Mohawk grandmother remains in hiding, defying arrest warrant

March 5, 2007

Mohawk grandmother remains in hiding, defying arrest warrant

Akwesasne/Kahnawake, Mohawk Territory; March 5, 2007 -- A Mohawk woman from the Akwesasne Community remains in hiding, defying an arrest warrant from the Superior Court of Ontario in Cornwall.

"Katenies" (whose Mohawk name means "she changes things around") refused to appear in court on customs and border violations this past January 18, 2007. Instead, she served her own "Motion to Dismiss," questioning the jurisdiction of the courts and border officials over sovereign Mohawk peoples and their land.

Katenies is a mother and grandmother -- her third grandchild was born just 5 days ago on February 28 -- and a researcher with Mohawk Nation News.

She and her family -- including her daughter and grandchildren -- have been harassed by border officials, in various incidents that date back to 2003. To visit her daughter, Katenies needs to make a simple 2-minute drive, but that drive takes her through two provinces, one state, and two countries.

If captured by the police, Katenies faces possible pre-trial detention until her court date in August 2007.

Katenies vows to continue to defy the courts until the jurisdiction question is answered; in her words: "It's the Crown, the courts and the police that are the frauds, and it's they who are in violation of the law."

Katenies remains out of sight, somewhere on Turtle Island.