Tyendinaga Mohawk Struggle for the Land, part 2/8

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

[jennifer171986]

help the palestinians fight israel

[jennifer171986]

mohawk warriors are like Palestinians on steroids (compliment) not good if they fight canada. though. i will be on the side of the mohawks hehehe

[bruiserism]

killerrace:

Is there a time when we wouldn't have to listen to your racist trash mouth>

Karen

[brandonlacavera]

holy fuck my family is the Maracles meta olive hill lacavera was my great great grandmother she married an italian from italy

[iamsosquid]

What? Is the truth so hard for you to take? He is a fucking scumbag and he is the worst form of asshole on the planet. I hope he gets knife raped in jail. Oh, and fuck you too.

[christo0187]

the violence isnt senseless,what the mohawks of the bay of quinte are learning is that if you sit back and do nothing people will walk over you and yea violence sucks but unfortunately its a nessesary if people sat by and dint fight we wouldnt have beat the nazi\s and we wouldnt have beat any other enemy who threatens your safety and well being all i can say is that im white but if someone tried to steal my land id fight to the last drop of blood

[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]

hmmmm...you wanna talk crime victims, idiot? How about Indian women who've been raped by white guys and nothing done? Missing Indians? How about the Indians who've been MURDERED and nothing happen or a half-ass investigation? How about treaties broken, THEFT. Anyone else did that, they'd be in legal trouble for breaking a contract or white collar crimes, depending on the damages. I could go on and on and on.

[EESASTORM]

I actually have good friends in Caledonia.......

Terrorism is exactly what these nutbars are doing. Your standing up for them puts you in the same camp.

[letstalkaboutstuff]

gerald, there are white people who stand behind the cause, and if they don't then they should, because criminal activity, THEFT, is just that; CRIMINAL ACTIVITY. If the injustice is not kept in check, stood up against, it's only a matter of time before the government does it to everyone else because when it counted, NOBODY CARED, until it happened to them, then it did matter, but...too late.