Tyendinaga Mohawk Struggle for the Land, part 1/8
Posted on March 30th, 2010 by admin
More than forty days after the Mohawks of Tyendinaga reclaimed a
portion of the Culbertson Tract, the community continues to hold
strong and the Ontario government continues its refusal to revoke the
license legitimizing the quarry operation located on the land.
Over the past month, the battle for the Culbertson has escalated on
all sides. In the face of government refusal to reverse an age-old act
of robbery and injustice, the Mohawks of Tyendinaga blockaded rail
lines running through stolen land for upwards of 30 hours. Dozens of
trains were stopped, business as usual in Ontario was ground to a
halt, and the Canadian public was forced to consider the hundreds of
years of ‘inconvenience’ lived by First Nations peoples. The
community removed the blockade once this message had been sent.
In response, CN Rail has served suit against three Tyendinaga
community members and the Mohawks of the Bay of Quinte (MBQ) Band
Council in an unprecedented move, for ‘damages arising from a First
Nations blockade of its tracks’ to the tune of $108 million. CN is
also seeking a ban on future blockades. Furthermore, criminal charges
have been laid against Mohawk spokesperson Shawn Brant. The decision
to press charges came directly from OPP Commissioner Julian Fantino.
Toronto lawyer Peter Rosenthal will be in court on Thursday, for an
initial appearance regarding the civil suit filed by CN Rail.
The Culbertson Tract, was stolen from the Mohawks in 1832. And while
the government and the Mohawks began in 2003 to negotiate a deal to
repatriate the land, and compensate the community for its losses, the
land in question continued to be exploited by non-native developers
while the negotiations dragged on.
While the government stalled, the land itself was literally being
trucked away by quarry operator Thurlow Aggregates at a rate of more
than 100,000 tonnes per year. Additonally, illegal dumping of waste
was allowed to continue at the quarry, undiscovered until the rightful
holders of the land reclaimed it in March.
Now this robbery has been stopped. Rock from the quarry is being used
on the Territory. But the Mohawks of Tyendinaga continue to demand an
expedient and just return of the land to their community. It has been
more than 170 years too long. Join us to hear more about the struggle
for the Culbertson Tract.
Public Meeting with speakers:
Peter Rosenthal: Lawyer with Roach, Schwartz, and Associates
Shawn Brant: Tyendinaga MT
Wednesday, May 16th
7pm
Parkdale Community and Recreation Centre
1499 Queen Street West
This event is hosted by the Ontario Coalition Against Poverty.
Duration : 0:10:0
[youtube 1-9vlJrJWSA]
March 30th, 2010 at 12:18 am
Why don’t you take …
Why don’t you take a middle school history class? It is common knowledge that treaties have been ignored and broken over and over…
March 30th, 2010 at 12:18 am
@ xxRAinxxDRopxx.
…
@ xxRAinxxDRopxx.
People like this guy goodmourn1ng have problems. Hes probably only racist because his dad is, or because his friends are, and he probab;y can’t understand sympathy or empathy. You see, he is really deep down, inside, proabably very quiet and sad, so he tries to be loud and say horrible things to try to feel like he’s not. But don’t worry, we’re not all like him. I’m white, and i’m learning about the natives at university right now. My teacher is a native. Stay strong.
March 30th, 2010 at 12:18 am
Why the is …
Why the is GoodMourn1ng so racist against my people well heres 1 word i have to say gp take a shower you white guy
March 30th, 2010 at 12:18 am
i am mohawk guess …
i am mohawk guess what im just a ten year old little girl who is fuckkin with your choice of words you fuckkin racist piece of shit! guess what go take a shower and wash off all that dumb thats in you mouth! by the way the cheif is my uncle
March 30th, 2010 at 12:18 am
I don’t know about …
I don’t know about in america, but in Canada, post-secondary education isn’t easy to get if you’re first nations and relying on the government’s hand-out, which doesn’t include higher education money at all basically, only enough for a small few. And you’d be hard pressed to successfully generalize all first nations across Canada, it’s nations, not nation. In BC I don’t see any smoke shops going up first nations reserves, I see campgrounds in some places, never been to Ontario though…
March 30th, 2010 at 12:18 am
First off, it’s …
First off, it’s funny that you automatically assume I’m first nations. Yeah, you’re right there were agreements made a long time, but…, and here’s the big catch, lots of them aren’t even recognized any more. They’re mostly in dispute between government and parties that have little record aside from verbal memory, which has been partly annihilated due to mostly not being allowed to speak your own language.
March 30th, 2010 at 12:18 am
It’s pathetic to …
It’s pathetic to see so much pristine wilderness go up in smoke as companies with lots of money easily get their way for developing land.
What? More money means more taxes, even if it’s not in the best interest of long-term planning?
And what, settling a land claim isn’t tax lucrative? Go figure!
Everyone wants to own land, why not converse land. With say, burial sites, etc, aside, wouldn’t it be better if 2-3,000 acres remained intact than 100sq km housing surrounded by strip malls?
March 30th, 2010 at 12:18 am
Dude… quit talkin …
Dude… quit talkin’ over the net you can’t back up… it’s pathetic.
