Tyendinaga Mohawk Struggle for the Land, part 5/8

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 on Thursday, 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. Additonally, 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.

Public Meeting with speakers:
Peter Rosenthal: Lawyer with Roach, Schwartz, and Associates
Shawn Brant: Tyendinaga MT

Wednesday, May 16th
7pm
Parkdale Community and Recreation Centre
1499 Queen Street West

This event is hosted by the Ontario Coalition Against Poverty.

Category:

News & Politics

Tags:

• native
• mohawk
• tyendinaga
• land
• claims
• quarry
• rail
• solidarity

[kweroseliveca]

compassion.

[joecobra1234]

@obeolojumeji the out come is nothing because your white ass government is a lieing piece of shit like yourself,end of fucking story

[obeolojumeji]

Could someone tell me the outcome of this?

[geraldtlad]

You name me a European that is full-blooded anything. Think about that!

[killerrace]

thats my uncle shawn ur talking about u fucking goof rape hound low life mother fucker

asshole no good for nothing u should go back to ur litt;e pethetic life and live like a rat that u are this man has 300 times more soul then ur hole family will ever have and now u have to understand that we fight for what is ours are land means alot to us and we barly have non go shawn go shawn he is the man of the land let the creator look over him.

peace out.

[killerrace]

hey who ever told shwn to fuck off might want to shut their mouth man this guy has more to say then some hay im native and im proud of it so just go and get a life.zumapaintball

[Normalman50]

Julian Fantino should be fired for failing to arrest those involved in terrorist activities.

[davidfinkledrums]

After seeing some of these comments...I am compelled to write one of my own. I want to say that regardless of what side of the fence you are on...or how one feels...a fact remains that we ARE sitting on a powderkeg right now...if Mr. Brant here is found guilty and sentenced to jail for 12 years as the prosecution is planning...we are ALL going to plunge headlong into sensless violence...if you look at the past (Oka, Caledonia etc.) and one can see that this is as true as the day is long...

[letstalkaboutstuff]

apparently you do since you took the time to watch the video and post. You do care, but not about right or wrong, only about yourself, until the government fucks you over, then you piss your pants and cry for help, but it will be too late because you didn't stand up when it counted. You're a coward and not a leader.

[letstalkaboutstuff]

I see some of these idiots postings and they don't even know what they are talking about, then they think they make a remark that sounds smart, and if they only knew how stupid they look. So many do not know what is going on and show how STUPID they are. The law is the law. The land is lawfully property of the Native Canadians. Nobody cares until it happens to them. Nothing surprising about that attitude.