much it is asking for in damages.

CN seeks ban on future blockades
Hallman said that as part of its action, the company is seeking an extension of a court order that ended the blockade. That extension would ban future blockades.

Shawn Brant, the main spokesman for the protesters from the Tyendinaga Mohawk Territory on Lake Ontario’s Bay of Quinte, is named in the CN lawsuit, which also includes a blockade that people from the reserve staged last year on the same rail line.

“We’ve sort of looked at this as being a warning to other First Nations communities across the country as well as ourselves that they’re quite willing to make our miserable lives more miserable,” he said.

Lawsuit names band council
The lawsuit also names the Tyendinaga Mohawk Territory band council and several other people from their community.

Chief R. Donald Maracle said the council had nothing to do with the blockade and will ask CN lawyers to remove it from the lawsuit.

The rail blockade disrupted both freight and Via Rail passenger service along the Toronto-Ottawa and Toronto-Montreal rail corridors for about 30 hours.

The protest, which ended when CN served the protesters with a court injunction, was part of an ongoing protest that members have been maintaining for months over privately owned land near Deseronto that the Tyendinaga Mohawks claim is theirs.

Brant faces a number of charges related to the blockade, including mischief. He turned himself in to police on May 3, but has been released on bail.

The band council is in talks with a federally appointed negotiator regarding the land claim, but the protesters say those are proceeding too slowly.

 

Celebrating Cultures of Resistance – KMSN Benefit Concert

Benefit concert with Infotourist, DJ Haircut, DJ Grand Funk, S-Cape Artist, and others, to support the Kingston Mohawk Support Network and Kingston Crimethink.

Date: April 26, 2007

Time:  Doors open at 8pm

Location: Time to Laugh Comedy Club (394 Princess St.)

Tickets: $5 All Ages

There will also be speakers and booths representing local grassroots organizations, and the night will also mark the launch of a new local infoshop, Miasma, which will be distributing literature, media, and merchandise to raise money for local grassroots projects.

Presented by Kingston Crimethink, the Kingston Mohawk Support Network, CFRC and the Society of Graduate and Professional Students.

 

Ontario won’t shut quarry at centre of aboriginal protests

Monday, April 23, 2007
CBC News

The Ontario government will not shut down a quarry at the centre of a land dispute, despite Friday’s Mohawk rail blockade and protests Monday by their supporters, says Ontario’s minister responsible for aboriginal affairs.

David Ramsay said the government has no authority to shut down the quarry on land near the Tyendinaga Mohawk Territory and Deseronto that the Bay of Quinte Mohawks say is theirs.

“An aggregate licence can only be suspended if there is a violation of one of the conditions of the licence, and that hasn’t happened in this case,” he said Monday. “So there’s no validity to authorize me to suspend the licence in this case.”

He added that land claims are under federal, not provincial, jurisdiction and that talks with the federal government over the disputed land continue.

The quarry has not been operating since Mohawk protesters set up a blockade there in March.

Protest at Queen’s Park
About a dozen members of the Ontario Coalition Against Poverty protested in support of the Mohawks outside Ramsay’s office at the Ministry of Natural Resources Monday morning before marching to Queen’s Park. Stephanie Gude said First Nations communities face many of the same issues as poor urban dwellers.

“We’re united in a struggle against the capitalist system,” she said. “We’re united against this provincial government.”

A group of Mohawk protesters blocked Via Rail service near Belleville — disrupting service to Toronto, Ottawa and Montreal — for almost 30 hours starting Friday morning.

Protests over the land claim have been continuing since last November, when a developer was scheduled to begin building a subdivision on privately owned land within the disputed territory.

The protesters said talks with the federal government have been proceeding too slowly and have threatened escalating protests in the near future.

 

Demonstration in Toronto supporting the Mohawks of the Bay of Quinte

SUPPORT THE MOHAWKS OF THE BAY OF QUINTE:

DEMAND THE PROVINCE OF ONTARIO REVOKE QUARRY LICENSE

—————————————————–

LOCATION: Ministry of Natural Resources

Whitney Block (at the corner of Queen’s Park Circle and Wellesley, in front of the two large cannons)

DATE: Monday, April 23, 2007

TIME: 11:00 am

Join us as we tell the Ontario government to uphold its duties to the Mohawks of the Bay of Quinte (Tyendinaga) and to the environment. Join us as we deliver direct evidence of illegal dumping and a message sent by the Mohawks of the Bay of Quinte to the steps of the Ministry of Natural Resources. It is time the MNR and the Province of Ontario stepped up and took responsibility for their part in the destruction and theft ofindigenous land.

