Ingrid Peritz
The Globe and Mail
Friday, April 21, 2006
MONTREAL -- The confrontation in Caledonia, Ont., caused reverberations outside Ontario yesterday. In Montreal, a pivotal commuter bridge linking the city to South Shore communities was briefly closed to traffic when a group of Mohawks from the Kahnawake reserve decided to show their support for the Ontario protesters.
Peacekeepers from the Kahnawake reserve stopped traffic so a group of men could scale the structure of the Mercier Bridge to erect Mohawk flags. Traffic was halted shortly after 11 a.m. for about 25 minutes, said Timmy Norton, a spokesman for the Mohawk Council of Kahnawake.
The blockade caused momentary alarm because it brought back memories of the 1990 Oka crisis, when Kahnawake Mohawks blocked the bridge in sympathy with fellow natives in Oka during a 78-day standoff with police.
"Nobody in this community wants another 1990, we're going to avoid that at all costs," Mr. Norton said.
Joe Delaronde, another spokesman for the council, said: "It's about supporting our brothers and sisters in the Six Nations. We're all Iroquois together."