Ward Churchill Speaks: On Colonialism as Genocide

Ward Churchill Speaks: On Colonialism as Genocide from Maximilian Forte on Vimeo.

On Wednesday, 15 April, 2009, less than two weeks after his successful lawsuit against the University of Colorado on the grounds of wrongful termination for constitutionally protected free speech, Ward Churchill traveled to Montreal and delivered an address at Concordia University. The entirety of his presentation, and most of his responses to comments are shown in the video. I filmed this under less than ideal conditions, using a rather low grade camcorder, with very poor lighting.

No Olympics on Stolen Native Land/ Stop the Racist Intervention

 Today in the Kulin Nations we stood in solidarity with our brothers & sisters of the unceeded territories of the Coast Salish peoples.

An over the top federal police presence guarded the Kkkandian embassy from my daughter & me.  The heavens opened up heavy rain giving  a strong affirmation for the kaupapa we were supporting.

Harriet Nahanee, warrior woman , you will  never be  forgotten, and the price you paid to defend your lands against the corporate circus of the winter Olympics. No Olympics on Stolen Native lands.

We handed out flyers & info & explained the contempt & lack of respect for Indigenous rights in Canada.

The struggle against the Tar Sands bears resonance for us in Aotearoa. The Royal Bank of Canada is advising Kea Petroleum (the pricks who want to rip up & rape the beautiful Tai Tokerau 4 oil & gas). No wonder Canada won’t sign the declaration on the rights of Indigenous peoples. They are to busy facilitating & profiting from  the exploitation & oppression of Indigenous people at home & around the world.

February the 13th  was also a day of national action against the racist intervention in the Northern Territories, a marking two years since the states ‘apology’ to the stolen generations in Australia.

The racist intervention in the northern territories continues, the racial discrimination act remains suspended. The right of Indigenous Australians continues to be trampled on. 

Aboriginal peoples are fighting back, The Ampilatwatja walk off, exemplifying aboriginal dignity & the struggle for self-determination.

We marched for the rights of all Indigenous that are oppressed, we share the same enemies & the same lived experiences of colonialism & genocide.  Against the odds we have survived.

 Words of wisdom and fire  from Uncle Bob Randall and Robbie Thorpe,   Our Sovereignty, Self Determination cannot be denied. Indigenous peoples are on the move. Mother earth demands this and we are stepping up. 

NYM Confronts Olympic Torch in Secwepemc Nation (Chase, bc, kkkanada)

 

 

 

>>>let this message spread like fire - distribute widely

Native Youth Movement Confront Olympic Torch in Secwepemc Nation
January 27, 2010

The Olympic torch was confronted by Secwepemc and their supporters in the Secwepemc Nation, in the invader (settler) town of Chase, so-called british kkkolumbia, KKKanada.  With the message "Secwepemc Say No Olympics" and "Olympic Torch Not Welcome in Secwepemc Nation"

Secwepemc have a long standing fight with the government of KKKanada and british kkkolumbia because of the fight for Secwepemc Land and Freedom.  Secwepemc have never signed treaties or they have never ceded or surrendered their Secwepemc Nation.  Secwepemc say NO to the BC treaty process, the modern day treaty wants get rid of the Native Peoples and take control of the last remaining lands and water (so-called resources) from their Territory.    

Historic Dispute with Olympics
Secwepemc Land and Freedom Fighters travelled to Europe in 2002 to hand deliver a formal submission to the International Olympic Committee and let the IOC and the World know that the Olympics is not welcome here in so-called KKKanada, because of the long standing Indigenous land dispute and continued violations of Indigenous and Human Rights.  KKKanada does not permission to be here and is currently illegally occupying Indigenous Nations.    

Where ever the Olympics sets foot they wage war on the Earth and the Indigenous Peoples.  No Olympics On Native Land.

Native Youth Movement Says:
The Olympics and KKKanada is using it's global spotlight to market our Indigenous Territories for sale, but we want the World to know "OUR LANDS ARE NOT FOR SALE."  KKKanada is here illegally and "This is all Native Land".  This is simply not just another "issue", We are fighting for our Freedom to continue to exist and live as true Secwepemc on our Lands without any foreign invader occupation on our Lands.  Major corporate sponsors like Coca-cola and RBC (Royal Bank of Canada) are destroying Indigenous Territories all over the World, including the Tar Sands (the most destructive project in the history of humanity).  We are now in the IV World War, the war against the Earth itself.   

We stand in solidarity with all Indigenous Peoples fighting for their Lands and Freedom Worldwide.  

Defend the Earth.  No Olympics on Native Land.  No Trans Canada Hwy expansion through Secwepemc Nation.  No CP Rail expansion through Secwepemc Nation. 
Shut Down the Tar Sands.  Solidarity with the Zapatista. Solidarity with the Mapuche.  Get the Shell Out of Sacred Headwaters -Tahltan Nation. 

