BARRIERE LAKE ALGONQUIN ACQUITTED FOR BLOCKADE CHARGES: FORESTRY COMPANY CAUGHT LYING ON THE STAND

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[français ci-dessous]

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

BARRIERE LAKE ALGONQUIN ACQUITTED FOR BLOCKADE CHARGES: FORESTRY COMPANY CAUGHT LYING ON THE STAND

Norman Matchewan at Barriere Lake Day of Action on Dec. 13, 2010 in Ottawa. Photo Credit: Dru Oja Jay

VAL D’Or, QC – On June 5 2012, Norman Matchewan, a youth spokesperson for the First Nation of Mitchikanibiko’inik (the Algonquins of Barriere Lake), was acquitted on what community members alleged all along were politically motivated charges. Matchewan was acquitted of mischief and obstruction of justice stemming from a 2009 blockade protecting his people’s territory from illegal logging.

Matchewan was defending the forest from logging that had been unlawfully authorized by Quebec’s Ministry of Natural Resources. The logging was also a violation of a 1991 resource co-management agreement signed in 1991 between Barriere Lake, Quebec and Canada.

“Too many native peoples are criminalized for defending their land,” said Matchewan following the acquittal, “Today is a big victory for our community. We will not be intimidated by trumped up legal charges and court battles. We will always protect our land and custom for our future generations.”

Yves Paquette of AbitibiBowater, the forestry company behind the cutting, incriminated himself by repeatedly lying during his cross-examination. Paquette claimed that he encountered no police on the site and was not able to enter the site because the logging road was entirely blocked by the cars of the Barriere Lake community members. However, after seeing video evidence that refuted the latter claim, Paquette also admitted to speaking to two intelligence officers from the Sûreté du Québec (SQ).

Vincent Larin, of the Quebec Ministry of Natural Resources, admitted on the stand that logging permits were issued without any consultation by his Ministry of the family groups whose territories were being logged. Moreover, after first claiming that the cutting permits could not be altered once they were electronically signed and entered in the Ministry’s computer system, he presented the Court with a cutting permit that was substantially different than the version that had been disclosed to the defense.

“They got caught in their own lies,” said Matchewan following the trial. “The Crown’s case, in the end, was so weak that we were not even required to present a defense,” said Jared Will, the lawyer representing Matchewan at trial.

Last year, the community of Barriere Lake discovered a copper and nickel exploration project at the heart of the hunting and fishing area of several Barriere Lake families. The mineral claims, named the Rivière Doré property by Cartier Resources, were recently sold to Copper One Inc., based in Montreal. Neither the Quebec government, nor Cartier Resources had met their obligations to obtain the consent of the community before beginning work on the site.

Matchewan was a key voice in the community’s successful struggle to stop the exploration activity by Cartier Resources. Soon after he became active in the anti-mining campaign, he was issued a summons to appear in court for the logging blockade that occurred over two years earlier.

For more information, please contact: Norman Matchewan, (819) 435-2171 or his lawyer, Jared Will, (416) 835 2075.

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POUR DIFFUSION IMMÉDIATE 

UN ALGONQUIN DU LAC BARRIÈRE ACQUITTÉ DES ACCUSATIONS PORTÉES CONTRE LUI SUITE À UNE BARRICADE : LA COMPAGNIE FORESTIÈRE MENT À LA BARRE

Norman Matchewan at Barriere Lake Day of Action on Dec. 13, 2010 in Ottawa. Photo Credit: Mike Barber

Val d’Or, QC – Le 5 juin 2012, Norman Matchewan, porte-parole des jeunes de la Première Nation de Mitchikanibiko’inik (Algonquins du Lac Barrière), a été acquitté d’accusations qualifiées de motivées politiquement par des membres de la communauté. Matchewan a été acquitté de méfaits et d’entrave à la justice suite à une barricade protégeant le territoire de son peuple contre des coupes forestières illégales.

Matchewan défendait la forêt contre des coupes forestières illégalement autorisées par le Ministère des Ressources naturelles et de la Faune du Québec. Les coupes étaient aussi en violation d’un accord de co-gestion des ressources signé en 1991 entre la communauté du Lac Barrière, Québec et Ottawa.