Demand the Province of Ontario own up to its inaction and answer for its role in the devastation and pilfering of indigenous land.

This demonstration is organized by a coalition including No One Is Illegal-Toronto, Ontario Coalition Against Poverty, Coalition Against Israeli Apartheid, and members of the Coalition In Support of Indigenous Sovereignty.

 

Tyendinaga Quarry – More background

“The claim of the Mohawks of the Bay of Quinte is based upon the illegal disposition of some 827 acres [or 923 acres depending on whose counting] of land, known as the Culbertson Tract, in the years 1836 and 1837. The tract consists of land within the original Mohawk Tract granted to and reserved for the Six Nations by the Simcoe Deed, also known as Treaty No. 3 ½, in 1793. The basis of the claim is that no surrender of the Culbertson Tract was ever sought by the Crown nor given by the Six Nations, as required by the mandatory provisions of the Simcoe Deed. [Tyendinaga's Chiefs immediately registered their people's dissent but no formal legal process existed to pursue its return.] The [land] claim was submitted in 1995 and accepted for negotiation in 2003.” [see: http://indianclaims.ca/claimsmap/mohawksquinte-en.asp]

The Federal government has since tried for several years to get Tyendinaga to take a buy-out for the land. The people of Tyendinaga have repeatedly refused.

The town of Deseronto falls in the middle of the Culbertson claim. The Mayor of Deseronto said that the town’s economic viability and survival depends on the development of Culbertson tract lands and began promoting the land for condos and townhouses late last year. Tyendinaga’s Rotiskenhrakehte successfully stopped development of these lands and the developer publicly abandoned plans for a 30 million dollar project.

However, Thurlow Aggregates continues to operate a Gravel Quarry on Culbertson Tract lands. Despite the fact that Tyendinaga has requested its licence be revoked given ongoing negotiations, the Ontario Ministry of Natural Resources continues to license the quarry for the removal of 150,000 tons of gravel annually. Federal negotiations are clearly in bad faith as they choose to ignore more than 850 truckloads of Tyendinaga land that are removed every month. In January 2007, Tyendinaga’s Rotiskenhrakehte gave the quarry operator 60 days notice to stop selling off Mohawk land. The time for voluntary closure has lapsed and Tyendinaga has now assumed the burden of closing the gravel pit.

 

Article: Native protester feels stood up

Native protester feels stood up

By Luke Hendry

The Belleville Intelligencer

Thursday, April 05, 2007

DESERONTO — One of the lead protesters at a native encampment here has delivered a warning to the provincial government that its ministerial representatives should keep their appointments.

Shawn Brant told reporters Thursday afternoon a district manager of the Ministry of Natural Resources was expected to visit a quarry here at noon Thursday, on the invitation of protesters, but did not attend.

Brant said the official instead went to the band office for Mohawks Of the Bay of Quinte and told officials there she had concerns about visiting the site.

An official with the Mohawks of the Bay of Quinte Thursday confirmed the band council had convened “a meeting between the ministry and officials from the Mohawks of the Bay of Quinte,” but declined to confirm whether the manager in question was among the ministry delegation.

Brant said district manager Jane Ireland had been invited to tour several sites on the disputed land where the Mohawks allege garbage and industrial waste had been dumped and burned illegally. Brant said the protesters camped at the quarry in what is known as the Culbertson Land Tract had assured Ireland there would be no safety issues during her visit.

Brant said the evidence of contamination — sites, he said, where asphalt was dumped and some waste had been burned — was obvious and required no testing by the ministry to ascertain that it was hazardous.

But, because the manager did not honour the invitation of the protesters, Brant declared no other government official will be allowed to enter the area, henceforth.

“We wanted them to see this,” Brant said. “It was today or it was nothing. I think it (the alleged contamination) is clear enough and they should just revoke the licence and f*** off.”