Former Mohawk grand chief James Gabriel says he is considering a jump into politics now that he's completed a book about a fiery siege in Kanesatake in which his house was burned to the ground four years ago.
In his new French book, The Underground Story of Kanesatake, Gabriel attacks the federal and provincial governments for not backing him when the local police force was taken hostage in the January 2004 siege, after months of mounting tension in the Mohawk community.
Gabriel was driven from the community in 2004, when he was Kanesatake grand chief, after his house was torched by local protesters angered by his decision to reorganize the local police force.
Gabriel had restructured Kanesatake's police force in a bid to fight organized crime.
After his house was burned down on Jan. 12 of that year, he fled with his family and lived in exile, but still acted as grand chief.
He then lost the 2005 elections to Steven Bonspille, and moved to
The former grand chief said writing the book provided closure, even though he still blames other security forces for letting the crisis escalate.
"I put my feelings into it, and got the story out there so it's not forgotten,and so that I can close that chapter," Gabriel said at his book launch Tuesday in
He blames the provincial police force la Sûreté du Québec and the RCMP for not co-operating with each other and with him enough to fight crime in the Mohawk community.
Gabriel now works in customer service but said he is considering running in federal politics, where he said he would have the most impact.
He hasn't been approached by any political party.
Gabriel's book was only published in French.
He was first elected as grand chief of Kanesatake in 1995.