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'We're rocking the boat'

Author

Dana Wagg, Windspeaker Staff Writer, Oka Quebec

Volume

8

Issue

10

Year

1990

Page 17

There's an explosion in the background but the two Warriors don't even turn to look.

They just shrug.

"It's "probably" target practice, says one. "There's always maneuvers going on in here. Never a dull moment," he smiles, probably reading the reporter's mind.

There are four AR-15 semi-automatic rifles lying around, one on a cooler to the right while two more rest against one of the two huge pine trees, which along with two overturned police vans help make up the first Mohawk blockade at Kanesatake. Another rifle lies vertically across the tree.

Strapped to one Warrior's hip is a .357 Magnum pistol. The other Warrior's is concealed beneath his jacket.

The Warriors aren't careless about their weapons and guard them jealously.

They aren't careless about much, strictly insisting reporters have good credentials before being allowed in a small restricted area behind their lines. And no pictures are to be taken without first asking permission.

And they're careful to go by their nicknames - Psycho, Lasagne, Bigfoot, Stone Carver...

And they're very aware they're playing a major role in reshaping relations between Canada's First Nations and the governments.

"We are rocking the boat," says the Warrior, who has been doing all the talking. "We're taking it to the end. They know what we want and we're not backing down.

"I used to drive a Porsche," he says, trying to give reporters insight into why he's now carrying a gun and dressed in camouflage clothing just outside the small, normally tranquil village of Oka.

Being a Warrior is a volunteer position, he says. His age, he says, is a "military secret."

Like many Mohawks, who have a reputation for scaling heights, he's an ironworker.

"I believe in this. This is my kid's future. It has nothing to do with gambling."

Many Native people think what the government is doing is OK. "They're brought, we're not."

"We want to build a nation."

"This isn't going to stop here. This is going to go through the Mohawk nation."

The Warriors want Indian people to be respected by the Canadian government as sovereign, he says. "We don't want your money. We just want to be left to ourselves."

"We want to decide where we're going. We don't want your government to decide for us."

When he first arrived at Kanesatake, he knew there was going to be a confrontation, he says. "There was going to be a stand made if police came in. They weren't just going to walk in."

Asked to look down the road to predict where Natives will be in 10 years, he didn't hesitate. "We will succeed. We are succeeding. Can't you see it?"