Samantha Craggs
Wednesday, June 27, 2007
Belleville Intelligencer
Local News - Tyendinaga Mohawks plan to target Highway 401, the town of Deseronto or the CN Rail Line - again - on Friday's national aboriginal day of action, says a local Mohawk protester.
Shawn Brant, the spokesman for a group that has occupied the Thurlow Aggregates quarry on Deseronto Road since March, said there will be activity, likely involving "one of the targets we identified back on April 22," he said. Those targets are Highway 401, the railway and the town of Deseronto.
"The Assembly of First Nations has called for a campaign of economic disruption, and we've committed ourselves to that campaign," he said.
Brant's group already blocked the major CN Rail corridor from Toronto to Montreal in April, stopping train traffic for 30 hours.
The Assembly of First Nations, for its part, is presenting a softer face on the day of action. It initiated the movement with a 2006 resolution, but its website stresses it is not a call for blockades. "We are reaching out to all Canadians and asking them to join us in peaceful rallies and events and call on the federal government to work with us to build stronger First Nations and a stronger Canada," the website reads. "We want to build bridges - not blockades - with Canadians."
But Brant said that should not be done at the expense of making a statement.
"We do see it as an opportunity for that, and as well I think the message has to be clear," he said. "June 29th is about saying to people that we will not live with these indignities, so in 10 years time we're not talking about the same crisis as we are now.
"We're a little bit weary of always making concessions. On that day, we're going to ask for the understanding of the non-native community."
The Mohawks of the Bay of Quinte have a different approach, said Chief R. Donald Maracle. He sees it as a time to reach out, and said band council would not support any local blockades. Instead, he wants the non-native community to join them in pressuring the federal government to make changes.
"I believe if we're going to have non-natives writing the government, we can't afford to alienate them," he said.
Non-natives who want to be involved, he said, should use the day to write local MPs, MPPs and government officials and educate themselves beyond reading about the issues in the media.
The day of action happens three days after a preliminary hearing date was set for Brant in Napanee court on charges of mischief, disobeying a court order and breach of recognizance in connection with the April CN blockade. Brant is out on bail on the condition he not participate in any unlawful protests or block any thoroughfares on or off Tyendinaga Mohawk Territory.
Brant said in an interview Tuesday that if he breaks his bail, "that has to speak to our commitment of the day."
Excitement for the day is spreading through the community, said Kim Maracle, who with husband David, a renowned artist and musician, will head to the quarry that day to "go with the flow."
The day of action, she said, is long overdue.
"It's going to be a show of unity across Canada of First Nations people, and there are non-native people who are behind us," she said. "It's not just First Nations people. It's their responsibility to stand behind us."
Jason Maracle, who with Brant is being sued by CN Rail for the April blockade, declined to elaborate on their plans.
"We're kicking around some different ideas," said Maracle, who describes the day of action as being "about water, poverty, suicide, land claims ... it's about everything in general."
Kim Maracle estimates that "89 per cent of the territory" supports the protesters. Some have asked David Maracle if he worries about his reputation by participating.
"I said 'I'd be more worried about my reputation if I wasn't out there,'" he said. If there are blockades, he said, "we've been inconvenienced for 100 years. We hope Canadians can understand being inconvenienced for one day."
In Deseronto, there is a hope for peace on June 29, followed two days later by the town's first Canada Day celebrations in five years.
"I would rather see them not protest," said Mayor Norm Clark. "If there are going to be protests, I'd rather they be peaceful protests that don't disrupt individuals going to and from work."
Daryl Kramp, MP for Prince Edward-Hastings, agrees. Kramp supports the right of First Nations to peacefully rally and spread information, but not what Brant has mentioned, he said.
"It's when laws are being broken or there's criminal activities. I have no use for that," he said. "I find it counterproductive, and those sorts of negative acts will detract from the message."
There is a common denominator that can come through on that day, he said. But it depends on who is at the reins.
"Let's just hope we have a lot of mature people who handle this in a positive manner, people who legitimately care for this region," he said.
Prince Edward-Hastings MPP Ernie Parsons understands the value of a day of education. Parsons was the adoptive father to Sandy, a First Nations child who died from the effects of fetal alcohol syndrome. In response, Parsons successfully introduced Sandy's Law, which sees warnings of drinking during pregnancy posted wherever alcohol is sold.
Parsons remembers Sandy "getting ridiculed pretty hard at school," but education made it stop. "There was a presentation at school, where they took about half an hour to talk about Sandy's band and his history, and the ridicule stopped," he said. "I don't think there are enough native studies in school programs."
Parsons, however, does not support blockades.
"I would prefer actions that don't impact innocent people, like the person on the way to visit a dying parent, or someone on the way to a funeral, or the single parent on the train going to visit the grandparents," he said. "I've always said, don't waste your time arguing with people who don't make the decisions. When you block traffic, that's not the people making the decisions."