Mohawk Nation News 'Who's Sorry Now?'

Oct. 15, 2007. MNN has published a book on one
of our Mohawk communities, Kanehsatake.
The following is the preface:

Title: “Who’s Sorry Now? The good, the bad and
the unapologetic Mohawks of Kanehsatake”
by Kahentinetha Horn

The title of this book, “Who’s Sorry Now” was inspired by the
remarks of Judge Nicole Duval Hesler of Quebec Superior Court.
She wanted the Mohawks of Kanehsatake to apologize to get more
lenient sentences from her. She wanted an admission of guilt and
submission to the colonizers who are engaged in stealing our
community’s assets. She wanted our men to bow down to those
heavily armed goons who had invaded our territory on January
12, 2004 carrying a “hit list”. They’ve been convicted as “rioters”.
Wouldn’t an apology be dandy? It would save her the
embarrassment of her case being appealed.

The treatment we have been receiving at the hands of the police,
judicial system and colonial government officials is corrupt,
deceitful and threatening. We’ve learned that we are in the
way of multi-national corporate interests who control colonial
governments. We have learned that we Mohawks have been
and continue to be targeted for various reasons.

Our ancestors always refused to knuckle under. So do we!

That’s why we are still the targets of genocide. Our land,
our constitution and our tie to our land has kept us strong.
We continue to take energy from our ancestors who made
the sacrifices so we could be here today. They made sure
that there would be at least seven generations of our people
in the future.

This book is about how we spoke out and about the way we
were persecuted for exercising a right that Canada pretends
to defend. We also wanted the Canadian public to know what
is being done with their tax dollars. This will give them
something to think about as they sit around waiting for medical
services which we are told cannot be provided. Where is all
the money going? Well, this is about one leak in the bucket.

Kanehsatake is unsurrendered Indigenous land of the
Kanion’ke:haka - Iroquois. Therefore the Indian Act and
the laws of Canada do not legally apply as we never accepted
them. According to international law as well as the Canadian
constitution, there has to be consultation and an agreement
by a clear majority of the people as expressed in a free and
fair vote. Canada cannot point to any surrender in those terms,
but simply assumes sovereign authority according to an
undemocratic model that does not pass muster according to
modern international law. Since the beginning of contact,
agents of the colonial government have continuously tried
to attack, split, displace and remove us from our land.

There was a major crisis in 1990. Kanehsatake entered the
world stage because of our resistance to our burial grounds
and ceremonial lands being usurped by the nearby town of
Oka for the expansion of a golf course. The Surete du
Quebec ( Quebec Police), the RCMP and the Canadian Army
were sent in to break up the resistance. This issue has never
been settled.

In 1994 a secret Canadian report was exposed in the
Journal de Montreal that Canada was giving combat training
to police and army troops. The RCMP, SQ and Canadian
armed forces were prepared to enter the three Mohawk
communities of Akwesasne, Kahnawake and Kanehsatake.
These communities are about one hour’s drive from each
other. (Eastern Door reprint Journal de Montreal, Marco
Fortier, July 16, 1999).

Fortier obtained 1,599 pages of documents which outlined
a plan to send 2,000 RCMP, 2,000 SQ officers and thousands
of soldiers into the three communities to ostensibly stop the
trade in cigarettes. “It is incredible to believe that a country
recently given the honor of the “most peaceful country” in
the world could have even planned such an attack”.

The Canadian Secret Service CSIS was recruiting informants
in the three communities. National Defense Department
placed a special investigations unit with sophisticated
equipment on alert. They were watching the barricades
at the entrance to Kahnawake, the Longhouse, the Survival
School , the Mohawk Nation Office and the Peacekeeper
station, according to army documents. In Kanehsatake
they were watching the Band Council and the Treatment
Center . In Akwesasne they were watching the Seaway and
the east end of Cornwall Island .

CSIS falsely reported that “The Mohawk Warrior Society
is the biggest extremist aboriginal group and potentially
the most violent in Canada ”. On the basis of this claim,
Canadian forces were being trained for night shooting,
anti-tank combat and handling of fragmenting grenades.
They foresaw rough resistance by the Mohawks of the
three communities. There is no sign they ever paused to
consider the validity of using such weapons and tactics
against unarmed people who they claimed as “citizens in a
free and democratic society”. They expected to confront
people who they knew were unarmed. They became intoxicated
on old “John Wayne” films. The commander in charge of tactics
could not risk exposing his soldiers equipped only with sticks
and shields, warned a high ranking representative of the
“terrestrial forces”. [Maybe they were actually looking at
science fiction movies and we were the new martians!] (Internal
note, Feb. 1994).

The report gave us some insight into the kinds of fantasies that
governs military operations. It states, “Military strategists
were expecting confrontations between soldiers and Mohawks
where each would carry an automatic or semi-automatic weapon.”
Soldiers were trained to use 66 m. rockets and handle M-67
type fragmentation grenades. From February 14th to 25th, 1994,
they learned to build trenches and erect roadblocks to surround
the 3 territories. The Royal Canadian Mounted Police RCMP
got off their horses and jumped onto the tanks!