Native Youth Movement

http://nativeyouthmovement.org

Invasion Day 2010

Happy Invasion Day 2010 from Fear of a Brown Planet on Vimeo.

Denis Walker - Black Australian Activist

goori2

ANTI INTERVENTION PROTEST FROM MP JENNY MACKLINS OFFICE TO CENTRELINK

Anti Northern Territory Intervention protest moves from Minister Jenny Macklin's Electorate office in Heidleberg, Victoria round the corner to the Centrelink office where Barbara Shaw from Mt Nancy Town Camp, Alice Springs in the Northern Territory is unable to access her low income due to the racially discriminatory welfare quarantining of Aboriginal Peoples' income in the NT.

SOS Students of Sustainability demonstrate with Barbara Shaw in support of Aboriginal Peoples living under the racist NT Intervention.

Victorian police brutality breaks up the non violent protest in Centrelink ...

Contact:
wgar.info
rollbacktheintervention.wordpress.com
Stoptheintervention.org

Self Determination Not Invasion, Get Up Stand Up for Indigenous Rights

On Saturday 20th June supporters of Aboriginal rights in Melbourne will be marking the two-year anniversary of the Northern Territory intervention with a solidarity rally in the CBD, Featuring speakers: Gary Foley, Robbie Thorpe, Aletha Penrith an Alice Springs town camp resident, + others. Performers: local Indigenous hip hop artists Little G, Mr Morgz, Alter Egoz, and Tjimba and the Yung Warriors.

Nathan Lovett-Murray, founder of Payback Records, has organized local Indigenous hip hop artists to perform at the rally. “Little G, Mr Morgz, Alter Egoz, and Tjimba and the Yung Warriors will be at the rally raising their voices against the discriminatory policies of the government, and in support of Aboriginal people in the Northern Territory having control over their lives,” said Nathan.

“We have organized the rally in order to show our disgust and opposition to the Rudd Government’s expansion of Howard’s racist intervention policy, and to stand in solidarity with the Indigenous people of this country. We will also be holding a public meeting as an opportunity for people to learn more about the effects of the NT intervention and the direction the Rudd Government is taking it, the meeting will also involve workshops and planning for the campaign. The governments attempt to take Aboriginal land, close homelands, and wind-back hard-won Aboriginal self determination will not be ignored here in Melbourne.

“The Rudd Government’s approach to Indigenous people is dominated by hypocrisy and blackmail! With one hand they sign the UN Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous people, and with the other they refuse to re-instate the Racial Discrimination Act, instead expanding the policies of the intervention and forcing Indigenous people to give up their land in return for desperately needed housing and services,” said Marisol Salinas from the Melbourne Anti-Intervention Collective

Rallies are also being on the 20th of June @:

Darwin 11am Raintree Park

Sydney 10:30am Belmore Park

Brisbane 11am Queen's Park

Perth 12 noon Wesley Church

Adelaide 12 noon Parliament House

See Also:

rollbacktheintervention.wordpress.com/

stoptheintervention.org/

Aboriginal Rights Solidarity Rally & Public Meeting

On Saturday 20th June supporters of Aboriginal rights in Melbourne will be marking the two-year anniversary of the Northern Territory intervention with a solidarity rally in the CBD, Featuring speakers: Gary Foley, Robbie Thorpe, Aletha Penrith an Alice Springs town camp resident, + others. Performers: local Indigenous hip hop artists Little G, Mr Morgz, Alter Egoz, and Tjimba and the Yung Warriors.

Nathan Lovett-Murray, founder of Payback Records, has organized local Indigenous hip hop artists to perform at the rally. “Little G, Mr Morgz, Alter Egoz, and Tjimba and the Yung Warriors will be at the rally raising their voices against the discriminatory policies of the government, and in support of Aboriginal people in the Northern Territory having control over their lives,” said Nathan.

“We have organized the rally in order to show our disgust and opposition to the Rudd Government’s expansion of Howard’s racist intervention policy, and to stand in solidarity with the Indigenous people of this country. We will also be holding a public meeting as an opportunity for people to learn more about the effects of the NT intervention and the direction the Rudd Government is taking it, the meeting will also involve workshops and planning for the campaign. The governments attempt to take Aboriginalland, close homelands, and wind-back hard-won Aboriginal self determination will not be ignored here in Melbourne” said Joe Lorback from the Melbourne Anti-Intervention Collective.

“The Rudd Government’s approach to Indigenous people is dominated by hypocrisy and blackmail! With one hand they sign the UN Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous people, and with the other they refuse to re-instate the Racial Discrimination Act, instead expanding the policies of the intervention and forcing Indigenous people to give up their land in return for desperately needed housing and services,” said Marisol Salinas from the Melbourne Anti-Intervention Collective

“Jenny Macklin’s treatment of Alice Springs town camp residents is absolutely disgraceful. She has smeared Aboriginal run organizations, such as Tangentyere Council, in an attempt to take the land and control from them. Rather then acknowledging the fact that the lack of housing and infrastructure in the town camps is due to a complete lack of funding, she is instead giving total control over the town camps to the Northern Territory Government which has continually failed them” said James Brennan from the Melbourne Anti-Intervention Collective



The Solidarity Rally will take place on Saturday 20th June at 12pm in the State Library The public meeting also on Saturday will be at 3pm at Trades Hall Meeting Room 1.

