Google W-N = 38 citings "by Robert J Galbraith" | Wikipedia clusty | buzznet photos

(Robert J. Galbraith Kahnawake, Quebec) Many residents of the Kahnawake Mohawk Reservation, (just south of Montreal) were busy today preparing to block all access roads in and out of the village, should the RCMP or OPP attempt another storming of the barricade in Caledonia. This morning, Mohawk Warrior flags were raised above the iron girders of the Mercier Bridge, a major thoroughfare for traffic to and from Montreal and the reserve. (This bridge was barricaded for weeks during the 1990 Oka Crisis). The flags were placed to show solidarity with those manning the Caledonia blockade, just south of Hamilton.

In the village of Kahnawake, Mohawk Warriors were busy readying large cement blocks to deny access to the village roads should the Caledonia blockade be breached again. Weapons were visible at some access points, tucked out of sight, but at the ready. Signs were put up in the village announcing their support of the Caledonia natives. One of the signs read; Mohawk Territory – SQ and RCMP Enter At Your Own Risk, and was posted just inside the reserve on the border of the neighboring town of Chateauguay where ugly riots broke out between Mohawks and the largely French population during the 1990 Oka Crisis.

A meeting of the Longhouse (traditional Mohawks, rather than the federally supported Band Council) was called for today, to decide what to do should another assault on the Caledonia barricade take place. Rumours were being circulated throughout the village that a number of Warriors are on their way, or preparing to leave for Caledonia, to support the members of the Six Nations Reserve. One Warrior, who wished to remain anonymous, told the Star that, “the Canadian government had better think very, very, seriously before considering any further attempts at attacking the blockade, or any other Mohawk community. We are ready for them, and have support of many native bands, not just the Mohawk.” In fact, some Mohawk native supporters are coming in to Caledonia from other parts of Canada and the US.

Many of the Warriors are US-trained Marines, who know how to handle weapons and the strategies of armed conflict.

Dee Stacey, a resident of Kahnawake, does not support the Warriors and says they are embarrassing the community by raising the flags and causing strife between the natives and the surrounding communities. “It’s (the Warriors) all about gaining control of the illegal cigarette trade, and intimidation. Violence may very well erupt in the village, between pro-warrior and anti-warrior factions,” said Stacey.

He said that by raising the flags and preparing for the worst, they are only causing more friction between Kahnawake and Chateauguay. He says that many people in the community don’t want to see any conflicts happen again, as they did in 1990. “We don’t want this sort of bullshit to happen again,” he said in reference to what happened during the 76-day-long standoff of the Oka Crisis.

But Stacey appears to be a minority in the village. The town was bustling with men on ATV’s overseeing the access points to the village and gathering to discuss strategy, should things take a turn for the worse. Kahnawake is a tinder box, ready to explode at any moment. “Many of the younger Warriors were just children when the Oka Crisis happened. But they are itching to seek revenge on those who battled against the Mohawk during the crisis,” said one Mohawk manning a checkpoint who wished to remain anonymous.

Google W-N = 38 citings "by Robert J Galbraith" | Wikipedia clusty | buzznet photos

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2007

Tuesday 21 August 2007 U.S., Canada, Mexico wrap up summit
with great photos by Robert J. Galbraith

Monday 01 January 2007 MW U.S. stocks end 2006 with best gains in three years

Monday 01 January 2007 The new Secretary-General of the United Nations, Ban Ki-Moon, announced his first two appointments on Sunday, just a few hours before he officially took over the post from Kofi Annan. Mr. Ban's chief of staff will be Vijay Nambiar of India, who acted as a special advisor to Mr. Annan. The new chief U.N. media spokesperson will be Michele Montas of Haiti. Miss Montas, a journalist, is the wife of Jean Dominique, a radio broadcaster in Haiti who was murdered by opponents of his broadcasts. Sources at the U.N. also expected that the new undersecretary-general for administration and management would be Alicia Barcena of Mexico. She would replace an American in the post. The United States has indicated that it would like an American as undersecretary-general for political affairs or peacekeeping. Mr. Ban still has to announce his appointment for the major post of deputy secretary-general.

Monday 01 January 2007 CALEDONIA: ABORIGINALS PREDICT MORE PROTESTS IN THE NEW YEAR
Members of Canada's Six Nations aboriginal tribes vowed to continue their 11-month-old protest in southern Ontario into the New Year. The natives are occupying a housing site that they claim belongs to them under nineteenth-century treaties. The protest has created tension among citizens in the nearby town of Caledonia. A native spokesperson, Janie Jamieson, said that his people have lived too long as second-class citizens. Ontario's aboriginal affairs minister says that only the federal government can resolve land claims. But local native chiefs say that more land claims protests will come in the new year.

