{"id":15495,"date":"2023-11-06T22:01:35","date_gmt":"2023-11-07T03:01:35","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/mohawknationnews.com\/blog\/?p=15495"},"modified":"2023-11-06T22:07:12","modified_gmt":"2023-11-07T03:07:12","slug":"judge-overturns-mohawks-tobacco-conviction","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/mohawknationnews.com\/blog\/2023\/11\/06\/judge-overturns-mohawks-tobacco-conviction\/","title":{"rendered":"JUDGE OVERTURNS MOHAWK&#8217;S TOBACCO CONVICTION"},"content":{"rendered":"<header class=\"article-header article-header--story\" aria-label=\"Beginning of Article\">\n<nav class=\"breadcrumbs\" aria-label=\"Breadcrumb\" data-aqa=\"nav-breadcrumb\"><a href=\"https:\/\/mohawknationnews.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/10\/mnnlogo1-150x150-1.webp\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignleft size-full wp-image-15213\" src=\"https:\/\/mohawknationnews.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/10\/mnnlogo1-150x150-1.webp\" alt=\"\" width=\"150\" height=\"150\" srcset=\"https:\/\/mohawknationnews.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/10\/mnnlogo1-150x150-1.webp 150w, https:\/\/mohawknationnews.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/10\/mnnlogo1-150x150-1-144x144.webp 144w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 150px) 100vw, 150px\" \/><\/a><\/nav>\n<div class=\"article-header__detail\">\n<div class=\"article-header__detail__texts\">\n<h1>Please post and distribute.<\/h1>\n<div class=\"published-by\">\n<div class=\"visually-hidden\"><strong>Author of the article:<\/strong><\/div>\n<p><strong><span class=\"published-by__author\"><a href=\"https:\/\/montrealgazette.com\/author\/jasonmagder\/\">Jason Magder<\/a>\u00a0<\/span>\u00a0\u2022\u00a0\u00a0<span class=\"published-by__publication\">Montreal Gazette Nov. 1, 2023<\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<h1 id=\"articleTitle\" class=\"article-title\">Judge overturns Mohawk pair&#8217;s tobacco conviction, citing centuries-old treaties<\/h1>\n<p class=\"article-subtitle\"><strong>A judge found that White and Montour were exercising the rights of the Mohawk nation to direct its own economy.<\/strong><\/p>\n<div class=\"article-meta\">\n<div class=\"published-by\"><\/div>\n<div class=\"comment-bubble\"><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<figure class=\"featured-image\" data-aqa=\"featured-image\"><strong><picture class=\"featured-image__ratio\"><source srcset=\"https:\/\/smartcdn.gprod.postmedia.digital\/montrealgazette\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/11\/cp23719730.jpg?quality=90&amp;strip=all&amp;w=564&amp;h=423&amp;type=webp&amp;sig=jv-znNitaxAvudPPOmf3zg, https:\/\/smartcdn.gprod.postmedia.digital\/montrealgazette\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/11\/cp23719730.jpg?quality=90&amp;strip=all&amp;w=1128&amp;h=846&amp;type=webp&amp;sig=KWf6JWDGjTpISZW1eulRiQ 2x\" type=\"image\/webp\" media=\"(min-width: 1200px)\" \/><source srcset=\"https:\/\/smartcdn.gprod.postmedia.digital\/montrealgazette\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/11\/cp23719730.jpg?quality=90&amp;strip=all&amp;w=564&amp;h=423&amp;type=jpg&amp;sig=UqGQd0Y4XNqtOFBelSDkhw, https:\/\/smartcdn.gprod.postmedia.digital\/montrealgazette\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/11\/cp23719730.jpg?quality=90&amp;strip=all&amp;w=1128&amp;h=846&amp;type=jpg&amp;sig=-Et3zeEyd4tl5CB-8Lv2Rg 2x\" type=\"image\/jpeg\" media=\"(min-width: 1200px)\" \/><source srcset=\"https:\/\/smartcdn.gprod.postmedia.digital\/montrealgazette\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/11\/cp23719730.jpg?quality=90&amp;strip=all&amp;w=472&amp;h=354&amp;type=webp&amp;sig=_6SbZLN7CDGE9GW7Oj9ysA, https:\/\/smartcdn.gprod.postmedia.digital\/montrealgazette\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/11\/cp23719730.jpg?quality=90&amp;strip=all&amp;w=944&amp;h=708&amp;type=webp&amp;sig=2iPGphEk_4hta80bOSpqRA 