Rallies are also being on the 20th of June @:

Darwin 11am Raintree Park

Sydney 10:30am Belmore Park

Brisbane 11am Queen's Park

Perth 12 noon Wesley Church

NT communities to protest opening of Parliament 2009

MEDIA ANNOUNCEMENT
22/12/08 for immediate release

NT Aboriginal communities set to Converge on Canberra

Resistance to the Intervention is strengthening across the Northern Territory.

People from NT Aboriginal communities are preparing to take their
protest directly to the federal government on the first day of
parliament, February 3 2009.

On November 7 2008 the Prescribed Area People's alliance, whose
meetings have involved over 150 people living under the Intervention,
issued a statement:

"The NTER must be immediately repealed... We call for everyone who
supports Aboriginal rights to converge on Canberra for the opening of
Parliament in 2009".

The convergence has been endorsed by the full council of Central Land
Council, the key representative body for the 24,000 Aboriginal people
living across the region.

Planning is taking place with Aboriginal rights organisations and
activists around the country for two days of workshops and discussion
at the Aboriginal Tent Embassy in Canberra on February 1 and 2 before
a major rally on Tuesday February 3.

The NT delegation is also planning to meet with politicians to lobby
for repeal of the Intervention laws and substantially increased
funding for community controlled services.

Valerie Martine, from Yuendumu said, "We need support, more and more,
whoever feels that this Intervention is wrong. We want to see many
people come out to support us and hear their voices. It's really bad
how they're treating us, taking away our rights. With the quarantining
we are struggling to get the money to survive. My daughter has been
sick in the hospital in Adelaide - but because our money's are
quarantined I've had to battle hard, even for basic things like doing
our washing. How are people supposed to survive?"

Elaine Peckham from the Iwupataka Land Trust and the Intervention
Rollback Action Group said, "We've already been through many
struggles, for land rights, for native title. Now we have the
Intervention which has taken control of our communities in the Centre.
It's very discriminatory and very hurtful. It's like a big cloud over
us. Its time for us to say enough is enough, we need to start getting
together and talk up - not on our own but as a voice with everyone
else strong and loud. We can not sit back and let others take control
of our lives. Its going to keep continuing if we don't speak up and
let our voices be heard out there".


For more information, or to arrange Interviews, please contact:

Barbara Shaw 0401 291 166 or Marlene Hodder 08 8952 5032
Email: rollbacktheintervention(*)gmail.com

see rollbacktheintervention.wordpress.com for updates on the Canberra
Convergence



--
http://rollbacktheintervention.wordpress.com

Prescribed Area People’s Alliance

video clips from the “Prescribed Area People’s Alliance” meeting, held in Mparntwe - Alice Springs on Monday September 29, 2008

See Also

http://rollbacktheintervention.wordpress.com/

Riyawarray - "Common Ground"

'Riyawarray: Common Ground' a film that honours and celebrates Yolngu (Aboriginal)customary law and culture. Our right to live our lives as free people without the inappropriate impositions of the Federal Government's emergency response the Intervention.

This powerful snapshot documentary on Yolngu rites, rights and rituals as expressed through the recent Yirritja Ngarra Ceremony, was filmed at Milingimbi (remote Australia)in early August featuring Mathew Dhulumburrk, Ganygulpa Dhurrkay and Keith Lapulung (Dhamarrandji).

See Also

http://nz.youtube.com/watch?v=tN9vetZ96f0

Barbara Shaw, resident of Mt Nancy Town Camp in Alice Springs, a prescribed area under the federal intervention into NT Aboriginal communities.

http://rollbacktheintervention.wordpress.com/

Free Lex Wotton NOW Solidarity on Wurundjeri land

 

  

  

 

Free Lex Wotton NOW-International Day of Action

click for a larger image

Solidarity on Wurundjeri land

Friday, November 7, 2008
Time: 1:00pm - 2:00pm
Location: Melbourne County Court
Street: Cnr of William & Lonsdale Street
City/Town: Melbourne, Australia

Brought to you by Camp Sovereignty

MC’d by

Robbie Thorpe,  Krautungalung , Gunnai Nation
Shiralee Hood,  Nyoongar , Kurnai Nation

International Indigenous Solidarity

Marcelo Chimbolema, CONAIE executive member, Indigenous Council of Ecuador
Marisol Salinas , Mapuche Nation
EduaradoIssa Flores,  Bolivia (National Coalition for the Defense of Workers Organisations, Water, Basic Services, Environment and Life)
Sina Brown-Davis,  Aotearoa , Te Ata Tino Toa
Hein Arumisore, West Papua

Liz Thompson Free Lex Wotton NOW

Closing Ceremony by Robbie Thorpe

Note that this is part of an International day of Action Called by Lex's family members and coincides with the day that Lex Wotton is scheduled to have a sentence hearing in Townsville

freelexwotton(*)gmail.com

http://www.facebook.com/group.php?gid=32952863226

This event is in support of Lex Wotton and is a celebration of First Nations sovereignty. We request that people bring banners and placards in support of Lex but not stalls.

