"Those people down there -- I mean, those politically-motivated Indians -- those people are masters at getting out their story, they even have their own newspaper, Akwesasne Notes. Located in AkwesasneU.S. Our unique storytelling is entrenched in the Mohawk language and culture. So the police decided they had better step in, and positioned themselves between the two sides. 'Yeah,' I said, 'I think I better confiscate your equipment.' Brian's brother Harris is the head of the Akwesasne Police, the man who first attempted to arrest Chief Loran Thompson. He did not have to say who those "other people" were. When they refused, they were given the second of the traditional three warnings, on the assumption that they had not understood the serious implications of their actions. The dawn was beautiful and cold and clear, with a northwest wind that quickened the dying river. M5V 2Z5. Our attachment to this place where our great-great-grandfathers lie buried is very strong, but our children's future and wellbeing is at stake. Climbing the bank -- originally spill banks from the Seaway dredging, dumped like the locks and customs buildings and factories onto Indian land -- I entered a compound of makeshift buildings surrounded by three outhouses, a pig pen, a shed with a NO SMOKING sign, a vegetable garden, a few small tents and two hay wagons carrying plywood siding to screen off the view of the Akwesasne camp from police on the GM foundry roof. At approximately 2:25AM the Akwesasne Mohawk Police Service and the Ontario Provincial Police executed a criminal code search warrant at a private residence on International Rd, on Kawehnoke. The time has come where we have made a judgment to minimize, to mitigate loss of life, the letting of blood; it is more responsible, it is in the long run less painful, for the state to execute those warrants rather than to stand by and let others do it. Comments may take up to an hour for moderation before appearing on the site. So you use the akwesasne mohawk police. We have many white friends, many black friends, and we are all human beings. News / Police Blotter - Indian Time To enforce the laws of Akwesasne and Canada in a fair and unbiased manner. In New York, I had interviewed Harding, who was eager to lay out the state's version of the case and his own role in it. ON Chief of Police, Deputy Chief, and Staff Sergeant. Although the trespass and destruction of the trees ("There were some big sugar maples in there, too," Loran Thompson told me) was illegal under both New York State and Six-Nation law, Thompson could not take his complaint to the police, since the traditionals do not recognize police jurisdiction on the reservation; nor could he expect any satisfaction from the Tribal Council, which had promoted the fence project in the first place. I didn't agree because I didn't want to see people killed, but I could see why they were just sick and tired of this damned thing, of a reservation without law and order. "Loran's brother is suing them for poisoning his water by dumping metallic and aluminum waste there on the boundary; GM says that they can't send test drillers in here to check the water for fear of their lives.". When the second warning was ignored, chiefs from all of the Six Nations convened for an emergency meeting. They want to put us under state jurisdiction, right down to the county level, and the feds are standing by to back them up. Harding told me that "the Indians think Ray Harding is a prick, but they trust his word: 'Ray-Harding-he-talk-truth,'" he said, giving me his idea of Indian speech. Two educational leaders appointed to the Indigenous Education Commissioners Advisory Council. AKWESASNE The Akwesasne Mohawk Police Service AMPS has issued a Canada-wide warrant for the arrest of homicide suspect Victor J. Francis Boots had said that he might leave Cornwall Island, where the fluoride contamination from Reynolds and Alcoa is most serious of all. On August 16, 2019 at approximately 4:30 pm, the Saint Regis Mohawk Tribal Police conducted a search at 55 St. Regis Rd. On Aug. 16, AMPS also released a statement saying someone had been taken into police custody in the U.S. in connection with Lazore-Arquettes death. AMPS, OPP & Other Agencies Conduct Criminal Code Search Warrant January 19, 2023 At approximately 2:25AM the Akwesasne Mohawk Police Service and the Ontario Provincial Police are executed a criminal code search warrant at a private residence on International Rd, on Kawehnoke. The cab driver was able to use his personal cell phone to call 9-1-1. Akwesasne, Quebec, H0M 1A0 101 Tewesateni Road We drove over the Seaway International Bridge and through the U.S. and Canadian customs. Harding and I were beginning to communicate. On the far bank, where the GM foundry looms over the western edge of Akwesasne, I