News stories tagged with "cornwall-island"

(12/24/09) A Canadian court has rejected a motion that Akwesasne Mohawks face hardships in reporting to the temporary customs in Cornwall. The Mohawks sought to stop border officers from forcing tribal members to cross a bridge twice to get home. David Sommerstein reports. more

(07/10/09) Mohawk chiefs and Canadian officials were back at the negotiating table yesterday in Ottawa after a reported deal to re-open the international bridge in Cornwall never materialized. Canada closed the port of entry on Cornwall Island six weeks ago in the face of native protests over the arming of customs officers there. Meanwhile, Mohawks and the Canadian customs officers' union are sparring in a war of words. David Sommerstein reports.

(06/19/09) The impasse at the border near Massena is almost three weeks old. The international crossing remains closed to almost all traffic. Neither Canada nor the Mohawks are showing any signs of giving an inch in their dispute over the arming of customs officers on Cornwall Island. The customs station is located on sovereign Mohawk territory. Across the St. Lawrence River in the city of Cornwall, people are getting fed up, mostly with their own federal government. David Sommerstein spoke with Bill Kingston, assistant news director at Cornwall radio station AM 1220.

(06/01/09) The international bridge at Cornwall Island remains closed in both directions this afternoon as Mohawks protest the arming of Canadian customs officers. Canadian customs officers abandoned their posts late last night after informal talks between the Mohawk Council of Akwesasne and the Canadian Border Services Agency yielded no results. Tribal spokesman Brandon White says the Mohawks are not blockading the bridge. He says it was the customs officers who closed the crossing. This confrontation has been brewing since Canada announced it would arm its border agents beginning today. CBC TV reporter Amanda Pfeffer was on Cornwall Island today. She spoke with David Sommerstein about what she saw and heard.

(04/12/01) The St. Regis Mohawk Tribal Council is hoping to insure a non-violent crossing as activists head into Canada at the Cornwall next Thursday. Mohawks from both sides of the border have promised to escort people headed to the FTAA talks across the international bridge from Cornwall Island. But the tribal council hopes the action will stop at a symbolic show of solidarity. Yesterday, council announced it's taking a zero-tolerance stand against rumored blockades or other confrontations. Jody Tosti reports.