« Trop de Premières Nations sont criminalisés pour avoir défendu leurs terres », a dit Matchewan suite au verdict d’acquittement. « Aujourd’hui est une grande victoire pour notre communauté. Nous ne nous laisserons pas intimider par des accusations légales falsifiées et des batailles juridiques. Nous protègerons notre terre et nos coutumes pour nos prochaines générations. »

Yves Paquette d’AbitibiBowater, la compagnie forestière derrière les coupes, s’est incriminé en mentant à plusieurs reprises pendant son contre-interrogatoire. Paquette soutenait qu’il n’avait rencontré aucun policier sur le site et qu’il n’avait pu y accéder parce que le chemin forestier était entièrement bloqué par les voitures des membres de la communauté du Lac Barrière. Toutefois, après avoir visionné une preuve vidéo qui démentait ses propos, Paquette a aussi admis avoir parlé à deux agents de renseignements de la Sûreté du Québec (SQ).

Vincent Larin, du Ministère des Ressources naturelles et de la Faune, a admis, alors qu’il était à la barre des témoins, que les permis de coupes ont été émis sans aucune consultation de la part du ministère avec les familles dont les territoires étaient soumis aux coupes forestières. De plus, après avoir soutenu que les permis de coupes ne pouvaient être modifiés suite à leurs signatures électroniques et entrés dans le système informatique du Ministère, il a présenté à la Cour un permis de coupes substantiellement différent de la version qui avait été fournie à la défense.

« Ils se sont perdus dans leurs propres mensonges, » a dit Matchewan suite au procès. « Le dossier de la Couronne, à la fin, était si faible que nous n’avons pas eu à présenter de défense, » a dit Jared Will, l’avocat représentant Marchewan.

L’année dernière, la communauté du Lac Barrière a découvert un projet d’exploration de cuivre et de nickel au cœur de l’aire de chasse et de pêche de plusieurs familles du Lac Barrière. Les claims minéraux, nommées la Rivière Doré, propriété de Cartier Ressources, ont récemment été vendus à Copper One Inc., basé à Montréal. Ni le gouvernement du Québec ni Cartier Ressources n’ont respecté leurs obligations d’obtenir le consentement de la communauté avant de commencer à travailler sur le site.

Matchewan était une voix importante de la lutte, couronnée de succès, de la communauté contre les activités d’exploration de Cartier Ressources. Peu après sa participation active à la campagne contre l’exploitation minière, il a reçu plusieurs sommations, c’est-à-dire des ordres de comparaître en cour, en lien avec une barricade à laquelle il avait participé il y a plus de deux ans.

Pour plus d’information, veuillez contacter Norman Matchewan au 819-435-2171 ou son avocat, Jared Will, au 416-835-2075.

Meet & Greet Celebrated award winning Aboriginal stage & film actor, August Schellenberg!

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7-9 p.m. 
Monday, May 21, 2012
Cube Gallery, 1285 Wellington St. W.
Ottawa, Unceded Algonquin Territory

Tickets: $10.00 each or 2/$15.00, available at the door

All proceeds go to support the Algonquins of Barriere Lake!

To invite your friends via Facebook event: https://www.facebook.com/events/307653695980741/

August Schellenberg is in town, during the month of May, for a lead role in the NAC production, King Lear, by William Shakespeare. On May 21, his day off, he will join us at the Cube Gallery as a featured guest, to help raise awareness (and funds) for the Algonquins of Barriere Lake. He is well known for his film roles in Bury My Heart at Wounded Knee; Dreamkeeper; Black Robe; and Free Willy, etc. Other cast members of the play, including Tantoo Cardinal, might join us as well!

Come and enjoy refreshments, screenings of choice film scenes of August Schellenberg’s, his life stories, a Q & A, and more!

We acknowledge the generous contribution of Cube Gallery.

