Barricade in Kahnawake has support of Mohawk community and beyond
Sympathy to cause, sense of obligation following assistance during Oka Crisis
On Old Malone Rd., with the Mercier Bridge serving as the backdrop, a steady stream of mostly SUVS and pickup trucks drives up to the barricade on the train tracks.
Visitors come with coffee, food, firewood and other goods to keep the protesters on the tracks supplied with everything they need for a long standoff. Others come just to keep their friends and relatives company, often with babies or small children in tow. Those approaching the barricade are told not to speak to the dozen or so reporters standing around or sitting in their cars parked in a line on the side of the road that is parallel to Route 132.
“This community is very solid,” said Kenneth Deer, the secretary for the Mohawk Nation at Kahnawake. “We have traditional people here. We have the council here. We have grassroots people here. All kinds of people are here.
“We certainly thank the people from outside Kahnawake who show their support. They give us supplies and words of encouragement. That’s very welcome and helpful.”
Back in the centre of town in Kahnawake, most people walking around refuse to give their names to a reporter, but all say they are in full support of maintaining the barricade on the tracks.
“They’re obviously doing it for a good cause,” said Katsihawi Mccomber, parked outside a general store. “They’re trying to save the Earth. I have kids. I want them to be able to drink the water. Nobody else is going to do anything about it, right?”
The Mohawks in Kahnawake identify strongly with the Wet’suwet’en people. Both have similar clan systems and political structures and they share similar culture and spirituality.
But aside from being sympathetic, Mohawks here say they feel obliged to pay back debts incurred during the Oka Crisis of 1990, when numerous Indigenous and First Nations people banded together in support of the Mohawks here.
“In a way, it’s a no-brainer, because if they supported us in the crisis, we have to show support,” said a shopkeeper who didn’t want to give her name. “I kinda agree with our traditional chiefs who say we’re going to block until (the Wet’suwet’en chiefs) tell us it’s time to go.”
With the blockade now more than two weeks old, she said she doesn’t see how the situation will be resolved, but the spectre of blocking the Mercier was raised on Monday morning as a slow-moving motorcade headed toward the bridge, but turned off to head back to Kahnawake at the last minute. The protesters said it was a demonstration of what they are capable of doing if matters escalate.
That act also highlighted anger in the community about the dismantling by Ontario Provincial Police of a blockade by Mohawks in Tyendinaga, near Belleville.
“If there is any problem, it’s their own problem,” one woman said. “They shouldn’t have sent in the police because it was a peaceful protest.
“I’m angry. They took everything we have ever had away from us and they still want their pound of flesh. Well, it’s not going to happen, because we’re very resilient. We’re Mohawk. I’m 85 years old, and for 85 years, I’ve heard nothing but bulls--- from the government.”
On Wednesday afternoon, Taiaiake Alfred, one of the protesters coming out of the barricade said he’s encouraged by the support from Canadians across the country, saying that’s the biggest difference between this blockade and the Oka Crisis of 1990.
“In 1990, it was us against everybody, and if you think about the way the situation is now, there’s a whole army of peaceful, non-violent activists who are helping us with this struggle, because they realize it’s not just a native struggle,” Alfred said as a nearby truck driving on Rte. 132 honked in support of the protest. “Everyone knows about climate change and global warming and that’s what they’re fighting for in British Columbia. We need to support them, because it’s all of our struggle.”