http://www.easterndoor.com/VOL.13/13-18.htm#story1


Mohawk Delegation Sent To UN
By: Kenneth Deer

Three citizens of the Mohawk Nation went to the United Nations in New York to plead for a peaceful, mediated solution to the crisis that currently grips Kanehsatake. 

The three women - Warisose Gabriel, Tewatonhawitha Montour and Wenhniseri:iosta Beauvais - addressed the UN Permanent Forum on Indigenous Issues this week with a request for members of the forum to intervene and help settle the dispute in their community. 

Tewatonhawitha Montour read the statement on behalf of the men, women and children of the Mohawk Nation at Kanehsatake in the plenary room during the discussion on Human Rights. The delegation later met with a representative of the Canadian government in a private meeting. 

The delegation was sent by the women of the Longhouse in Kanehsatake after they were approached by non-Longhouse women who asked for their help. 

"When the women came to us for help to settle this issue, we felt we had to do something," said Warisose Gabriel, a retired schoolteacher. "We were not sure what we could do since all avenues have been tried but when we heard that this meeting was taking place in New York, then we decided to go." 

The decision to go and who would make up the delegation was made quickly last Saturday afternoon. Travel and accommodation had to be organized and accreditation to get into the UN to speak had to be arranged. Once the women made the decision, money was collected from various sources to cover their expenses. 

"We got money from the Nation Office in Kahnawake, some of the cigarette stores in Kanehsatake and donations from private individuals," said Tewatonhawitha Montour.

The delegation left Kanehsatake on Sunday afternoon with Donald Gabriel as their chauffeur. That evening they received advice on how the UN works and how to get their name on the speakers' list. Because they were not on the list already, it would take a lot of work and lobbying to get to speak. That evening, the delegation drafted its statement for the next day. 

On Monday morning, the long process of registering for the conference began. Because it was the second week of a two-week meeting, the registration process had the delegation going into UN headquarters to receive one registration document, then leave the UN for another building for their photos to be taken. The whole process took about two hours.

This jeopardized their opportunity to speak. With some luck and good contacts, they were able to get on the speakers' list. However, the topic of Human Rights was to end at 1 p.m. and there were many other speakers ahead of them.

The delegation quickly typed up its intervention and made 50 copies for the interpreters, the secretariat and to distribute to other delegates. It was decided that Tewatonhawitha Montour would read the statement and she sat in front of a mike waiting for her name to be called. Each time a speaker ended an intervention, they held their breath hoping that their name would be next. 

Unfortunately, one o'clock rolled around and the list of speakers was cut off. Since there was no session in the afternoon, the Chairman said there would be no more statements under Human Rights. 

This put the Mohawk delegation in a dilemma. If there were no more interventions under Human Rights, they would have to speak under Environment or Development, which did not suit the issue very well. 

However, there was still hope. Other delegations also wanted to speak under Human Rights and pressure was put on the Permanent Forum members to give the issue more time. 

The Mohawk delegation asked the Chairman for more time on Tuesday morning to hear more interventions. Fortunately, the Chairman was sympathetic to the issue and allowed two more statements on Tuesday morning before the rest of the agenda.

At about 10:25 a.m. Tewatonhawitha Montour read the statement below: 

Mr. Chairman, 

We bring you greetings from the men, women and children of the Mohawk Nation at Kanehsatake, which lies within the colonial boundaries of Canada. 

My name is Tewatonhawitha Montour of the Wolf Clan of the Mohawk Nation. I have come to speak about Bill S-24 and the new tripartite policing agreement, which are being implemented in our community. These agreements are an infringement on our sovereignty. Our community elders and children are suffering because of the conflict that these agreements have caused amongst our people. This has caused divisions within families, our schools, and health services, and in the community in general.

Our people have been banished from our territory by the courts denying them their only means of livelihood. Our people have been wrongfully charged by the courts because of policing issues and the threat of a police invasion into our community by the Royal Canadian Mounted Police and the Surete du Quebec, supported by an Aboriginal police force. 

Bill S-24 will make Mohawk Territory into a municipality and erode our ancestral rights and use of our land. This is a violation of our basic human rights and fundamental freedoms. 

The Canadian Government's use of referendums to force its legislation on our lands is against our traditional method of governance by consensus. Our traditional method of reaching consensus avoids conflict and avoids the confrontation that now exists and threatens our women and children. 

I would like to invite the members of the Permanent Forum to visit our community and see first-hand the situation that we live in. Do not judge our situation by what you read in the mainstream press or by statements made by the Canadian or Quebec Governments. 

Mediation is the correct process to defuse the tension in Kanehsatake. Force of arms on either side will not bring peace. The mandate of the United Nations is to find peaceful resolutions to disputes. As part of the United Nations, we ask the Members Permanent Forum on Indigenous Issues to use their good offices to intervene and help settle this dispute and help bring peace to our community. 

On behalf of the men, women and children of the Mohawk Nation at Kanehsatake, I thank you for listening.

- Tewatonhawitha Montour 

After that statement, the delegation approached the Canadian government desk and asked to speak with them. Fred Caron of the Human Rights Directorate met with the Mohawks for a few minutes in a separate room. 

The delegation explained to him the situation inside Kanehsatake and, without taking sides on the internal issues, felt that mediation was the best solution at this time. They asked that he take that information with him back to his government.

"We felt that we had a good visit to the UN and it was worth the time and effort to go there," said Wenhniseri:iosta Beauvais. "We have to try all avenues to reach a peaceful resolution to the situation at home and if this helps a little, then it was worth it."