From blockades to boredom.
Thursday's National Day of Action, locally, was a stark contrast to last year's events which involved heated demonstrations by camouflaged protesters who blocked CN Rail lines, started bonfires in the middle of provincial highways and forced the shut-down of a large section of Canada's busiest highway.
Fears of a repeat were quashed Thursday as traffic moved through the region unhindered and a police presence - though visible - was nowhere near as dramatic as on June 29, 2007.
Even the Thurlow Aggregates quarry on Deseronto Road, which protesters have occupied since March 2007, was virtually deserted with one lone man standing guard at the scene.
Protester Mike Brant told reporters he was spending the day cleaning up the site and "trying to make it look better."
He said no one else was at the quarry with him and he preferred to see a day of peace rather than a repeat of last year's Day of Action.
The Day of Action was called by the Assembly of First Nations for the first time last year and is expected to become an annual event to raise awareness about Native issues in Canada.
Brant, however, said the day does not necessarily receive support from local Mohawks.
"We don't see any need to respond to calls by (National Chief) Phil Fontaine. It's not our call," he said. "He gets paid by the government to do his job. I don't really know what his agenda is."
Brant said he would prefer to see the Day of Action continue to take place on June 29 rather than being held on a date called by the AFN. A peaceful demonstration including Mohawks standing on overpasses waving their flags, rather than shutting down highways, would be an effective means to spread the message, he said.
"There's already been charges laid because of last year," Brant said. "We just want a peaceful resolution."
As Brant stood and spoke with The Intelligencer, an OPP cruiser passed by the site, the officer at the wheel looking in at the quarry as he passed. Cruisers also sat on the side of Highway 401 near the Marysville exit, a signal that officers were in the area should protests or incidents spring up.
Const. Jackie Perry of the Napanee detachment of the OPP said officers were out and about Thursday, but there were no protests or blockades reported in the region.
However, she confirmed there has been an increased police presence in the area since incidents last month which resulted in a multitude of charges against more than a dozen protesters.
"It's been quiet," Perry said. "It's nice to see that everything's peaceful. We do have designated checkpoints set up and there's an increased presence, but it's been quiet."
The day was just as quiet for Chief R. Donald Maracle and the Mohawks of the Bay of Quinte.
During last year's Day of Action, volunteers with the band council handed out pamphlets to motorists passing through the reserve.
"This year, especially after what the community was put through, we would take a much more low-key approach," Maracle said, referring to recent blockades and arrests in Deseronto last month.
Many of the issues facing First Nations peoples - such as child poverty, drinking water supply or lack of funding for infrastructure - were publicized through advertisements taken out in local newspapers, he said.
In addition, Maracle and councillor Barry Brant and the band's communication officer Brant Bardy appeared on a talk radio show.
"It's all about educating the public as to the challenges we have faced for generations," Maracle said.
Dan Doreen, a protester who participated in last year's Day of Action and was recently charged by OPP for his involvement in a standoff on Deseronto Road late last month, spent Thursday working in his motorcycle shop on Highway 49. He said the day was a "day of inaction" and was an example of what happens when the Tyendinaga Mohawks decide not to participate.
"I call it the National Day of Inaction. There's a group marching in Ottawa and stuff like that but it's been proven time and time again that marches don't prove nothing and they don't get nothing done," he said.
Doreen said it was frustrating not to participate in the Day of Action and pointed the finger at the OPP for tying the hands of protesters.
He said the charges and conditions laid against Mohawk protesters in recent weeks prevent participation in blockades and protests which is exactly what the law enforcement agency wanted.
Like Brant, Doreen said Lafontaine's efforts to help the natives is hard to accept at face value.
He made comments about how the national chief has one of the "nicest offices in Ottawa" but discusses the injustices and suffering of his people. The AFN leader, he said, seems comfortable in his office while every day is a struggle for the residents of Tyendinaga.
A quiet Day of Action, however, does not mean the Mohawks are letting down their guard. Doreen said the group plans to be vigilant in watching out for signs of development on native-claimed land.
"Ask a developer to come into Deseronto and you'll see what our profile is," he said. "That land is ours in Deseronto and I think they got that point and I don't think standing on the side of a road today would make that any clearer. That land is ours and we want it back."