2x\" type=\"image\/webp\" media=\"(min-width: 768px)\" \/><source srcset=\"https:\/\/smartcdn.gprod.postmedia.digital\/montrealgazette\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/11\/cp23719730.jpg?quality=90&amp;strip=all&amp;w=472&amp;h=354&amp;type=jpg&amp;sig=QcJKj9W-PdwpPXifX99taw, https:\/\/smartcdn.gprod.postmedia.digital\/montrealgazette\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/11\/cp23719730.jpg?quality=90&amp;strip=all&amp;w=944&amp;h=708&amp;type=jpg&amp;sig=V8YJIcegvfvo_06ltCf0fQ 2x\" type=\"image\/jpeg\" media=\"(min-width: 768px)\" \/><source srcset=\"https:\/\/smartcdn.gprod.postmedia.digital\/montrealgazette\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/11\/cp23719730.jpg?quality=90&amp;strip=all&amp;w=288&amp;h=216&amp;type=webp&amp;sig=Fe6TaW2iRFnx1kon2vm39g, https:\/\/smartcdn.gprod.postmedia.digital\/montrealgazette\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/11\/cp23719730.jpg?quality=90&amp;strip=all&amp;w=576&amp;h=432&amp;type=webp&amp;sig=Iokg8jlSV8kBsiThqTzOGA 2x\" type=\"image\/webp\" media=\"(max-width: 767px)\" \/><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"featured-image__image type:primaryImage\" src=\"https:\/\/smartcdn.gprod.postmedia.digital\/montrealgazette\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/11\/cp23719730.jpg?quality=90&amp;strip=all&amp;w=288&amp;h=216&amp;sig=laGDbJL43WF7J2JE_Kov3g\" srcset=\"https:\/\/smartcdn.gprod.postmedia.digital\/montrealgazette\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/11\/cp23719730.jpg?quality=90&amp;strip=all&amp;w=288&amp;h=216&amp;sig=laGDbJL43WF7J2JE_Kov3g, https:\/\/smartcdn.gprod.postmedia.digital\/montrealgazette\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/11\/cp23719730.jpg?quality=90&amp;strip=all&amp;w=576&amp;h=432&amp;sig=yhzL2c0i3RkcJWbWiao4Og 2x\" alt=\"Derek White in a NASCAR suit\" width=\"1000\" height=\"750\" \/><\/picture><\/strong><figcaption class=\"featured-image__caption image-caption\"><strong><span class=\"caption\">Derek White was convicted of fraud, conspiracy to commit fraud and profiting from organized crime for not paying federal excise tax on tobacco that was imported from the United States. A judge ruled those charges are invalid.<\/span>\u00a0<span class=\"credit\">PHOTO BY CHERYL SENTER<\/span>\u00a0\/<span class=\"distributor\">The Associated Press files<\/span><\/strong><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n<\/header>\n<section class=\"article-content__content-group article-content__content-group--story\">\n<h2 class=\"visually-hidden\"><\/h2>\n<p><strong>The Two men won\u2019t face criminal charges thanks to ancient treaties written in the 1600s and 1700s, a Superior Court judge ruled Wednesday.<\/strong><\/p>\n<p><strong>In a much-anticipated and precedent-setting trial, Judge Sophie Bourque ruled that the Crown was wrong to charge Derek White and Hunter Montour with criminal charges related to smuggling tobacco.<\/strong><\/p>\n<\/section>\n<section class=\"article-content__content-group article-content__content-group--story\"><strong>The pair were among 60 people arrested as part of Operation Mygale on March 30, 2016, an investigation into alleged tobacco smuggling from the United States and evasion of millions of dollars in taxes that should have been paid to the provincial and federal governments.