MOHAWK NATION UNDER SIEGE! The situation in Oka, Quebec, is getting more serious by the hour. After several years of trying to convince the Federal Government, in negotiations, of its legitimate claim to a parcel of land, that the Mohawks of Kanesatake had never surrendered or otherwise legally given up, a barricade was erected in April 1990 to stop the expansion of a private golf course. The heavily forested ancestral lands claimed by the Mohawks includes burial grounds, considered sacred by the Mohawk Nation. The ill-conceived and disastrous police action of July 11, reminiscent of scenes from countries suffering from oppressive dictatorships with absolute disregard for human lives, resulted in the tragic death of a police officer, who, it is rumoured, accidentally shot himself while scrambling down a tree after the police attack on the Mohawk roadblock turned sour. Since this botched police assault a force of over 1000 heavily armed police and RCMP have surrounded the area, harassing area residents both native and non-native, preventing essential supplies like food, water, and medical supplies to reach the Mohawk people. A large contingent of Armed Forces personnel has been transferred to nearby Montreal and is on standby. To prevent a further escalation of this already tragic situation the Mohawk people ask for your show of support in achieving an acceptable, negotiated solution of this crisis. You can do this by supporting the demands of the Mohawk Nation: 1) That the Federal Indian Affairs Minister, Tom Siddon, immediately resign his post for displaying a blatant disregard for his responsibilities to the First Nations under the constitution of this country; 2) That the Federal Government immediately intervene and start serious negotiations to resolve the current crisis; 3) That the Federal Government settle the long outstanding land-claim of the Kanesatake Mohawk, the root of the present crisis; 4) That all the Mohawks involved in the present crisis be granted immunity from prosecution for what has happened based on their firm belief to have acted in self defence after being attacked by the Quebec police force; and 5) The immediate withdrawal of all armed forces from Mohawk teriitory to accommodate a climate suitable for serious and fruitful negotiations. Make your concerns known by writing to : Prime Minister B. Mulroney Government of Canada Ottawa, K1A 0A6 with copies to : Audrey McLaughlin, NDP Leader and Jean Chretien, Liberal Leader, both at House of Commons, Ottawa, K1A 0A6 ( NO POSTAGE REQUIRED) and the Mohawks of Kanesatake. Express your support by sending or faxing letters to Mohawk Nation of Kanesatake c/o Mohawk Council of Kahnawake P.O. Box 720 Kahnawake, Quebec, J0L 1B0 Fax: (514) 638-6790, 638-1892 ************************************************************************ Retyped for your information is more background information on the situation in Oka, Quebec. - - - - - - - Transcript of ITV News Program "Alberta This Week" (6:30 P.M.) Sunday, July 15, 1990 John Loveland, Alberta This Week The situation at Oka, Quebec, has been simmering and it's finally boiled over. Mohawk Indians and Quebec police officers clashed last week in Quebec. The result -- one policeman was shot and killed. The tragic incident began as a land claims dispute when Mohawk Indians barricaded a road to stop the expansion of a golf course on sacred land. Alberta has seen its share of land claim disputes. Joining us to talk about Alberta's Lubicon Indians is Lubicon advisor Fred Lennarson. Mr. Lennarson, can you give us a Lubicon perspective on the events going on in Oka? Fred Lennarson, Lubicon Advisor The Lubicon people are monitoring the situation out there and are in communication with the people in Quebec. They support them. We'll just have to wait and see what happens. Loveland Did the Government initiate this show-down? Lennarson Of course. The Indians didn't attack the police. The negotiations were going nowhere. The Federal Government had a very low-level negotiator in who was not prepared to deal with the land question at all. The courts have offered no redress. The Indians were in the position where the Municipal Government said they wanted to proceed with development because the negotiations were taking too long. The Indians either stopped the development on the ground or they would have had a golf course at this time next year. Once the blockade went up, the question becomes one of enforcement. The police came in throwing concussion grenades, tear gas grenades, firing fully automatic weapons. The Indians tried to defend themselves. Loveland This is something we just don't see in Canada. Was there not some way that this could have gone through the courts to stop the golf course? Lennarson If you could get the courts to render such a decision. The problem is the Government makes crystal clear in situation after situation that they have absolutely no intention of engaging in serious negotiations. With regard to the courts, the chief Justice Department lawyer said to the Lubicon negotiating team at one point that if the Lubicons wanted to pursue it he would guarantee that the Federal Government would tie it up forever in court. He used those words. So you have no hope of legal redress. There's no hope of resolving this kind of issue through negotiations. And if you try and assert your rights, as the Mohawks have done and the Lubicons did as well, then they move in with armed troops. Loveland But the use of violence -- is that something that the Lubicons advocate? Lennarson No. But it's not something that the Mohawks sought either. The Lubicons were unarmed. It was a peaceful demonstration -- women and children -- and when they took down the Lubicon barricades they moved in with men who armed with submachine guns, shot guns. They had snipers hiding in the woods. They had attack dogs. They had a helicopter overhead no more than one or two stories drowning out media