was waved past by a security man with a pistol on his hip who had been alerted about my arrival from Cornwall Island; eight days after the crisis of Friday the 13th, the phone lines to the besieged camp were not yet repaired. On May 29, to the sound of drums, several hundred unarmed Indians walked in procession from the Akwesasne longhouse in Hogunsburg to police headquarters in the elective system's building, not far away, where five chiefs, including Porter, Swamp and Thompson, asked the police for the last time if they meant to disband. To investigate crimes, mediate and resolve disputes where possible and to actively participate in crime prevention programs and other community safety programs. The driver says he was directed to drive to Cornwall Island, near Mc Cumber Road South, and this is where the incident occurred. Such a powerful demonstration of what our people are just beginning to do, for the first time in maybe 250 years.". Four arrests made in firearms smuggling investigation near Cornwall, Ont. A volatile, swift-speaking man, well-informed on all Indian matters, Mohawk is the editor of Akwesasne Notes, the best known Indian newspaper in America since its inception in 1968. Gregory O. David Jr., 32, of Akwesasne was arrested and charged with Possession for the purpose of trafficking a controlled substance, possession of property obtained by crime, and breach of probation. The award is open in two categories, grades 7-9 and 10-12. The traditional Indians, at least, believe that the state has encouraged the present dispute to keep the Mohawks from uniting in a common cause, but because their camp is now blockaded by police, few observers have made any attempt to visit the traditionals and hear their views. In 1986 Band Council passed another resolution to rename the St. Regis Akwesasne Police Department, to the Akwesasne Mohawk Police. Morthaza Amirdad, 31, and Kyanoush Rezaei, 31, were each charged with four weapons-related charges and subsequently released from police custody to appear in Brockville court at later dates. Of the three elected chiefs who served on the Tribal Council before Dr. Cook replaced Rudy Hart Sr., the most articulate was said to be Leonard Garrow, who seemed disconcerted when I asked my question about the bothersome discrepancy between the alleged offenses of the traditionals and the violent retribution that may yet be carried out by the Concerned Citizens. To provide leadership and role models for our youth. It is alleged that on December WARRANTS Cornwall, ON Michelle David, 36, of Cornwall was arrested on November 29th, 2022 on the strength of multiple warrants. Eventually, investigators identified that the attack began in the morning hours; three subjects forced their way into the home and assaulted the victim with weapons until he was able to escape and run to a neighbors home. Since August 1979, the state police had settled on the policy of executing warrants when and if they caught someone outside the camp while stopping short of an armed invasion; they are not anxious to get people killed, Harding explained, police included. "After 1492, immigrants came here who were in a very bad way. Arrest warrant issued in Akwesasne homicide investigation That are both unjust physical boundaries affecting internal workload demand which is supervised by jesuit missionaries from fellow first for hiring walsh. Site by, Individual Residential Alternatives (IRA), Office of Emergency Management and Safety, Natural Resource Damage Assessment (NRDA), St. Lawrence River Area of Concern at Massena/Akwesasne, Alcoholism/Chemical Dependency Program (A/CDP), Let's Get Healthy - Diabetes Center for Excellence, Mental Health - Kanikonri:ihne (Good Mind Counseling), Home Improvement Supplement Program (HIP), Saint Regis Mohawk Tribe Sex Offender Registry. AMPS officers attended the post-mortem autopsy examination on Aug. 13, where preliminary findings confirmed Lazore-Arquettes death was caused by a gunshot wound. ON Officers will be paying close attention to school zones, speed limits, child restrain systems, school bus safety, aggressive driving and distracted driving concerns. Patrol will take a proactive approach to combating crime by utilizing crime prevention campaigns and strategies. Loran Thompson laughed, shaking his head, as if still marveling that this good-humored episode should have led to 23 indictments, an armed siege and the expenditure of millions of dollars of the taxpayers' money. Chief of Police: Shawn DuludeDeputy Chief of Police: Lee-Ann OBrien, 73 Sweetgrass LaneKana:takon (St. Regis), QuebecH0M 1A0. "Even if they were bluffing, they could have gotten a lot of people killed; we weren't panicked that day, we were just outraged that it was so out of control. That morning, May 22, 1979, Loran Thompson and his friend Joe