<\/strong><\/section>\n<div class=\"ad__section-border article-content__ad-group ad_counter_2\">\n<section class=\"ad\" aria-describedby=\"advertisment9213995494302082833856974578253824\">\n<div class=\"ad__container\">\n<div id=\"ad__inner-2\" class=\"ad__inner\">\n<div id=\"ad-2\" class=\"ad__inner__container ad-refresh\" data-ad=\"[[6,6],[1200,250],[1200,90],[970,90],[970,250],[728,90],[300,250]]\" data-ad-interscroller=\"6x6\" data-ad-loc=\"2\" data-ad-mobile=\"[[6,6],[320,50],[300,50],[300,250],[300,600]]\" data-aqa=\"advertisement\" data-google-query-id=\"CIyK4MGhpoIDFaEXiAkdPAQM1w\" data-ad-width=\"1410\"><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/section>\n<section class=\"list-widget list-widget-trending list\" aria-labelledby=\"Trending3030734031767248953896871846215680\" data-aqa=\"widget-list\" data-async=\"\" data-category-colour=\"default\">\n<article class=\"article-card article-card--image-left article-card--hide-padlock\" data-evt-val=\"{&quot;control_fields&quot;: {&quot;mparticle&quot;: {&quot;keys&quot;: {&quot;click_source_type&quot;: &quot;click_source_type&quot;, &quot;anchor_text&quot;: &quot;anchor_text&quot;, &quot;widget_title&quot;: &quot;widget_title&quot;, &quot;target_url&quot;: &quot;target_url&quot;, &quot;target_article_title&quot;: &quot;target_article_title&quot;, &quot;target_article_id&quot;: &quot;target_article_id&quot;, &quot;target_article_position&quot;: &quot;target_article_position&quot;, &quot;layout_section&quot;: &quot;layout_section&quot;}, &quot;mp_event_type&quot;: &quot;Navigation&quot;, &quot;extra_keys&quot;: [&quot;click_vertical_position_percentage&quot;, &quot;click_vertical_position_pixels&quot;]}}, &quot;click_source_type&quot;: &quot;widget-list&quot;, &quot;anchor_text&quot;: &quot;17 suspects arrested in connection with $5-million real estate fraud in Montreal&quot;, &quot;widget_title&quot;: &quot;Trending&quot;, &quot;target_url&quot;: &quot;https:\/\/montrealgazette.com\/news\/local-news\/17-suspects-arrested-in-connection-with-5-million-real-estate-fraud-in-montreal&quot;, &quot;target_article_title&quot;: &quot;17 suspects arrested in connection with $5-million real estate fraud in Montreal&quot;, &quot;target_article_id&quot;: &quot;310b94fc-9501-446d-b29d-8c9726cf287c&quot;, &quot;target_article_position&quot;: &quot;0&quot;, &quot;layout_section&quot;: &quot;trending-list&quot;}\" data-aqa=\"article-card\" data-article-id=\"310b94fc-9501-446d-b29d-8c9726cf287c\" data-category-colour=\"news\" data-evt=\"click\" data-evt-typ=\"click\"><\/article>\n<article class=\"article-card article-card--image-left article-card--hide-padlock\" data-evt-val=\"{&quot;control_fields&quot;: {&quot;mparticle&quot;: {&quot;keys&quot;: {&quot;click_source_type&quot;: &quot;click_source_type&quot;, &quot;anchor_text&quot;: &quot;anchor_text&quot;, &quot;widget_title&quot;: &quot;widget_title&quot;, &quot;target_url&quot;: &quot;target_url&quot;, &quot;target_article_title&quot;: &quot;target_article_title&quot;, &quot;target_article_id&quot;: &quot;target_article_id&quot;, &quot;target_article_position&quot;: &quot;target_article_position&quot;, &quot;layout_section&quot;: &quot;layout_section&quot;}, &quot;mp_event_type&quot;: &quot;Navigation&quot;, &quot;extra_keys&quot;: [&quot;click_vertical_position_percentage&quot;, &quot;click_vertical_position_pixels&quot;]}}, &quot;click_source_type&quot;: &quot;widget-list&quot;, &quot;anchor_text&quot;: &quot;What the Puck: Habs are punching above their weight, but for how long?&quot;, &quot;widget_title&quot;: &quot;Trending&quot;, &quot;target_url&quot;: &quot;https:\/\/montrealgazette.com\/sports\/hockey\/nhl\/hockey-inside-out\/what-the-puck-habs-are-punching-above-their-weight-but-for-how-long&quot;, &quot;target_article_title&quot;: &quot;What the Puck: Habs are punching above their weight, but for how long?