For the NAC production, King Lear: http://www.nac-cna.ca/en/englishtheatre/event/690

About August Schellenberg: http://www.augustschellenberg.com/

About Mitchikanibikok Inik (The Algonquins of Barriere Lake): https://ipsmo.wordpress.com/mitchikanibikok-inik/

The People’s Exhibition of Barrick at Museum of Nature!

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You are invited to the People’s Exhibition of Barrick! 

4:30 pm, Tuesday, April 24 2012
In front of the main entrance of the Canadian Museum of Nature (facing Metcalfe St.)
240 McLeod St. Ottawa, unceded Algonquin Territory

To invite your friends via Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/events/196060743844592/

Barrick Out of The Canadian Museum of Nature!

On Tuesday, April 24, Ottawa’s Museum of Nature will celebrate a new partnership with Barrick Gold Corporation with the unveiling of the “Barrick Salon”. Barrick Gold is a Canadian mining company based in Toronto with horrendous records of environmental destruction, and human, labor and Indigenous rights violations around the world, including but not limiting to Chile, Argentina, Peru, Tanzania and Papua New Guinea.

This newly established public-private partnership between the Canadian Museum of Nature and Barrick Gold Corporation is fundamentally unacceptable! Because it contradicts the museum’s most important corporate value – “Respect for People and Nature”.

Please come and join us outside of the museum as we present the “People’s Exhibition of Barrick”, showcasing Barrick’s destructive mines around the world

We will be joined by Barrick-impacted community members and special guests to share knowledge about the impacts of this dangerous partnership:

  • The Diaguita Huascoaltinos Indigenous and Agricultural Community, impacted by Barrick Gold’s binational Pascua Lama project on the border of Chile and Argentina,
  • The Archuar Indigenous Community of the northern Peruvian Amazon,
  • Catherine Coumans of Mining Watch Canada, and
  • Sakura Saunders, the editor for Protestbarrick.net

For more information about Barrick Gold and the communities impacted by Barrick’s operation: Protestbarrick.net.

This public-private partnership is offensive, we want Barrick Out of The Canadian Museum of Nature!

WHO IS BARRICK GOLD?

Barrick Gold is the world’s largest gold mining company, founded and chaired by Peter Munk. With a former Prime Minister on their board and former executives sitting on the board of the Canadian Pension Plan, Barrick enjoys government funding and diplomatic support.

WHY PROTEST BARRICK?

In countries like Australia, Chile, Papua New Guinea and Tanzania, Barrick takes advantage of inadequate and poorly enforced regulatory controls to rob indigenous peoples of their lands, destroy sensitive ecosystems and agricultural land, support brutal police and security operations, and sue anyone who tries to report on it. In the context of this libel chill, Barrick has branded itself as the socially responsible mining giant and boasts its listing on the Dow Jones Sustainability Index.

Behind the scenes, Barrick has been singled out as the company most involved in the lobbying effort to stop private member’s bill C-300.

Source: Protestbarrick.net.

Protest: Barrick Gold AGM 2011

Pillage and profit, from the Amazon to Ardoch

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Pillage and profit, from the Amazon to Ardoch: An evening of film, music, and discussion about the exploitation of Indigenous peoples’ lands by Canadian companies

Click the image to download the Issue Brief: The Achuar and Talisman Energy prepared by Amazon Watch

Monday April 23, 2012 
5:30 to 7:30 pm

Auditorium of the Ottawa Public Library, Main Branch
120 Metcalfe St. (at Laurier)
Ottawa, unceded Algonquin Territory 

Join us for an evening of discussion with Indigenous peoples resisting the exploitation of their lands by Canadian oil and mining companies.

To invite your friends via facebook: https://www.facebook.com/events/210214175756207/

The event will be opened with a Blessing by Algonquin Elder Albert Dumont. There will be a screening of the award-winning documentary “Chumpi & the Waterfall”. This film explores the way of life of an Achuar community in the Peruvian Amazon – a way of life that’s under threat by Canadian oil company Talisman Energy’s plans to drill oil in their hunting and fishing grounds.

“I have told the CEO of Talisman, John Manzoni, that the Achuar people do not want oil operations in our ancestral territory, but Talisman refuses to respect our right to live in peace and harmony,” says Achuar leader Peas Peas Ayui.

