Akwesasne violence claims two lives

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The military and police were sent onto Akwesasne reserve last week to quell further violence after two Mohawks were slain during a week of sporadic gun battles.

But police intervention may have increased the tension between the volatile Mohawk communities split over gambling.

Pro-gambling supporter Arnol Edwars, 32, and anti-gambler Matthew Pyke were found shot to death after separate gun battles which forced many band members to flee the reserve and take refuge with relatives in nearby towns.

Soldiers from the Canadian Armed Forces regiment in Quebec and RCMP joined New York state troopers sent into Akwesasne to help restore peace on the 9,000-member Indian reserve which straddles the Canada/U.S. border near Cornwall, Ont.

Many residents have returned home since Canadian and U.S. police blocked roads leading to the reserve to check vehicles for firearms.

Members of the Mohawk Warrior Society accused the military and police of interfering in Mohawk affairs.

Warrior leader John Boots fears the roadblocks will result in further encroachment on Native rights.

Sgt. Roger Mitchell of the St. Regis police department denied the charge of interference.

"They were invited here to restore peace," he said.

The St. Regis Band is on the Canadian side on Akwesasne reserve, about 100 km south of Montreal.

For almost one year band factions split over gambling on the reserve have been caught in a heated conflict over traditional and non-traditional culture.

Reserve casinos have attracted many tourists from the U.S. and Canada. But anti-gamblers have opposed the establishment of more casinos.

More than 200 members of the American pro-gambling Mohawk Sovereignty Security Force have warned of renewed violence since N.Y. state troopers raided reserve casinos last summer confiscating slot machines and business records for tax fraud investigations.

The Mohawk security force, which vowed to fight the interference of outside governments opposed to reserve gambling, set up roadblocks after the raid to prevent police from coming on to Mohawk land.

Anti-gambling residents like local newspaper editor Doug George charged that the security force doesn't represent Mohawks committed to safeguarding Native sovereignty. he said pro-gamblers are out to make a buck at the expanse of Mohawk traditions.

"It's not a sovereignty issue. It's a gambling issue," he said.

"None of our legitimate leaders sanctioned the action."

Since last summer's standoff, George said he has been both members of the security forces and anti-gamblers patrolling portions of the reserve with explosives and automatic and semi-automatic weapons.

Houses and casinos have been ransacked and burned, he said.