communications. They did it at a time in the morning when they hoped the media wouldn't be there. It's just pure chance that one of those guys with his finger on the trigger of a fully automatic weapon didn't shoot people at Lubicon Lake. Whether people were armed or not, you bring in a bunch of people whose objective is not to understand the situation but to take down a barricade and to overcome any resistance... Loveland Because the barricade is deemed illegal though? Lennarson Deemed illegal by whom and under what circumstances? The matter's before the courts. The Mohawks and the Lubicons both have never ceded the land. Under Canadian law certain procedures have to be followed before these court decisions make any sense at all. It's still aboriginal land. The Mohawks say that the courts don't have any more relevance than would a U.S. court ordering the Canadian Government to take down customs control points at the Canadian-U.S. border. That's the Mohawk perspective. The way that people resolve this kind of political matter is to sit around the table and discuss it and try to come to a solution. We're not talking about law-breaking. We're not talking about the rule of law. We're talking about a long-standing political problem. The Canadian Government and the Government of Quebec have chosen to use force of arms to crush political opposition. What we're really talking about is not a golf course at all. What we're talking about is a question of power. They want to suppress this group of people because they don't like what these people say about their rights. Loveland It started with a golf course in this situation. Now this fall I would imagine oil companies and Daishowa are going to be expanding and working around Lubicon land. Is that going to provoke a situation similar to what's going on in Oka now? Lennarson They've never stopped. They moved in in the winter of '79. Between '79 and '82, over 400 oil wells were drilled within a 15 mile radius of the Lubicon community, and development has been proceeding apace ever since. The Lubicons sought negotiations and were rejected. Initially they were told they were merely squatters on Provincial Crown land with no rights even to their own homes. They were told they had to get a Provincial permit to have their homes or their homes would be bulldozed as unauthorized developments on Provincial Crown land. They went to court. They faced judges who were ex-oil company lawyers. They faced judges who were the partners of a senior oil company lawyer on the case. They faced a Supreme Court Judge who was an oil company lawyer before he was a Supreme Court Judge and, after rendering the decision on not even hearing the case, has since resigned and now sits on the board of an oil company. They had no hope for negotiations. They had no hope for legal redress when they took the action they did. There are currently with the Lubicon people no negotiations with either level of Government and therefore no hope of a negotiated settlement. There is absolutely no hope of effective legal redress within Canada for the Lubicons or for other aboriginal people. And in the meantime, they face a future on welfare. They're facing tuberculosis epidemics, suicide of their own people -- huge problems. Loveland That's a pretty bleak future. We look at Oka. We look at what's going on in British Columbia with their blockade being set up there on Friday. How many steps away is northern Alberta from an Oka type situation or even a British Columbia type situation? Lennarson The same situation really obtains across the country. The situation is that aboriginal people have no real hope left that they will be able to have redress within normal Canadian legal or political institutions. The question therefore becomes what can they do. The Mohawks at Kanesatake put up a barricade because if they didn't put up a barricade they'd have a golf course -- whatever was going on in the courts. And they knew it. The Lubicon people face a similar situation. The people in British Columbia face a similar situation. The Innu of Labrador face a similar situation. Aboriginal people across the country are essentially being told that they have no hope for recognition and respect for their rights in this country, and if they're going to have anything left, if they're going to have anything left of the things they value most, they're going to have to defend them on the ground. Loveland At the National Chiefs' meeting in Edmonton a few weeks ago there was more or a militant attitude and a more militant stance being put forward. Is that what we're going to see over the summer and into the fall across the country? Lennarson What I hear being discussed are alternatives. Aboriginal leaders are sitting down and saying, "What choices do we have left?" And when they review available options they sound militant because their options are few and far in between and they're not very attractive to aboriginal people either. There is no question in my mind that the Mohawks at Kanesatake would rather be negotiating than facing now 1,000 police with fully automatic weapons and all of this armament in an effort to protect their sacred land and their wives and children who were there with them. It's not a situation anyone would choose. They're aren't given any choice. The Lubicon people were in the same situation. They have few alternatives, and when you review the alternatives available to you under such circumstances, reporters interpret that as sounding militant. I don't think that's really what it is. I think it's a realistic assessment of the options available, and they're not very pleasant to anybody. Loveland We're almost out of time, but do you think the Canadian public is behind the Native struggle enough that they would allow these small eruptions to break out? Are we going to see the type of northern Ireland-Beirut- South Africa situations in Canada? Lennarson All of those situations are of course