A Recent Blockade For Missing and Murdered Aboriginal Women Hasn't Swayed Stephen Harper

All images courtesy of Nicky Young.

In the wake of Loretta Saunders’ tragic death, the Mohawks of Tyendinaga—led by activist Shawn Brant—staged a peaceful direct action demanding a federal inquiry into missing and murdered Indigenous women. Shawn, who is well known for taking direct action against the government, often by staging blockades, vowed in a public letter written to Stephen Harper that Harper had until the end of February to call a federal inquiry into missing and murdered Indigenous women before he would take action against the government.

The promised action was staged about 20 minutes east of Belleville, Ontario, near Tyendinaga territory. Shannonville Road near Highway 401 was strategically chosen for its high traffic. Despite a heavy police presence, the protest was peaceful and relatively small. When I arrived on the scene on March 6th, police greatly outnumbered protesters. Protesters said that there were around 80 people on the ground when the action began on February 28th, but that number had dwindled to around 20 protesters within a week. The group had a bonfire going on the side of the road, as well as a tipi obstructing one lane of traffic but not the other on Shannonville Road.

The protesters I spoke with were calm and resolute in the face of risking possible arrest. They believed they were standing up to protest and had no other recourse. They were, simply put, desperate for a sign of good faith from a government that has turned its back on the unspeakable violence faced by Indigenous women and girls in communities across Canada. Several protesters (most of whom asked to not be identified out of fear of arrest) underscored the fact they believed just calling for an inquiry would make a difference; whether they could trust the state to follow through and achieve results was another question altogether.

“We have so much grief in our communities and it needs to stop. People need to be paying attention to the fact that this is such a huge issue now, and it never should have been. You know, not one of those women should have gone through what they went through and their families should not be suffering for it now,” a Mohawk woman told VICE. In reference to the Cheyenne Fox case she continued: "We had a man here yesterday and [his] little girl died about a year ago. The police called it a suicide and it wasn't. Somebody dangled her from a building and the police did not investigate.” She was referring to John Fox, father of Cheyenne Fox, who would later be arrested at the blockade on—of all days—International Women’s Day.

“If they will agree to an inquiry, I think it’s just a sign of good faith,” said the same anonymous Mohawk woman. “The government has made promises before that, of course, haven't been kept. And all these women are… scared to report, they're scared that no one will care. And you know, they're right. That's heartbreaking. And absolutely shameful. How do you look at somebody that's just lost their child and be angry that they're upset. We're all standing out here and the threat of arrest has already been made. We're standing here for women. We're the life-givers, without our women we have nothing. We'll disappear. And I think that's kind of the plan, as heartbreaking as it is. My daughter, she knows now that if something happens to her no one will care. She's 15.”

Roadside protest bonfire.

Most of the people at the blockade Thursday were waiting on Parliament to release a report from the Special Committee on Violence Against Indigenous Women. The report would be an indicator of the government’s position on an inquiry in the face of mounting pressure from Indigenous communities and their supporters. By Friday, the day after VICE left the blockade, the government tabled its report and it was clear that a federal inquiry would not be coming soon. In fact, the government has outright refused to hold any sort of inquiry. Shawn Brant, who said he was expecting a big “fuck you” from the government, vowed to ramp up the blockade regardless. The battle-hardened Mohawk activist has already cultivated a reputation for using his body to clash with the state, and this action was no different.

Late Friday, a week after the blockade began, Brant and a few others moved the blockade from Shannonville Road over to the CN and VIA rail lines nearby. Saturday morning the police presence ramped up to an almost absurd level and sealed off access to the rail lines through sheer manpower. Several protesters, including Shawn, were arrested. John Fox, father of Cheyenne Fox, was also arrested and subsequently released. It appears the arrest of a grieving father was used to leverage the dispersal of the protest; protesters bargained with police to achieve his release and were told that in exchange, they had to go home.

Shawn is currently being charged with two counts of criminal mischief by Ontario Provincial Police for his role in the road-turned-rail blockade. VICE spoke with Shawn when we were on the scene in Belleville on Thursday, prior to the rail blockade and his arrest.

“Calls by the United Nations, by every premier of every province, mayors, police associations, aboriginal associations, women's organizations, church groups, all of them have said there needs to be a comprehensive federal strategy and a national inquiry. We're not simply going to add another voice to fall on the deaf ears of government, we're putting our money where our mouth is, we're saying you may be able to ignore petitions and you may be able to ignore reports and requests by the United Nations, but you're not going to ignore Mohawk men that want justice for women in this country. That was our intention in coming here,” he told VICE about the strategy behind the protest.

Police informants filming the proceedings.

While not all Indigenous communities agree that a federal inquiry is the answer (the hashtag #ItEndsHere started by the Indigenous Nationhood Movement is a social media campaign that initiated a conversation that goes beyond an inquiry), Brant believes that the inquiry will mean something, at least symbolically, to the people perpetrating these crimes against Indigenous women and girls with impunity.

The unfortunate reality is that sometimes the perpetrators of the crimes are the very people sworn to protect the victims.

“Human Rights Watch put out a report last fall that was tabled before Parliament and identified instances of the RCMP being engaged in the sexual exploitation, assault, and rape of Indigenous women in communities in British Columbia, Alberta and Saskatchewan. What they found was that they were credible cases and they documented those cases and people were afraid of those complaints because they were making complaints against the people who lived within their communities and were directly responsible [for these crimes]. They found that the police themselves were saying stuff like, ‘if you report this, then you'll go missing like the other ones. 'You won't be found, they won't look for you, nobody cares about you.’ And it continues unabated. The government of Canada's simple response was to have them make a complaint. Have them make a fucking complaint. Well, they don't understand that it's just not that easy… because the RCMP detachment is right within their community, and the person who is committing the crimes is essentially the one who makes the decision whether they live or die, and it's fucked!” said Brant.

The resources deployed by the OPP to monitor, surveil, and eventually disperse Brant and the blockade were, quite frankly, astounding. There were at least two cops to every protester, a fleet of vehicles (including, later, armoured vehicles), and aerial camera drones in use. And those are just the visible resources that what we know of. It’s a sad fact that Cheyenne Fox’s case doesn’t garner that sort of attention, and the way her case was handled is so often the rule, not the exception, when it comes to violence against Indigenous women and girls. Our government spends more time, money, and effort shutting down Indigenous protesters who want their missing and murdered women and girls found than it does trying to find those same victims. It’s a travesty at best that this has not been a priority for Canada, and it is cold hearted calculation at the worst.

It was clear from spending just a little time around the protest that Brant and his community are at the end of their rope. They want a response from a government cruelly sitting on its hands, while women and girls are literally dying. It seems especially hopeless when the violence and abuses of power are carried out by those with a mandate to govern and to serve the people of this country. Brant explained that the only language the government understands is the language of blockades, so that was how he was prepared to express himself.

“The only thing the government understands is the shit that's rolling down the tracks a quarter-mile away; economic stability, consumer confidence, and corporate confidence in having their goods brought to market. And if we have to fuck that up in order to have them understand… if they have to realize economic loss in order to understand our personal loss, then that's what we're going to do. If that's what makes them and causes them to take action on this issue, then that's what we're going to do. Because I'm sick of it. Every woman in our community knows that they're vulnerable, and we're out here on this little fucking piece of pavement because we want to reassure the women and the girls in our community that they don't have to be scared, that the men in our community know what our abilities are, and if government and if the police won't act in a professional way to protect them like they do the rest of society, then we'll step forward and we'll do it. We'll hold the perpetrators to account and we'll make our communities safe and secure, so that they can be happy.”

@muna_mire