Grand Chief’s house burned as tempers boiled over
By BRIAN DALY, Canadian Press
KANESATAKE -- Quebec, Canada (CP) - Aboriginal officers trapped inside police headquarters on a Mohawk reserve west of Montreal have been deprived of food, the interim police chief said Tuesday.
“They haven’t allowed any food in,” Terry Isaac told a news conference. “A lot of the boys are hungry and tired.” Isaac said about 60 aboriginal officers, from outside the Mohawk reserve, have been prevented from leaving police headquarters and patrolling by members of the Kanesatake reserve.
Protesters have placed a large red-and-black Mohawk warrior flag on the fence near the headquarters and have said they don’t want outside officers, even aboriginal ones, to police their reserve. They have set up a hut outside police headquarters to keep warm in the cold temperatures.
When the trapped officers have ordered food, protesters have taken it, including pizza and Tuesday’s breakfast order, Isaac said.
“They stole four boxes,” he said of the pizza order.
Isaac said they don’t intend to leave the reserve but don’t expect provincial police to intervene at this point.
A member of the Mohawk warriors told Radio-Canada’s all-news channel, RDI, the warrior flag, which has the head of an aboriginal man on a red background, is “a symbol of who we are.”
“All the Mohawk men are warriors,” said the man, identified only as Gabriel.
He said the standoff will continue as long as the aboriginal officers from outside the reserve remain on Mohawk territory.
Tensions have been high at the reserve over the dispute involving the replacement of the band’s police chief and the arrival of outside aboriginal officers to crack down on crime and the illegal sale of cigarettes.
The reserve, near the community of Oka, gained notoriety in 1990 over a land-claims standoff involving Mohawk warriors that saw one provincial police office killed when officers stormed barricades erected to prevent expansion of a nearby golf course on land Mohawks considered sacred.
Grand Chief James Gabriel, whose house was burned as tempers boiled over on Monday night, is no longer in charge and is no longer a member of the band council, a dissident band council member said.
“James Gabriel has deserted the community,” said John Harding. “We consider that James Gabriel is no longer a member of the band council.”
Harding blamed Gabriel for the dispute and for replacing the police chief.
Gabriel said Tuesday he’s still in charge and wants the federal and provincial governments to step in, adding he is concerned about “bloodshed.”
“How bad do things have to get before people realize it’s a really bad situation.”
Gabriel and his wife and children had left the house before the fire started. His dog died in the fire and his car and tractor also were set on fire, he said.
However, Gabriel said he wasn’t going without a fight even though he’s no longer on the reserve.
“I’ll be damned if I’ll let them chase me off my territory where I grew up.”
In Mexico, Prime Minister Paul Martin said the federal government is in close contact with the Quebec government about the situation. Martin said there are no plans for the RCMP to intervene in the dispute.
A highway leading into the reserve was still blocked with two large pine trees that were felled.
The fallen trees were inconveniencing some local residents who needed to get to their homes and also were preventing essential services, such as fire trucks, from getting through if needed.
Oka Mayor Yvan Patry said he wants the Quebec government to get the road open because his community is responsible for some of the essential services in the area.