 This rally is the endorsed by Lex's family, and it is has an First Nations Sovereignty focus to show solidarity with Lex and to continue the struggle for Indigenous Self Determination & Sovereignty. We will support Lex, his family and the Palm Island Mob, with culture, ceremony, deadly speakers, & music, brother wanted solidarity, calm and dignity and that's what we intend to give him all over the world on the7th of November

INTERNATIONAL INDIGENOUS SOLIDARITY GATHERING

Aboriginal Australia, the Pacific, Asia & Latin America

This Gathering is taking place on Wurundjeri land. We give our respects to the Wurundjeri elders, past and present.

The Gathering aims to build bridges connecting our struggles, and strengthen solidarity, friendship and collaborations between indigenous and non-indigenous grassroots organisations throughout various regions of the world, especially where multinational corporations and military interventions are severely impacting  on indigenous lands and.

 

 

Click on image for a larger version

Thursday 23 - Sunday 26 October 2008

Welcome and Fire Ceremony

Thursday 23 October, 6pm - 9pm
CERES - Community Environment Park
Lee Street, East Brunswick, Melbourne

Guest speakers:

Mick Edwards,
Marisol Salinas,
Duchol Welcoming, Wurundjerri country
Robbie Thorpe starting Fire ceremony
Larry Walsh,
Shiralee Hood,
LizTurner

Food and entertainment

Public Meeting

Friday 24 October @

Vitorian Trades Hall, Chambers Room
Cnr Victoria St & Lygon St, Carlton, Melbourne

Guest speakers from

Papua New Guinea,
Bolivia,
Colombia,
Aotearoa

Free West Papua
Elders, leaders and representatives from Australian First Nations from
Northern Terrytory, S.A., NSW and Victorian First Nations.

International Indigenous Solidarity Party/Conference/Gathering
Saturday 25 & Sunday 26 October
(check program for more details www.latinlasnet.org/gathering/program.html)

from 10am All day at CERES Community Environment Park
Lee Street, East Brunswick
Plenaries, Discussions spaces, music, doco presentations, Party in the Park (CERES)

Elders, leaders, Activist and Aboriginals communities from Australasia and Latin America Attending to the Gathering:

Robbie Thorpe from the Krautungalung people of the Gunnai Nation - Victoria
Larry Walsh, Aboriginal Storyteller and Historian, a respected elder from Taungerong/Kulin Nation - Victoria
Barbara Shaw, resident of Mt Nancy Town Camp in Alice Springs, a prescribed area under the federal interventioninto NT Aboriginal communities.
Traditional Owners for the proposed nuclear waste dump site at Muckaty, NT
Dianne Stokes- a Traditional Owner of the Muckaty Land, NT
Mark Chungaloo-Muckaty Traditional owner living at Kalumpurpla community, NT
Gladys Brown- a Warumungu language interpreter and Muckaty Traditional owner from Kalumpurlpa community, NT
Mark Lane- Muckaty Traditional owner opposing the federal radioactive waste dump plan, NT
Jeanette Edwards- member of Lhere Artpepe Aboriginal Corporation, the Native Title holding body for Alice Springs.
Valerie Martin- Warlpiri language interpreter and community organiser, from Yuendumu community and
Kunoth town camp in Alice Springs.
Kevin Buzzacott- Uncle Kevin is an elder from the Arabunna nation in northern South Australia
Wayne Roderick Atkinson , Yorta -Yorta people (Victoria)
Marie Pewhairangi Te Kura Kaupapa Maori Aotearoa

