Calling a recent policing agreement a violation of Mohawk sovereignty, more than 100 Mohawks jostled federal and provincial cabinet ministers and vandalized their limousines in Kahnawake on Sept. 12.
The protesters gathered in front of the Band Council office and shouted angrily at Grand Chief Joe Norton after he signed.
Some kicked and stoned the vehicles parked outside as Solicitor-General Herb Gray, Indian Affairs Minister Ron Irwin and Quebec Public Security Minister Serge Ménard waiting inside.
One woman slapped Norton’s face. Most of Kahnawake’s 26 Peacekeepers were on hand to protect the dignitaries as they emerged from the office.
One man broke through and managed to give Ménard a shove before a bodyguard whisked him into a limo. The cars were dented as they sped away.
Protesters also smashed windows at the Band Council and police station, then proceeded to Norton’s house where they broke the windows of his car.
Norton had Peacekeepers issue 200 arrest warrants, according to one source.
The policing pact makes Peacekeepers subject to the Quebec Police Ethics Code and obliges them to enforce all provincial and federal laws.
Traditionalists say the agreement is a mockery of the Mohawk Nation’s sovereignty. They’ve collected over 2,000 signatures on a petition opposing the deal.
“Under this deal, the Peacekeepers are going to be the messengers of Quebec law,” said Mel Jacobs, former Band Council member and founder of the Sovereign Mohawk Coalition.