&quot;, &quot;target_article_id&quot;: &quot;d6fdc534-e651-40e1-9353-39428eeef579&quot;, &quot;target_article_position&quot;: &quot;1&quot;, &quot;layout_section&quot;: &quot;trending-list&quot;}\" data-aqa=\"article-card\" data-article-id=\"d6fdc534-e651-40e1-9353-39428eeef579\" data-category-colour=\"sports\" data-evt=\"click\" data-evt-typ=\"click\"><\/article>\n<article class=\"article-card article-card--image-left article-card--hide-padlock\" data-evt-val=\"{&quot;control_fields&quot;: {&quot;mparticle&quot;: {&quot;keys&quot;: {&quot;click_source_type&quot;: &quot;click_source_type&quot;, &quot;anchor_text&quot;: &quot;anchor_text&quot;, &quot;widget_title&quot;: &quot;widget_title&quot;, &quot;target_url&quot;: &quot;target_url&quot;, &quot;target_article_title&quot;: &quot;target_article_title&quot;, &quot;target_article_id&quot;: &quot;target_article_id&quot;, &quot;target_article_position&quot;: &quot;target_article_position&quot;, &quot;layout_section&quot;: &quot;layout_section&quot;}, &quot;mp_event_type&quot;: &quot;Navigation&quot;, &quot;extra_keys&quot;: [&quot;click_vertical_position_percentage&quot;, &quot;click_vertical_position_pixels&quot;]}}, &quot;click_source_type&quot;: &quot;widget-list&quot;, &quot;anchor_text&quot;: &quot;McGill says Quebec tuition hikes could cost it $94M, lead to 700 job cuts&quot;, &quot;widget_title&quot;: &quot;Trending&quot;, &quot;target_url&quot;: &quot;https:\/\/montrealgazette.com\/news\/local-news\/mcgill-says-quebec-tuition-hikes-could-cost-it-up-to-94m-lead-to-700-job-cuts&quot;, &quot;target_article_title&quot;: &quot;McGill says Quebec tuition hikes could cost it $94M, lead to 700 job cuts&quot;, &quot;target_article_id&quot;: &quot;541069f4-d995-490b-9894-010aa83bf6b2&quot;, &quot;target_article_position&quot;: &quot;2&quot;, &quot;layout_section&quot;: &quot;trending-list&quot;}\" data-aqa=\"article-card\" data-article-id=\"541069f4-d995-490b-9894-010aa83bf6b2\" data-category-colour=\"news\" data-evt=\"click\" data-evt-typ=\"click\"><\/article>\n<p><strong>Police alleged tobacco was traded between North Carolina, New Jersey and Canada. They claimed more than 20 shipments totalling nearly 2,300 tonnes of tobacco were shipped to warehouses in St-Jean-sur-Richelieu and St-R\u00e9mi. White was charged with defrauding Quebec of $44 million in tobacco taxes.<\/strong><\/p>\n<\/section>\n<\/div>\n<section class=\"article-content__content-group article-content__content-group--story\">\n<p data-async=\"\"><strong>In 2019, White,\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/montrealgazette.com\/sports\/auto-racing\/kahnawakes-derek-white-makes-racing-history\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" data-evt-val=\"{&quot;control_fields&quot;: {&quot;mparticle&quot;: {&quot;keys&quot;: {&quot;click_source_type&quot;: &quot;click_source_type&quot;, &quot;anchor_text&quot;: &quot;anchor_text&quot;, &quot;target_url&quot;: &quot;target_url&quot;, &quot;layout_section&quot;: &quot;layout_section&quot;}, &quot;mp_event_type&quot;: &quot;Navigation&quot;, &quot;extra_keys&quot;: [&quot;click_vertical_position_percentage&quot;, &quot;click_vertical_position_pixels&quot;]}}, &quot;click_source_type&quot;: &quot;in-page link&quot;, &quot;anchor_text&quot;: &quot;a former NASCAR driver&quot;, &quot;target_url&quot;: &quot;https:\/\/montrealgazette.com\/sports\/auto-racing\/kahnawakes-derek-white-makes-racing-history&quot;, &quot;layout_section&quot;: &quot;in-page-link&quot;}\" data-evt=\"click\" data-evt-typ=\"click\">a former NASCAR driver<\/a>, was acquitted on one of the two charges of fraud and conspiracy to commit fraud. However, he was found guilty of fraud, conspiracy to commit fraud and profiting from organized crime for not paying federal excise tax on the tobacco that was imported from the United States. Montour was found guilty of aiding organized crime.\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n<p><strong>White was facing up to 14 years in prison, while Montour was facing up to five years.<\/strong><\/p>\n<div id=\"attachment_15510\" style=\"width: 310px\" class=\"wp-caption alignleft\"><a href=\"https:\/\/mohawknationnews.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/11\/images.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-15510\" class=\"size-full wp-image-15510\" src=\"https:\/\/mohawknationnews.