different. But the evidence from the Lubicon blockade, from what happened on the Queen Charlotte Islands, what's currently happening in Quebec is that Canadians are not prepared to support the use of force of arms in order to resolve these political matters. That's the hope in the situation, I think. I don't think Canadians want to be seen around the world as a North American version of some Central American banana republic or Asian, etc. Loveland I'm afraid we're going to have to cut you off there. It's a story that is much larger than that. We'll continue talking about it in the weeks ahead. ************************************************************************ COMMUNIQUE The New Democrats For Immediate Release July 13, 1990 "HUMAN RIGHTS VIOLATIONS BY SURETE DU QUEBEC UNACCEPTABLE" McLaughlin Says OTTAWA --- "The Surete du Quebec's tactics of denying basic human rights such as food, water and electricity to the Mohawk people of Kanesatake are unacceptable in a democratic country," New Democrat Leader Audrey McLaughlin said today. News reports and telephone calls to her office allege that SQ officers are prohibiting Mohawk men from crossing the barricade, while letting non-native residents of the community through. Mohawk women with groceries are being turned away, and instructed that they can only cross without the food. News reports also indicate that electricity and water supplies are being cut. "This attempt at 'negotiation by siege' is provocative and can only increase tensions between the Mohawk people and the Quebec police force," McLaughlin said. In a letter sent to Prime Minister Brian Mulroney this morning McLaughlin asked that an immediate investigation be launched by the Federal Government. "I am sure you agree that despite differing opinions on the situation at Kanesatake/Oka denial of food and access to one's home based on race are tactics that simply cannot be accepted or condoned within Canada." McLaughlin said in the letter. Noting that only 35 of the 507 land claims submitted under the federal government's current specific land claims policy have been settled, some of which have been outstanding since the turn of the century, McLaughlin called on the Prime Minister to honour his commitment to appoint a Royal Commission on the Status of Canada's First Nations Peoples. - 30 - For further information: Michael Balagus (613) 995-7224 ************************************************************************ HOUSE OF COMMONS OTTAWA, CANADA K1A 0A6 Audrey McLaughlin Leader, New Democratic Party July 13, 1990 The Right Honourable Brian Mulroney, P.C., M.P. Prime Minister House of Commons Ottawa, Ontario K1A 0A6 Dear Mr. Mulroney: I am writing to ask that your government immediately launch an investigation into reports that food supplies are being withheld from families in the Kanesatake/Oka area. In addition, I would ask that you determine whether or not water supplies and electricity are being tampered with by police in an attempt to harass or intimidate people in the Kanesatake/Oka area. Clearly, the halting of food supplies to families is not a tactic that Canadians can agree with regardless of the situation at Oka. In fact, I would suggest to you that cutting off food supplies is a direct violation of the most basic of human rights. There are also reliable reports from several sources including a call to my office that native residents of Oka are being refused access to the village. Apparently police are letting only non-aboriginal residents through roadblocks. I am sure you agree that despite differing opinions on the situation at Kanesatake/Oka denial of food and access to one's home based on race are tactics that simply cannot be accepted or condoned within Canada. Again, I would ask that you have your government launch an immediate investigation into these allegations and if the allegations prove true that your government ensure that these tactics cease immediately. Sincerely, signed Audrey McLaughlin ************************************************************************ Text of a telegrams by the Aboriginal Rights Support Group to the Prime Minister and the Premier of Quebec - - - Aboriginal Rights Support Group COMMITTEE AGAINST RACISM P.O. Box 3085, Station B Calgary, Alberta T2M 4L6 (403) 282-6845 To Prime Minister Brian Mulroney Government of Canada Ottawa, K1A 0A6 July 18, 1990 We call for 1) the resignation of Tom Siddon for his inaction over the crisis in Oka 2) federal intervention to resolve the crisis through negotiations 3) the withdrawal of the armed forces; and 4) a halt to all development until the Kanesatake land claim is settled. cc: Audrey McLaughlin Jean Chretien - - - Aboriginal Rights Support Group COMMITTEE AGAINST RACISM P.O. Box 3085, Station B Calgary, Alberta T2M 4L6 (403) 282-6845 To Premier Robert Bourassa National Assembly, Q.C. G1A 1A2 July 18, 1990 We call for 1) amnesty for all Mohawks involved in the Oka crisis 2) the right for United Nations and Amnesty International personnel, lawyers and non-native supporters, food, water, and medical supplies to be allowed through the police barricades at Oka; and 3) for a negotiated settlement to the crisis. cc: Jacques Parizeau ************************************************************************ The Native First Nations of Canada, and especially the Mohawks of Kanesatake desperately need support NOW. At this time of explosive tensions the Federal Government of Canada has to be reminded that it has neglected its constitutional responsibilities for far to long. And at a time when Canadian citizens hang and burn Native people in effigy the need for more public information about the reasons for this conflict and so many other ongoing disputes between First Nations and Canada has to be explored and explained. For more information contact web:car by e-mail or in writing Aboriginal Rights Support Group Committee Against Racism P.O. Box 3085, Station B Calgary, Alberta T2M 4L6