Monday 01 January 2007 CALEDONIA: ABORIGINALS PREDICT MORE PROTESTS IN THE NEW YEAR
Members of Canada's Six Nations aboriginal tribes vowed to continue their 11-month-old protest in southern Ontario into the New Year. The natives are occupying a housing site that they claim belongs to them under nineteenth-century treaties. The protest has created tension among citizens in the nearby town of Caledonia. A native spokesperson, Janie Jamieson, said that his people have lived too long as second-class citizens. Ontario's aboriginal affairs minister says that only the federal government can resolve land claims. But local native chiefs say that more land claims protests will come in the new year.

2006

Sat 23/09/2006 Caledonia rally threatens to re-ignite 'volatile situation'
Six Nations protesters are calling on the province to stop a rally they say could spark a “volatile situation� on the former housing development aboriginals have occupied in Caledonia, Ont., since February.

Wednesday 27 September 2006 rci Ontario's opposition Conservative Party leader John Tory says the occupation of a plot of land near the southwestern town of Caledonia has cost taxpayers $85 million. Mr. Tory didn't tell the legislature how he arrived at the figure or offer an itemized assessment. He did challenge Liberal Premier Dalton McGuinty to present a final tally of the cost of the occupation by members of the Six Nations but he declined to do so, saying only that he's proud of the way in which his government has handled the ongoing crisis. The natives have occupied the site since February on the grounds that it was stolen from them in the 19th century and insist they won't leave until their title to the land is recognized.

Wednesday Jun 21, 2006 Ont. to compensate Caledonia homeowners
Homeowners in Caledonia, Ont., who feel they have suffered because of an ongoing aboriginal land occupation will be compensated by the province, David Ramsay, the minister responsible for aboriginal affairs, said Tuesday.

Monday Jun 19, 2006 ts Caledonia deal could set precedent
An agreement by the province to buy Caledonia land valued at $45 million marks the beginning of years of settling Six Nations land claims, the province says. Jessica Leeder reports.

Thu 15/06/2006 rci The government of Ontario has resumed negotiations with Six Nations natives to end a standoff at the town of Caledonia in the southwest of the province. Premier Dalton McGuinty had called off the talks after several violent incidents at native barricades on Friday. He rescheduled them earlier in the week after the protesters at a construction site pulled down two barricades. The standoff began in February when Six Nations protesters occupied a site where a real estate project was underway on the grounds that the land is theirs.

Tuesday Jun 13, 2006 Seven sought in Caledonia clashes
Ontario Provincial Police say seven aboriginal protesters were involved in a string of violent clashes at the scene of a long-standing native blockade near Hamilton.

Tuesday Jun 6, 2006 Motion for Caledonia inquiry passes unexpectedly
An Opposition motion calling for an inquiry into the Ontario government's handling of an aboriginal occupation in Caledonia, Ont., passed unexpectedly Wednesday after the Conservatives caught the governing Liberals with their guards down.

Monday Jun 5, 2006 Caledonia judge orders Ottawa to court
A judge who vowed to restore order and the rule of law in Caledonia has reserved judgment on an action plan and instead will order federal officials to his courtroom, where they?ll be asked to roll up their sleeves and pitch in. Jessica Leeder reports.

Friday May 26, 2006 Province to help out Caledonia merchants
Businesses that suffered financially because of the aboriginal occupation in Caledonia were promised $500,000 in aid from the Ontario government yesterday.

Monday May 22, 2006 Blockade removed in Caledonia
Aboriginal protesters have removed a blockade they erected a month ago across the main road through Caledonia near Hamilton.

