Canada Plays Dirty "Third World" Tricks on Akwesasne Mohawks

MNN.  Mar. 27, 2007.  This is a story about Canadian corruption.  We found out about it because of five Mohawk guys who live on the Cornwall Island portion of the Akwesasne Mohawk Territory.  Let’s call them the “Gawenoge” Brothers.  A sixth brother died.  Cornwall Island is on the St. Lawrence River across from the city of Cornwall.

The deceased had a girlfriend, we’ll call her “Robbin”, also a Mohawk.  He had a house, land and a pension.  He wanted one of his brothers to get everything.  He also wanted Robbin to live in the house until she died or moved.  He died.  Robbin stayed in the house.  She was also given half of his pension.  The Brothers, Robbin and her relative met to finalize the deceased’s “true” intentions. A lawyer friend of the Brothers drafted an agreement.  They wanted to settle this internally, not in the outside court system.  

Seven days after the death of the Gawenoge brother, Robbin suddenly says, “Forget it!”  Her relative, who works for a federal government agency, pushed her to go after the whole property, the money, including the share that was going to the brother of the deceased, his life insurance and 2/3 of his pension.  Without telling the Brothers, the band council lawyer, Vuk Kovanich, put the Certificate of Possession in Robbin’s name.  She became the administrator of the estate and sent the paperwork directly to Indian Affairs. 

The Brothers went to see her to talk about it.  Robbin would not let them into the house and threatened them with a gun.  Police were called and a report was filed.  Two band councilors, Angie Barnes and Francis Boots, showed up.  Angie advised, “Go to an outside court.  It’s in Indian Affairs’ hands.  There is nothing you can do here”. 

The Brothers went to lawyer, Benoit Duschesne, of the law firm of Perley Robertson who knows the Indian Act well.  They gave him a down payment.  He advised them to go the Superior Court because “it was faster”.  Then Duschesne left Perley Robertson and joined the law firm of Heenan & Blaikie, one of the biggest and most influential in Canada.  It is the law firm of former prime ministers Pierre Trudeau and Jean Chretien.  The Brothers gave him a retainer.  Robbin and her relative were represented by a prominent civil litigation lawyer in Cornwall.   

Up to now, the Brothers have paid Heenan & Blaikie huge amounts of money.  They’ve gotten nothing but a mess for their money.  A long dragged-out mediation in Ottawa ensued without producing any recommendations.  The litigation lawyer, Robbin and her relative wanted the brothers to give them $250,000 for the deceased’s property.  Heenan & Blaikie then asked for another huge amount to carry on.      

One of the Brothers, “X”, was the plaintiff in the case.  He has a successful business and a large building on the Island worth a lot of money. 

In another land dispute, “X”’s wife’s sister, bought some land from an elder.  His son was living in a trailer on the property.  Another family member who did not own the property made a will giving that property to her younger brother.  She got a temporary court order from the Superior Court in Cornwall.    

The Cornwall Sheriff’s Office, with the Mohawk Police, executed this warrant.  They kicked out the person living in the house.  Then they arrived with dozers, cut power lines and hauled away the trailer.  The owner stood in front of the Mohawk Police as they were dragging his home around.  He was charged with obstruction and assault, thrown down, handcuffed and put in jail. 

What is going on?  Are precedents being set to execute outside judgments in Akwesasne?  Why is all this happening? 

 

The outside police forces wait for our guys to leave the community and then arrest them.  They make them plead guilty in exchange for leniency.  Fines pile up.  The federal government ultimate goal is seizing Indigenous land.

The outside authorities have racked up over $30 million worth of judgments and fines against the Mohawks for alleged cigarette smuggling.  Some fines are over $100,000.  They can’t enforce outside judgments or take property located on an Indian “reserve”.  The outside courts want to change all that.  They want to start executing their judgments and grab Indian properties in the community.   

These astronomically inflated fines against the Onkwehonwe is one route.  The Justice Department in Ottawa is helping to set a precedent that will allow them to seize a reserve.  Unlike European states that live peacefully with small principalities like Monaco, Andorra and Lichenstein, Canada and the U.S. keep Indian reserves under constant attacks.  Any agreements between Indian nations and colonial governments are supposed to secure peace, friendship and security for all parties.  The opposite is happening.

What is the agenda for the island?  For at least four decades the city of Cornwall has wanted to make Cornwall Island part of their city.  To do this the Mohawks have to be forced off.       

Lawyers appear to want Mohawks to go broke and to give up, so that a judgment can be made against them.  Since it’s against Indian property in the community, seizures have to be done in the name of one Indian against another.  Robbin appears to be used by outside lawyers to get at these Brothers.   

Legitimate businesses can't seem to flourish on the Island.  Recently when the Mayor of Cornwall was elected, he made an announcement that he would kill “Iroquois Waters”, a thriving business on Cornwall Island that had contracts to supply bottled water all over Cornwall.  He carried out his vow.  He stopped all the contracts.  

 

It also looks like the Ontario Provincial Police want to take over the policing on the island.  They are ever present in the Mohawk Police station. The band council and Indian police have been given what looks like inflated salaries.  They are being set up so that eventually they will be audited and put under trusteeship by Indian Affairs.  This is a common tactic that has been applied to Indigenous communities all across Canada. 

The Cornwall litigation lawyer thinks that through his client, Robbin, he can eventually squeeze the Brothers for money.  He will get a judgment from an outside court for costs against “X”.  That could be $60,000 in fees and punitive costs of up to $150,000.  He’ll send his bill to Robbin.  Then she will go after the Brothers, with his help, of course, and seize their properties on the reserve.  This scheme is opening the door for the outside courts to make judgments to grab our land and property. 

Is it possible that a developer wants to own Cornwall Island?  Cornwall has always dreamt of annexing Cornwall Island to the city.   They have visions of condos, shopping malls, fancy restaurants, golf courses and an international airport.  The old International Bridge will soon be replaced by a four-lane $100 million bridge from Cornwall to the island. 

 

To take over, they need to remove the Mohawks.  Someone is playing chess with our lives.  If they can brand us all as criminals, then we can all be removed to the slums and ghettoes of the cities.  To do this, they need to get phony jurisdiction through phony court orders. 

Canada is following precedents set in this U.S. when the federal government handed jurisdiction of Indians over to the states.  The modus operandi is seizures of our land by outside courts, sheriffs and police forces.  Would Canadians do this?  This self-righteous country presumes to give advice on justice, democracy and self-determination to China and countries in Africa and the Middle East?  The people of those countries should be careful.  With Canada as a teacher, things could get pretty grim there too.

Kahentinetha Horn

MNN Mohawk Nation News