MNN. July 15, 2026. One afternoon I was driving home alone on Highway 401 from Akwesasne Mohawk Territory [Ont.] to my home on Kahnawake Mohawk Territory [Que.] I noticed an Ontario cop car parked behind the fence on the grass facing the highway. Suddenly two Ontario cops with lights flashing signalled me to pull over, which I did. One parked in front of me and the other parked behind me.
A couple of minutes later this old cop limped over and tells me to roll down my window. Then he pulls out a long official looking paper and tells me that he is of the “Ontario Smoke Patrol”. I said, “So!!’ He yells, “Open your trunk!” I said, “No!” In the meantime, the cop in front pulls out and leaves. I wouldn’t get out of my car and I dialed a friend to listen and watch what was going on. I abruptly asked the old cop, “Where’s your warrant?” He told me to wait for him while he limped back to his car to call a judge in the nearby town to make arrangements for us to go there to arrest me or something. Apparently he suspected I had cigarettes in my trunk!! While he was making these arrangements, I said to myself, “Why the heck am I sitting here anyway?” I told my friend on the phone, “My time is precious. I’m going home.” He answered, ” Yeah, OK!” Then I stepped on the gas and took off. I looked in my rearview mirror and the old cop just stood in the dust and stared in shock.
This is a story about some of our attempts at economic self-sufficiency on our sovereign land of onowarekeh Great Turtle Island:
We have an absolute right to determine how to develop an economy on our own land. As the forest fires burn in Northwestern Ontario and the smoke fills our air, we are reminded of Boston’s song “Smoking”.
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box 991. kahnawake mohawk territory. quebec canada JOL !BO
