Frontline voices of Indigenous resistance on Turtle Island
SUNDAY, MARCH 1, 7 p.m.
1455 de Maisonneuve West, H-110
near Guy-Concordia metro
Wheelchair accessible.
Event is free.
This special panel features frontline Indigenous activists who are resisting the destruction and displacement of their lands on Turtle Island (occupied "North America"). Speakers include:
Elizabeth (Tshankuesh) Penashue
Innu elder from Nitassinan (Labrador)
Elizabeth was born and raised into a traditional hunting and trapping family whose way of life was devastated by the flooding of their lands and the destruction of hunting equipment. Elizabeth has raised awareness andresisted the militarization and appropriation of Innu territory by NATO low-level military flying exercises out of Goose Bay over land that the Innu use for hunting and fishing. She has also opposed the further development of the Churchill River to power mainly settler communities in the south.
Judy Da Silva
Anishinabekwe from Grassy Narrows, northwestern Ontario. Judy is the mother of 5 children, fighting to protect the way of life of the Anishnabe people. She is active in resisting the environmental devastation and destruction of the land, animals and people, by logging and mining companies and the provincial and federal governments. She is currently involved in an environmental contaminants study of three northwestern Ontario Indigenous communities.
Introduced by Laith Marouf of Solidarity for Palestinian Human Rights (SPHR). Laith has visited and worked in solidarity with various First Nations across Turtle island and has lectured on the similarity of the struggles forself-determination here and in Palestine. For the past decade he has organized with SPHR and currently is the Branches Coordinator at the National Office of the organization.
Showing posts with label Grassy Narrows. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Grassy Narrows. Show all posts
Tuesday, February 10, 2009
Wednesday, January 28, 2009
Roberta Keesick needs our help
In early June, 2008 news that Grassy Narrows First Nation’s demand that industrial logging on their territory stop was met when Abitibi-Bowater announced that they would not be seeking a licence in the Whiskey Jack Forest. However the struggle is not over. While the chainsaws have stopped at Grassy Narrows, persecution of those that assert their traditional rights on the land has not ended.
Roberta Keesick, a Grassy Narrows clan mother, trapper, blockader, and grandmother, is facing charges in Red Lake Ontario for building a trappers' cabin on her traditional family lands without a Provincial permit. She has been a tremendous force in the grassroots struggles at Grassy Narrows to reclaim traditional land and assert the right of self determination. The act for which she now faces criminal charges is part of a process of reclamation and revival for Grassy Narrows where people are using the land on their territory as their ancestors have for generations; it is a critically important piece of the work that is being undertaken by the people of Grassy Narrows to empower themselves and to sustain their families, revive their culture and heal their community—this access to land is crucial for the healing of First Nations, and it is this right that is being challenged by the court with the charges that have been brought against Roberta Keesick.
Roberta’s trial date is in the spring. While they have found her a lawyer who will donate his services, he needs his costs of travel, and filing documents with the court, covered. These costs will be approximately $4000. She is seeking donations for a legal defence fund. The assertion of rights on traditional land is one of the most important components of the ongoing struggle for Indigenous rights. This case has the potential to set an important precedent; Indigenous people have a right to traditional land use on their traditional territories. This case represents an example of the way that governments disable First Nations from sustaining and empowering themselves. Roberta Keesick’s actions—the building of a trapping cabin on her own family’s trap line—is a perfect example of how people from Grassy Narrows are asserting their rights through the straightforward actions of living an Anishnabe life. It is of the utmost importance that any and all of us who are concerned with Indigenous rights and the well being of First Nations communities, support the grassroots struggles at Grassy Narrows and in other communities and to support Roberta Keesick in her struggle to simply live her life on her land. Please donate generously.
To make a donation to Roberta Keesick’s legal defence fund you can send an email money transfer to Leah Henderson: leah.m.henderson@gmail.com With the security question: what is your favourite flower
Answer: sunflower
You can also email the above email address to find alternative ways of donating (i.e., cheque, cash, etc.)
Roberta Keesick, a Grassy Narrows clan mother, trapper, blockader, and grandmother, is facing charges in Red Lake Ontario for building a trappers' cabin on her traditional family lands without a Provincial permit. She has been a tremendous force in the grassroots struggles at Grassy Narrows to reclaim traditional land and assert the right of self determination. The act for which she now faces criminal charges is part of a process of reclamation and revival for Grassy Narrows where people are using the land on their territory as their ancestors have for generations; it is a critically important piece of the work that is being undertaken by the people of Grassy Narrows to empower themselves and to sustain their families, revive their culture and heal their community—this access to land is crucial for the healing of First Nations, and it is this right that is being challenged by the court with the charges that have been brought against Roberta Keesick.
