What Mohawk leaders told Canada's indigenous services minister about the rule of law and Canada's repeated and ongoing violation of laws and treaties. realpeoples.media/complete-trans…
Mohawk bear clan representative KANENHARIYO captures the heart of the issue here: "There’s a reason why we’re here (gestures to the tracks). You see in 1823, they came here with surveyors, and they surveyed a 5 mile tract of land across our territory. And we never agreed to it."
"70 of our warriors came out here... And they threw those surveyors out and said, ‘you can’t be here, this is our territory as protected for us forever.’"
"But you see, they wanted to put in a road. Because they said the road that we made, the York Road, was too “uncivilized”, and they wanted a civilized road so the white people could travel from Montreal to Toronto and not have to go through the “wild lands of the Indians.”
When we threw out the surveyors and said, “You can’t do that, this is our land and it’s protected, ... that this is our land forever. For our free use and enjoyment... They threatened us with the army. They told us if we came back out here they’d bring the army to us...
"And so we have a special heart for the Wet’suwet’en because what happened to them last week is exactly what was done to us, right here...
We’re not off the reserve. And you put train tracks on our land...
We’re not off the reserve. And you put train tracks on our land...
"And you put highway 2, that was the first major highway on our land. And then you put the 401 on our land.
But it’s our land.
Forever."
But it’s our land.
Forever."
"There are the people in town who think that just because they’re occupying (our land), that it’s over, that that’s all done.
That’s called invasion. There’s nothing legal about that."
That’s called invasion. There’s nothing legal about that."
"Then they come with an injunction and tell the people that they can’t be on their own land, that they’re trespassing..."
"You said ... there’s angry people here... They’re not angry. There’d be hell to pay if they were angry. They’re hurt. They’ve been disrespected. And they’re afraid that you’re not done with us." -- Kanenhariyo, Mohawk rep. addressing Cdn Minister Marc Miller, FEB 15, 2020