Saturday May 20, 2006 rci CALEDONIA: GOVT. STOPS PROJECT CONTESTED BY NATIVES
The Ontario government has declared a moratorium on development of land at Caledonia in the southwest of the province that has been occupied by Six Nation natives since February. The government has sent the natives a letter decreeing the ban on construction at the site. The real estate developer, Henco Industries, says it was never consulted about the decision and is furious about it. The company says it now has no choice but to ask the government to buy out the property. The natives claim they were swindled out of the land in the 1840s.

maisonneuve.org/ Tuesday May 9, 2006

TAKE A LUMP, NOT A SEAT
The Globe goes inside with the “spilling over” of the Caledonia land dispute to the UN. Representatives from the Six Nations of the Grand in Southern Ontario and the Lubicon Lake Indian Nation in Northern Alberta are in Geneva to present the grim side of Canada’s dealings with First Nations to various UN human rights bodies. The representatives are calling into question Canada’s candidacy for a seat on the UN’s Human Rights Council. In one instance, before a meeting of the United Nations Permanent Forum on Indigenous Issues, Doreen Silversmith of the Six Nations of the Grand characterized the conflict in Caledonia as “a serious and volatile situation brought on by the irresponsible and genocidal practices of the corporation you call Canada.” The International Committee for the Indians of the Americas has also expressed some doubts over Canada’s candidacy, citing the Human Rights Council’s findings in 1990 and 2005 that Canada was in violation the international covenant on civil and political rights for its treatment of First Nations. Seats on the forty-seven member UN council are up for election May 9 and will be voted on by the General Assembly.

Sunday May 7, 2006 rci CALEDONIA: DEVELOPERS IN LAND DISPUTE REQUEST RETURN OF LOOTED EQUIPMENT
Real estate developers involved in a land dispute with Canadian native people in the province of Ontario are growing impatient. Members of the Six Nations native group have forcibly occupied 40 hectares of land near the town of Caledonia for the past three months. The natives claim that the land belongs to them under age-old treaties. Henco Industries is disputing the claim and building homes on the land. The company says that the natives have looted CDN$200 thousand worth of computer equipment and are refusing to return calls asking for the equipment's return.

Tuesday May 2, 2006 rci CALEDONIA: MEDIATOR APPOINTED IN NATIVE INDIAN LAND DISPUTE
The former premier of the province of Ontario, David Peterson, will try to resolve a two-month dispute between aboriginal Canadians and government officials over land near the southern community of Caledonia. The native Canadians set up barriers in the town's main street to protest against what they say was the illegal sale of their land for a development project. The government insists that the aboriginals sold the land long ago. Caledonia residents have at times protested out of frustration over the inconveniece created by the barrier. Police lines are keeping residents and aboriginals apart. Mr. Peterson will report directly to Ontario's Aboriginal Affairs Minister, David Ramsay, who says that Mr. Peterson has a high standing with aboriginal leaders

Monday May 1, 2006 rci A group of 500 people in the town of Caledonia in southern Ontario again gathered on Friday in protest against a blockade by Six Nations native people on the town's main street that has disrupted activity for several weeks. The native Canadians are angry that the provincial and federal government sold land that the natives insist belongs to them under longstanding treaties. Police formed a line between the two groups of protesters to prevent a resurgence of violence that has erupted on few occasions since the native blockade began. The latest incident occurred last Monday when people screamed at the natives and rushed the police line.

Friday Apr 28, 2006Six Nations clan mothers taking dispute to UN Aboriginal activists occupying a southern Ontario housing development are taking their case to the United..
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Thursday Apr 27, 2006 Indians get an apology
Haldimand County Council has swiftly distanced itself from comments made by Mayor Marie Trainer suggesting that Indians blocking a highway and occupying a disputed tract of land don't work for a living. Peter Edwards reports.

Wednesday Apr 26, 2006 Indians get an apology
CALEDONIA, Ont. ? Haldimand County Council has swiftly distanced itself from comments made by Mayor Marie Trainer suggesting that Indians blocking a highway and occupying a disputed tract of land don't work for a living.

Wednesday Apr 26, 2006 maisonneuve.org NATIVE WITHOUT RESERVE
by Jonathan Montpetit
April 25, 2006

It took fifty-six days, but you might be forgiven for thinking it was just a matter of time. Yesterday night, a mob of 500 people, mostly residents of Caledonia, a small community south of Hamilton, marched to confront the native protesters who have blockaded parts of their town for seven weeks. Police struggled to keep the two sides apart, fearing violence. Mobs are not pretty things and this one’s frustration was palpable. As the standoff with the protesters in Caledonia continues, tensions are only likely to rise. The problem is, however, that as tensions rise, the possibility of mutual understanding diminishes. As if to underscore that point, the Canadian Press report carried by the Globe quotes one mob member shouting, “Go home.” From the native side, someone yelled back: “We are home.”