From February 28th to March 4, 1994 Squadron 430 of Val Cartier
Army Base in Montreal was trained to fly helicopters below power
lines (and probably clothes lines too), shooting while flying at 100
ft. above the ground. This is the training they got for dealing with
residential Indigenous communities where the roads are filled on
any typical day with little kids on bicycles, tricycles or sleighs.

The federal government gave permission for the federal Minister
of Transport to allow the army to fly choppers over the three
targeted communities without restrictions. They were allowed
to fly right by our windows and perhaps shoot us if necessary
in our beds! They still fly very low over our homes in the three
communities.

The three chiefs found out about it after the media leaked it.
It was aborted in late 1994. Despite the denial, 5,000 heavily
armed policemen and soldiers were put on alert to invade the
three communities within 24 hours’ notice. This may still be
in effect. Just thought the Canadian taxpayers would like to
know why there’s no money to cut the waiting lines for medicare.

On January 12th 2004, under orders of the Solicitor General
of Canada, made in November 2003, Canada sent into
Kanehsatake 67 heavily armed “aboriginal” goons to stop
our inherent rights to continue conducting our internal affairs
with our sister communities.

James Gabriel was the grand chief working with Canada .
His mission was to cover up serious abuses, corruption and
irregularities between senior government bureaucrats and
his former regime in the community.

On that cold January 12, 2004 day, Canada sponsored a police
assault to take down the Kanehsatake’s economy and take
out the community Police Commission and the local police.
(Beaupre Report, 2005, Art. 754.1 cpc). At least $40 million
was funneled into a fraudulent secret corporation for the 67
armed goons to invade and take over the community. The
court papers revealed 55 community members, mothers, fathers,
grandparents and youth, were on a “hit list”. Larry Ross
intimated that, “The Watch Team is the Warrior Society.
They are violent and the police should use extreme caution.
Make no mistake. They are to be taken down on sight”.
With regard to the chief of police, “You are to kick his ass”.

As a result of this attempted coup, twenty-four
Kanehsatake community members were accused of various
offences. Nineteen out of the 55 on the “hit list” were
finally tried for the phony charges of rioting and confinement
of police officers.

This book is about the community that was falsely accused
and used as pawns in Canada ’s colonial justice system.
They are heroes to us.

The first story is from the perspective of an elder who was
charged with rioting and forcible confinement. Warrants
were issued for their arrest. Some were arrested using tasers
and others were beaten. Four were banished. Most turned
themselves in through a lawyer.

From January 14th to March 31st 2004 the Kahnawake
Peacekeepers were asked by the Police Commission to
come in and escort the goons off the territory and to
return peace to the community.

Initially we thought that Canada ’s concern was to stop our
economy. It was leaked that the puppet grand chief James
Gabriel had signed an agreement with the federal government
to bring in additional policing into what is normally a tranquil
peaceful community that already had a police force. It
didn’t make sense! We started 24-hour patrols about one
week before the raid. When the government backed the
coup on January 12, 2004, we realized that it was more than
our economy that was being taken down. It was a takeover
to oust the elected council and to establish a totalitarian
government.

The biggest fears were the targets that were slated to be
“taken out” by the colonial government’s goons under the
control of their puppet, James Gabriel. From that day
onward to the present there is no community policing
except by volunteers

Said a member of Kanehsatake: “This book sheds light
on how heavy handed Canada continues to be towards
Onkwehonweh, especially Mohawks. It’s a policy of
overkill!”.

A scandalized Canadian tax payer said, “This proves
that the government is really a “den of thieves! First
they stole the land from the Indians and gave it to private
land speculators who sold it to us. Now they’re robbing
us blind with taxes they give to their buddies – the
bureaucratic lackies, lawyers, accountants and “spin
doctors” they hire to make it all look good. No wonder
there’s no money left for education, health care or
infrastructure. When are we all going to wake up and
clean up this mess?”

Kahentinetha Horn, MNN Mohawk Nation News

**Purchase price is $20.00 including shipping; Order from -
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( Quebec , Canada ) J0L 1B0. Or contact: Kahentinetha Horn,
kahentinetha2@yahoo.com or Katenies at katenies20@yahoo.com
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New MNN Books Available Now!

Mohawk Warriors Three - The Trial of Lasagna, Noriega, 20/20$20.00 usd
Where Eagles Dare to Soar - Indians, Politics & Aids$20.00 usd
The Agonizing Death of "Colonialism" and "Federal Indian Law" in Kaianere'ko:wa/Great Law Territory
$20.00 usd

Who's Sorry Now? The good, the bad and the unapologetic Mohawks of Kanehsatake
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Nia:wen,

Kahentinetha Horn
Kahentinetha2@yahoo.com
Speaking & Contemporary Native Issues Workshops

Katenies
Katenies20@yahoo.com
Manager

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