Roberta’s trial date is in the spring. While they have found her a lawyer who will donate his services, he needs his costs of travel, and filing documents with the court, covered. These costs will be approximately $4000. She is seeking donations for a legal defence fund. The assertion of rights on traditional land is one of the most important components of the ongoing struggle for Indigenous rights. This case has the potential to set an important precedent; Indigenous people have a right to traditional land use on their traditional territories. This case represents an example of the way that governments disable First Nations from sustaining and empowering themselves. Roberta Keesick’s actions—the building of a trapping cabin on her own family’s trap line—is a perfect example of how people from Grassy Narrows are asserting their rights through the straightforward actions of living an Anishnabe life. It is of the utmost importance that any and all of us who are concerned with Indigenous rights and the well being of First Nations communities, support the grassroots struggles at Grassy Narrows and in other communities and to support Roberta Keesick in her struggle to simply live her life on her land. Please donate generously.
To make a donation to Roberta Keesick’s legal defence fund you can send an email money transfer to Leah Henderson: leah.m.henderson@gmail.com With the security question: what is your favourite flower
Answer: sunflower
You can also email the above email address to find alternative ways of donating (i.e., cheque, cash, etc.)
Thursday, June 05, 2008
Monday, February 12, 2007
Defenders of the Boreal Forest charged with mischief
The snowy coniferous forest that encircles the North, the Boreal, is the lung of the planet Earth. The Earth depends on the Boreal Forest to capture carbon and provide habitat and biodiversity. The Earth needs biodiversity to be able to stay in balance and survive climatic crises. The Boreal Forest is the most precious jewel in Canada. We ought to defend and protect the Boreal, for the continued practice of environmentally sustainable and traditional livelihoods, and the wellbeing of us all.
David Sone, Leah Henderson, Chrissy Swain, Bonny Swain, and Adrienne Swain have been protecting the Boreal Forest. It is a travesty that they are facing now charges of mischief. It is only by their excellent work that any awareness of the sanctity of the land has been communicated to the average Canadian. They have fought for the land around Grassy Narrows to be preserved. They have asked the government to put an end to the decadent and wasteful clear-cutting industry that encroaches, unwelcome, upon Grassy Narrows land.
Historically, the Government of Canada has made the people of Grassy Narrows move long distances for no good reason. The Government has allowed mercury poisoning without meaningful compensation. The Government only further insults and defiles any kind of respectful or friendly relationship with Grassy Narrows by allowing industrial clear-cutting in the area.
The medicinal herbs and plants that grow in the forest immediately around Grassy Narrows provide the people with healing and a sustainable way of life. The animals that inhabit that forest can also provide Grassy Narrows people with livelihoods. The clear-cutting must stop.
All charges against David Sone, Leah Henderson, Chrissy Swain, Bonny Swain, and Adrienne Swain ought to be dropped immediately. They have been doing what every person in Canada ought to have been doing, if we only were so fearless. If only we were all people of integrity.
David Sone, Leah Henderson, Chrissy Swain, Bonny Swain, and Adrienne Swain have been protecting the Boreal Forest. It is a travesty that they are facing now charges of mischief. It is only by their excellent work that any awareness of the sanctity of the land has been communicated to the average Canadian. They have fought for the land around Grassy Narrows to be preserved. They have asked the government to put an end to the decadent and wasteful clear-cutting industry that encroaches, unwelcome, upon Grassy Narrows land.
Historically, the Government of Canada has made the people of Grassy Narrows move long distances for no good reason. The Government has allowed mercury poisoning without meaningful compensation. The Government only further insults and defiles any kind of respectful or friendly relationship with Grassy Narrows by allowing industrial clear-cutting in the area.
The medicinal herbs and plants that grow in the forest immediately around Grassy Narrows provide the people with healing and a sustainable way of life. The animals that inhabit that forest can also provide Grassy Narrows people with livelihoods. The clear-cutting must stop.
All charges against David Sone, Leah Henderson, Chrissy Swain, Bonny Swain, and Adrienne Swain ought to be dropped immediately. They have been doing what every person in Canada ought to have been doing, if we only were so fearless. If only we were all people of integrity.