Swamp found a group of youths cutting down trees on his late father's property; the woodcutters were members of the federally funded Young Adult Conservation Corps (YACC) engaged in a "boundary-delineation project" for a proposed fence around the Akwesasne Project" for a proposed fence around the Akwesasne Reservation, and they had already cut a swath 80 feet long and 200 feet wide by the time he arrived. A DANGEROUS confrontation between armed Mohawk factions on a small and remote reservation on the St. Lawrence River has been all but ignored by the news media, apparently for want of a certified death to excite interest; although the potential for bloody violence is still imminent, the few newspaper and TV accounts mostly have contented themselves with the interpretation put out by New York State authorities. Residents looking to hire local contractors are urged to be cautious by Brockville Police after multiple parties say they made substantial down payments for proposed work that ended up partially completed or not completed at all. Email: info@akwesasne.ca 613-541-4162, Advertising Carey and Mr. Harding are finding out in 1980. 2023 Cornwall Standard-Freeholder, a division of Postmedia Network Inc. All rights reserved. Even though it is poisoned, it is difficult for us to exchange this land for somewhere else. Raymond Harding, lawyer, lieutenant colonel in the New York National Guard and special consultant to Gov. But it isn't a struggle for power; the issue is sovereignty. The St.Regis Band Council passed a. Akwesasne Mohawk Police Service The group that threw up the barricades, they went on their own; they said, 'We've been listening to the elected chiefs for 13 months, now we want something done.' The Akwesasne Mohawk Police Commission (AMPC) is comprised of two members from each of the Districts of Tsi Snaihne, Kana:takon and Kawehno:ke. Phone 613-575-2250 The other male placed the injuredcab driver in the rear seat where he threatened to kill him. Over there on Cornwall Island, which is downwind from Reynolds, skin lesions and nervous disorders began to occur simultaneously with the fluoride pollution, but because the companies are on the U.S. side, and the people are Indians, the Canadian government takes no interest.". Well, Indians don't think that way; there is no need to talk about clouded titles. To enforce a variety of assignments, including: Traffic law, Anti-Drug & Smuggling Enforcement, and Criminal code enforcement. ", Peter Matthiessen; Peter Matthiessen is the author of "The Snow Leopard". Tribal Council Tours Progress of | Saint Regis Mohawk Tribe Located in AkwesasneU.S. There are plenty of Akwesasne artists that you can purchase from online. We don't really want to go to the United Nations, the World Court, but we are forced to do so in order to survive. The Akwesasne Mohawk Police Service along with the Ontario Provincial Police weapons enforcement unit led the execution of the search warrant as part of an ongoing investigation. "The tribal faction started to get nervous after April 19, and they began to reorganize," Tom Porter says. We ask you to keep your comments relevant and respectful. At last Chief Porter said quietly, "Mohawks have been referred to as Rattlesnake People by the other tribes. Administration / Office: Weekdays, 8:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. Police Officers: 24 hours a day, 7 days a week Phone: 518-358-9200. "I wanted to stage another meeting on June 2 in Albany, using Howard Rowley as arbitrator, and the good offices of the chiefs at Onandaga. We apologize, but this video has failed to load. Here mercury, Mirex and PCBs are only a few of the numerous poisons from the industries and sewer outlets that line its banks, all the way upstream to Lake Erie. Lazore and Laffin were held in police custody pending bail hearings scheduled in Cornwall court on Thursday, while Poirier and O'Byrne were released from police custody to appear in Cornwall court on March 14. "So the leaders say, 'You go over there because you can understand him.' We have enabled email notificationsyou will now receive an email if you receive a reply to your comment, there is an update to a comment thread you follow or if a user you follow comments. 