Videos could determine claim

A month before Kahentinetha Horn suffered a heart attack following her detention at the Cornwall border crossing she was warned she may be in danger.
In response, the 68-year-old grandmother said she established surveillance around her home in Kahnawake Quebec near Montreal and purchased a cell-phone.
Now, the well-known Kanion'ke:haka /Mohawk activist, has filed a law suit against the attorney governor of Canada and sent a complaint to the United Nations for injuries and abuses against herself and First Nations people.
"For a while there I was being stopped 10 out of 10 times and being hassled," said Horn. "Now I do not cross," she added.
The border crossing divides the community of Akwesasne that resides under five different colonial jurisdictions: Canada, United States, Ontario, Quebec and New York State.
Katenies, also known as Janet Davis , another activist detained at the border, was travelling with Horn to visit family in the Ontario portion of the community, which requires travelling through the US.
According to the letter of demand addressed to Robert Douglas Nicholson, the minister of justice and attorney governor of Canada, the vehicle holding Horn, Katenies and a third passenger, Sakowaiaks, was stopped at the Corwall crossing on June 14.
"Katenies was dragged violently from the back seat of the car, they knocked her down, pinned her to the ground, and forced their knees into head and back. They handcuffed her and smashed and rubbed her face into the pavement," the letter described.
Following the alleged assault on Katenies, a 48-year-old grandmother, Horn said she became concerned for her own life.
"(Kahentinetha) was handcuffed, assaulted and imprisoned. Once in the cell, the attack continued. Some of the officers deliberately tightened the handcuffs she was wearing several times. The pain shot up her arms and she experienced flashes of light and pains in the middle of her chest and back," continued the letter.
Justice Canada would not address the contents of the letter when questioned since all correspondence with the minister is treated according to the private nature of the information, said Carole Saindon, Justice Canada spokesperson.
Saindon directed all other questions to the Canadian Border Services Agency (CBSA), which would also not comment on the matter.
"They had to force her because she wouldn't voluntarily leave the vehicle, at no time was anyone ever beaten or injured to our knowledge," an Ottawa Citizen journalist quoted Chis Kealey, CBSA communications manager, as saying on June 27.
Katenies is scheduled to appear in Alexandria court on Oct. 21. She is charged with hindering, providing false statements and willfully evading compliance with legislation and failure to present person upon arrival under the Canadian customs act and criminal code charges for not appearing in court.
Horn is facing charges for obstructing justice and assaulting police, a scheduled court appearance has not yet been set.
Frank Horn, Kahentinetha's brother and criminal lawyer, arrived at the border crossing and immediately called for paramedics to help his sister.
Kahentinetha was rushed to the Cornwall hospital and then transferred to Ottawa when it became apparent she had suffered a heart attack, explained Frank Horn.
The women's description of events and letter to the United Nations are posted on their Web site, Mohawk Nation News. This news service first began during the Mohawk/Oka crisis of 1990 to provide updates on the resistance.
"I know that there is no way this was not contrived and done deliberately because (the border guards) knew who they were dealing with, they knew what was going on, and they came and created a situation," said Frank Horn.
"This is a pattern of behaviour, a provocative attitude toward the Indians, they knew what they were doing and knew exactly what message they were going to send," he continued.
The activists repeatedly fight to be recognized as a sovereign nation with their own chiefs to judge them.
"Right now we are realizing that if we put our lives at the mercy of the justice system out there, which is not our justice system, we are not treated equally," said Horn.
When Kahentinetha was asked if it was frustrating that she had to go through the colonial system in order to seek justice, she compared herself to any other non-Canadian within the country.
"If you are Japanese and are over here and get beat up, you have the right to sue them and get justice and not give up your Japanese citizenship and identity," she said.
Kahentinetha and Katenies are demanding that the individuals who assaulted them be charged, tried and punished, full disclosure of all files and official communications, $10 million for physical, psychological and punitive damages and complete un-doctored copies of the border check point video footage of the alleged assault.
According to the federal crown, if a request for disclosure was made they (videos) would have to be released, however, the federal crown said that they could not disclose to WIndspeaker who is in possession of the videos.
"The videos tell the whole story, everything is on those videos," said Kahentinetha.