The Tyendinaga Support Committee is a group in Toronto working to gather support for the Mohawks of the Bay of Quinte (Tyendinaga Mohawk Territory) in their struggles for land and justice and against criminal prosecution. To get involved, to lend your support, or if you have any questions, please email: support.tmt (at) gmail.com
 Past Updates
- CN construction destructive, land claim unresolved (Feb 20, 2010)
- A Night on Water Justice (Sept 12, 2009)
- Struggle Continues Against Armed Border Guards in Akwesasne (June 29, 2009)
- UPDATE: Seven Mohawks remain in prison after OPP assault (June 12, 2009)
- OPP Assault on Mohawks: Mohawk Women re-take Skyway Bridge (June 12, 2009)
- Tyendinaga Answers Akwesasne's Call (June 7, 2009)
- CN: Drop your racist lawsuit! (Apr 2, 2009)
- Amnesty International Open Letter (Nov 12, 2008)
- Warrants Issued: 30 Mohawks Facing Arrest (Nov 5, 2008)
- Crown Buys Fantino's Silence with Brant's Freedom (Sept 29, 2008)
- The OPP and Tyendinaga Mohawk Territory (Sept 29, 2008)
- 11th Hour Decision: Court of Appeal Throws Out Publication Ban Again (July 19, 2008)
- Press Conference Announcement (July 18, 2008)
- Shawn Brant Released from Custody! (June 27, 2008)
- Public Event - Ipperwash Inquiry: Lessons Unlearned? (June 17, 2008)
- Two Tyendinaga Mohawk Prisoners Released (June 5, 2008)
- CUPE Ontario Passes Resolution in Support of Tyendinaga (June 5, 2008)
- Update from Quinte Regional Detention Centre (May 28, 2008)
- More Charges Laid: Clampdown Intensifies (May 20, 2008)
- Punchclock Showcase No. 2: Shawn Brant is No Criminal (May 16-17, 2008)
- OPP Weaponry and Escalation:
Update on the Struggle for the Culbertson Tract (May 13, 2008)
- Shawn Brant's Arrest - Statement by Sue Collis, Tyendinaga Mohawk Territory (May 4, 2008)
- Tense Standoff Continues in Tyendinaga Mohawk Territory (April 27, 2008)
- Ontario Jails Five More First Nations People Involved in Land Struggles (April 27, 2008)
- Hollow Victory: Shawn Brant Acquitted of Threat Charges (April 18, 2008)
- Prosecution Seeks Minimum 12 Years of Federal Penitentiary Time (October 15, 2007)
- Shawn Brant Released from Custody (August 30, 2007)
Media
- Protesters win another round in police battle (Belleville Intelligencer, October 9, 2009)
- School water issue heating up (Belleville Intelligencer, October 6, 2009)
- Shawn Brant gets five-month sentence (Belleville Intelligencer, Jul 22, 2009)
- Ontario bridge reopens after tense native-police standoff (Canwest News Service, June 12, 2009)
- Ontario bridge protest remains `volatile' (Canwest News Service, June 12, 2009)
- Aboriginal rail blockades justified, serve to raise awareness: lawyer (Canadian Press, Apr 7, 2009)
- Second Lawsuit Launched (Belleville Intelligencer, Dec 23, 2008)
- Mohawk residents file $74M lawsuit against band council, owner of operation (Belleville Intelligencer, Dec 16, 2008)
- Post office takes a flyer (Toronto Star, Nov 27, 2008)
- Police station delivery thwarted by protesters (Belleville Intelligencer, Oct 30, 2008)
- Mohawk protester Brant gets light penalty for blockades (CBC News, Sept 29, 2008)
- New Mohawk police building put on hold after protesters set up blockade (Belleville Intelligencer, Sept 24, 2008)
- No polls on reserve Oct. 14 (Belleville Intellgencer, Sept 23, 2008)
- Police Posing as Reporters Erodes Press Freedom, says CJFE (July 30, 2008)
- OPP forgets lessons of Ipperwash (Toronto Star, July 30, 2008)
- No progress made on Culbertson Tract (Belleville Intelligencer, July 26, 2008)
- Police chief sues OPP over firing (Brantford Expositor, July 25, 2008)
- Media Reports and Documents on Commissioner Fantino and OPP Wiretaps (July 2008)
- No compromise from Mohawks (Belleville Intelligencer, June 26, 2008)
- Kingston developer faces 45 days in jail (Napanee Guide, June 23, 2008)
- Police hoped to keep Brant behind bars: defence lawyer (Belleville Intelligencer, June 20, 2008)
- Report slams Fantino (Belleville Intelligencer, June 4, 2008)
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May 20, 2008
More Charges Laid: Clampdown Intensifies
Support Tyendinaga Mohawks!
In the wake of recent road closures, OPP intimidation,
and jailing of Mohawk community members, charges have now been laid by
the OPP against at least 9 additional Tyendinaga Mohawks. These
charges, according to police, stem from "events that occurred in and
around Deseronto," between April 21 and 26. According to the OPP, the
investigations are ongoing and additional charges may be laid against
other Mohawks. While none of the 9 people recently charged were forced
to remain in police custody, and are free to go home to their
families, all carry conditions of 'no protests' and 'not to be present
at the quarry site'.
Three men remain in custody at this time, awaiting trial - Clint
Brant, Matt Kunkel, and Shawn Brant. Shawn Brant's trial date has
been set for mid-June.
The current situation in Tyendinaga is developing into a sweeping
crack-down on community members, the stifling of resistance to
increased policing and further development of the Culbertson Tract,
while federal monies are being poured into the Territory for policing
matters and an RCMP report is released, citing federal government
intentions to dedicate police "to fighting contraband, which he
[Stockwell Day] said is funding organized crime and possibly even
terrorists" in three Mohawk communities, including Tyendinaga.
It is important to remember that the feds' concern with Native-made
smokes and sales go much deeper than their own pocket book. It is not
simply the lost tax revenue that they suffer, but the fact that the
lost dollars go to sustain Mohawk families and other services and
allows for the Mohawk Nation to stand, as it always has, as a clear
and organized force of resistance against the Canadian government's
practices of assimilation and control of First Nations peoples.
It is the efforts to strengthen Mohawk Nations' economies and
sovereignty that threatens the implementation of Canada's colonial
agenda. The policing agendas of the Canadian government aim to crack
down on this assertion of self-sufficiency and strength, not, as they
claim, "organized crime".
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