Samantha Craggs
Belleville Intelligencer
Saturday, June 30, 2007 - 10:00
Local News - A few short kilometres from each other on Tyendinaga Mohawk Territory, two distinct approaches to the national aboriginal day of action unfolded.
On Wyman's Road, a rickety school bus blocked the CN Rail tracks, part of a protest from a group of Mohawks led by Shawn Brant that saw Highway 401 closed for 12 hours and a portion of Highway 2 closed for the entire day Friday.
At York Road and Highway 2 in Shannonville, meanwhile, Mohawks of the Bay of Quinte (MBQ) band councillor Trevor Lewis handed out information pamphlets.
"If you're headed east, we're told Highway 2 is blocked," Lewis told an agitated Quebec driver. "You can take York Road to Highway 49."
"The 401's blocked too," the driver said. "Why is it blocked?"
"I don't know," Lewis said. "We're not part of that."
On a day of wildly conflicting approaches to educating the public on First Nations issues, that was putting it lightly. After days of talk in the media, Brant's group headed to Highway 401 late Thursday evening to block it. But the OPP, anticipating safety issues, shut it down instead between Belleville and Marysville around 11:30 p.m., said Sgt. Kristine Rae. Commissioner Julian Fantino and other officers spoke with Brant throughout the night, "trying to resolve it," she said.
CN Rail cancelled its rail operations for the day and embargoed all traffic in the heavily-travelled Toronto-Montreal corridor, which was already blocked by Brant's group for 30 hours April 20, and also in April 2006. CN, which has a court injunction prohibiting protesters from doing it again, issued a media release Friday morning saying it stopped train traffic because police would do nothing to remove the protesters.
"The OPP continues to refuse to intervene," it said.
By the end of the morning Friday, Brant told media that this was only a test run, and that protesters would shut down Highway 401 again. OPP issued an arrest warrant for Brant, already out on bail and facing charges of mischief and breach of recognizance, and charged him again with mischief and breach of recognizance. Brant, 43, told The Canadian Press he wouldn't even think about turning himself in to police until after midnight, the end of the day of action.
Police are still determining when and where to arrest Brant, Rae said.
"We will have two other venues to resolve, and there are still discussions underway," she said Friday afternoon, as the CN Rail line and Highway 2 remained closed.
Meanwhile, MBQ band council and staff spent Friday morning slowing traffic in Shannonville, but only to hand out information pamphlets. Six Nations flags flew and Mohawks of various ages handed out information on a variety of issues. They also held signs with phrases such as "don't drink our water," "Oh Canada, built on native land" and "inconvenienced for a day ... try a lifetime."
Motorists, Lewis said, were amicable and interested, with only a few refusing to roll down the window and take the information.
"I feel proud," Lewis said as he chatted with motorists, many of whom he knew. "I'm proud to be a Haudenesaunee Iroquois Mohawk, proud to be able to have the opportunity to let people know what we're trying to do."
Of Brant's group, "I guess they think that's what'll do the job," he said.
The day, said Chief R. Donald Maracle, was about the issues rather than Brant.
"We're not endorsing the barricade," he said. "We've always said we could achieve more with a public information campaign, and that's what we're supporting."
A key issue is education funding capped at 2 per cent while First Nations populations grow, Maracle said. There are 10,000 natives nationwide waiting to go to school, a problem that worsens as tuition rates climb, he said. Demand for university is also increasing.
"In 1952, there were 10 First Nations people in university," he said. "Since then, we've graduated 30,000. These are people in a variety of professions - doctors, lawyers, educators - making very important contributions to society."
Most budgets for aboriginal issues are capped at rates that are less than annual inflation, he said.
"We're advocating that First Nations people have their human rights respected, and have an equitable share in this country's wealth," he said.
The MBQ group dispersed around noon, about an hour after police negotiations with Brant led to the highway being re-opened, and traffic slowly began to move again.
Brant, meanwhile, went to sleep on the bus that blocked the Wyman's Road tracks after telling reporters he hadn't slept for two days. Local and national media spent much of Friday afternoon parked down the one-lane gravel road, waiting for Brant to wake up and make a statement. Rob Williams of Shannonville and Laura Loft of Belleville wandered past, "just checking on the neighbourhood," Williams said. Both supported the protest and said it was amazing to see the community work together.
"I think it's a great show of solidarity," Williams said. "It gives me goose bumps to see it."
"I'm 100 per cent behind it," Loft agreed.
The Highway 401 closure was not the only one held Friday, just the most major, said Rae. County Road 38 west of Bala and County Road 45 south of Peterborough were also blocked.
CN Rail service is expected to resume today.