Volunteers from Akwesasne put up a building to help the community get through the coming winter on Cornwall Island as they continue to protest the arming of border services officers.
–> CORNWALL — With winter on the way, the Akwesasne people are taking their stand against the Canada Border Services Agency indoors. But first they need a place to call their own.About one month ago, volunteers from the Mohawk community began building what looks like a small house on Cornwall Island beside the Akwesasne Peoples’ Fire and meeting tent, which have been there nearly six months to facilitate an ongoing protest of the Canada Border Services Agency’s (CBSA) policy to arm border officers.
Community member and former Mohawk Council of Akwesasne (MCA) Chief Nona Benedict hopes the building will be ready to provide shelter and hold meetings by November.
“It’s going up because our elders can’t stay in the tent now. It’s getting too cold,” she said. “We can’t maintain our get-togethers all winter in a tent.”
On Monday three men were working on what looked like the finishing touches to the building’s exterior.
“It looks good, doesn’t it?” said one of the workers, then pointed to the Canada Customs and Immigration building abandoned under community protest on May 31, the eve of CBSA’s arming on Cornwall Island. “I think they go well together.”
All of the building materials have been bought by the community with no funding from the MCA, according to Benedict.
The money is being raised through community dinners, raffles and donations, while local tradespeople are donating their time to construct the building.
Benedict said local women are making sure the workers are well-fed. The community has had the idea in mind since May, when the protests began on the 110th anniversary of Jake Ice’s death. Ice was shot by the Dominion Police in 1899 during a show of civil disobedience over a federal government-run election in Akwesasne.
“We felt from day one this problem wasn’t going to get resolved quickly, so we wanted to be prepared for the winter,” Benedict said. “We’d like to see this over, but as we’ve been saying, we’re in it for the long haul.”
Although the building is meant to be temporary, the community could use it over over the long-term if necessary.
The building has heat and lights, but no indoor plumbing. There are portable toilets outside.
As for the possibility that the MCA could reopen the customs building next door with Mohawk Security officers and Akwesasne Mohawk police officers running it, Benedict says there are “some who kind of like” the idea, while others are against it.
MCA Grand Chief Mitchell and other Akwesasne leaders met with the Akwesasne police and Mohawk Security on Monday to get their input on the idea.
The grand chief said he is working under the assumption the CBSA won’t endorse whatever plan is put into action because the agency has suggested as much on several occasions.
“The CBSA may not support the plan, but we still have to worry about what comes across the border and the security of our people,” Mitchell said. “It would nice if they said, ‘We might not be there, but we’ll still help.’”
Mitchell said there has been concern expressed by MCA officials about drugs coming into the community, so there is consideration being given to beefing up enforcement for existing laws.
A Mohawk-run customs checkpoint would save Cornwall Island residents from waiting in long lines to report to the temporary customs plaza set up in Cornwall.
Many of the residents who haven’t checked in at customs after a U.S. visit have had their vehicles seized.
“Personally, I think that would be ideal, but I don’t think it’s going to fly,” Benedict said. “That won’t work unless the CBSA honours it.”
Benedict said she would rather deal with the customs lineups on the Seaway International Bridge than lose her rights as a citizen.
While Benedict acknowledged the meetings of Akwesasne leaders with different authorities to determine a plan to open customs on Cornwall Island, she said they don’t count for much if they don’t involve “decision makers.”
Mitchell said a recent meeting with the U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS) went well, but officials want more information about the checkpoint plan before agreeing to it.
There has been some communication with the CBSA, according to Mitchell, and a meeting could occur in the near future.
In the meantime, Mitchell has been talking to lawyers, the MCA Justice Department and Research Department, among others, before opening the checkpoint.
www.akwesasnepeoplesfire.com
[Article originally published in the Cornwall Standard-Freeholder.]
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