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/11\/images.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"300\" height=\"168\" \/><\/a><p id=\"caption-attachment-15510\" class=\"wp-caption-text\"><strong>Tobacco is used to communicate with creation.<\/strong><\/p><\/div>\n<p><strong>The pair launched a constitutional challenge to that ruling, arguing that Excise Tax Act tariffs on imports are not applicable to Mohawk people based on Section 35 Constitution Act rights as well as the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples and rights to trade tobacco tax-free.<\/strong><\/p>\n<p><strong>They argued that the Mohawk nation has the right to control its economy based on ancient agreements with the British colonial powers.<\/strong><\/p>\n<\/section>\n<div class=\"js-widget-content article-content__widget-group article-content__widget-group--content-slot19 article-content__widget-group--newsletter-slot\">\n<section class=\"newsletter-widget__new-story-page mg-headlinenews background--primary-light-gradient\" aria-labelledby=\"MontrealGazetteHeadlineNews512633489528875327288145206050816\" data-account-id=\"b9d3df2fccd108b5eff3c44f573b2cd6\" data-aqa=\"widget-newsletter\" data-newsletter=\"single\" data-newsletter-component=\"ts-ready\" data-target-list=\"MG_HeadlineNews\" data-widget=\"newsletter\" data-engage=\"333\">\n<div class=\"newsletter-new-story-page-template\">\n<div class=\"newsletter-widget__header__new-story-page\">\n<div class=\"newsletter-widget__banner__new-story-page\"><strong>To argue their case, the pair referred to 10 treaties drawn up in between 1664 and 1760, as well as the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.thecanadianencyclopedia.ca\/en\/article\/covenant-chain\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" data-evt-val=\"{&quot;control_fields&quot;: {&quot;mparticle&quot;: {&quot;keys&quot;: {&quot;click_source_type&quot;: &quot;click_source_type&quot;, &quot;anchor_text&quot;: &quot;anchor_text&quot;, &quot;target_url&quot;: &quot;target_url&quot;, &quot;layout_section&quot;: &quot;layout_section&quot;}, &quot;mp_event_type&quot;: &quot;Navigation&quot;, &quot;extra_keys&quot;: [&quot;click_vertical_position_percentage&quot;, &quot;click_vertical_position_pixels&quot;]}}, &quot;click_source_type&quot;: &quot;in-page link&quot;, &quot;anchor_text&quot;: &quot;Covenant Chain&quot;, &quot;target_url&quot;: &quot;https:\/\/www.thecanadianencyclopedia.ca\/en\/article\/covenant-chain&quot;, &quot;layout_section&quot;: &quot;in-page-link&quot;}\" data-evt=\"click\" data-evt-typ=\"click\">Covenant Chain<\/a>, a 1764 agreement between the Haudenosaunee or Iroquois Confederacy and the British colonies. The agreement states that Indigenous people have the right to control their economies and lawyers for White and Montour said that includes the tobacco trade.<\/strong><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/section>\n<\/div>\n<section class=\"article-content__content-group article-content__content-group--story\"><strong>On the other side, the Crown argued that the Covenant Chain was never considered to be a treaty that is protected under the rights of Indigenous people to self-government.<\/strong><strong>In her 365-page judgement, however, Bourque found that the Covenant Chain was still valid, and that it superseded the other 10 treaties. The Covenant Chain concludes that the Mohawk nation has the right to freely develop its economy, she said. This right is inherent for all Indigenous people and it is protected by the Haudenosaunee traditional justice system. She found that White and Montour were exercising those rights, so the criminal charges against them were not valid.<\/strong><strong>She also found that Article 42 of Canada\u2019s excise law was an unjustified violation, giving the Ministry of Revenue a large discretionary power on issuing licences on the tobacco trade without considering ancestral rights.