Joseph Tokwiro Norton, Grand Chief of the Mohawk Nation of Kahnawà:ke, has died at the age of 70.

The land claims at the heart of the 1990 Oka crisis remain unresolved, Indigenous leaders and elders say.

Members of the First Nation blocked access to Oka last Wednesday as other provincial parks partially opened.

There are fears over bringing COVID-19 into the Mohawk community as Quebec remains the province hardest hit by the novel coronavirus.

The grand chief of Kanesatake sent a letter earlier in the week to Quebec Premier François Legault urging him to keep the park closed until his community is consulted.

The mayors of Oka and Ste. Placide want police barriers put in place to stem the flow of traffic coming through their communities.

"They've been coming here in large numbers, either looking for cannabis or tobacco."

The Mohawk Council of Kahnawake expressed its concerns over what it calls Legault’s “reckless statement” that will “undoubtedly inflame a situation that has been peaceful from its very inception.”

The railway blockade in Kahnawake south of Montreal is carrying on Tuesday morning amid rising tensions across Canada over police intervention in the Tyendinaga Mohawk Territory.

Trains are still cancelled on a commuter rail line between Montreal and the south shore as a blockade in Kahnawake stretches into its third week.