June 12, 2006

More Caledonia connections

Recall that one of the people wanted by the OPP on charges related to violence at the Six Nations stand-off in Caledonia, Ontario is Ken Hill. Hill is a major business presence on the reserve, involved in cigarettes and probably gambling.

His partner is Jerry Montour. a Mohawk from Wahta, as was revealed in this post. The Wahta reserve is made up of people who were relocated in 1881 from Kanesatake, and strong links have been maintained between the two communities.

Kanesatake is famous, of course, for the 78-day stand-off between Mohawk Warriors and Quebec police (and later Canadian troops) in 1990 in the nearby town of Oka over land.

In the aftermath, a gambling operation was started:

A few years after the crisis, the Mohawks of Kahnawake established the Kahnawake Gaming Commission and started issuing "licences" to gambling operators who host their Internet gaming websites on their reserve. Both the Canadian and Quebec governments dispute the legality of this operation, but have not risked taking further action. The websites hosted by the Kahnawake Gaming Commission are the only gambling sites that have operated in North America without legal action being taken against them.

The Warriors are not involved only in land disputes and gambling, but drugs too:

The Warriors are up to their necks in narcotics, but sometimes seem anxious to appear to be clean. After the 40-kilo find of cocaine in New York in September 1993 was publicized, Art Montour, the Warrior leader from Akwesasne, gratuitously emerged to publicly disavow Warrior participation in the cocaine industry. This was before New York State Police had even mentioned to apparent connection between the Warriors and the cocaine shipment. Art Montour did tell Dan D’Ambrosio, a feature writer for Gentlemen’s Quarterly that both of his sons use drugs.

Montour’s disavowals ring hollow in the law enforcement community. In May 1990, as police forces flooded onto Akwesasne in the aftermath of the coup attempt, 21 arrests were made in connection with a major cocaine smuggling ring centred on Akwesasne. Kanesatake, despite the small Warrior presence before May/June 1990, was the site of a methamphetamine laboratory. An RCMP raid in April of 1988 scooped up the lab and 3 kilos of 70% pure product. The lab could produce 2 kilos a day with a street value of $200,000.

Notice the name?

Art Montour.

Besides drugs, cigarette smuggling is another lucrative business for Art:

Art Montour, the leader of the Warrior’s Society in Akwesasne, insists smuggling is an expression of native sovereignty and gave the "Fifth Estate" a modest estimate of the profits of the cigarette trade as being "probably in the high tens of millions." An RCMP officer in Cornwall estimates that $1.1 billion in contraband tobacco passed through Akwesasne in 1992. The smuggler’s share of contraband usually runs to about 15% of cost, or $165 million for Montour’s colleagues. In 1993, over $1.8 billion in cigarettes filtered through the smugglers of Akwesasne.

Jake Thomas, a traditional Cayuga chief on the Six Nations Reserve, is cited in a September 1st, 1993 Globe and Mail article: "money is what makes the power of the Warrior Society. They are just using sovereignty and the Confederacy name. But at the same time, they don’t want to listen to the Confederacy. Some native people say they are smuggling just because of sovereignty. I don’t believe its right to use sovereignty for their own welfare."

Recall that Jerry Montour and Ken Hill own Grand River Enterprises, the largest company on the Six Nations Reserve. GRE makes cigarettes. The address of GRE is also the address provided for two on-reserve "gambling commissions".

Is Art Monrour related to Jerry Montour? I believe they are. Both Jerry and Art (and partner Ken Hill) made a joint donation of $21,200 to the Cruz Bustamante campaign during the California gubernatorial election in 2003:

*****
CRUZ BUSTAMANTE

*$21,200 from AT&T.

*$21,200 from Diamond Contribution Package/Arthur Montour, Jerry Montour, Kenneth Hill.

*$21,000 from Menendez for Congress of New Jersey.

(Note: Why would they be interested in Cruz Bustamante winning? I don't know. But I bet there is a story there, too. Makes me wonder if understanding the link would help explain the interest the US Border Patrol has in this.)

How could they not be related?

Art was at Oka in 1990. The violent fight was allegedly about a grave site threatened with desecration by the expansion of a golf course. The result was a major gambling operation being started.

Jerry and partner Ken Hill are involved in gambling interests in the Six Nations reserve. Jerry's relative Art is a Mohawk Warrior leader. The Mohawk Warriors are leading the violent fight in a land dispute. Hill is wanted on charges, so we know he is directly involved.

Did Jerry call on Art to come lend a hand? If so, why? Art might be concerned about land claims, but he is also concerned about profit from cigarettes, gambling, and drugs.

Any guess as to what the outcome is going to be in Caledonia if the land is ceded to the reserve?