Aunti Joy Murphy, Wurundjerri country - Victoria
Aunti Sue Charles Rankin, Kulin Nation
Shiralee Hood, Nyoongar Kurnai countries and born in Wurundjerri country - Victoria
Darren Bloomfield, a Traditional Owner of the Wiradjuri Nation
Ati Teepa Ngai Tuhoe, Aotearoa
Sina Brown-Davis, Ngati Whatua ki Kaipara
Sue Coleman-Haseldine; winner of the 2007 NRM Premiers Award and anti mining campaigner.
Wayne Haseldine, Ceduna cultural youth worker and conservation activist.
Mia & Jacinta Haseldine aged 15 & 16 are young kokatha women heavily involved in community activity.
Neville Chappy Williams, Uncle Chappy is a Wiradjuri Traditional Owner of Lake Cowal and the surrounding lands in central New South Wales
Jethro Tulin, Ipili, Papua New Guinea, Chief Executive Officer of the AKALI TANGE ASSOCIATION a Human Rights organization that deals with issues surrounding the Porgera mine in Enga province, Papua New Guinea.
Clive Porabou from Bougainville
Donny Roem, Free West Papua
Frederick Yawandare, Free West Papua
Eduarado Issa Flores, From Bolivia (National Coalition for the Defense of Workers Organisations, Water, Basic Services, Environment and Life)
Mery Moller de Salinas, from Bolivia (Leader of Indigeous and grassroots coalition in defence of Water).
Marcelo Chimbolema, CONAIE executive member, Indigenous Council of Ecuador
Gustavo Reyes, from CHILE, leader and grassroots activist from Indigenous and non-indigenous Coalition
"disturbing from the margin/exclude people"
Nelson Fonseca, Jaime Pinzon and Masio Armando Medina, From Colombia, Electric Servcie Union
Maria- Eugenia Guerrero, from CUBA, Sister of Antonio Guerrero one of the Cuban 5 freedom fighters political prisoners in USA.
and more in their way to Melbourne at CERES Environment Park, Lee St., East Brunswick...

-Images exhibition from Kokatha Mula custodians-

'NGALIGU MUNDA' - our land, Images from Kokatha Mula country.

Exhibiting Sat 25 & Sun 26 October: 10am -6pm
as part of the International Indigenous Solidarity Gathering
@ CERES in the MULTICULTURAL EDUCATION ROOM.

A rare and unique oppertunity to experience the beauty and culture of South Australia's Far West Mallee without
leaving Melbourne. This exhibition showcases the importance of country and culture through photography, art and film.

For generations Kokatha Mula custodians have cared for their pristine mallee woodlands, including rockholes, soaks and wildlife. The lands that cover the Yumbarra & Pureba Conservation parks and the Yellabinna Regional Reserve are ancient grounds for hunting, collecting bush medicine and upholding culture.

Presented by West Mallee Protection, an affiliate of Friends Of the Earth Australia.
www.kokathamula.auspics.org.au

Saturday October 25,

CERES, Lee St., East Brunswick:
From 10am - 6pm
Plenary/ discussions spaces (Gatherings), workshops, entertainment (music, movies, theatre), traditional food, stalls, Art exhibition.

7PM - PARTY - FIESTA -
The International Indigenous Solidarity Gathering Party,
Saturday 25 of October at CERES

With exiting peformaces:

7:10pm MAIN STAGE Shiralee.
7:30 SIDE STAGE Maori Dance Group and Sausal trditional Chilean Dance Group
8:00 MAIN Little G.
8:40 SIDE STAGE West Papua Dance Group.
9:00 MAIN STAGE Pataphysics.
9:40 SIDE STAGE Puharangi.
10:00 MAIN STAGE Culture Connect.

- Film Documentaries at the park, 7pm CERES Cafe area.-

Sunday October 26
CERES, Lee St., East Brunswick:
From 10:30am to 7pm - Plenary/ discussion spaces (Gatherings), workshops, entertainment (music, movies, theatre), traditional food, stalls, Art exhibition. Closing ceremony and Gathering resolutions 5-7pm.

Contacts and further information:
infogathering (at) latinlasnet.org
www.latinlasnet.org/gathering/freedom.html

General Information Marisol 0413 597 315
Program, and Logistic: Lucho 0400 914 944 or Wendy 0417 688562
Media and Communication: Natalie 0421 226 200 or Juliet 0413 893 485
Fundraising Sub-committee: Marisol 0413 597315
Volunteer Coordinator: Rodrigo 0414 970 418 or Juliet 0413 893 485
Stall Coordinator: Anna 0439 891 832

 

Related

• http://www.latinlasnet.org/gathering/freedom.html

WHITE LIES II

You hypocritical colonial swine,
who the fuck are you,
to brand anyone,
a terrorist.
Centuries of systematic murder
of Indigenous Peoples globally
for land and wealth,
is the legacy you leave.
You fucked up moronic monster.

With sheer terror,
lustful greed
and killing in your heart,
you plundered the Earth.
You fucking murderous beasts,
raped our Mother
massacred her Children.
All in the name
of your perverted
colonial empire.

Your methods defy
any form of humanity.
Attempted genocide
on a worldwide scale.
Such evil ways
could only be from
the mind of a demon
bent on an orgy
of degradation and terror.

You built your histories
on WHITE LIES.
You are disgusting,
branding our Peoples
terrorists.
Yet another means
to continue the torture
of innocent People
fighting for a right
to be heard.

Despite your feeble attempts
we will overcome
your treachery
your dollar driven deceit
and we will emerge
strengthened by your weakness.
We are proud.
We are Black.
We are dignity
We are victorious.

by C. Burraga Gutya

Lex Wotton on Palm Island

Invited by the Indigenous Social Justice Association on August 10th 2008 Lex Wotton spoke in Melbourne prior to his trial relating to the riots in Palm Island. He was charged with inciting a riot and describes in his own words the events that day.

