Indian Time - A Voice from the Eastern Door

October 13, 2013

Letter to the Editor

WITHOUT PREJUDICE

BLOOD, POWER, POLITICS

Several issues are being resolved or are having attempts to be resolved. In a recent meeting called by the defendants in the Federal Bridge Corporation against certain members of the Akwesasne Peoples Fire. It has come to the defendants attention that Mohawk Council does not want to jeopardise the Seaway claim.

Not all of the defendants were notified of the meeting by council’s co-ordinator but we were the first of the defendants to arrive and we were greeted by their lawyer and the rest of the members were subdued. Was this an intentional oversight so that we would be pitted against each other or was it merely a clerical error?

Defendants were charged by Federal Bridge with trespass after the protest of 2009 against the arming of CBSA officers. Now because of the location of the building of the Akwesasne Peoples Fire, we are also being liable for the Seaway claim and the 41 years of research that has already been done on it.

MCA and the Grand chief have been added onto the file. If the defendants plead guilty, then the Seaway claim would loose merit as the people have admitted to the trespass and are stating that the Federal Bridge owns the corridor and also has the right to charge people who walk on the land with trespass. So now there is a dilemma.

How does council negotiate with the defendants so that they do not loose their multi-million dollar claim?

Do not irritate the defendants

Work with the defendants to come to an amenable resolution

Solutions have been proposed and were compatible with Federal Bridge

Council did not want to see the defendants resolve the issue because part of the solution was to remove one CBSA building and concurrent to that remove an APF building

Council wanted to maintain the CBSA building for a police station, lacrosse hall of fame, etc

The building has been deemed unsafe due to the fact that the building needs major renovation and the sewage system is almost completely deteriorated

Why would council instigate us fighting each other when there is so much at stake??

Federal Bridge is looking for closure with the APF and removal of their structures on the corridor.

Council should be doing everything in their power to keep the defendants from further stress and undue hardship

Some of the defendants are self-represented and they are the ones who are trying to come to a resolution so that there is no further court appearances

MCA only sends their lawyers, no one else shows up, so issues have to be rescheduled because their lawyer has to get back to his client

meanwhile, the defendants are again the pawns in this game of chess between Federal Bridge and MCA

the defendants did not ask for this, so why are we stuck with the ramifications of their decisions

resolutions have been tendered but to no avail with MCA

I look back at this whole process and I am remembering the casino war of 1990 when we were pitted against each other, brother against brother, look at the current leadership and what roles did they play during 1990. How many deaths do there have to be before we wake up and have a peaceful and caring community?

My family has sacrificed enough! The death of my brother Mathew in 1990 and also the death of JR Edwards as he was a friend to me and my siblings, is enough death for political gain! What kind of legacy does council want from all of this? My family has been smirked at by some members of council because one of us has given his life so that some people who are on a power quest can attain their prize.

My family has given the lease book from my forbearers for the Dundee land claim and yet there has been no family on the negotiation table for that claim. We are supposed to sit back and let MCA do as they please.

No more am I going to not say what is on my mind. I live my life as my parents raised me to always be concerned for the future generations. Everyday some one gives me another problem with council. Why do they come to me? I try to get things resolved by writing letters to the government or making contact with the government both federally and provincially.

How much blood does MCA want spilled for them to get power and for millions of dollars in these land claims. We need land. My own family has had to buy land off of the territory. Why? There is not enough land to have a peaceful co-existence with our neighbors.

Further lawsuits will be instigated as Bay Street contingency lawyers will be contacted. There has been additional duress and mental anguish suffered by the defendants in this file. Mohawk Council has added to the duress and mental anguish due to their inability for resolution.

Above all else, all of the defendants need to have a united front! Support is also needed by all onkwehonwe.

We will file a motion to intervene in the seaway claim proceedings.

Explanations of terms used:

Without prejudice means that this letter cannot be used in court.

Contingency lawyer is a lawyer who will take on the file with little or no retainer but is done on the merits of the case.

Cordially,

Beverly Pyke