The film will be followed by a panel discussion with:

Peas Peas Ayui, Lucas Irar Miik, Lucas Chayat Ayui, and Puwaanch Kintui Antich, leaders from Achuar communities in the Amazon rainforest

Gregor MacLennan, Peru Program Coordinator for Amazon Watch

Mireille Lapointe, former chief of the Ardoch Algonquin First Nation, who have resisted uranium mining on their land

Marcelo Saavedra-Vargas, of the Quechua-Aymara nation and professor of Aboriginal studies at the University of Ottawa

Musical performances by Three Little Birds, and by Julie Comber, Ógui, & Josh Myles.

Admission is free; donations to support the Achuar community will be accepted.

This event is hosted by Amazon Watch, Indigenous Peoples Solidarity Movement Ottawa, and the Indigenous and Canadian Studies Students Association of the University of Ottawa.

Can’t make it to the event? Please visit https://www.achuarmovie.org to:

  • learn more about the Achuar
  • Sign a petition demanding that Talisman Energy halt oil exploration in Achuar territory
  • Donate to support the Achuar’s cause

“Leave us in peace. We want to live free, breathe pure air. The Creator made this land here so we could live peacefully.”
Pitiur Unti Saant, Achuar elder and leader

Achuar v. Talisman Energy: The struggle continues

Cancelled!!! All Violence against Earth is Violence to Women, How We must Look at the Past to Restore Our Future, a teach-in with a Celebrated Indigenous Woman, Lee Maracle!

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This event is cancelled. 

We are so sorry for this cancellation but both Lee and Claudette are sick so we have to cancel it and hopefully we’ll organize another one in the future.

Thanks.

 

All Violence against Earth is Violence to Women,  
How We must Look at the Past to Restore Our Future, a teach-in with a Celebrated Indigenous Woman, Lee Maracle! 

source: http://wordstock.ca/2011/off-the-page-gala

Woman is the reflection of the Earth. – Grandmother Isabelle Meawasige

7pm – 9pm
Thursday, April 26, 2012
PSAC boardroom, 233 Gilmour St. Ottawa Unceded Algonquin Territory

MC: Michael Desautels, Metis & PSAC Aboriginal Program Officer

Opening by Claudette Commanda, Algonquin Nation

Drumming by Nancy Myatt

Followed by a circle response, discussion and poetry / spoken word performance by Vera Wabegijig, David Groulx and Angle Nsenga!

Admission: pay what you can ($5 suggested donation to cover the costs of this event).

To invite your friends vis facebook: https://www.facebook.com/events/209333109176706/

As a part of our Honouring Indigenous Women campaign, we are inviting you to join us in a short lecture with Lee Maracle, a highly respected woman from the Stoh:lo Nation and acclaimed author, poet, educator, storyteller and performing artist.

Last summer, we were very honoured to have Lee contribute a short piece of her writing to our Honouring Indigenous Women: Hearts of Nations Vol. 1 booklet. This Spring, we are very excited and feel so privileged again that Lee is coming to Ottawa to talk to us about a very important connection. A connection that cannot be missed, oversighted or disregarded. Because our survival and our freedom depend on it:

There is a direct connection between violence against earth and violence against women.

Please click on the image to download the poster.

Then there is another connection Lee wants us to pay attention to:

There is also a connection between the past and our future; a relationship that allows us to turn around, to heal ourselves and our communities.

Are you intrigued?

Come and join us on April 26th at 233 Gilmour St. in Ottawa, Algonquin Territory! We promise it’s going to be a fascinating evening that will transform your heart, mind and spirit!

