Government of the people, by the people, and for the people.
The Mohawk take a stand in Akwesasne
On June 1, Canada’s domestic boarder force, known for ramped racism, was going to begin armed patrols at the Cromwell Island crossing. Harper it seems wishes very much to emulate the worst parts of America, including para-militarizing police functions.
Akwesasne is a unique community in that it is divided in the middle by an entirely artificial boarder between this thing presently called the United States and the British dominion of Canada. This is the same boarder crossing where MNN publisher Kahentinetha Horn was attacked and beaten by Canadian boarder troops for which she had to be hospitalized.
This border is in the middle of a thriving Mohawk community, and the last thing people want is armed checkpoints in the middle of their community, like for example you see in the West bank. The people of Akwesasne said no, and occupied the border post themselves after Harper’s goons retreated and vacated the post.
Today, this border post remains fully liberated territory, in the hands of the community and the Haudenosaunee nations, even while the entire community of Akwesasne been sealed and blockaded by armed forces from both Canada and the United States, since Tuesday.
I can guarantee the U.S. and Canadian armed standoff has not and will not be reported in the mainstream press, as all significant issues involving indigenous people is deliberately censored in the western press. More disturbing, those press ambitious enough to try and report this story, as well as international observers, have been denied access to the area by the U.S. and Canadian governments.
While this community is held hostage by hostile armed forces, it remains determined not to give in. Nor do those involved believe this conflict will be kept contained and silenced by these governments. There is an effort to internationalize this crisis through the United Nations and OAS, as well as to consider the question that holding civilian populations as armed hostages is a war crime. Certainly I have made the resources of my office as ambassador, meager as they are, available to the Haudenosanee nation in there struggle, and I may have a chance to discuss these efforts with supportive national governments on my next trip later this month (as some know I was in Spain last week…).
In a way, we, all of us on Turtle Island, are Akwesasne, held hostage by criminal and illegitimate governments serving the greed of the few. The community of Akwesasne needs your support. If you are in the area, and can go there, please do. Bear witness if nothing else. If you can, bring in supplies, by boat at night, and break the blockage.
Akwesasne is a unique community in that it is divided in the middle by an entirely artificial boarder between this thing presently called the United States and the British dominion of Canada. This is the same boarder crossing where MNN publisher Kahentinetha Horn was attacked and beaten by Canadian boarder troops for which she had to be hospitalized.
This border is in the middle of a thriving Mohawk community, and the last thing people want is armed checkpoints in the middle of their community, like for example you see in the West bank. The people of Akwesasne said no, and occupied the border post themselves after Harper’s goons retreated and vacated the post.
Today, this border post remains fully liberated territory, in the hands of the community and the Haudenosaunee nations, even while the entire community of Akwesasne been sealed and blockaded by armed forces from both Canada and the United States, since Tuesday.
I can guarantee the U.S. and Canadian armed standoff has not and will not be reported in the mainstream press, as all significant issues involving indigenous people is deliberately censored in the western press. More disturbing, those press ambitious enough to try and report this story, as well as international observers, have been denied access to the area by the U.S. and Canadian governments.
While this community is held hostage by hostile armed forces, it remains determined not to give in. Nor do those involved believe this conflict will be kept contained and silenced by these governments. There is an effort to internationalize this crisis through the United Nations and OAS, as well as to consider the question that holding civilian populations as armed hostages is a war crime. Certainly I have made the resources of my office as ambassador, meager as they are, available to the Haudenosanee nation in there struggle, and I may have a chance to discuss these efforts with supportive national governments on my next trip later this month (as some know I was in Spain last week…).
In a way, we, all of us on Turtle Island, are Akwesasne, held hostage by criminal and illegitimate governments serving the greed of the few. The community of Akwesasne needs your support. If you are in the area, and can go there, please do. Bear witness if nothing else. If you can, bring in supplies, by boat at night, and break the blockage.
Replies to This Discussion
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Permalink Reply by Mark on
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U.S. and Canada out of Turtle Island!
Thanks for posting, David. Somehow I can't imagine the puppet UN or OAS doing anything helpful, but perhaps friendly nations can intervene.
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Permalink Reply by David Sugar on
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They do desire U.N. peacekeepers. I happen to agree that at least they would be less deadly to the local population than the current Canadian thugs, and as this is what I was asked to help with, I am simply making sure their desire is heard and known. The Mohawk of Akwesasne are a communal people without leaders, where all are equals and decisions are made by consensus. So this is a community decision.
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May I post your article above to MediaLeft.net or would you like to do so, David?
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If you want to, please do post it. I do not have an account there, though maybe I should get one :).
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Done. If you have a chance to take a look at it and see if I've made any errors, I'd appreciate it, David. I corrected a few typos.
http://medialeft.net/main/index.php/news-mainmenu-2/1-latest/1140-t...
Yes, it would be nice if you register at ML. We've recently added software for comments and for diaries, to encourage more people to post.
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Permalink Reply by joe rossini on -
Looking at the map, one has to wonder why the fictional border was drawn straight through the community like this. This would mean you can't just drive northeast up St. Regis Rd. or Andrew Johnson Rd. without crossing the "border". What a farce!
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Permalink Reply by joe rossini on
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David, are there any pictures we can share? Armed Canadian and/or US Military?
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I don't have that with me, but I am happy to share that we were able to bring in U.N. observers during the week. There are a number of aspects of this border. Akwesasne is unceeded territory, and you need to go a bit further west to get the full understanding of the area. A main crossing between the British dominion of Canada and what is presently called the United States over the St. Lawrence Seaway is through Cromwell Island, and this is also part of Akwesasne. The community extends not only over the border between the U.S. and Quebec, but people live also over several islands (including Cromwell Island) and part of what is called Ontario on the other shore.
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Sounds like good news, having UN observers at what could deteriorate into a genocidal situation at any moment. I hope it helps prevent the usual government violence.
The map that Curt linked gives a clearer picture than the one he posted. Zooming in on it here is also interesting, where the border appears to go right through individual homes.
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True, it does give a good sense of the absurdity of the border.
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