Thursday, June 26, 2008

Éabha's First Ice Cream (Vegan Sorbetto) Cone And Others

Stay tuned for photos of the last swimming lesson and the first trip to Ottawa

Comments? Questions?

John D

First (Sorbetto) Cone


First (Sorbetto) Cone, originally uploaded by anewsocialcontract.

First (Sorbetto) Cone 2

Yellow, Red, Pink


Yellow, Red, Pink, originally uploaded by anewsocialcontract.

Ice Screen


Ice Screen, originally uploaded by anewsocialcontract.

Summer Haze


Summer Haze, originally uploaded by anewsocialcontract.

Those Eyes


Those Eyes, originally uploaded by anewsocialcontract.

Pinknpurple


Pinknpurple, originally uploaded by anewsocialcontract.

Colour Drop


Colour Drop, originally uploaded by anewsocialcontract.

Fun Guy


Fun Guy, originally uploaded by anewsocialcontract.

My Dog Guards My Daughter

Wednesday, June 25, 2008

Éabha Can Now Swim On Her Own! Woot Woot!

It's so surreal to see Éabha swimming on her own. It's very exciting. Éabha has her last class on Thursday, I'll be experimenting with my new tri-pod! We took the train to the Cinesphere and back to see the show on Dinosaurs. We both really liked it.

While waiting for the train we stopped in at the horse stables by Exhibition Station.

We're very excited for our initial move to Ottawa on Saturday. I'll blog again from there!

Visit And Comment Often!

Napping In The Light


Napping In The Light, originally uploaded by anewsocialcontract.

Éabha Swimming On Her Own For The First TIme

Poolside By The Slide


Poolside By The Slide, originally uploaded by anewsocialcontract.

Charmed I'm Sure


Charmed I'm Sure, originally uploaded by anewsocialcontract.

Wednesday, June 18, 2008

Mohawk grandmothers attacked by Canadian Border Services Agency (CBSA) guards

Mohawk grandmothers attacked by Canadian Border Services Agency (CBSA) guards

--> The report below is also linked at: http://nooneisillegal-montreal.blogspot.com/2008/06/cbsa-attack.html

--> Background articles and interviews are linked at: http://nooneisillegal-montreal.blogspot.com/2008/06/katenies-cbsa-background.html

[June 17, 2008 -- Reported by members of No One Is Illegal-Montreal who attended Katenies' court hearing in Cornwall on June 16, 2008; please post and forward widely.]


This past Saturday, June 14, 2008, around 2:30pm, a vehicle with two outspoken Kanion'ke:haka (Mohawk) activists, writers and grandmothers was stopped at Akwesasne while crossing into "Canada" from the "USA". Akwesasne is a Kanion'ke:haka Indigenous community that includes parts of so-called Ontario, Quebec and New York, and community members routinely cross between "states" and "provinces".

Katenies lives in Akwesasne, with her mother and near her daughter and three grandchildren, who reside on both sides of the "border". Kahentinehta, also a grandmother, is from Kahnawake. Katenies and Kahentinehta publish Mohawk Nation News (www.mohawknationnews.com) and were delegates to the Indigenous Peoples Border Summit in San Xavier, Tohono O'odham Nation (Arizona) in November 2007.

Katenies was targeted for arrest by Canadian Border Services Agency (CBSA) guards on an outstanding warrant for allegedly "running the border" in 2003, and offenses resulting from her refusal to appear in court and validate the colonial justice system. Katenies has maintained since 2003 that border officials and the Canadian colonial courts have no jurisdiction over Kanion'ke:haka people or land.

[Background information to Katenies' struggle against border and court officials is linked at: http://nooneisillegal-montreal.blogspot.com/2007/03/background-katenies-defies-colonial-us.html ]

This past Saturday, Katenies reiterated that she does not recognize the authority of the CBSA over Kanion'ke:haka land, as she has always done. She was then brutally arrested, with at least four male guards forcing her face down onto the ground, handcuffing her, and taking her into custody, where she remained for three days.

