Bordering Injustice: Part II

In June of 2009, an issue arose about arming the Canadian Border officers who were posted on the Cornwall Island portion of Akwesasne. The arming of the officers was not taken lightly as more than 400 residents protested the attempted arming on Native land. I was there, I experienced the moments where the fear of the Canadian Mounties would show up on horseback to disperse us, and I remember being told if they did show up, that I was to run. That summer was the hardest one that I have had to endure because both bridges were blocked off, and I literally was stuck on an island.  Cornwall Bridge Crossing on Cornwall Island, Akwesasne We used community member’s boats as a taxi service to get where we needed to go; all because we were not standing down to allow CBSA officers to carry a weapon.

The reason we didn’t want them to have these weapons, from what I’ve come to understand, is because they were brutal enough with us before. A 55 year old man was pepper-sprayed when he was reaching for his ID, after which he went into cardiac arrest due to the shock. Before that, we had reports of people being unreasonably questioned to the point of it becoming personal attacks, there have also been reports of people being detained at the CBSA office and being questioned (I myself one of them). One of my own experiences regards going to a hockey game, an Ottawa Senators game, with a few friends from SLU. We were pulled in, asked how we knew each other, where our school was, where we were all from, why we were going to the game, when we were coming back, and why one of my friend’s names was what it was and, under his breath, whispered “ass-hole.”

Here is a video on the issues, brought to you by APTN (Aboriginal Peoples Television):

There have been countless reports of these types of incidents. Many of them are within the tribal council’s investigation, and many more of which haven’t even been brought into the light. These issues have been going on for years and years, ever since the Canadian government decided to plop this CBSA office on Mohawk land. When they did this though, what has to me become a mockery today, is that this “border” was supposed to be seen as “20 feet above” our heads, meaning that it was never to affect the Native people there. Well, today it could very well be seen as being wrapped around our necks and shackled to our feet for how we are treated there.

The issues with the border crossings, on both sides, have brought fear to the people of Akwesasne. I for one can tell you my readers, that I dread going home to see my family because I don’t know how far I will be pushed. Last Christmas I was forced to get out of my car, they searched my book bag, duffle bag, laundry basket, and then they had the nerve to ask me why I was going home and if I was planning on staying. Um, excuse me I don’t know if you heard me the first time, but it’s WINTER BREAK and my school is CLOSED. Just one of the many experiences that I’ve unfortunately had at the Canadian border. Is this a problem? Yes. Does it need to be addressed? Absolutely. Has it been brought to the table? Multiple times. Can we expect change? Probably not.

Take a look at this video on the border issue on the denial of crossing to bury a Mohawk war hero: