AIAF Indigenous Film Vault

A film report of the 1969 protest demonstration by the Kanien'kéhaka (Mohawk) of St. Regis Reserve on the international bridge between Canada and the United States near Cornwall, Ontario. By blocking the bridge, which is on the Reserve, and causing a considerable tie-up of motor traffic, they drew public attention to their grievance. The community was prohibited by Canadian authorities from duty-free passage of personal purchases across the border; a right established by the Jay Treaty of 1794. The film shows the confrontation with police, and ensuing action