CBSA guards then demanded that Kahentinehta, 68, leave the car she was driving. She refused, and she too was brutally overpowered by at least four male CBSA guards and handcuffed tightly. Kahentinehta suffered a heart attack while handcuffed. However, due to the timely intervention of her brother – a local lawyer who was crossing the border at that time -- she was eventually taken to the local hospital in Cornwall, Ontario by ambulance, where she has spent the last three days in the Critical Care Unit. Her condition is stable and she will be transferred to a hospital in Ottawa for further treatment and possible surgery.

The CBSA had originally indicated that they would charge Kahentinehta with various offenses, but those charges were never brought forward, most likely to help cover-up the brutal way in which she and Katenies were arrested in the first place.

Meanwhile, Katenies was jailed after her brutal arrest, and was only able to have a bail hearing, at the Superior Court in Cornwall this past Monday (June 16, 2008).

Supporters from Six Nations, Sharbot Lake as well as Akwesasne attended court to be witnesses to Katenies' continued defiance of Canada's colonial courts. Several of the elders from the Akwesasne community referenced the bridge blockades undertaken in the 1960s and 70s to assert free movement of Indigenous peoples at the border. They consider Katenies' current stance as part of the same ongoing and long-term struggle for sovereignty.

At the hearing, the federal Crown lawyer objected to Katenies' release on bail. A senior investigator with the CBSA who seems to have launched a vendetta against Katenies since 2003, testified for the Crown. He outlined the various warrants and court dates in the case, and Katenies' continual and consistent refusal to recognize the authority of the colonial court system, or the jurisdiction of the CBSA over the border.

In the words of the CBSA investigator, Katenies "has nothing but contempt for the Canadian judicial system." The investigator, who has lived and worked at the Cornwall border crossing for two decades, was forced to admit that it's "not uncommon" for Mohawks to cite the lack of jurisdiction directly to border officials, although he called Katenies "an extreme case."

Both Katenies and her mother, Nancy Davis, addressed the court. Nancy Davis refused to tell the court whether she lived in the "Ontario" or "Quebec" part of Akwesasne, stating clearly that she "lives on Kanion'ke:haka territory" and is a citizen of the Haudenosaunee Confederacy. She remarked with a smile: "I'm the only one who has authority over my daughter."

Under cross-examination by the Crown lawyer, Nancy Davis stated: "We feel we have the right to travel where we want, to go where we want. [The border] is an imaginary line for Americans and Canadians, not Mohawks."

Asked outright if she recognized the authority of the court, Nancy Davis replied simply: "No."

Katenies also addressed the court, while reiterating from the start that she did not recognize its jurisdiction, and pointedly refused to accept all charges, declining to have them read to her. When the court clerk tried to swear her in, Katenies stated: "I can only tell what I know."

Katenies emphasized that she continues to demand that the courts address the jurisdiction question; that is, under what authority can colonial Canadian courts, agencies or officials claim to have jurisdiction over sovereign Mohawks. She stated forcefully: "I'm a passionate person, I'm a mother and I'm a grandmother. But, I've had no respect. No one has looked at what I've put forward."

Katenies already served the court with a Motion to Dismiss, and invoked the jurisdiction question, back on January 18, 2007, almost one-and-a-half years ago. Her complete motion is linked here: http://nooneisillegal-montreal.blogspot.com/2007/03/katenies-serves-court-with-jurisdiction.html

Under cross-examination, Katenies was asked by the Crown lawyer if she would accept paying a cash bond; she replied: "That would be extortion at this point because jurisdiction has not been dealt with." She added: "I don't see why you should incarcerate me and beat me into submission without answering my question."

She threw the accusation of contempt back at the Crown, stating: "It is [your law] and your constitution that you keep talking about. Why do you continue to ignore me and our people, who have our own land and constitution?"

In his final submissions, the Crown argued that Katenies "has nothing but complete disdain for the laws of these courts." He also made the somewhat obvious point: "Quite frankly, your worship, both mother and daughter don't recognize our jurisdiction."

He asked the court to keep Katenies in custody, adding: "She's not interested in appearing in court and she doesn't recognize us."