By all accounts, Monday night in Caledonia wasn’t a pretty scene. But that mob, and the mentality which pervaded it, was given tacit justification today in Magaret Wente’s column in the Globe. Wente criticizes the Native protestors for modeling themselves in the image of “a Mohawk warrior in combat fatigues” reminiscent of the Oka crisis. In Wente’s reading, the natives have let their own frustrations cloud better judgment as they fail to realize that the march of modernity is unstoppable. “Today the opportunities for young aboriginals in Canada have never been better,” Wente says, so why waste time protesting. MediaScout wonders if they feel that way in Kaschechwan, where residents were forced to evacuate for the third time this year after spring flooding affected the community’s water supply. Wente’s attitude is indicative of a general unwillingness on the part of Canadian media outlets to truly engage the anger seething within Canada’s native communities. This mindset is not all that different from the mentality of Monday night’s mob, one which favours confrontation instead of dialogue, judgments over true analysis. Bouncing from native crisis to native crisis does not give voice to a disaffected community, it only entrenches a sense of self-righteousness. When a mob rears its Medusa-like head, it’s the media's responsibility to flash the mirror, not stir the pot.

Wednesday Apr 26, 2006 rci TORONTO: GOVT. BLAMES NATIVE STANDOFF ON 'FACTION'
Ontario's government has blamed the continuing standoff at a construction site near Hamilton between the police and members of the Six Nations aboriginal group on a "faction" of the natives. The province's minister responsible for native affairs, David Ramsay, said on Monday that negotiations over the ownership of the site south of Hamilton were going well until a Six Nation faction became impatient. Natives have occupied the site for almost two months on the grounds that the land is theirs. On Thursday, hundreds of natives occupied it after provincial police arrested more than one dozen occupiers. Native leaders and provincial and federal officials tried to negotiate an end to the standoff during the weekend, with no results.

Mohawk blockade stays while talks go on
At least two weeks, spokesperson says Caledonia residents to meet tonight

Monday Apr 24, 2006 ts Mohawk blockade stays while talks go on The blockade of a subdivision development south of Hamilton will continue for at least another two weeks, a Mohawk spokesperson says. Peter Edwards and Tabassum Siddiqui reports.

Monday Apr 24, 2006 CALEDONIA: NATIVE CANADIANS NEGOTIATING END TO LAND DISPUTE
Native Canadians held two long talks with government officials over the weekend in an attempt to end a land dispute in southwestern Ontario. Discussions lasted about five hours on Saturday night following a 19-hour session on Friday. No talks were held on Sunday because the aboriginals' confederacy council was holding its own meetings. Native leaders and the provincial and federal governments agreed on Saturday to appoint representatives with the authority to negotiate a draft agreement. At issue is a dispute over the ownership of land in Caledonia, near Hamilton. Protest barricades remained at the site through the weekend, but as a gesture of good faith, local residents were allowed to pass through to attend Sunday Mass at a nearby church.

Sunday Apr 23, 2006 ts Mohawks may buy land
Land developers may be offered money to give up their claim to a housing development that has been occupied by Mohawk people from the Six Nations Territory for the past 55 days.

`The warrior spirit is in all of us'
CALEDONIA—There's no end in sight to the aboriginal occupation of a housing development south of Hamilton, but the Mohawks are already claiming a major victory.

Saturday Apr 22, 2006 ts Blockade removed
Relative calm settled amid the barricades and bandannas, although fresh tensions flared Friday when aboriginal protesters briefly blockaded a vital Ontario rail corridor to show solidarity for those occupying a disputed parcel of southwestern Ontario land.
Blockade ending
A blockade by Mohawk protesters that ground train traffic to a halt along a vital rail corridor in Ontario is ending, according to CTV News.

Saturday Apr 22, 2006 ts Natives end rail blockade
Last night, barriers erected by about 50 Mohawks from a reserve from Belleville were being taken down voluntarily, after CN obtained an Ontario Superior Court injunction to remove them. Peter Edwards reports.

`The warrior spirit is in all of us'
CALEDONIA—There's no end in sight to the aboriginal occupation of a housing development south of Hamilton, but the Mohawks are already claiming a major victory.

Saturday Apr 22, 2006 rci CN Rail has announced that Ontario Superior Court has granted it an injunction to end a blockade of the main rail line between Montreal and Toronto. A group of 50 Mohawks was blocking the line at Marysville, ON, 300 kilometres east of Toronto. The blockade is meant as a gesture of sympathy for several hundred Six Nations members who have conducted a 54-day sit-in at a construction at Caledonia in southwestern Ontario. CN says it is in no way connected to the dispute 300 kilometres away near the town of Caledonia and its operations should therefore not suffer from it. The blockade has blocked both CN's freight trains and Via Rail's passenger trains. By midday at least 12 freight trains are stalled and Via rail passengers have had to be conveyed by bus to their destinations.

