Supporting Indigenous Peoples' struggles for sovereignty and justice
Michel Thusky and Jacob Wawatie speaking at the event Oct 10, 2012 at the Odawa Native Friendship Centre, Ottawa on unceded Algonquin territory.
Event hosted by: Canadian Union of Public Employees (CUPE), Public Service Alliance of Canada (PSAC), Indigenous Peoples Solidarity Movement of Ottawa (IPSMO), MiningWatch Canada and the Friends Service Committee of Ottawa.
Gathering Knowledge Community Symposium
October 27, 2012 9am – 5pm
St. James Major Catholic Church Hall
Road 38 – Sharbot Lake, Ontario
Hosted by Ardoch Algonquin First Nation
Keynote Speaker– Bonita Lawrence
Author of : Fractured Homeland – Federal Recognition and Algonquin Identity in Ontario
Books will be available for purchase
Programme Details:
9:00am Welcome – Mireille LaPointe, Robert Lovelace and Opening prayer by Elder Irene Lindsay
9:20am Panel 1: Setting the Stage for Community Well-being
10:45pm Break
11:00 – Tom Pawlick, Author of The War in the Country – How the Fight to Save Rural Life Will Shape our Future
12:00 Lunch
1:00 pm – Keynote Speaker: Bonita Lawrence, Author of Fractured Homeland – Federal Recognition and Algonquin Identity in Ontario.
2:00pm Break
2:15pm Panel 2: Certain Futures
3:45pm Closing Comments and Closing Prayer
A different Canada… begins with respect, relationships and openness to change.
Join us Friday evening, October 19th and all day Saturday, October 20th to learn more about Indigenous peoples’ perspectives on education and how to build respectful, positive and lasting partnerships.
Covenant Chain Link III will include movie screenings on Friday evening, guest speakers, panel discussions, workshops, spoken word performances, displays, resources, networking opportunities and more!
Guest speakers include:
Where: Bronson Centre, Mac Hall, 211 Bronson Avenue, Ottawa
When: On October 19th (registration at 6:15 pm) & October 20th (registration at 8:30 am)
For more information: Contact Ed Bianchi ebianchi@kairoscanada.org / 613-235-9956 ext. 221 / http://www.kairoscanada.org
To register – only $45: http://www.surveymonkey.com/s/covenantchainlink
This event is co-sponsored by: KAIROS Canada, Legacy of Hope, Ottawa Catholic School Board, Presbyterian Church in Canada, Project of Heart, Truth and Reconciliation Commission of Canada, United Church of Canada
~~ SCHEDULE ~~
FRIDAY EVENING
SATURDAY
The Families of Sisters in Spirit National Vigil is Thursday October 4th, 6:15pm, on Parliament Hill (Unceded Algonquin Territory).
In Canada, Indigenous women are at a greater risk of violence than non-Indigenous women. Families of Sisters in Spirit (FSIS) is a volunteer, grassroots, non-profit organization led by families of missing and murdered Indigenous women and girls.
This annual event is an opportunity for everyone to show that the epidemic of violence against Indigenous women is unacceptable and must stop. We want to Fill the Hill to show Indigenous women are loved and valued!
What you can do:
Meegwetch! (Thank You!),
Families of Sisters in Spirit
– email us at: familiesofsistersinspirit@gmail.com
– connect with us on Facebook through the Families of Sisters in Spirit page
PS – If you cannot join us for the Vigil in Ottawa, please note there will be 111 Vigils across Canada, find or start one near you! www.nwac.ca/programs/2012-vigil-locations
PPS -The 34th annual Take Back the Night March will leave from the Hill immediately after the Vigil at approx. 7:30 pm.
Families of Sisters in Spirit National Vigil – 6:15 PM, Parliament Hill:
Drumming ~
Families ♥
~~~~
Interview with Bridget Tolley and Kristen Gilchrist of Families of Sisters in Spirit:
~~~~
A Brief History of the Marginalization of Aboriginal Women in Canada: http://indigenousfoundations.arts.ubc.ca/home/community-politics/marginalization-of-aboriginal-women.html
October 10, 2012 6 to 8 pm
Odawa Native Friendship Centre, 12 Stirling Ave. Ottawa Unceded Algonquin Territory
With Michel Thusky (Elder) and Norman Matchewan (Councilor and Youth Spokesperson)
and Music by David and Aurora Finkle and Andy Mason.
A light meal will be shared.
Sliding scale suggested donation $10 – $20
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/events/109267862562163/
“I am a survivor of a residential school. I don’t want that kind of life experience for my children. I want my grandchildren to have a face and a mouth that they will be proud of, not an empty face. I want them to have an identity. This is what we are fighting for.”
– Michel Thusky (from CounterPunch: Sustainable Colonialism® in the Boreal Forest)
Just a few hours up the Gatineau River from Ottawa is the Algonquin Community of Barriere Lake. Access to the forests lakes and rivers of their territory is a vital to this Algonquin community’s identity and for generations they have fought to protect it from destructive resource projects, while also finding ways to co-exist with Quebec and Canadian society. Though there have been many challenges, the language and traditions in Barriere Lake remain strong.