Nonetheless, the presiding Justice-of-the-Peace, Ms. Leblanc, decided to release Katenies under some basic conditions: that Katenies reside with her mother and notify the Akwesasne police of any change of address (Katenies has lived with her mother for the past 8 years, since the passing of her father): that her mother post a surety (ie. a $1000 bond without any deposit); and that Katenies appear in court or designate counsel to appear in court for her. Her next court date was set for July 14, 2008 at 9am at Cornwall's Superior Court.

Both Kahentinehta and Katenies, despite the brutal attack on them by CBSA officials, maintain their defiance and vow to continue to challenge the jurisdiction of the courts and border officials.

-- reported by Nazila & Jaggi, members of No One Is Illegal-Montreal
nooneisillegal@gmail.com - 514-848-7583
http://nooneisillegal-montreal.blogspot.com


BACKGROUND INFORMATION & CONTEXT:

All articles and interviews below are linked at: http://nooneisillegal-montreal.blogspot.com/2008/06/katenies-cbsa-background.html


* Mohawk grandmother remains in hiding, defying arrest warrant (March 5, 2007)
http://nooneisillegal-montreal.blogspot.com/2007/03/mohawk-grandmother-remains-in-hiding.html

* Background: Katenies defies the US-Canada colonial border (March 4, 2007)
http://nooneisillegal-montreal.blogspot.com/2007/03/background-katenies-defies-colonial-us.html

* Katenies' "Motion to Dismiss" (January 18, 2007), demanding that the jurisdiction question be addressed: http://nooneisillegal-montreal.blogspot.com/2007/03/katenies-serves-court-with-jurisdiction.html

* Mohawk Nation News: "Katenies will not walk the line" (January 5, 2007):

* Mohawk Nation News: Katenies in Cornwall Court (December 16, 2006)



No One Is Illegal Radio Interviews

* Interview with Katenies about her refusal to recognize the colonial courts and the colonial US-Canada border. (February 2007)
http://www.radio4all.net/pub/files/jaggisingh@gmail.com/2840-1-20070214-Katienies-UPLOAD.mp3

* Interview with Katenies about the Gathering of the Indigenous People of the Americas in Vicam, Yaqui Territory, Mexico between October 11-14, 2007 and the Indigenous Border Summit of the Americas that took place on the territory of the of the Tohono O'odham nation (Arizona) on November 7-10, 2007. (November 2007)
http://www.radio4all.net/pub/files/jaggisingh@gmail.com/2840-1-20071105-Katenies-FINAL.mp3

* Interview with Kahentinehta with reflections on the July 11 anniversary of the police invasion at Kanehsatake in 1990 (the so-called Oka Crisis). Kahntinetha, with her daughters, was directly involved in the resistance at Kanehsatake. (July 2006)
http://www.radio4all.net/pub/archive2/07.01.07/jaggisingh@gmail.com/2840-1-20070104-Kahentinehta.mp3

* Interview with Kahehti:io, a Mohawk youth activist from Kahnawake. He was arrested and detained at the Six Nations Land Reclamation, after a police raid on April 20, 2006. Kahehti:io refused to recognize the authority of the colonial courts and was eventually released from custody without charge after several days of detention. (May 2006)
http://www.radio4all.net/pub/archive2/07.01.07/jaggisingh@gmail.com/2840-1-20070104-Kahedio.mp3


Sunday, June 15, 2008

Photo Post

Comment And Visit Often,

John D

Unpatriotic


Unpatriotic, originally uploaded by anewsocialcontract.

Focused On Flowers


Focused On Flowers, originally uploaded by anewsocialcontract.

Éabha's Tree Person


Éabha's Tree Person, originally uploaded by anewsocialcontract.

Inflated Spirits


Inflated Spirits, originally uploaded by anewsocialcontract.

Slide!


Slide!, originally uploaded by anewsocialcontract.

Life Is Full Of LIttle Pricks

Pug Love


Pug Love, originally uploaded by anewsocialcontract.