UNDATED: FEDERAL PATIENCE ON PIPELINE PROJECT WEARING THIN
Canada's Indian affairs minister, Jim Prentice, expressed impatience with an aboriginal group that still hasn't signed on to the proposed $7-billion natural gas pipeline in the Mackenzie Valley in the Northwest Territories. In a speech in Norman Wells, Mr. Prentice says unanimity among the partners in the huge project is preferable but that the federal government won't allow the aspirations of a majority of aboriginal and non-aboriginal stakeholders to be thwarted by inaction. The minister added, however, that there's still time for talk because two panels holding hearings on the impact of the project could file their reports as late as the end of next year. Imperial Oil is leading a consortium of firms in the achievement of the Mackenzie Valley Pipeline. The Aboriginal Pipeline Group, a coalition of native groups, would have a one-third stake. The Deh Cho First Nation is the only major native group in the N.W.T. not to have joined. The Deh Cho have a pending land claim that includes 40 per cent of the proposed path of the pipeline. Its grand chief, Herb Norwegian, has reacted to the minister's remarks by saying "it's no way to do business," adding that the Deh Cho are looking for some progress in settling their land claims.

Protest began with a potluck
The roots of what is being called Canada's latest Indian crisis are deep yet personal, institutional yet quirky. They lie partly in the 18th century politics of Canada and the American Revolution. Thomas Walkom writes.

maisonneuve.org/ STAKING THEIR CLAIM
The Star, CTV News and The National lead, while the Globe, the Citizen, the Post and La Presse front the latest in the standoff between Native protesters and police in Caledonia, near Hamilton. The standoff, which started seven weeks ago after a developer began building new homes on disputed land, exploded on to the front pages today after police staged a pre-dawn raid yesterday. The protesters appeared to be caught off guard initially and a dozen arrests were made but the protesters returned with reinforcements and regained control of the site by day’s end. The dispute dates back two centuries: A large swath of land was given to local Natives in the 1800s as a reward for their loyalty during the American Revolution but was gradually taken away in a series of questionable deals and surrenders. As some observers raised the spectre of Ipperwash and Oka, the political game of buck passing was already underway. Ontario Premier Dalton McGuinty took a “hands-off approach,” according to Star columnist Ian Urquhart, and said the police were not acting on his orders. Prime Minister Stephen Harper and Indian Affairs Minister Jim Prentice both called it a provincial matter, though Harper said he was monitoring the situation closely. (Interestingly, both Harper and Prentice criticized the previous government for leaving Ontario to handle the Kashechewan crisis—a fact not picked up in the Big Seven coverage today.)

The spot news coverage is supplemented with a great deal of context as the Big Seven rushes to atone for fifty-plus days of nominal coverage. The National alerted viewers to an online feature on the Native rights movement while the Globe included a short profile of the land developer and his reaction to the dispute. Additional commentary was provided by the Globe’s Murray Campbell, who argued that Ontario hasn’t learned the lessons of Ipperwash, and a Star editorial that decried violent tactics by both sides in such disputes. Lastly, CTV News reporter Kathy Tomlinson noted that the raid was somewhat of a surprise, especially given that the two sides in the dispute were rumoured to be close to an agreement. Police officials have said they do not plan to make a second raid soon and reports from this morning indicate that talks are expected to resume today. Call it a case of better late than never; sensational violence begets the sort of coverage that peaceful standoffs never will. Now that the conflict has bullied its way onto the front pages, MediaScout hopes the Big Seven follow the story to its conclusion, whatever and whenever that may be.

Saturday Apr 22, 2006 THE NATIONAL: “Standoff: A smoldering land dispute turns into a burning confrontation between Native protestors and police”
CTV NEWS: “Standoff: The burning rage fuelling a two-centuries-old Ontario land dispute”

MOHAWK SOLIDARITY1/KAHNAWAKE QUEBEC/APRIL 20,2006---The flags of the Mohawk Warrior Society fly briskly over the Mercier Bridge, leading to the Mohawk community of Kahnawake, and Chateauguay. The flags were erected this morning to show solidarity with the native blockade at Caledonia, Ontario, which was confronted by the OPP earlier today. Barricades are ready to be put up and manned, in Kahnawake should the police force confront the Caladonia blockade again. (Str pic by Robert J. Galbraith)rjg. (Str pic by Robert J. Galbraith)rjg his page

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