A few short kilometres from each other on Tyendinaga Mohawk Territory, two distinct approaches to the national aboriginal day of action unfolded.On Wyman’s Road, a rickety school bus blocked the CN Rail tracks, part of a protest from a group of Mohawks led by Shawn Brant that saw Highway 401 closed for 12 hours and a portion of Highway 2 closed for the entire day Friday.
At York Road and Highway 2 in Shannonville, meanwhile, Mohawks of the Bay of Quinte (MBQ) band councillor Trevor Lewis handed out information pamphlets.
“If you’re headed east, we’re told Highway 2 is blocked,” Lewis told an agitated Quebec driver. “You can take York Road to Highway 49.”
“The 401’s blocked too,” the driver said. “Why is it blocked?”
“I don’t know,” Lewis said. “We’re not part of that.”
On a day of wildly conflicting approaches to educating the public on First Nations issues, that was putting it lightly. After days of talk in the media, Brant’s group headed to Highway 401 late Thursday evening to block it. But the OPP, anticipating safety issues, shut it down instead between Belleville and Marysville around 11:30 p.m., said Sgt. Kristine Rae. Commissioner Julian Fantino and other officers spoke with Brant throughout the night, “trying to resolve it,” she said.
JeffParkinson.ca 