<\/strong><\/section>\n<div class=\"ad__section-border article-content__ad-group ad_counter_4\">\n<section class=\"ad\" aria-describedby=\"advertisment7886071779590376004253041123393536\">\n<div class=\"ad__container\">\n<div class=\"ad__label\">\n<div class=\"ad__label__right\"><strong>Bourque said the trial served as an opportunity to re-evaluate ancient agreements with Indigenous communities in light of Canada\u2019s adoption of the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples, the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and the Truth and Reconciliation Commission.<\/strong><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/section>\n<\/div>\n<section class=\"article-content__content-group article-content__content-group--story\"><strong>The trial lasted from October 2021 to April 2022. It took Bourque an additional 18 months to render her judgement. The ruling is considered to be an important and precedent-setting one, and as such it may be appealed.<\/strong><\/p>\n<p data-async=\"\"><strong><a href=\"mailto:jmagder@postmedia.com\" data-evt-val=\"{&quot;control_fields&quot;: {&quot;mparticle&quot;: {&quot;keys&quot;: {&quot;click_source_type&quot;: &quot;click_source_type&quot;, &quot;anchor_text&quot;: &quot;anchor_text&quot;, &quot;layout_section&quot;: &quot;layout_section&quot;}, &quot;mp_event_type&quot;: &quot;Navigation&quot;, &quot;extra_keys&quot;: [&quot;click_vertical_position_percentage&quot;, &quot;click_vertical_position_pixels&quot;]}}, &quot;click_source_type&quot;: &quot;in-page link&quot;, &quot;anchor_text&quot;: &quot;jmagder@postmedia.com&quot;, &quot;layout_section&quot;: &quot;in-page-link&quot;}\" data-evt=\"click\" data-evt-typ=\"click\">jmagder@postmedia.com<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n<p data-async=\"\"><strong><a href=\"http:\/\/twitter.com\/jasonmagder\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" data-evt-val=\"{&quot;control_fields&quot;: {&quot;mparticle&quot;: {&quot;keys&quot;: {&quot;click_source_type&quot;: &quot;click_source_type&quot;, &quot;anchor_text&quot;: &quot;anchor_text&quot;, &quot;target_url&quot;: &quot;target_url&quot;, &quot;layout_section&quot;: &quot;layout_section&quot;}, &quot;mp_event_type&quot;: &quot;Navigation&quot;, &quot;extra_keys&quot;: [&quot;click_vertical_position_percentage&quot;, &quot;click_vertical_position_pixels&quot;]}}, &quot;click_source_type&quot;: &quot;in-page link&quot;, &quot;anchor_text&quot;: &quot;twitter.com\/jasonmagder&quot;, &quot;target_url&quot;: &quot;http:\/\/twitter.com\/jasonmagder&quot;, &quot;layout_section&quot;: &quot;in-page-link&quot;}\" data-evt=\"click\" data-evt-typ=\"click\">twitter.com\/jasonmagder<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n<h2 class=\"visually-hidden\"><\/h2>\n<p data-async=\"\"><strong>Message to the government of Canada comes from our great friend, Willie Nelson: &#8220;Say goodnight, the party&#8217;s over&#8221;.\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n<div class=\"ose-youtube ose-uid-c5344b83eca39a0ba18cdc35d71941ac ose-embedpress-responsive\" style=\"width:1000px; height:1000px; max-height:1000px; max-width:100%; display:inline-block;\" data-embed-type=\"Youtube\"><iframe loading=\"lazy\" allowFullScreen=\"true\" width=\"1000\" height=\"1000\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/xR2xuvKldok?feature=oembed&color=red&rel=0&controls=1&start=&end=&fs=0&iv_load_policy=0&autoplay=0&mute=0&modestbranding=0&cc_load_policy=1&playsinline=1\" frameborder=\"0\" allow=\"accelerometer; encrypted-media;accelerometer;autoplay;clipboard-write;gyroscope;picture-in-picture clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture\" allowfullscreen referrerpolicy=\"origin\"><\/iframe><\/div>\n<p><a