Sunday, August 29, 2010

 


ABORIGINAL AFFAIRS:

GRASSY NARROWS BLOCKADE BEGINS AGAIN:


After their success in stopping clear cut logging on their lands the people of Grassy Narrows in northwest Ontario once again are blockading the road through their reserve, this time to assert their right to improve conditions on the rez. The following story and appeal are from the Radio Free Peaball blog. A tip of the Molly hat to Matt who first brought this item to my attention.
GNGNGNGNGN
Blockade renewed at Grassy Narrows First Nation, asserts self-determination
August 28, 2010
by David P Ball

GRASSY NARROWS FIRST NATION (ASUBPEESCHOSEEWAGONG NETUM ANISHINABEK) –

One week after the Ontario government threatened to halt maintenance of a back road used for fishing, hunting, trapping, and rice and berry harvesting, members of Grassy Narrows First Nation in northwest Ontario community are continuing their eight-year blockade to assert their territorial rights.

Led by grassroots women from the Anishinabek community, since August 21 the blockaders have prevented Ontario’s Ministry of Natural Resources (MNR) from interfering with their work crew, which was visited by MNR three times last week and ordered to purchase a gravel permit, alongside warnings to stop work citing environmental, public and worker safety concerns. This action continues the longest blockade in Canadian history, which since 2002 has successfully stopped clearcut logging on Grassy Narrows territories and has raised concerns about the government’s lack of action on mercury poisoning in the community.

“We have our own government here,” said Robert Keesick, capital projects manager for Grassy Narrows First Nation, who is responsible for the road maintenance contract. “We have our own way of dealing with the environment, of taking care of our workers. This is our territory, so we have the right to use the land.”

“We support our chief and council – they are the authority here. They received their jurisdiction when they signed the treaty. All we’re doing is fixing a road that was there already, and yet [MNR is] not doing anything about the mercury in the river,” he added.

A sign across the blockaded road reads “Ministry of No Respect: Keep Out,” and community members are maintaining a 24-hour presence at Slant Lake, just outside the reserve, allowing only non-MNR traffic to pass.

So far, the government has not challenged the blockade, and on its first day a conservation officer was turned back. MNR told local media it is concerned about damage to a beaver pond where Grassy Narrows contractors are repairing washouts and beaver damage to back-roads on the First Nations traditional territories, as well as worker and public safety issues. Community members, however, consider the government’s actions harassment and an impingement on their treaty rights.

“When they talk about environmental concerns or workers’ safety, it’s like they think we’re dumb,” said Roberta Keesick, one of the community members active in the blockade. “Of course we think about this stuff too, otherwise we wouldn’t be here, we wouldn’t have lasted this long.

“The funny thing is that MNR is saying they’re concerned about a beaver pond, but the government pays people to kill beavers because they call them ‘nuisance beavers,’ because they’re wrecking the roads. Their quibbling over a beaver pond is contradictory. We don’t need a permit; we already got permission from the Creator,” she added.

The blockade has been joined by invited members of Christian Peacemakers Teams (CPT), which has an almost decade-long presence supporting the community’s struggle for self-determination, as well as other supporters.

“All this is towards our sovereignty, it’s about the same thing as other Aboriginal struggles,” Roberta Keesick said. “We hope others will feel less intimidated or feel they have to get permits and permission. Lots of people feel they can’t fight it. When we do our blockade, we hope it opens people’s eyes to who they are as Aboriginal and Anishinabek.”

The back road being maintained is used by Grassy Narrows members to access hunting, trapping, wild rice picking and berry picking areas, and for access to a fishing lodge at Ball Lake, rights enshrined under Treaty 3. The fishing lodge was granted to the First Nation as part of compensation for mercury pollution in 1986, and the government stopped maintaining the road following the Slant Lake blockade started in 2002. The community is calling for support from allies elsewhere to defend the Earth and Indigenous rights.

Take action:

Call the MNR Kenora office to express your support for the people of Grassy Narrows: (807) 468-2501

Some points to make:
1. The government should stop harassing construction crews repairing the road to Ball Lake Lodge.
2. Thousands of people are watching and supporting Grassy Narrows. This issue will not go away until there is justice.
3. Grassy Narrows has the right to determine what happens on their territory, according to Treaty 3. We support them in their decisions.
4. We also support Grassy Narrows’ call to end clearcut logging, for justice on issues of mercury pollution and other contaminants, and for the sovereignty granted them by the Creator since time immemorial.

