Katenies at the Superior Court in Cornwall, Ontario

The following important news comes via No One Is Illegal Montreal:

[Included below are links and the text of some recent articles concerning Katenies and her refusal to recognize the jurisdiction of Canadian colonial courts and the Canadian Border Services Agency (CBSA). Katenies again refused to recognize the jurisdiction of the Superior Court in Cornwall, Ontario this past July 14, 2008. She is due to appear before a judge in the Superior Court of Ontario in Alexandria on October 21, 2008. It appears as if both Katenies and Kahentinetha will be charged criminally in relation to the CBSA attack on them on June 14, 2008. More updates to come.]

Mohawk Nation News: Stone Wall in Cornwall
Article linked HERE.

Cornwall Standard Freeholder: Protesters pack city courtroom
Article below and linked here: http://www.standard-freeholder.com/ArticleDisplay.aspx?e=1114035

Ottawa Indymedia/The Dominion: Mohawk Grandmother challenges border jurisdiction (Video)
Video linked here: http://www.dominionpaper.ca/weblogs/lia_tarachansky/1931

Statement: Solidarity with Katenies! “Canada” has no jurisdiction over Mohawk land
Statement below and also linked here: http://nooneisillegal-montreal.blogspot.com/2008/07/solidarite-with-katenies.html; to endorse the statement, e-mail indigenoussolidaritymontreal@gmail.com

Background Info/Previous Articles & Audio:

http://nooneisillegal-montreal.blogspot.com/2008/06/katenies-cbsa-background.html

INFO: indigenoussolidaritymontreal@gmail.com – 514-848-7583
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Protesters pack city courtroom;
Cornwall Standard Freeholder

Protesters from Ottawa, Montreal and Hamilton packed a Cornwall courtroom Monday in support of Janet Davis, a New York State Iroquois woman who was arrested on June 14 at the Cornwall border crossing in relation to three Customs Act charges from 2003.

Davis, 43, who is also known by her Iroquois name of Katenies, is facing two additional charges of failing to appear in court after she allegedly passed through the border in 2003 without stopping for a Canada Customs agent.

She claims the Canadian judicial system has no jurisdiction over her as an indigenous woman, and even filed a motion in January 2007 to dismiss the charges on those grounds.

The motion was denied, but Davis renewed her objections yesterday by demanding that the court provide written proof of their authority to arrest her and charge her based on what she calls “colonial law.”

“My people never gave up their rights or their land to anyone, it was taken from us, these laws were forced on us,” said Davis outside the Cornwall courthouse.

“They have no jurisdiction here. I’ve asked them a question and they have refused to answer it. Where do they get this authority?”

Davis added that she signed her official objection to the court with her fingerprint instead of a written signature as a statement of her individuality as a native woman.

About 30 people packed the courtroom yesterday morning as Davis, who has refused representation, addressed Justice of the Peace Linda Leblanc along with Frank Horn, a Cornwall defence lawyer who says he was only there with Davis as a friend of the court.

“Katenies stands by the Two Row Wampum Treaty,” said Horn, referring to an agreement signed between the Dutch and the Iroquois Nation of northern New York in 1613.

“Two cultures may live side by side, but they will never cross. She feels that these charges are a crossover between our two cultures, and that’s not right.”

Horn was also present in court to object to the treatment of his sister, Kahentinetha Horn, who was with Davis in June.

Horn said both Davis and Kahentinetha, who is 68 years old, were handcuffed and wrestled to the ground by border guards, treatment he said led his sister to suffer a heart attack and be rushed by ambulance to Cornwall Community Hospital.

“She hasn’t been the same since this happened,” he said. “She won’t leave the house, and she’s already been back in the hospital once since June. It’s just terrible what our family has been going through.”

Horn said tensions have been mounting over the past few months between border guards and those from the Akwesasne reserve, adding that many believe the guards are unfairly targeting aboriginals as an excuse to beef up security.

“The Harper government has this whole strategy to get tough at the borders, and they’re using our people as the means to stir up Canadians and say: ‘Look, we’ve got this issue at the border, so we’ve got to increase security,'” he said. “My people don’t appreciate being used in that manner.”

Horn said many aboriginals are getting sick of the treatment, and protests such as yesterday’s will continue until the message is received.

Davis’ case will go to trial in Alexandria court starting Oct. 21, 2008.

Original article here: http://www.standard-freeholder.com/ArticleDisplay.aspx?e=1114035
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Solidarity with Katenies!
“Canada” has no jurisdiction over Mohawk land

On July 14, 2008, Mohawk grandmother and activist Katenies appeared before a judge in the Superior Court of Cornwall, Ontario. And again, Katenies refused to recognize the authority of the courts, and demanded that Canadian officials prove they have jurisdiction over her as an Indigenous woman. She has been ordered to appear in court again on October 21, 2008, in Alexandria, Ontario.

On June 14, 2008, Katenies — accompanied by Kahentinetha of the Kahnawake Mohawk Territory – was targeted for arrest by Canadian Border Services Agency (CBSA) guards on an outstanding warrant for allegedly “running the border” in 2003, and offenses resulting from her refusal to appear in court and validate the colonial justice system.

Katenies has maintained since 2003 that border officials and the Canadian colonial courts have no jurisdiction over Kanion’ke:haka people or land. In January 2007, Katenies served court officials with a Motion to Dismiss, demanding that they establish jurisdiction, if any, over Mohawks and their ability to travel freely between “Canada” and the “United States”.

During the CBSA attack, Katenies and Kahentinetha – who are both writers and contributors to Mohawk Nation News (MNN) – were treated brutally by border guards. Both were handcuffed and tackled to the ground. Katenies was jailed for three days. Kahentinetha suffered a heart attack and had to be hospitalized for several days.

As mainly non-native groups and collectives based in settler communities on or near Mohawk lands, we are publicly standing in support of Katenies, and demand all charges against her by the colonial courts be dropped. We also condemn the brutal attacks by the CBSA on both Katenies and Kahentinetha on June 14, 2008 and declare our solidarity with Indigenous struggles for land, freedom and self-determination.

Endorsed by:
Agitate (Ottawa)
Les Apatrides Anonymes (Montreal)
Block the Empire-Montreal
Coalition Guerre à la guerre (Quebec City)
Collectif opposé à la brutalité policière (Montreal)
Collectif pour l’Autonomie du Peuple Mapuche (Montreal)
Comité Solidarité Nouveau Equateur (Montreal)
Common Cause Ontario
CUPE Local 3906 (Hamilton)
DIRA Bibliothèque Anarchiste (Montreal)
Kingston Indigenous Solidarity Network
La Otra Campaña (Montreal)
NEFAC-Montreal
No One Is Illegal-Kingston
No One Is Illegal-Montreal
No One Is Illegal-Ottawa
No One Is Illegal-Toronto
Ontario Coalition Against Poverty (Toronto)
OPIRG-Carleton
OPIRG/GRIPO-Ottawa
Ottawa Raging Grannies
People’s Global Action Bloc (Ottawa)
Peterborough Coalition Against Poverty
Peterborough Coalition for Palestine Solidarity
Solidarity Across Borders (Montreal)
and others.

Reports about the CBSA attack, and background information, are linked at the following
website: http://nooneisillegal-montreal.blogspot.com/2008/06/katenies-cbsa-background.html

To endorse this statement, please e-mail indigenoussolidaritymontreal@gmail.com; Katenies’ next scheduled court date is October 21, 2008 in Alexandria, Ontario.