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From Oka to Kanesatake
National Post
Thursday, January 15, 2004
The good news coming out of the Kanesatake Mohawk community this week was that tensions did not escalate to the point of bloodshed. The bad news is that, even after the provincial government negotiated an end to a potentially disastrous standoff, the 1,400-member native enclave will remain Quebec's answer to the wild west.
For more than 24 hours, 55 constables from other native bands were trapped in Kanesatake's police station, encircled by protestors who lit bonfires and were armed with bricks, sticks and pick-axe handles. The officers had been invited by the community's elected chief, James Gabriel, to help fight Kanesatake's rampant organized crime problem after Mr. Gabriel replaced the acting -- and allegedly ineffective -- police chief.
For his trouble, Mr. Gabriel -- who his rivals insist is selling the community out for his own interests -- was forced to flee with his family; on his departure, his house was burned to the ground. Under the circumstances, we can understand why the province was eager to strike a deal that will see a 30-member Mohawk police force from two nearby communities move in to re-establish security.
What happened this week, however, was less a stand-alone fracas than a culmination of the community's steady descent into lawlessness. There is no doubt an array of factors have contributed to Kanesatake's turmoil, not the least of which is poverty. But the primary cause can largely be traced back to the 1990 Oka Crisis, a 78-day standoff between armed Mohawks (mostly from Kanesatake) and the Surete du Quebec over development plans for neighbouring land. In that confrontation, a police officer was shot and killed, and the federal government was eventually compelled to send in the Armed Forces.
With neither the Surete nor the RCMP eager to attempt any further law enforcement in the area thereafter, the territory subsequently spent a lengthy period with no policing whatsoever. By the time a local, native-run police force was established in 1997, the community had become a haven for drug growers and traders, and was overrun with organized crime. Since then, the lacklustre and highly politicized force has done little to curb the problem. According to Guy Ouellette, a leading crime expert, a multi-million-dollar drug network is operating in the area -- one that takes advantage of "not having to worry about a normal police agency."
If community militants considered an intervention by other native police "an invasion," we can only imagine how they'd respond to provincial police or RCMP moving in. But once tensions from the recent standoff ease, it's hard to see any long-term alternative. After more than 13 years, the community has proven incapable of policing itself. Outside agencies must find a way to bring the law back to Kanesatake.
© National Post 2004
Copyright © 2003 CanWest Interactive, a division of CanWest Global Communications Corp. All rights reserved.
Optimized for browser versions 4.0 and higher.
Until January 24th, the complete content of nationalpost.com is available for free. Read stories on this website, or view the exciting new Electronic Edition which is an exact replica of the print edition of the newspaper! After January 24th, stories marked with an will be available to registered subscribers.
From Oka to Kanesatake
National Post
Thursday, January 15, 2004
The good news coming out of the Kanesatake Mohawk community this week was that tensions did not escalate to the point of bloodshed. The bad news is that, even after the provincial government negotiated an end to a potentially disastrous standoff, the 1,400-member native enclave will remain Quebec's answer to the wild west.
For more than 24 hours, 55 constables from other native bands were trapped in Kanesatake's police station, encircled by protestors who lit bonfires and were armed with bricks, sticks and pick-axe handles. The officers had been invited by the community's elected chief, James Gabriel, to help fight Kanesatake's rampant organized crime problem after Mr. Gabriel replaced the acting -- and allegedly ineffective -- police chief.
For his trouble, Mr. Gabriel -- who his rivals insist is selling the community out for his own interests -- was forced to flee with his family; on his departure, his house was burned to the ground. Under the circumstances, we can understand why the province was eager to strike a deal that will see a 30-member Mohawk police force from two nearby communities move in to re-establish security.
What happened this week, however, was less a stand-alone fracas than a culmination of the community's steady descent into lawlessness. There is no doubt an array of factors have contributed to Kanesatake's turmoil, not the least of which is poverty. But the primary cause can largely be traced back to the 1990 Oka Crisis, a 78-day standoff between armed Mohawks (mostly from Kanesatake) and the Surete du Quebec over development plans for neighbouring land. In that confrontation, a police officer was shot and killed, and the federal government was eventually compelled to send in the Armed Forces.
With neither the Surete nor the RCMP eager to attempt any further law enforcement in the area thereafter, the territory subsequently spent a lengthy period with no policing whatsoever. By the time a local, native-run police force was established in 1997, the community had become a haven for drug growers and traders, and was overrun with organized crime. Since then, the lacklustre and highly politicized force has done little to curb the problem. According to Guy Ouellette, a leading crime expert, a multi-million-dollar drug network is operating in the area -- one that takes advantage of "not having to worry about a normal police agency."
If community militants considered an intervention by other native police "an invasion," we can only imagine how they'd respond to provincial police or RCMP moving in. But once tensions from the recent standoff ease, it's hard to see any long-term alternative. After more than 13 years, the community has proven incapable of policing itself. Outside agencies must find a way to bring the law back to Kanesatake.
© National Post 2004
Copyright © 2003 CanWest Interactive, a division of CanWest Global Communications Corp. All rights reserved.
Optimized for browser versions 4.0 and higher.