See Also:

Day three of Wotton trial begins with a splutter NATIONAL October 8, 2008: Day three of the trial of Lex Wotton - the accused ringleader of the Palm Island riots - has begun with a splutter. Most of the morning has been taken up with legal argument about several aspects of the trial. When a witness finally did take the stand shortly before lunch, she only lasted several minutes before she was stood down for more legal argument, and amid concerns for her health.

Wotton trial underway; court watches videos of rallying cries from Palm Islanders NATIONAL, October 8, 2008: The trial of Lex Wotton, the alleged ringleader of the 2004 Palm Island riots, has begun in Brisbane with jurors played video footage of a community grieving the loss of of one of its own.

This is Our Country Too

Walter Shaw is from Mt Nancy town camp in Alice Springs,a 'prescribed area' under the Northern Territory Intervention, and is an Executive Member of the Tangentyere Council. He has been speaking out strongly against the NT Intervention and is in Melbourne to premiere the documentary film 'This is Our Country Too'- a powerful exposé of Australia's apartheid...
Hear him speak at these events. If you would like to interview Walter or have him speak at a meeting, please contact Daniella Olea on 0404189272

Thursday 21August, 7pm
THIS IS OUR COUNTRY TOO Melbourne Premiere
@ The Bella Union, Trades Hall (Cnr Lygon & Victoria St)

From the makers of With or Without Fidel, Blood Diamonds and Bang Bang In Da Manor comes a brave new documentary that delves beyond Australia’s reputation of sun, surf and sand to reveal a nation ruptured by a deep racial divide and contested history. Taking the controversial 2007Northern Territory Intervention as its starting point, This is Our Country Too is a hard-hitting investigation into Australia's woeful treatment of its indigenous peoples, and a rare depiction of their unrelenting struggle for justice, equality and self-determination. The Melbourne premiere of the film will take place in the Bella Union, to be followed by a Q&A session with Walter Shaw.

Tickets: $10/$5at the door.

SaturdayAugust 23rd, 7pm


LatinFiesta/Solidarity Party
Protecting our planet, defending our communities
@
BrunswickTown Hall,
233 Sydney Rd,Brunswick

Twofantastic Latin American bands
“SantaPacha Bendita”
The best Colombian band in Melbourne,ballads, rumba and Latin rhythms.
“Da Chos”, Eight-piece Latin band
They will keep you dancing Salsa/Reggae and Merenge all night long.

Specia lGuest: Walter Shaw

Tickets: Pre-sell and bookings$20, Group of 4 $60. At door $25, Solidarity $30,included a glass of wine.

Bookings: 9481 2273 - 9419 8700 - 0400 914 944

Lex Wotton in Melbourne

Lex Wotton Warrior for Aboriginal Rights

Wednesday 6th August

8 am:Listen in to 3CR (855 on your am dial) when Marisa Sposaro will interview Lex on the Brekky Show.

11 am: Hear Lex in conversation with Robbie Thorpe on 3CR’s Fire First.

1 pm: Lex Wotton speaks at Latrobe University. All welcome. Venue: Social Sciences Room 232. All welcome.

6.15 pm: Lex will speak at a meeting of the Darebin Greens, Preston Neighborhood House, 218 High Street, Preston. All welcome.

8 pm: Lex will be a guest on 3CR’s Tamil program. Here Lex discuss the issues with interviewers from another oppressed nation!

Thursday 7th August

12 noon – 12:45pm: Swinburne Student Union hosts Lex Wotton at Prahran Campus. All welcome. Venue: Outside Student Lounge (PU Building). All welcome.

3 pm – 4:30 pm: The Quakers will host Lex at Friends House, 631 Orrong Road, Toorak. All welcome.

6pm: Hear Lex Wotton address the Trades Hall Council meeting, Council Chambers, Carlton. All union members are welcome to attend Trades House Council meetings. So help make sure there’s a lively union crowd to support the ongoing campaign to stop Aboriginal deaths in custody.

Saturday 9th August

am: Tune in to Solidarity Breakfast on 3CR and hear Carlene Wilson and Michelle Reeves interview Lex.

3pm – 6pm : Hear Lex chatting to Peter Rotumah on “Reggae Rhythms with the Rot” on 3KND (1503AM) at approx. 3.30-4pm.

7 pm: Don’t miss the Lex Wotton Solidarity Fiesta at the MUA Auditorium, 54 Ireland Street, West Melbourne. Lex will speak at 8 pm. Be there for a great evening of music and solidarity!

