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From Peterborough Examiner editorial ...

Hold Off On The Cavalry
Drew Hayden Taylor - June 5, 2007

I'm sure that if the Fathers of Confederation were around today putting together this newfangled piece of legislation they called "the Indian Act," there would be a new provision. Something akin to: "Under no circumstances will the government build or permit a road, bridge, railway or anything blockadable across Native land."

Once more the First Nations voice has been heard via stalled traffic and irate commuters. A month or so ago, the Mohawks of Tyendinaga, near Belleville, used the negotiation tactic of parking a school bus across a VIA rail line. I think it's important to mention that blockades are not part of our traditional culture. Historically, Canada had too many wide open spaces for Native people to successfully blockade anything. The Metis tried it with Manitoba. But we are an adaptable people. After a while, we learned to blockade roads and railways, just like we learned to hunt with guns, cook with flour and lard, ride in cars, and go to residential school. It seems like a natural progression.

Unfortunately, this image of the camouflaged native as blockader is replacing the drunken Indian as Canada's favourite stereotype. Canadian children are in danger of being more familiar with the Indian wearing a bandana to hide his face then that of a mighty warrior on a horse hunting buffalo.

I know many people who have been involved with blockades and other acts of civil disobedience. They do not make these choices lightly. Most of them know things will get worse before they get better. Everybody remembers the tragic images in Alanis Obomsawin's brilliant documentary, "Incident at Whiskey Trench" where Mohawks being evacuated from Kahnawake during the Oka Crisis were stoned by local whites, resulting in one man dying of a heart attack.

Most non-Native people have come to understand that the actions of natives at Oka, Ipperwash and other standoffs were understandable. All of these involved years of trying to settle land claims with little response or action from the federal government. The ante needed to be upped. On the news I heard an annoyed VIA passenger bitterly condemn the Tyendinaga blockade. "I didn't think they were allowed to do that, but I guess they can do whatever they want." Our elders say the same thing about white people.

Admittedly, I would have been a little annoyed too if I were on the train. But those passengers need to know that First Nations people don't enjoy doing this. It's not a field trip. They don't get paid. Oka was not a First Nations Woodstock. Ipperwash wasn't an Outward Bound for political aboriginals. Most of these people would rather be home with their families, or making corn soup, or watching the playoffs. Sound familiar, Canada? And of course there's the threat that the police will come in with guns blazing. That's always a huge inducement at the "what will we do this weekend" meeting.

Remember that ferry that sank in British Columbia last year? Those were mostly fishing boats from a nearby Native community that ferried everybody to safety. Contrary to popular paranoia, aboriginal blockades are not going to spread across the country like wildfire. Take my community for example. It's on a peninsula with one road in and one road out. Putting up a blockade would be kind of self defeating.

Simply put, all those images from movies you watched as a child of multitudes of feathered and screaming Indians attacking wagon trains in the American West are just a coincidence. They have nothing to do with today's blockades. To the best of my knowledge, there were no flaming arrows shot at the VIA trains.

At the very least, irate VIA passengers will have an amusing tale to tell their grandkids. "I survived the great Tyendinaga Railway Blockade of '07". I'm sure insurance will cover those companies or individuals who may have lost money because of the inconvenience. There must be an "Act of Indian" clause somewhere.

If not, there should be.

Drew Hayden Taylor is an award-winning Ojibwa playwright and author from the Curve Lake First Nations.