In 1991 the community signed a landmark and historic agreement with Canada and Quebec that should have created a process for co-management of their territory and modest revenue sharing with the community. As with many other agreements made with Indigenous peoples in Canada, Barriere Lake’s tri-lateral agreement has not been respected.
This summer, Resolute Forest Products, a logging company based in Montreal, has been clear cutting in an environmentally and culturally important area of the Barriere Lake’s territory without consultation and consent of the community. After 3 weeks of protest against the clear-cutting the community is going to court to assert their rights and jurisdiction to protect their land. They are asking for your moral and financial support! It is a difficult situation for the community since they have few financial resources.
“You know, this land is important to us, especially the people who harvest off this territory. Because right now they’re destroying a huge moose habitat, bear dens, sacred sites. They don’t care about the stuff that is out there, our medicine. And when the land is destroyed, we’re destroyed.
– Norman Matchewan (from Dominon Paper Issue #84: September/October 2012)
For background information about the Algonquins of Barriere Lake: http://www.barrierelakesolidarity.org/2008/03/resources.html and https://ipsmo.wordpress.com/barriere-lake-posts/.
SPONSORED BY: Canadian Union of Public Employees, Public Service Alliance of Canada, Indigenous People’s Solidarity Movement of Ottawa, MiningWatch Canada and the Friends Service Committee of Ottawa.
More info contact Ramsey Hart, ramsey@miningwatch.ca / 613-298-4745.
After Lee Maracle’s inspiring lecture on the direct connection between violence against the Earth and violence against Women, all of the participants were grouped into four small talking circles led by Claudette Commanda (East), Lee Maracle (West), Leanne Simpson (North) and Moe Clark (South). In each circle, we talked about our own response to Lee’s lecture, as well as how we can reconnect to the land.
Below are each circle’s report-back and their notes.
Please feel free to tell us (by leaving us your comments at the end of this page) your thoughts on Lee’s lecture and what you are doing, or will be doing, to maintain or rebuild your connection to the Earth.
Thanks Josee for filming!
Chi Miigwetch!
Circle Response Report Back – East
Circle Response Report Back – West
Circle Response Report Back – Giiwedinong/North
Notes:
Circle Response Report Back – South
Notes:
Discussion question: How Can We Be Caretakers for this Land?
Are you interested in becoming involved with IPSMO, the Indigenous Peoples
Solidarity Movement Ottawa?
Come to one of our two upcoming Orientation Sessions, where you will learn
about what we do, how we operate, and how you might be able to be a part.
Either:
Monday Sept 17, 3-5pm
at Carleton University
GSA boardroom, Graduate Students Association, 600 Unicentre bldg
OR
Thursday Sept 20, 7-9pm
at Jack Purcell Community Centre
320 Jack Purcell Place, near corner of Elgin and Gilmour
The Indigenous Peoples’ Solidarity Movement of Ottawa (IPSMO) is a grassroots community organization that is committed to supporting indigenous struggles for justice, decolonization and self-determination.
We started organizing in 2006 in support of the Caledonia land reclamation, and are currently most active in supporting the Barriere Lake Algonquin, and working to end violence against indigenous women and girls.
We are holding two orientation sessions for people who are or think they might be interested in organizing with us in support of indigenous resistance.
Canadian Mining and Indigenous Self-Determination:
Perspectives from Panama and Ontario
Tuesday September 25th, 7pm to 9:30pm
University of Ottawa, Desmarais Building, Room 1110
55 Laurier Ave E.
Celestino Mariano Gallardo Gallardo is Chief of the Nidrini region of the indigenous Ngäbe-Buglé comarca, or special admininstrative area, in Panama. In 2011, in the wake of violent repression and after years of struggle, the Ngäbe-Buglé won a law to protect their comarca and Cerro Colorado in Western Panama from mining development. Celestino will talk about their struggle and Canadian industry involvement as a catalyst of conflict.
Robert Lovelace is an adjunct lecturer at Queen’s University in the Department of Global Development Studies, an activist in anti-colonial struggles and a retired chief of the Ardoch Algonquin First Nation. He lives in the Algonquin highlands at Eel Lake in the traditional Ardoch territory, has travelled to Ecuador and Bolivia, and speaks widely about the impacts of Canadian mining on Indigenous peoples.