Monday 11th August

The Long Grass Sessions on radio 3RRR, which runs from 9 am – noon will feature Nicole Findlay interviewing Lex Wotton.Need more info: call Cheryl on 0401 806 331 or
e-mail Alison on alison.thorne@ozemail.com.au

Lex & Mokopuna

Palm Island Protest Oct 06

Justice for Mulrunj

Police 'prepared to shoot' during Palm Island riots
Palm island riot a sensible, necessary response

Australian Racism - A Case Study - Palm Island 2004 - 2006

For those interested in the manner in which institutionalised racism functions in the Australian context, one need look no further than the case of the death of an Aboriginal man on Palm Island, the historically notorious QLD Government 'punishment camp' under the old QLD 'apartheid system'.

The death of Mulrunji Doomadgee at the hands of a QLD Police officer led to a riot and a subsequent 'comedy of errors' as the Beattie Labor Government struggled to contain the political damage at the same time as maintaining an apologetic approach to the powerful QLD Police union.

The unmentioned 'elephant in the room' was the long entrenched culture of racism that permeates QLD society and politics.

It is in that context you might read this index of the history of the recent events on Palm Island, as seen through the prism of the sometimes questionable newspaper coverage by Australian media.

This chronological index nevertheless provides an interesting history of how this issue became a major crisis largely through the political ineptitude displayed by the Beattie Government over a protracted period between 2004 and 2006.

The saga continues to unfold and future episodes will be incorporated into this index
http://www.kooriweb.org/foley/news/2006/palm/palmindex.html

Lex Wotton is coming to Melbourne Support the campaign to drop the charges

The campaign to throw out all charges against Palm Island Aboriginal leader, Lex Wotton, is gaining momentum. The Indigenous Social Justice Association (Melbourne) is organising a Victorian speaking tour for Lex from 6 – 10 August 2008.

Wotton participated in the November 2004 protest against the killing of his friend Mulrunji, a respected community member and father, while in police custody. Singled out in the crackdown that followed, Wotton faces charges of “riot with destruction” -- a charge that could lead to a jail sentence of more than ten years.

No justice, no peace. A blatant cover up of what happened to Mulrunji in the Palm Island watch house enraged the community. Responding to years of racist state violence, and now Mulrunji’s death, they demanded justice. What triggered the angry protest was the release of the first state inquiry into Mulrunji’s killing, which, while noting that he had suffered a ruptured liver and four broken ribs, concluded that his death resulted from a “scuffle.” A second coronial inquiry in September 2006 confirmed what everyone already knew: that on November 19, 2004 at the Palm Island police station, Senior Sergeant Chris Hurley had struck Mulrunji with such force that it caused the Aboriginal man to die.

Four hundred people took part in the 2004 Palm Island rebellion -- over 10% of the entire island’s population! The large demonstration marched on the police station and courthouse -- the symbols of racist injustice. Queensland authorities retaliated with vicious repression and targeted individuals for persecution. On March 22, 2007 a jury acquitted four Palm islanders charged with “riot” in connection with the November 2004 demonstration. But the state continues to scapegoat Lex Wotton, whom they allege was the leader of the protest.

Far from being a “riot,” the Palm Island protest was an act of anti-racist resistance. This struggle, like that of Redfern after the death of T.J. Hickey nine months earlier, brought the racist hounding of Indigenous communities across Australia to international prominence. The resistance on Palm Island revitalised a national movement to expose the causes of Aboriginal deaths in custody and stop the ongoing death toll that amounts to genocide. This resistance is a big factor in why Senior Sargent Chris Hurley was brought to court. His acquittal once again confirmed how stacked the legal system is against Aboriginal Australians and how justified it was for the people of Palm Island to stand up to the institutions of this racist system in November 2004.

We will not be intimidated! By jailing Lex Wotton, the state hopes to head off future opposition to racist persecution. The Queensland government is trying to scare people away from responding to the whitewash of Mulrunji’s killing and resisting Canberra’s draconian invasion of Northern Territory Aboriginal communities.

This subjugation of Indigenous Australians is another form of the repression being unleashed against trade unionists who stand up for workers’ rights. The Australian Building Construction Commission has spied on, intimidated and threatened to imprison several building workers for organising strikes and other resistance against exploitation.

Supporters are organising solidarity action all around the county in the lead-up to Wotton’s trial. We demand: Stop the Racist Political Persecution of a Palm Island Aboriginal Resident! Defend the Right to Oppose Racist State Brutality! Drop the Charges Against Lex Wotton!