Grassy Narrows Protesters Refuse to Plea to Charges
from the Kenora Daily Miner and News, February 6th
by Dan Gauthier
Three Grassy Narrows First Nation women, charged with mischief in connection to a pair of highway blockades last summer, refused to enter pleas to the charges during a brief appearance in Kenora provincial court Monday. Adrienne Swain, 27, Bonnie Swain, 32, and Chrissy Swain, 27, told visiting Justice Thomas McKay, from Fort Frances, they neither had a lawyer, nor were they planning to seek one to deal with the charges. Each is facing two counts of mischief related to the July 13, 2006 roadblock at the Highway 17A Kenora bypass, and the July 26, blockade of the English River Road at the Separation Rapids Bridge. Bonnie Swain told the court she was being represented by Lester John Howse who attended court with the three women, along with approximately 30 supporters seated in the body of the court. Howse, who hails from Rocky Mountain Territory in Western Canada, told Justice McKay the women would not be entering pleas to the charges. He claimed there was no “rule of law” giving the court jurisdiction over the Swains and that it was a criminal act to press charges against them. “The law speaks for itself,” said Howse. “The court has no jurisdiction over these women.” In 2005, Howse himself refused to enter a plea to an assault charge, claiming he had diplomatic immunity as a member of the “Signatory Indians”. However, Kenora Justice Donald Fraser rejected Howse’s claim at the time, reasoning that the Signatory Indians could not be recognized in provincial court as a sovereign nation, and diplomatic immunity would not apply. Assistant Crown attorney Mary Anne Mousseau noted several other protesters involved in the same incidents have had charges withdrawn upon completing a court-approved diversion – community service – for their offences. Two other protesters, Leah Henderson, 22, and David Sone, 28, had charges of mischief put over until March 12. Howse said it was the Swains’ fifth appearance in court on the charges and he expected the matter to be dealt with on Monday. Justice McKay told the Swains their options were to plead guilty, plead not guilty and set a date for trial, or arrange to discuss their matters with Kenora Crown attorney Richard Cummine, who is handling their cases. The threesome told the judge they didn’t want to take any of these options. As a result, McKay adjourned their cases to Feb. 26 to set a date for trial in front of Justice Fraser. He also recommended that Cummine attend court that date to deal with the charges. A total of 21 protesters were charged – mainly with mischief – in the two blockades.
by Dan Gauthier
Three Grassy Narrows First Nation women, charged with mischief in connection to a pair of highway blockades last summer, refused to enter pleas to the charges during a brief appearance in Kenora provincial court Monday. Adrienne Swain, 27, Bonnie Swain, 32, and Chrissy Swain, 27, told visiting Justice Thomas McKay, from Fort Frances, they neither had a lawyer, nor were they planning to seek one to deal with the charges. Each is facing two counts of mischief related to the July 13, 2006 roadblock at the Highway 17A Kenora bypass, and the July 26, blockade of the English River Road at the Separation Rapids Bridge. Bonnie Swain told the court she was being represented by Lester John Howse who attended court with the three women, along with approximately 30 supporters seated in the body of the court. Howse, who hails from Rocky Mountain Territory in Western Canada, told Justice McKay the women would not be entering pleas to the charges. He claimed there was no “rule of law” giving the court jurisdiction over the Swains and that it was a criminal act to press charges against them. “The law speaks for itself,” said Howse. “The court has no jurisdiction over these women.” In 2005, Howse himself refused to enter a plea to an assault charge, claiming he had diplomatic immunity as a member of the “Signatory Indians”. However, Kenora Justice Donald Fraser rejected Howse’s claim at the time, reasoning that the Signatory Indians could not be recognized in provincial court as a sovereign nation, and diplomatic immunity would not apply. Assistant Crown attorney Mary Anne Mousseau noted several other protesters involved in the same incidents have had charges withdrawn upon completing a court-approved diversion – community service – for their offences. Two other protesters, Leah Henderson, 22, and David Sone, 28, had charges of mischief put over until March 12. Howse said it was the Swains’ fifth appearance in court on the charges and he expected the matter to be dealt with on Monday. Justice McKay told the Swains their options were to plead guilty, plead not guilty and set a date for trial, or arrange to discuss their matters with Kenora Crown attorney Richard Cummine, who is handling their cases. The threesome told the judge they didn’t want to take any of these options. As a result, McKay adjourned their cases to Feb. 26 to set a date for trial in front of Justice Fraser. He also recommended that Cummine attend court that date to deal with the charges. A total of 21 protesters were charged – mainly with mischief – in the two blockades.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)