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# posted by mollymew @ 10:51 AM 0 comments

Saturday, February 21, 2009

 


LOCAL EVENTS-WINNIPEG:
SUPPORT ROBERTA KEESICK FUNDRAISER:
Coming up this March 7 at the Red Road Lodge, 631 Main St., a fundraiser to support Roberta Keesick. Here's the details.
...........................
The Boreal Action Project / Friends of Grassy Narrows / WIPSM Friends in Solidarity Coffeehouse Fundraiser: Standing with Grassy Narrows:
Host:
Support Roberta Keesick
Type:
Causes - Fundraiser

Time and Place
Start Time:
Saturday, March 7, 2009 at 7:00pm
End Time:
Sunday, March 8, 2009 at 12:00am
Location:
Red Road Lodge
Street:
631 Main Street @ Logan (side entrance)
City/Town:
Winnipeg, MB

Contact Info
Phone:
480-8565
Email:
borealaction@gmail.com
Description
Co-sponsored by Sweet Spot Productions http://www.mysweetspotproductions.com/ www.myspace.com/mysweetspot



PROGRAM
7:00 - Doors
7:00 to 7:55 pm - 'Meet & Greet'
8:00 to 8:10 pm - 'Words of Welcome'
Alon Weinberg, Winnipeg Indigenous Peoples' Solidarity Movement
8:10 to 8:15 pm - Spoken Word
Shayla Elizabeth, Aboriginal Writer's Collective
8:15 to 8:45 pm - Musical Guest TBA
9:00 to 9:15 pm - Guest of Honour
Gwawich, Anishinabek from Asubpeeschoseewagong, Friends of Grassy Narrows speaks about her experiences on asserting Aboriginal rights on traditional territories.
9:15 to 9:30 pm - Gwawich Q&A
9:30 - 9:35 - Film Excerpt 'Scars of Mercury'
Tadashi Orui and Thor Aitkenhead present an excerpt of 'Scars of Mercury' about mercury poisoning in Grassy Narrows, White Dog and Japan.
9:35 to 9:45 - Thor Aitkenhead & Tadashi Orui Q&A
9:45 to 10:00 pm - Guest Speaker TBA
10:10 to 10:15 pm - Spoken Word
Werner Van Harder, Political Wordist www.myspace.com/wernerharder
10:15 to 10:45 pm - Musical Guest
A Choir of Rog – One man. One Voice. One intention... influenced by the Tuvan voice, the wind, Buddhist monks, Inuit games, and Dextar – a soul mate who has come to pass in this life... www.myspace.com/achoirofrog
10:55 to 11:00 pm - Spoken Word
Kitty, Poet www.myspace.com/spacekitty67
11:00 to 11:45 pm - Musical Guest
Jason Tuesday, Singer Songwriter (Facebook)
11:45 to 12:00 pm - Silent Auction, Raffle, Thank Yous - Alon Weinberg, Susanne McCrea, Paulette LaFortune



$5 in advance at the following outlets:

Mondragon Bookstore and Coffeehouse, 91 Albert


Organic Planet, 877 Westminster


Neechi Foods, 325 Dufferin


Info Booth, University of Winnipeg, Main Floor

Admission:


$10 to $5 sliding scale includes one complimentary beverage and healthy foods snacks

Boreal Bounty Dinner also available.

Silent Auction.

The organizers of this event thank you in advance for your support of Roberta Keesick and her campaign.
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Who is Roberta Keesick you may ask. Here's a little more information from the Facebook group set up to support her.
,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,
Support Roberta Keesick:
Description:
We are a group of Indigenous and non-Indigenous people supporting Roberta Keesick in her defense of Anishinaabek land rights.
Contact Info:
email leannesimpson@sympatico.ca
Recent News
 January 27, 2009
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, and while she has found a lawyer donating 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 Anishnaabe 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 defense 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 leah.m.henderson@gmail.com to find alternative ways of donating (ie cheque, cash etc).




The following is a statement from Roberta's brother:
We should not have to explain ourselves to the government and the court . The
Anishinabek of Asubpeeschoseewagong have always lived in this part of the world.
The creator placed us here to live in freedom and harmony with the land, without
boundaries and interference . We can’t make a boundary around ourselves and
limit our way of life. The paddles of our ancestors have touched the waters of
every lake and river across this land. The feet of our relatives have touched
the soils of the earth from here to the horizon. Our Ancestors have placed their
hands on the rock face of every cliff along these lakes and rivers. The red hand
prints left on this earth forever are the signatures of our grandfathers and
grand mothers, this part of the world belongs to us. What the creator gives our
people, we do not change or question. Look at the forest and you see the trees,
the water, the animals and us . In the silence of your minds you recognize and
accept what is true and what has always been . We are a part of this land and
that is the truth.

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# posted by mollymew @ 9:04 PM 0 comments

Friday, June 06, 2008

 