613-650-9800, Prizing "Friday was a situation that almost exploded," Oren Lyons told me when I caught up with him by telephone a few days later, "and it could go bad again at any time . An Akwesasne Mohawk Police officer waits to cross the border at the Massena Port of Entry, Saturday, Aug. 17, 2019. ." Phone 613-575-2250 "Akwesasne used to be a fishing place, but all these locks and power dams cut off all the anadromous fish, and raised the water levels, which ruined the trapping and fish spawning grounds and waterfowl nesting in the marshes -- there is no hunting and fishing anymore. The operation was assisted by OPP's Tactics and Rescue Unit and Emergency Response Team (OPP ERT) as well as officers from the Cornwall Police Service, Canada Border Services Agency, and U.S. I asked Hunt the question I had neglected to ask Harding: Why hadn't the police simply dispersed an armed and angry crowd that had forced them to blockade all the nearby roads and tie up traffic on Highway 37? Registrants pay a fee and are encouraged to ask friends and family members to sponsor their ride. In 1973, the St. Regis Akwesasne Police Officers were accepted into the Ontario Police College. We are very fortunate that we received much cooperation from the community, he said. It sends a strong message that crime against people and property will not be tolerated.. We greeted them at the gate, we brought them in here for a big feast, a big dance -- oh, the feeling here! Massive reinforcements arrived quickly and Thompson was subdued and seized in a brief skirmish with 12 policemen in front of his frightened children; a 73-year-old neighbor, Mary Tebo, knocked down by one of the police, had to be hospitalized. John Mohawk nodded. Akwesasne Mohawk Police are asking for the assistance of the public. He was WARRANTS, BREACH OF PROBATION Cornwall, ON Clarissa Square, 29, of Cornwall was arrested on July 28th, 2022, and charged with five counts of breach of probation and one count of failing to attend WARRANTS Cornwall, ON Martika Smoke Thompson, 32, of Cornwall, was arrested on July 22nd, 2022, on the strength of outstanding warrants. Visit our Community Guidelines for more information and details on how to adjust your email settings. Last Friday, the authorities understood for the first time that the Six Nations are really united; if they attack the Mohawks, they attack us all.". After responding to the scene and searching, the woman was located in possession of knives, and no firearm was found. Our unique storytelling is entrenched in the Mohawk language and culture. Fax: 613-575-2181 The three men face charges of Aggravated Assault, Assault Causing Bodily Harm, Forcible Confinement and Uttering Death Threats. It's like Rudy Hart told somebody, 'Give those guys two beers, and they'll do anything. 6 were here. It is our duty to take care of it. But around 2:30 Friday afternoon, I was getting the impression that the state police might not be able to control the situation; there was a 3 o'clock ultimatum from the electeds, and we weren't sure that the police could prevent the action from taking place.". In the related investigation, the OPP seized 46 firearms from two people from Ottawa during a traffic stop on Highway 401 east of Prescott on Sept. 7. Arrest made in death of Akwesasne man, extradition sought from U.S. Update on investigation into Akwesasne man's death, Akwesasne man dies from gunshot on Sunday, tap here to see other videos from our team. Police request anyone with information that could help locate the missing persons or any information into any criminal matter, to please call law enforcement. Detectives will process crime scene evidence, capture photos for court presentation and maintain case records in accordance with applicable regulations. '", Lloyd Benedict, who has started a good small newspaper called the Rezz, is doing his best to remain neutral. By continuing to use our site, you agree to our Terms of Service and Privacy Policy. Regan Jacobs, Akwesasne TV Akwesasne Sports, a proud sponsor of Akwesasne TV. When I reminded that our Uncle Joe was over there with the vigilantes, he really started to sweat; a lot goes through your mind out there, he told me. The St.Regis Band Council passed a Resolution forming the St.Regis Akwesasne Police. The Creator still sees the native people as custodians of this land; we think so, too. K7L 1H3, Contest Line The arrests came as part of an ongoing investigation which follows a September 7, 2022 seizure of more than 40 firearms from a vehicle on Highway 401 near Prescott. When the police made no effort to disarm or disperse the crowd, despite its disruption of highway traffic, the besieged traditionals had to assume that New York State supported the proposed assault. The Ontario Provincial Police (OPP)-led Provincial Weapons Enforcement Unit (PWEU) has laid numerous charges after executing a warrant in the Akwesasne Mohawk First Nation. Suspect wanted in taxi cab robbery - Mohawk Police issue warrant Loran Thompson has no sugar maples down there. Page Down A Mohawk in Peru #3: T. River Institute and RR. "Six thousand tons of fluoride a day come from those stacks -- that's what they tell us." A middle-aged Indian with rifle, cartridge belt and a paper bag of food walked through the compound, headed for one of the outlying bunkers. Akwesasne man facing multiple charge after arrest on warrants | Police