This event is brought to you by Indigenous Peoples Solidarity Movement Ottawa – www.ipsmo.org

A little be more about Lee Maracle:

Lee is currently the Aboriginal Writer-in-Residence for First Nations House, and an instructor in the Aboriginal Studies Dept. at University of Toronto. She is one of the founders of the En’owkin International School of Writing in Penticton, BC, and Cultural Director of the Centre for Indigenous Theatre in Toronto. She mentors young people on personal and cultural healing and reclamation. (CBC, 8th Fire)

Books by Lee Maracle

Source: http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/505644.I_Am_Woman
  • Bobbi Lee: Indian Rebel – 1975 (revised 1990)
  • Sojourner’s Truth and Other Stories – 1990
  • Oratory: Coming to Theory – 1990
  • Sundogs – 1991
  • Ravensong – (Press Gang Publishers)1993
  • I am Woman: A Native Perspective on Sociology and Feminism – 1988; Press Gang Publishers 1996
  • Daughters are Forever – 2002
  • Will’s Garden – 2002
  • First Wives Club: Coast Salish Style – (Theytus Books Publishing) 2010

“Embodied in my truth is the brilliance of hundreds of Native women who faced the worst that CanAmerica had to offer and dealt with it. Embodied in my brilliance is the great sea of knowledge that it took to overcome the paralysis of the colonized mind. I did not come to this clearing alone. Hundreds walked alongside me – Black, Asian and Native women whose tide of knowledge was bestowed upon me are the key to every CanAmerican’s emancipation.”

– Lee Maracle in I am Woman: A Native Perspective on Sociology and Feminism

Lee Maracle speaking at May Day Assembly 2011

The Silence is Broken, But the Violence Continues: Now What? event at the Native Canadian Centre in Toronto on July 20, 2011

The Silence is Broken, But the Violence Continues: Now What? Part II event at the Native Women’s Resource Centre in Toronto on November 24, 2011

All dis-empowered people seek empowerment. Patriarchy defines empowerment as the equivalent of power – over someone. This is the unifying philosophy that binds racism and sexism together. Power over the natural world, power over people, power over the seas, the air, time itself. Empowerment is the personal quest for oneness with nature, oneness with people, the seas, the skies, and time. The quest for power dis-empowers the very people who need to be empowered in order to alter the course of our story. 

– Lee Maracle (Racism, Sexism and Patriarchy in Returning the Gaze Essays on Racism, Feminism and Politics: p.129)


HONOURING INDIGENOUS WOMEN VOLUME 2 CALL FOR SUBMISSIONS

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For Vol. 1, please see Honouring Indigenous Women: Hearts of Nations – Vol. 1 

As part of IPSMO’s Honouring Indigenous Women campaign, we aim to make space to actively listen to Indigenous women’s voices as well as to critically reflect our relations to colonialism. For these reasons, we are inviting you to tell us your stories through photography, graphics, art work, cartoon, poetry, and short writing.

We are inviting Native women from all nations – First Nations, Métis and Inuit – to tell us your stories about:

  • Your life experience as Native woman;
  • Your resistance to negative definitions of being;
  • Your actions to reclaim your traditions;
  • How you construct a positive identity by translating tradition into the contemporary context;
  • How you act on that identity in a way that nourishes the overall well-being of your communities; or
  • What being a Native woman means to you.

Those topics above are borrowed from and inspired by Kim Anderson’s book Recognition of Being, Reconstructing Native Womanhood (Anderson 2000: p.15).

We are also inviting non-Indigenous women, as well as both Indigenous and non-Indigenous men and Two-Spirit peoples to tell us about your relations to colonialism and your responsibilities to (re)build relationship with Indigenous women.

Submission Guideline:

  • Please limit your submission to one page (feel free to send us more than one submission however.)
  • Please include a short autobiography. If you are Indigenous, please also include your nation and community. Your name can be a name in your chosen language or a pen name, it’s up to you!
  • For non-written submission, please send us your work in the highest resolution possible.

Deadline for submission:

June 30, 2012

Our Principles:

It is our understanding that Indigenous women, as givers of life and carriers of their cultures, were highly respected in their communities. The prevalent and various forms of violence experienced by Indigenous women are the outcomes of colonization. Its ultimate objective is to facilitate the existing capitalist, patriarchal and racist system within which we live in today. The destruction of Indigenous communities and by extension, their lands, is only possible through deprivation of the power and violation of the physical, emotional, mental and spiritual well-being of Indigenous women.