ABORIGINAL ISSUES:
VICTORY FOR GRASSY NARROWS:
This one has begun to spread widely across the internet in the last few days, as forestry giant Abitibi Bowater has decided to pull out of logging in the 'Whiskey Jack Forest' northeast of Kenora Ontario because of a 5 year long blockade on the part of local native groups who would be adversely affected by the project. It was hard to decide what to reprint here as there are numerous statements that have been circulating. Rather than quote various rather predatory NGOs who have made money out of this affair Molly decided to reprint this statement found at the Friends of Grassy Narrows website. The FoGN is a local Winnipeg based group that has been organizing support for the people of Grassy Narrows for many years, and while they basically quote the Toronto Star such a quotation is ethically cleaner than some from the NGOs. Not to tar all NGOs with the same brush. Some religious groups have offered as disinterested support as the FoGN have. Some others, however, have offered their support only in the context of raising funds for themselves. The reader is advised to consult the FoGN website for the comments appended to the article reproduced below. The libertarian socialist Autonomy and Solidarity website also hopes to have comments from the residents of Grassy Narrows soon.
..................................
Protest prompts Abitibi pullout
Negotiations with band would take too long, forestry giant says
Jun 05, 2008 04:30 AM
Peter Gorrie ENVIRONMENT REPORTER
THESTAR.COM
One of the world's biggest logging companies has pulled out of a Northern Ontario forest because of opposition from a small local Indian community.
AbitibiBowater Inc. said it will surrender its licence to cut trees in the Whiskey Jack forest, about an hour's drive north of Kenora, because it can't wait for negotiations, recently announced by the province, that the company says will take at least four years.
The million-hectare forest is on land claimed by Grassy Narrows First Nation, which has been backed in a five-year blockade and publicity campaign by environment and human rights groups.
"We were thinking we'd have a quicker resolution," spokesperson Jean-Philippe Côté said in an interview. "We respect the decision, but it doesn't fit with our business interest. We don't want to wait four more years without knowing what's going to happen."
The giant company, formed last fall by the amalgamation of Abitibi Consolidated Inc. and Bowater Inc., is licensed to cut 700,000 cubic metres of wood a year from the forest until 2023.
It will, for now, get replacement wood from other forests. That's possible because the combined company is licensed to cut in other forests and the downturn in the forest industry has made wood supplies available elsewhere, Côté said. "This doesn't affect our operation."
Last month, the company reported a net loss of $248 million, or $4.32 per diluted share, on sales of $1.7 billion for the first quarter of 2008. For the same period last year, Bowater alone reported a net loss of $35 million, or $1.19 per diluted share, on sales of $772 million.
Supporters of Grassy Narrows called the withdrawal a clear message that businesses can't work in the North without local consent.
"All companies operating in the boreal forest should take this as a wake-up call," said David Sone of San Francisco-based Rainforest Action Network. "This is proof that communities can say `no' and enforce their right to control development in their territory."
The province has negotiated several forest agreements backed by industry, First Nations and other communities and will work toward one for Whiskey Jack, Natural Resources Minister Donna Cansfield said in an interview. "It shouldn't take four years." As for AbitibiBowater's time estimate: "It's their decision, not mine."
The issue of consultation is heating up across Northern Ontario, especially with a mine claim-staking rush underway. The highest-profile fight pits Kitchenuhmaykoosib Inninuwug First Nation against Platinex Inc., which wants to mine platinum on land KI claims.
Most of the Whiskey Jack logs go to a pulp mill in Fort Frances. Pulp produced there is piped to a paper mill across the Rainy River in International Falls, Minn.
That mill is owned by Boise Inc. Last February – soon after Grassy Narrows declared a moratorium on development without its consent – Boise said it would accept pulp only from operations approved by the community or from other sources.

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# posted by mollymew @ 7:31 PM 1 comments

Tuesday, February 13, 2007

 
INTERESTING ITEMS FROM ANOTHER LOCAL BLOG:
Another local blog from here in the world's freezer box, good ol' Winnipeg, Ecology and Participatory Democracy, has published a couple of interesting articles on the continuing struggle by the people of the community of Grassy Narrows to prevent industrial clearcut logging on their traditional lands. Grassy Narrows is a small native community of about 1,000 band members located about 80 kilometers north of Kenora, Ontario. Over the years they have endured a lot including violations of their treaty rights, the theft of their children by residential schools, forced relocation, flooding of their traditional burial grounds and wild rice gathering sites by hydroelectric dams and mercury poisoning due to the actions of a paper mill upstream from their community. The latest assault on these people is that the Ontario government has leased their traditional lands for logging by corporations such as Weyerhaeuser and Abitibi. About 50% of their traditional lands have now been clearcut. After logging the cut areas are sprayed with herbicides and replanted by a monoculture of tree farms. These "replacement forests" are devoid of the plants and even the wildlife that the people of Grassy Narrows have traditionally relied upon to support themselves.




Last July the people of Grassy Narrows and their supporters took to blocking highways to protest this continuing attack on their way of life. A total of 21 people were charged with "mischief" because of the two blockades. Ecology and Participatory Democracy gives a report about the latest charges against 5 of these protesters. The trial of two of them has been set over to March 12th. The other three, all from one local family resident in Grassy Narrows, have refused to recognize the jurisdiction of the court. Their case has been adjourned to Feb 26th. For further details see Ecology and Participatory Democracy.




If you want to learn more about the history and struggles of the people of Grassy Narrows go to the Friends of Grassy Narrows site or the Free Grassy Narrows site.





In a totally different vein another local blogger, The Vindicated Anarchist, has a hilarious blog on 'No Fashion at 40 Below'. There's no fashion in Winnipeg at any time, but our sartorial habits get even more ridiculous as we approach the point where carbon dioxide may precipitate out of the air. Ah..."but its a dry ice cold". Go over for a chuckle.
Molly

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# posted by mollymew @ 9:30 PM 0 comments

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