href=\"http:\/\/mohawknationnews.com\/\"><strong>\u00a0mohawknationnews.com<\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n<p><a href=\"http:\/\/mohawkmothers.ca\/\"><strong>MohawkMothers.ca<\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n<p><strong>boc 991 kahnawake que. canada J0L 1B0<\/strong><\/p>\n<p><a href=\"mailto:thahoketoteh@ntk.com\"><strong>thahoketoteh@ntk.com<\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n<p><a href=\"mailto:kahentinetha2@protonmail.com\"><strong>kahentinetha2@protonmail.com<\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n<\/section>\n<div class=\"wps-pgfw-pdf-generate-icon__wrapper-frontend pgfw-icon-display pgfw-icon-display--default\" style=\"--pgfw-icon-justify:center;\"><a href=\"https:\/\/mohawknationnews.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/15495?action=genpdf&#038;id=15495\" class=\"pgfw-single-pdf-download-button pgfw-single-pdf-download-button--default pgfw-single-pdf-download-button--icon-only\" title=\"Generate PDF\" style=\"--pgfw-icon-width:25px;--pgfw-icon-height:45px;\" aria-label=\"Download PDF\"><span class=\"pgfw-single-pdf-download-button__media\" aria-hidden=\"true\"><img src=\"https:\/\/mohawknationnews.com\/blog\/wp-content\/plugins\/pdf-generator-for-wp\/admin\/src\/images\/PDF_Tray.svg\" alt=\"\" decoding=\"async\"><\/span><\/a><\/div>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Please post and distribute. Author of the article: Jason Magder\u00a0\u00a0\u2022\u00a0\u00a0Montreal Gazette Nov. 1, 2023 Judge overturns Mohawk pair&#8217;s tobacco conviction, citing centuries-old treaties A judge found that White and Montour were exercising the rights of the Mohawk nation to direct &hellip; <a href=\"https:\/\/mohawknationnews.com\/blog\/2023\/11\/06\/judge-overturns-mohawks-tobacco-conviction\/\">Continue reading <span class=\"meta-nav\">&rarr;<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"om_disable_all_campaigns":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[5,33,32,40],"tags":[4716,5305,4611,813,5306,5307,5179,5262,5267,5308,5269,156,5009,5270,5268,5274,5272],"class_list":["post-15495","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-afn","category-economicstrade-commerce","category-judges-courts-police-un","category-kahnawake","tag-film-the-gene-hunters","tag-illy-nelson-the-partys-over","tag-indian-lands-acts-oct-25-1924","tag-indian-trust-fund","tag-indigenous-economy","tag-indigenous-tobacco-trade","tag-jay-treaty-1794","tag-mcgill-u-sqi","tag-mkultra-experiments-mcgill","tag-mohawkmothers-ca","tag-mohawknationnews-com","tag-new-world-order-2","tag-planned-extinction-part-2-framework-agreement-how-canada-plans-to-continue-to-live-off-the-avails-of-crime-its-obvious-the-colonial-settlers-dont-belong-on-turtle","tag-quesupcrt-500-17-120-468-221","tag-sqi-mcgill-secrets","tag-the-gene-hunters","tag-tianitiotiakeh-montreal"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/mohawknationnews.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/15495","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/mohawknationnews.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/mohawknationnews.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mohawknationnews.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mohawknationnews.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=15495"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/mohawknationnews.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/15495\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/mohawknationnews.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=15495"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mohawknationnews.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=15495"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mohawknationnews.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=15495"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}