Peace and Dignity Runners visit Longest Walk Northern Route

Peace and Dignity runners visit Longest Walk Northern Route at Raccoon Creek State Park in Pennsylvania this week. Grandmothers from the Peace and Dignity run are running 10 miles a day. Longest Walk supporter, Art, assisting with Pennsylvania coordination, is third from the left. Photo Long Walker Chris Jones/Euchee of Oklahoma.

On the Northern Route, photo by Lisa Peake

On the Longest Walk Northern Route, Colten looks at a frog. Photo by Lisa Peake, Pomo/Anishinabe Long Walker from Minneapolis.

Long Walkers, a sweet stay at Raccoon Creek State Park, Pennsylvania

Photo by Brenda Norrell

The Longest Walk Northern Route visited Meadowcroft this week, while camped near Pittsburgh, where traces of man exist from 16,000 years ago. Pennsylvania residents, the governor and police extended a warm welcome and assisted the walkers in every way since walkers arrived in the state eight days ago. A special thanks to all of you who brought out food, offered supplies and shared your friendship with us here. Walkers leave beautiful Raccoon Creek State Park today and head east. Walkers will be at a powwow near Farmington, Penn., this weekend. On June 28th, the northern route will hold a prayer vigil for Leonard Peltier, before heading to the DC area on July 8. On July 11, the northern and southern routes walk into Washington. (Please double click on photo to enlarge.)
Listen to the 400 archives since we left Alcatraz on Feb. 11 at:
http://www.earthcycles.net/

Update: Mohawks Kahentinetha and Katenies beaten by gang of border officers

Updated: Telephone interview with Katenies

By Brenda Norrell
Human Rights Editor
U.N. OBSERVER & International Report at the Hague
http://www.unobserver.com/

Photo: Kahentinetha Horn displays her Haudenosaunee passport at the Indigenous Border Summit of the Americas II in November in Arizona. Photo Brenda Norrell

AKWESASNE -- Mohawk grandmothers Kahentinetha Horn and Katenies were in custody at the US/Canadian border on Saturday, June 14, 2008, when the two women were handcuffed and beaten by gangs of officers and border patrol agents. Eight officers beat Kahentinetha, 68, and five officers beat Katenies. Kahentinetha, publisher of Mohawk Nation News, suffered a heart attack and is in a Canadian hospital. Katenies was released from jail Monday evening and is in seclusion. Katenies, in a telephone interview on Tuesday afternoon, described the police attack on the women at the border. Katenies said the women were returning to Canada from a visit in the US, when they were stopped at the border. After the women showed their Haudenosaunee identification, they were told the IDs were not sufficient and they were detained.
Katenies was told she had an earlier warrant. She had refused to recognize the authority of the Canadian government over her. In the earlier case she had stopped at a border check and was granted permission to pass, but border agents later claimed she was not cleared to pass. When she refused to recognize the authority of the Canadian government over her, a warrant resulted.
On Saturday, when Katenies refused to get out of the car, five huge Canadian officers and border agents jumped on her, dragged her out and threw her to the concrete, grinding her chin into the concrete.
"I went down so fast, they had knees in my back and kidneys. They were like a football team on me and they acted like they had no boundaries."
"They told me if I didn't cooperate, they would break my arms."
As officers attacked Katenies, Kahentinetha was on her cell phone calling family members and authorities for help. When Kahentinetha refused to hang up, eight officers attacked her.
Katenies was placed in a cell and could hear the officers bring in Kahentinetha. Katenies could hear Kahentinetha yelling for them to loosen the handcuffs. By the screams of pain, Katenies said it sounded like the police were continuing to tighten the handcuffs as Kahentinetha cried out.
Kahentinetha was handcuffed in a stress hold. The handcuffs cut off Kahentinetha's circulation and she suffered a heart attack.
A family member arrived at the same time and was able to get an ambulance immediately for Kahentinetha and she was transported to a hospital.
Katenies was transported to jail in Cornwall, where she remained from Saturday until Monday evening. Katenies said the two women were not charged, but were told they would be charged later.
Kahentinetha remains in the hospital, with family present, and her condition is not known.
A member of the Mohawk Warrior Society said, "They did this because we have the greatest weapon, the truth, and what Kahentinetha writes is the truth. They are terrified of the truth. What they are trying to do is provoke the Mohawks." He said ultimately what they want is to provoke the Mohawks into a confrontation so the Mohawks who are resisting will be shot and killed. He said the plan was to assassinate Kahentinetha.
Kahentinetha's most recent article:
Canada confesses to murder and rape of Indian people
CANADA CONFESSES TO PART OF ITS CRIMES AGAINST HUMANITY –THERE HAS FINALLY BEEN AN OFFICIAL APOLOGY FOR ‘MURDER”, RAPE … By Kahentinetha Horn Mohawk Nation News, June 11, 2008….SODOMY, PEDOPHILIA, GERM WARFARE, STERILIZATION, MEDICAL EXPERIMENTS AND WHO KNOWS MAYBE EVEN NECROPHILIA OF INDIGENOUS CHILDREN IN ORDER TO “STEAL” OUR LAND AND RESOURCES. This is a start. Now we have to deal with the bigger issues, sovereignty and resources. Our people were kidnapped and held hostage for three to four generations. Genocide is taking children away and killing them. It was only a small part of a bigger story of “gangsterism” and greed. Don’t be fooled! That evil program is still in full swing. Canada has no intention to stop.
www.mohawknationnews.com/