Furthermore, it has been said by many Indigenous activists and scholars that reclaiming the roles and responsibilities of women (as well as men) in their community is integral to reclaiming self-determination of their people and nationhood.

As non-Indigenous peoples who have participated or been complicit in the past and present colonization of Native peoples and their lands, it is paramount for us to support the work of Indigenous peoples in this regard. The survival of our species is interconnected with the healthy existence of Indigenous women because of their special relationship with the Earth.

The 2nd volume of Honouring Indigenous Women’s booklet is the continuation of our solidarity efforts not only to broaden our (i.e. all peoples) understanding of the struggle of Indigenous women and their importance to our existence, but also to explore our responsibilities as non-Indigenous women in our own decolonization and self-determination process and take actions accordingly.

Our goals are consistent with those of the Vol. 1 – we strive to break the silence on the systemic violence experienced by Indigenous women and the racial stereotypes that have been perpetrated and perpetuated by colonialism. We aim at (re)building relationships with Indigenous women.

Contact Us:

To send us your submission or ask us any questions, please e-mail: ipsmo@riseup.net. Please indicate: Honouring Indigenous Women in the subject line.

Thank YOU!!

Honouring Indigenous Women Campaign Launch Party!

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The Indigenous Peoples Solidarity Movement Ottawa (IPSMO) is inviting you to the launch of its Honouring Indigenous Women Campaign and its Honouring Indigenous Women: Hearts of Nations – Vol. 1 booklet!

Click to download the poster and spread the word!

7 – 9 PM. Monday, March 19, 2012
Arts Court Studio, 2 Daly Ave. Ottawa
Unceded Algonquin Territory

Join us for a night of poetry, drumming and more, in celebration of the Power of Indigenous Women and their Special Relationship to Water!

To invite your friends via Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/events/320011758055132/

MC: Cindy Gaudet (Métis)

Opening ceremony and women’s teaching by Verna McGregor (Algonquin) and Elaine Kicknosway (Swampy Cree from Northern Saskatchewan)

Featuring …..

Ruby Arnga-naaq (Inuit)
Earth Mothers women drumming group
Water teaching by Grandmother Francine Payer
Vera Wabegijig (Ojibwe),
Suzanne Keeptwo (Métis – Algonquin/French & Irish descent),
Jaime Koebel (Métis),
David Groulx (Ojibwe/Métis)

* There will be items made by Indigenous peoples for sale at this event.

About our campaign:

Our Honouring Indigenous Women Campaign aims at raising awareness on and putting an end to the violence perpetrated against Indigenous women. As a group mostly composed of non-Indigenous peoples who have participated or been complicit in the past and present colonization of Native peoples and lands, it is of utmost importance for us to support the work of Indigenous peoples in this regard. This campaign is an act of solidarity, and aims at supporting existing efforts from Indigenous women. As such, we are hoping to mobilize over 500 people to take part in the annual Families of Sisters in Spirit Vigil organized in Ottawa on October 4th.

This campaign also aims at understanding the links between violence against Indigenous women, colonialism, land and Indigenous Sovereignty. We echo the demands for equity, justice, and decolonization formulated by Indigenous women whom we have tremendous respect for.

We support self-determination of Indigenous peoples and work towards creating and maintaining respectful relationships with the First peoples of this land.

The campaign would not be as strong without the publication of the Honouring Indigenous Women: Hearts of Nation-Vol. 1 . The booklet, composed of five sections – Struggle, Resistance, Power, Liberation, and Be Solidarity, gives to Indigenous women their due space to express their lived realities through various art forms. Through this publication, we strive to augment the voices of Indigenous women in their many efforts to break the silence surrounding the systemic violence perpetuated by colonialism. It is, for us, a concrete and creative form of solidarity.

As a wise woman told us, we cannot achieve the ethic of respect by formulating demands, we will clearly state our hopes and expectations for this campaign and beyond, as well as announce our upcoming projects at our March 19th event. Stay tune!

To download Honouring Indigenous Women: Hearts of Nation-Vol. 1:  https://ipsmo.wordpress.com/honouring-indigenous-women/

Understanding violence against Indigenous women:

Potluck Feast & Fundraiser! In Celebration of Algonquin Resistance to Assimilation

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SRPEAD THE WORD!