Yes Dear


Yes Dear, originally uploaded by anewsocialcontract.

Poe


Poe, originally uploaded by anewsocialcontract.

Hanging Out


Hanging Out, originally uploaded by anewsocialcontract.

Parade Of Diversity


Parade Of Diversity, originally uploaded by anewsocialcontract.

Puzzled


Puzzled, originally uploaded by anewsocialcontract.

Eye Of The Tiger


Eye Of The Tiger, originally uploaded by anewsocialcontract.

Numb Skull


Numb Skull, originally uploaded by anewsocialcontract.

Tongues Out


Tongues Out, originally uploaded by anewsocialcontract.

Stolen Moment In The Shadow

Basking


Basking, originally uploaded by anewsocialcontract.

Balance


Balance, originally uploaded by anewsocialcontract.

Focus Group


Focus Group, originally uploaded by anewsocialcontract.

A Swing For Two


A Swing For Two, originally uploaded by anewsocialcontract.

Boot Sucker


Boot Sucker, originally uploaded by anewsocialcontract.

Bird On Shoulder


Bird On Shoulder, originally uploaded by anewsocialcontract.

1960's Photograph


1960's Photograph, originally uploaded by anewsocialcontract.

Face Blur


Face Blur, originally uploaded by anewsocialcontract.

Eye Contact


Eye Contact, originally uploaded by anewsocialcontract.

Focal Point


Focal Point, originally uploaded by anewsocialcontract.

A Glow


A Glow, originally uploaded by anewsocialcontract.

Spotlight


Spotlight, originally uploaded by anewsocialcontract.

Faces


Faces, originally uploaded by anewsocialcontract.

Widescreen


Widescreen, originally uploaded by anewsocialcontract.

Sunday, June 08, 2008

Lil' Update, Coupla' Photos

Thank you for the great feedback from the last photos I posted, I was a fan of several of them too. Some of you were asking why Éabha was done to the nine. The answer is, that's just how Éabha has been rolling lately. Pink is in, dresses are in, gaudy jewelry, heels, purses, in, in, in. For those who know her parents this may be a surprise, however we're both letting Éabha explore her inner diva, and are enjoying that her interests in other areas are just as strong (like faeries and bugs). Her swimming lessons have been going very well so far, and she's excited to be finishing her last month at this Rainbow Montessori.

Eleanor has been visiting for the last week, and will be back again from Eastern Ontario early this week. It's been great having her around, we both like her company. Oh. It's not just Eleanor anymore either; it's Eleanor and Brodie now. Eleanor picked up the 8 month old German Shepherd/Rottwieler mix in Kelwona, BC, thereby saving his plucky life. We've taught him a few commands over the days and are excited to get to know him better.

The first photo of Eleanor and Éabha I find quite striking because Éabha NEVER EVER just falls asleep in the middle of the day, except sometimes when she's in the car. I was stunned when I realized she was asleep and ran to the camera for photographic evidence.

The seagull picture was taken at the filthy Jack Darling Memorial Beach on disgusting Lake Ontario. This litter box beach has also been the setting for two of the dead carp photos posted earlier. The piece of plastic that says "Product of Canada" was there under the bird when I discovered it. I wanted to include it in the photo because it speaks to our collective responsibility for our current environmental crisis, and I think deaths like this one will increase as our capitalist state "develops".

The snake photo is compliments of Éabha. I shot the picture (and it's fuzzy because it was dark, and the snake was moving), but Éabha spotted the reptile from several feet away during our walk to her school. Good eye Éabha!

That's It For Now. Comment And Visit Often!

John D

Afternoon Nap


Afternoon Nap, originally uploaded by anewsocialcontract.

Product Of Canada


Product Of Canada, originally uploaded by anewsocialcontract.

Gull


Gull, originally uploaded by anewsocialcontract.

Neighbourhood Snake


Neighbourhood Snake, originally uploaded by anewsocialcontract.

Brodie and Kyna


Brodie and Kyna, originally uploaded by anewsocialcontract.

Reading


Reading, originally uploaded by anewsocialcontract.