Event presented by MiningWatch Canada, Territorio Libre, the Indigenous Peoples Solidarity Movement Ottawa (IPSMO) and the Latin American Law Students Association (LALSA) and the School of Political Studies at the University of Ottawa
“If you provide time, space, safety, and consistency, whoever your participants are, be they young or old, they will move into expressing authentic self. Once you can do that you can express stories about yourselves and about others.” (Columpa Bobb, Artistic Director, Aboriginal Arts Training and Mentorship Program)
An open appeal to everyone I know
There is a program in Winnipeg, Manitoba called the Aboriginal Arts Training and Mentorship Program [AAMTP] that serves the most underprivileged demographic in Winnipeg – Aboriginal children. I have witnessed AAMTP’s work with these children. Under the direction of Columpa Bobb, Artistic Director, they alongside veteran writers developed the play for the Truth and Reconciliation Commission Launch in Winnipeg, Manitoba. [for a clip from the Moving Gallery follow this link: http://www.cbc.ca/manitoba/scene/other/2012/05/31/columpa-c-bob/.] At AATMP these young children acquire writing skills, performance arts skills, video and film making skills and are transformed from being underprivileged victims into children and youth who are confident and powerful good citizens. Unlike many programs for children, this one is free. The children of the North End in Winnipeg cannot afford tuition or even bus fares. Cultural Connection for Aboriginal Youth funds about half the cost of the program. These funds connected to Cultural Connection for Aboriginal Youth are in jeopardy. This means Aboriginal Arts Training and Mentorship is at risk of closing its doors, unless we can raise enough bridge funding. Manitoba Theatre for Young People cannot bridge the gap while the funds are up in the air. [For CBC interview with Columpa Bobb regarding the freeze, follow this link: http://www.cbc.ca/player/radio/local+shows/manitoba/information+radio+MB/ID/2255434978/?sort=mostRecent]
Desperate for their program two of the children tried to help save it: “There was a beautiful little moment when two young girls from a grade 5 and 6 class held a little bake sale and raised $130.00 to try and save their program.” [Columpa Bobb, Artistic Director, AATMP] If our kids can do that, surely we can do something too.
I know some people. Some of you are close friends, some are family, some are colleagues, some I barely know, some have money, most don’t, but all of you have heart and so I am asking each of you to send $25.00 to Aboriginal Arts Training and Mentorship Program and send this appeal to two friends to keep the doors to the program open in the fall. I want my readership, those who have told me “they feel so inspired, empowered by my work”, to contribute as well. Our children need the empowerment and inspiration of Aboriginal Arts Training and Mentoring Program. Please send a note of well-wishing for our children to Columpa C. Bobb, Artistic Director, and send your cheque or money order to:
Aboriginal Arts Training and Mentorship Program
195 Young St.
Winnipeg, MB
R3C 3S8
Lee Maracle
Lee Maracle is a writer, activist and performer from the Stó:lō nation located in the area now known as British Columbia. She is currently the Aboriginal Writer-in-Residence for First Nations House, and an instructor in the Aboriginal Studies Department at the University of Toronto. Lee 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. (from CBC 8th Fire)
For more info about Lee Maracle and her books: http://www.goodreads.com/author/show/70695.Lee_Maracle
About the Aboriginal Arts Training and Mentorship Program: http://www.mtyp.ca/aboriginal-arts.cfm
Original Appeal Letter by Lee Maracle:
Thanks to the resistance and determination of the Algonquins of Barriere Lake, the thousand people who sent online letters and the 200 who joined last week’s powerful Montreal demonstration outside the offices of Resolute Forest Products and Premier Jean Charest, the Quebec government and forestry company have been forced to make a significant concession. They have agreed to respect an aspect of the Trilateral agreement by harmonizing logging with Barriere Lake’s use of their lands, which is an important step forward in the community’s struggle to protect their land rights and the environment.
After the protest in Montreal a week and a half ago, and after a number of successful stoppages of the forestry operations by Algonquins camped out for two weeks, the Quebec Ministry of Natural Resources sat down for negotiations with community representatives. What was agreed to is a precarious but important step in the community’s long struggle to pressure the Quebec and Canadian governments to honour their landmark Trilateral Agreement.
The logging that had been happening on Barriere Lake’s land was illegal because Quebec has refused to implement the Trilateral Agreement, without which no forestry operations should be happening. The agreement is intended to create a sustainable model of forestry in which Barriere Lake jointly manages 10,000 square kilometres of their traditional territory with the province. The agreement is a model for First Nations fighting to protect their land rights.
Forest Resolute Products had refused to respect a process of consultation and accommodation that is part of the Trilateral Agreement – called “measures to harmonize.” Forestry companies who want to operate on Barriere Lake’s land must not compromise the way that the Algonquins’ use the land – meaning logging is not allowed to
happen where the community has hunting cabins, in areas of moose and bear habitat, sacred areas, medicinal sites and many other areas of concern to the community.
Because of community’s direct action and public pressure, the Quebec government and Resolute Forest Products have now agreed to comply by the “measures to harmonize”!
NEXT STEPS
Barriere Lake needs its supporters to remain vigilant to ensure Resolute Forest Products respects the “measures to harmonize.”
Even more importantly, we need to continue building pressure on the Quebec and Canadian governments to finally implement the Trilateral and Bilateral Agreements. The Charest government has been so brazen in its disregard for the law and its contempt for Barriere Lake that it has refused to honour the binding outcomes of negotiations conducted by two former Liberal Cabinet Ministers! In 2006, a negotiator for the Quebec, John Ciaccia, and a negotiator for Barriere Lake, Clifford Lincoln, issued the recommendation that the agreement be implemented. Quebec does not want to implement this agreement because it sets precedents in giving Indigenous peoples control over developments on their territories.
MEDIA COVERAGE OF PROTESTS: https://ipsmo.wordpress.com/2012/07/11/coverage-abl-logging-protest/
Indigenous Peoples Solidarity Movement Ottawa 