Potluck Feast and Fundraiser!
In Celebration of Algonquin Resistance to Assimilation 

A dinner with a talk by Michel Thusky, a community spokesperson from the Algonquin Community of Barriere Lake and musical performance by Three Little Birds.

photo credit: Mike Barber

6:00 to 9:00 pm
Thursday, March 1, 2012
PSAC, J.K. Wyllie Boardroom, 233 Gilmour St., Ottawa, Unceded Algonquin Territory

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/events/284074431660322/

Come share a meal and help support the long-standing resistance of Mitchikanibikok Inik, the Algonquins of Barriere Lake, to forced assimilation and extinction. This event is a fundraiser to help cover the community’s legal costs incurred in a costly court battle they’ve been forced into by the Canadian government.

Michel Thusky, a spokesperson from the Algonquin community of Barriere Lake, will talk about community identity in the context of his people’s struggle to defend their land, their way of life, and their traditional governance system against attacks by the colonial governments of Quebec and Canada.

Please bring either a dish to share, or a suggested minimum donation of $5 to 20 to ensure the costs of this event are covered. Some extra food will be prepared to make sure there is enough to feed everyone.

All proceeds after costs are covered, will go to the Barriere Lake Legal Defense Fund.

Download the poster and spread the word!

The event location is wheelchair-accessible.

For more information about the Mitchikanibikok Inik community and their current legal action, please see:
http://www.barrierelakesolidarity.org/, https://ipsmo.wordpress.com/mitchikanibikok-inik/

For musical performance by Three Little Birds:
www.threelittlebirdstheband.com, http://www.myspace.com/threelittlebirdstheband

* This event is part of Barriere Lake Speaking Tour in Ontario and Quebec in March 2012: Ottawa (March 1), Waterloo (March 3), Toronto (March 5) and Montreal (Date: TBD)

Algonquin Resistance to Assimilation: Barriere Lake Speaks in Toronto
7:00pm – 9:00pm
Tuesday, March 6, 2012
Beit Zatoun, 612 Markham St., Toronto

Snacks and refreshments will be available at the event.

For a good background video on Section 74 and the Barriere Lake struggle, see this short 4-minute film:

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Occupy Talks: Indigenous Perspectives on the Occupy Movement

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Repost:

Occupy Talks took place in Toronto, at Beit Zatoun, on January, 23rd, 2012.  It was sponsored by the Canadian Auto Workers, Canadian Labour Congress, CAW-Sam Gindin Chair in Social Justice and Democracy Ryerson University, Environmental Justice Toronto.

Description of the event:

What does it mean to ‘Occupy already occupied lands?’. How does Occupy relate to 500 years of resistance on Turtle Island? Please join speakers Tom B.K. Goldtooth, Clayton Thomas-Muller and Leanne Simpson with MC Tannis Nielson to explore and discuss these dynamics of the Occupy movement.

Below are videos of speakers at the event.

Leanne Betasamosake Simpson: 

“And so I say to you today, that if you wish to align yourselves with the disposed and the marginalized, reject the language and ideology of colonialism, conquest and exploitation. As my colleague Waziyatawin told Occupy Oakland “distinguish yourselves from the builders and players of Wall Street”. Place decolonization at the centre of your movement and abandon the language of occupation. And if you want to be really brave and radical, place the concerns and the issues of Indigenous women at the centre of your de-occupation.” – Leanne Betasamosake Simpson

Leanne Betasamosake Simpson is a writer, activist, and scholar of Michi Saagiik Nishnaabeg ancestry and is a band member of Alderville First Nation. She holds a Ph.D. from the University of Manitoba, is an Adjunct Professor in Indigenous Studies at Trent University and an instructor at the Centre for World Indigenous Knowledge, Athabasca University. She has also lectured at Ryerson University, the University of Victoria, the University of Manitoba, and the University of Winnipeg. Leanne has worked with Indigenous communities and organizations across Canada and internationally over the past 15 years on environmental, governance and political issues. She has published three edited volumes including Lighting the Eighth Fire: The Liberation, Resurgence and Protection of Indigenous Nations (2008, Arbeiter Ring), and This is An Honour Song: Twenty Years Since the Barricades (with Kiera Ladner, 2010, Arbeiter Ring). Leanne has published over thirty scholarly articles and raised over one million dollars for community-based research projects over her career. She has written fiction and non-fiction pieces for Now Magazine, Spirit Magazine, the Globe and Mail, Anishinabek News, the Link, and Canadian Art Magazine.

