File spoon-archives/anarchy-list.archive/anarchy-list_2001/anarchy-list.0103, message 110


Date: Sun, 18 Mar 2001 23:23:31 -0500
From: Chuck0 <chuck-AT-tao.ca>
Subject: Traditional Mohawks call for "Day of Rage" April 19th



Subject: Traditional Mohawks call for "Day of Rage" April 19th
Date: Sun, 18 Mar 2001 20:07:38 -0800 (PST)


Traditional Mohawks call for "Day of Rage" April 19th
and pledge to open border, welcoming anarchists.
Written By World War Three, Target & Warcry

         This April the heads of State of every
country in the Western hemisphere except Cuba will be
meeting in Quebec city Canada to sign a trade deal
that undermines the rights of working people,
environmental protections and human rights. They are
very afraid that people will come to Quebec City and
ruin their party. So afraid that protesters are being
refused entry at the Canadian border. But there's good
news. There is an important chance to build solidarity
between anarchists and indigenous people. 
 
The Mohawk territory of Akwesasne straddles both sides
of the Canadian border. The Mohawk people view that
border as illegitimate.  On April 19th,a group of
Mohawks from the Traditional contingent of the Mohawk
people will open the bridge at Cornwall to activists
wishing to go to Quebec City.  They are billing this
as a "Day of Rage" in solidarity with the Palestinian
people.  Canadian radicals and trade unionists are
supporting this action on the Canadian side while
several different mobilization groups from the U.S.
are planning a caravan from the Burlington Convergence
to Quebec City through the Mohawk reservation.  This
is not a blockade.  In solidarity with the Mohawk
nation’s grievances towards the Canadian and U.S.
governments and their action upon that day, the
caravan hopes to travel without harassment and
unfettered to Quebec City.

The Mohawk people consider the bridge and border an
abomination forced on them by the U.S. and Canadian
governments. The bridge is controlled by customs 364
days of the year but one day of every year Mohawk
people take over the bridge to assert their
sovereignty over their land. They have never given up
their lands to these tyrannical nations.

This is a chance to build an alliance between
Anarchists and indigenous people.  There is a lot we
can learn from the Mohawk people, who have struggled
for centuries against all forms of oppression at the
hands of the capitalist system and the governments of
both Canada and the U.S.  They have never conceded
their land. They have never accepted the U.S. or
Canadian government as legitimate.  They have
responded to oppression with armed resistance.  The
powerful spirit of insurgency has been very effective
in the recent past as well.  The federal governments
have amassed to strike with horrendous force only to
back off when it became apparent what they were up
against: a people committed to sovereignty at all
costs.  As Anarchists we aspire to be as strong and
defiant as the Mohawk Traditionalists already are.

This group of Mohawk Traditionalists - along with the
Ontario Coalition Against Poverty (An organization of
poor people fighting to bring power back into poor
communities, OCAP) and the Kingston People’s Community
Union (An organization of community members, PCU) -
are using this as a chance to build coalition and
organize towards a larger campaign to unseat their
rightwing asshole premier of Ontario, Mike Harris.
This will be a day of solidarity between radical
Mohawks, Canadian Trade Unions, the poor of Ontario
(Through OCAP), several radical activist groups in the
U.S. and Canada, independent Anarchists, and the
Anti-Globalization movement worldwide.
A few of the U.S. groups currently involved are NYC
DAN, NYC YaBasta! Collective,
IMC-NYC, Philly Direct Action Group. The Canadian
Guelph Direct Action Group is also down.  The border
crossing also has the endorsement of the Cornwall
Labor Council, the radical Canadian Postal Union and
possibly a Canadian AutoWorkers Union.  Once
over the border the U.S. caravan will be free to join
the Canadians for a large-scale caravan to Quebec
City.  Canadians are still discussing plans to shut
down the locks on the Saint Lawrence Seaway if
necessary.  The Burlington Convergence (Starting
possibly the 14th of April.
www.vermontactionnetwork.org, vermont.indymedia.org)
is being used as the jump off point and it is strongly
advised that those interested be at the
convergence by the 17th for training, or by the 18th
spokes council meeting at the very latest.  This
convergence will have teach-ins, workshops, bands,
protests and much more.  If you can’t make it to
Cornwall or Quebec you have to come to the
convergence.

Some realities about working with the Mohawks: Mohawk
society, like most societies, is not politically
homogeneous.  There are Mohawk freedom fighters, but
there are also Mohawk police, Mohawk venture
capitalists, Mohawk reactionaries and Mohawks 
working with the Canadian Government.  Just as there
are Anarchists, Republicans and all kinds of people in
U.S. society.  This action is being called by a group
of Mohawk Traditionalists with radical politics. (So
understandably, they have welcomed the U.S. Anarchists
to cross their land.) It is possible that we will come
into contact with some Mohawks who don’t support the
action.  We may in fact be confronting Mohawk police
officers.  If this happens we should deal with this in
a principled way and stand up to them as police – and
not fall into raising racial issues.  When possible,
we will take
the lead from our Traditionalist allies on how to deal
with these situations.
Considering that the blood of 20 million Indigenous
people has been spilled since imperialists first set
foot on this country, and considering how fiercely
these warriors have always resisted oppression, we
consider it an honor to work with these
uncompromisingly brave people.  They are opening their
land for us to reach Quebec City; we should open our
hearts and raise our fists.


Some sites related to the Cornwall caravan and the
Vermont convergence: 
http://www.freespeech.org/yabasta/
http://www.vermontactionnetwork.org/
http://vermont.indymedia.org/
http://www.infoshop.org






__________________________________________________
Do You Yahoo!?
Get email at your own domain with Yahoo! Mail. 
http://personal.mail.yahoo.com/

   

Driftline Main Page

 

Display software: ArchTracker © Malgosia Askanas, 2000-2005