By Kenneth Jackson
APTN National News
The Mohawk protesters who have been holding a blockade near Tyendinaga since Sunday are now vowing to increase the intensity in the coming days after the federal government failed to call a national inquiry Friday into missing and murdered Indigenous women.
The protesters held a meeting Friday afternoon to discuss their next steps and decided they will ramp the blockade up.
“That means the tone of the blockade is going to shift,” said Shawn Brant, who has been acting as the spokesman of the blockade. “The government feels they can ignore First Nation communities and individuals looking for justice and we tend meet them on the stage they can no longer ignore.”
Brant wouldn’t say what that means, but it appears the increased direct action will be happening soon. Up until now it’s been described as peaceful as the protesters wanted the message of missing and murdered Indigenous women to be heard and not conflict.
In the meantime, the blockade won’t be coming down that has been holding a portion of Shannonville Road just south of Hwy. 401, and about a kilometre from Tyendinaga territory, since Sunday at about 8:30 p.m.
Brant had hoped the government would call an inquiry upon the release of a report based on weeks of testimony at a government committee but the report, in his opinion and other critics, basically called to keep the status-quo.
“There will be consequences for this. We simply can’t say the status quo is acceptable,” said Brant.
Brant said the group reviewed the committee’s report before coming to their decision.
Hello , Fellow Native Canadians , and American brothers and Sisters. The Canadian Gov’t only to day has announced to the C.P. and C.P. rail companies etc . They must move 1000 tonnes of grain every week , or if not the will be fined 10 000. dollars a day . Therefore Paying our National deficit. Yes , Our women of the tribes are missing , A lot of crazy Men in this world, . Some have many money , Others Can’t think right . You can . Today , I ask you to find a new hierarchy. Angle in a wedge that opens doors without hate , One that bands one native arm to another across the nation . One Cause . .
sourgrapes, You are judging what would be “appropriate” action, not what would be “direct” action. But appropriate action is what the people taking that action define it to be. Also, please note that the term “direct action” was used by the reporter alone, not by Mr. Brant nor by any of the other protesters referred to in the article.
Thanks for your comment. My point is that there are other ways to affect change. Another inquiry will not help find the missing, uncover new evidence, or prevent the girls that are going missing every day. Girls like 14 year old Angelica LaClare who has been missing for 5 days, need real “direct action”. It’s easy to demand that ‘someone else’ do something, but we need to take meaningful action.
Sorry but this is not “direct action”. This is indirect action. Direct action would involve going out and searching for the missing, gathering evidence that would help in a court case, or helping the community to find ways to deal with the problems it faces.