Leanne Betasamosake Simpson’s web site – http://leannesimpson.ca/

Clayton Thomas-Muller:

Clayton Thomas-Muller, of the Mathias Colomb Cree Nation also known as Pukatawagan in Northern Manitoba, Canada, is an activist for Indigenous rights and environmental justice. With his roots in the inner city of Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada, Clayton began his work as a community organizer, working with Aboriginal youth. Over the years Clayton’s work has taken him to five continents across our Mother Earth. Based out of Ottawa, Ontario, Canada, Clayton is involved in many initiatives to support the building of an inclusive movement for energy and climate justice. He serves on the board of the Global Justice Ecology Project and Canadian based Raven Trust. Recognized by Utne Magazine as one of the top 30 under 30 activists in the United States and as a “Climate Hero 2009” by Yes Magazine, Clayton is the Tar Sands Campaign Director for the Indigenous Environmental Network. He works across Canada, Alaska and the lower 48 states with grassroots indigenous communities to defend against the sprawling infrastructure that includes pipelines, refineries and extraction associated with the tar sands, the largest and most destructive industrial project in the history of mankind.

Tom B.K. Goldtooth:

Tom B.K. Goldtooth is the Executive Director of the Indigenous Environmental Network (IEN), headquartered at Bemidji, Minnesota. A social change activist within the Native American community for over 30 years, he has become an environmental and economic justice leader, locally, regionally, nationally and internationally. Tom co-produced an award winning documentary film, Drumbeat For Mother Earth, which addresses the affects of bio-accumulative chemicals on indigenous peoples, and is active with many environmental and social justice organizations besides IEN. Tom is a policy advisor on environmental protection, climate mitigation, and adaptation. Tom co-authored the REDD Booklet on the risks of REDD within indigenous territories and a member of the International Indigenous Peoples Forum on Climate Change — the indigenous caucus within the UNFCCC.

Be a Witness to a historical event – the Federal Court Appeal on the First Nations Human Rights case

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The appeal is open to the public and the First Nations Child and Family Caring Society urges as many people as possible to learn more and take part in this historic event.

Feb. 13 – 15 th, 2012
9:30 am ~ 4:30 pm (10:30, 2:30 coffee break & noon-1pm lunch break)
Supreme Court of Canada 
301 Wellington St. Ottawa on unceded Algonquin Territory

The legal councils of Assembly of First Nations, First Nations Child and Family Caring Society, Canadian Human Rights Commission, Chiefs of Ontario, Amnesty International and Canada will present their arguments throughout these 3 days.

Be there to listen what they have to say!

Tentative schedule:

Day 1 – Canadian Human Rights Commission, The First Nations Child and Family Caring Society, and The Chiefs of Ontario
Day 2 – The Chiefs of Ontario, Amnesty International, The Aseembly of First Nations, and Attorney General
Day 3 – Replies: Commission / Caring Society / AFN

For a summary of the legal arguments of each party to this Federal Court Appeal: http://www.fncfcs.com/sites/default/files/fnwitness/witness-factum-summary.pdf

Please fill the doodle below and let us know when you plan to attend the hearing. This will help us keep track of the number of supporters. There is room for only 75 observers in the Federal Court room , however, an overflow room is also planned. The goal is to fill the court-room for both the morning and afternoon sessions of all three days.

http://www.doodle.com/m4t5a4b6kmvzpyha

If you are signing up as individuals who have no preference for either the morning or the afternoon, please consider coming for the afternoon sessions as we would like to give preference to teachers/professors and their students for the morning.

For details about this historical human rights case: www.fnwitness.ca