March 30th, 2010 at 12:18 am
Cigarette smuggling …
Cigarette smuggling, drugs and illegal gambling.
Collect life welfare
Sniff shoe shine
Be a Brave warriors
Tell the news i would fight to death to defend my holy land …and hide behind child and woman … runaway and cry when the army start to play tough
We Know you bunch of pussys
Keep dreaming
CANADA RULE
You should Thank us, we saved you From the French
And now you pay us back with CALEDONIA
March 30th, 2010 at 12:18 am
okay this has gone …
okay this has gone on long enough get the guns out and shoot it out because nothing else is working.or go the way of insurgents and start bombing either put up or shut up.
March 30th, 2010 at 12:18 am
Whatever the …
Whatever the solution may be, it’s not to assimilate our community into non native communities and lose what is left of our culture, traditions, language etc. Wounds take time to heal, Canada and the United States did alot of harm to our people and in many ways continue to do so. The attitudes of many non natives is improving, the gov. needs to understand they can’t just do whatever they like and expect people won’t defend what is rightfully theirs.
March 30th, 2010 at 12:18 am
The special …
The special treatment and the lack of integration of natives is why we are in our current predicament. More needs to be done to encourage natives to get off the reserves as the current model obviously doesn’t work.
March 30th, 2010 at 12:18 am
Nonsense. Nations …
Nonsense. Nations fought prior to european arrival however it was for necessity rather than greed which is what fueled white desire to steal all we have and rape the land while they were doing it. Both Canada and United States have been exercising genocidal policies toward indigenous people for centuries and continue in many ways to do it today. Nobody should be subjected to this type of treatment, not our families, not your families, not anybody’s families.
March 30th, 2010 at 12:18 am
The natives were …
The natives were conquered much like they conquered each other… its time to integrate into the rest of Canada and stop blaming the white man for all your ills.
If services are expected taxes should be paid.
March 30th, 2010 at 12:18 am
Hahah crazy kids lol
Hahah crazy kids lol
March 30th, 2010 at 12:18 am
What makes you …
What makes you think anyone wants your respect? You speak as if YOUR respect is so important or something. Im native, and I hold a full time job. My brother also holds a full time job. Everyone in my family works. Just because you choose to notice the natives who drink and act like shit, doesnt mean they represent the majority of us. There are native musicians, artists, lawyers, dr’s etc. Yet you choose to focus on the negative. Grow up and open ur eyes. I doubt if you know many natives anyways.
March 30th, 2010 at 12:18 am
Apparently you …
Apparently you misunderstand the situation. most people aren’t suggesting non native citizens should pack their bags and move back to Europe(or Africa, or Asia etc). That is obsurd. However, with regards to all lands within the North American continent, the underlying presumptive title belongs to natives, yet we are forced into colonial situation still today. Whites are the majority of the gov. in Canada/USA. ALL people are entitled to equal rights. In the gov. eyes that doesnt apply to natives.
March 30th, 2010 at 12:18 am
Occupy your native …
Occupy your native lands, honestly you sound very racist. If we both live in this country and we both grew up poor (which I did)than we should both have equal rights no more no less.
March 30th, 2010 at 12:18 am
Chadwick, first of …
Chadwick, first of all, “traditional” “war torn” countries are STILL countries. Countries which played major roles in WWII and the countries victimized are still countries and most, if not all are still governed under their own government body. The situation concerning first nations people, and the canadian/american gov’s are different as we are still in a colonial situation today in 2008. By the way, what was a long time ago? European descendants still occupy our native lands today.
March 30th, 2010 at 12:18 am
the money 15 % goes …
the money 15 % goes back to her majesty the queen. 2 millions Sq. Ft. are given to the reserve. urban reserve, white men lands most be used. the land than become urban reserve.
this could raise 55 billions for the grand mother and grand fathers to redistribute to the poeple, the casino belong to the people. since regards to intellectuals of urban reserv
March 30th, 2010 at 12:18 am
urban reserve …
urban reserve granted by her majesty the queen of england enable 1 billion per tribe now.
joseph claude francois simard lobbyist
urban reserve status intel
March 30th, 2010 at 12:18 am
It’s true that …
It’s true that there have been wars in Poland and that Polish citizen don’t receive reparations. True Poland is no longer a territory occupied by a foreign government so the comparison does not exactly fit.
March 30th, 2010 at 12:18 am
Poland has …
Poland has experienced war. But then Poland isn’t still occupied by a foreign government.
March 30th, 2010 at 12:18 am
This sort of reply …
This sort of reply is an expression of how the education system has left out a big part of history and politics, and even how economic perspectives play a role in the way we socialize with (and thus educate) others. History is speaking through actions of resistance, but what is key is to keep a firm grip on the origins of these situations. Part of resisting is to keep a clear account and thoughtfulness of their own history and how it was influenced by Westerners, since they are lost.
March 30th, 2010 at 12:18 am
I wouldn’t go so …
I wouldn’t go so far as to call natives “terrorists” but I would definitely say you cultivate a culture of “victimization”. I know a LOT of native people and not one, NOT ONE does anything positive with their life. If they are aren’t busy complaining about white people they are getting bombed or stealing cars. Clean up your community and you’ll get my respect.