We have only a few months before Lex faces court and charges that, if upheld, could see him jailed. A preliminary court hearing moved the date of the trial from April 21 to October 6. A huge national solidarity convergence will take place in Brisbane in the lead up to the new trial date.
In August, ISJA-Melb is organising this Victorian speaking tour for Lex Wotton to tell his story and further strengthen the campaign. Wotton will address unions, workplace meetings, campus events, media and community gatherings. A huge benefit evening featuring a speech by Lex and an array of performers donating their talents will take place on Saturday 9 August at the MUA Hall in West Melbourne. To propose a speaking opportunity for Lex or to contribute to the success of this solidarity speaking tour, contact ISJA-Melb on 9388-0062 or 0401-806-331

The Queensland government continues to urge Aboriginal people and their supporters to have faith in a system which acquits Senior Sargent Hurley but threatens to jail Lex Wotton for at least 10 years. The “justice” system exists to protect the rich and the powerful. It is a system where, to quote legendary singer songwriter, Kev Carmody, Aboriginal people can be “executed without trial” while held in custody. It is a system that hunts down opponents of racism, like Wotton, who protest against this injustice. We demand Lex Wotton’s freedom, now!

Lex Wooten Solidarity Fiesta

9 August 2008

Lex Wooten, the man still facing charges for involvement in the Palm Island riots that followed the death in custody of Mulrunji Doomadgee in 2004, is coming to Melbourne for a speaking tour. Join MC Shiralee Hood, and bands The Conch and The Grenadines to support Lex and listen to him speak. Finger food served and bar service available. From 7pm at the Maritime Union Hall, 54 Ireland St, West Melbourne. $20 / $10 (to raise funds for the tour and assist with the campaign). Organised by Indigenous Social Justice Association, Melbourne. Contact 9388 0062 for details.

Remember Mulrunji

An Historic Non-Apology, Completely and Utterly Not Accepted

thanks to the Angryindian

The Maze of Rhetoric

We hope our title is sufficiently unequivocal to convey our reaction to the events of Wednesday June 11, 2008. Maybe by example we can show how one must approach issues which require the utmost clarity. On the other hand, this probably won’t work, especially when it’s clear the predominant intention behind a communication is to obscure. Whatever… in any event, for us, sitting on a spiky metal fence is uncomfortable posture.

We listened with attention to what Stephen Harper had to say yesterday, and we did not hear what we needed to hear. Instead, again we watched and heard one more opportunity being thrown away, this one with more ceremony than those preceding it. We watched and heard the studious avoidance of truth, in what we can only regard as the hope that the repetition of a lie will somehow substitute for reality, a concept now reduced to another mantra (as is nowadays the case for, for example, “truth” or “reconciliation”).

To those surprised or appalled by our reaction, or to people who simply have no idea that there’s an issue here at all, let us begin by pointing to at least a few of the facts we had to keep in mind when listening to the statement of the current head of a political process that has, since it origin (Confederation in 1867), had the elimination of aboriginal peoples as its consistent policy:

(1) the “settler” population of Canada has had, from the point of its inception, a qualitatively different relation with indigenous peoples than the remote colonial bureaucracy that preceded it: for England, the Indian Nations were allies (who, arguably, saved Canada on more than one occasion); for the newly-formed Dominion of Canada, they were impediments to expansion, like swamps and vermin. However, in the transfer of authority, the Dominion was honor-bound to respect them, their rights, and their historical status.

(2) with legal and ethical limits placed upon their treatment of indigenous nations (so that, for example, the Dominion couldn’t just set out to slaughter them all, as became the policy in the United States), tactics had to be adopted that had the effect of extermination without giving its appearance (and the British empire had many models to emulate, particularly Tasmania). A simple but accurate characterization of the array of government programs, policies, and laws aimed at indigenous peoples and nations, then, is that they were a range of “carrots” and “sticks” deployed to turn those of us (if any) who survived these artifices from “Indians” into “Canadians” (or, after the era of multiculturalism began, “Indian-Canadians”). Residential school was only one of those programs, one that was heavy on the “stick” and light on the “carrot.”

(3) church officials and government officials have, from time to time since the mid-1980’s, offered what they (and others) have characterized as “apologies.” These have not been apologies. An apology is not made an apology by the person offering it saying it is an apology; it is only an apology when those who have been offered it accept it as an apology. The fact that the rhetoric of pseudo-apologies has become more twisted as time has gone on should make all of us vigilant against immediately accepting what sounds like an apology without careful examination of exactly what was said, how it was said, and what was not said. And repetition is not an argument.

So, what happened Wednesday afternoon? Stephen Harper described the history of actions undertaken by the government of Canada against the children of indigenous peoples, specifically, their forcible removal from their families and communities and their placement under the unsupervised control of four major Canadian churches. Various aspects of these actions, characterized as “abuse” (including physical, mental, and sexual abuse), were enumerated, followed by variations on the refrain of “for this, we apologize” (or “we are sorry”) and “we were wrong” (or “this should never have happened”). That it happened was attributed to bad, arrogant attitudes of superiority. Finally, when mention was made concerning where “we” go from here, the upcoming work of the so-called “Truth and Reconciliation Commission” was proffered as the most appropriate forum. Afterwards, this performance was, by-and-large, repeated by the leaders of the other political parties.

The presentation was offered with every indication of honesty and sincerity. We do not doubt the honesty of what was said, for reasons we will give below. But for those who take honesty as evidence of truth, it would be good to remember what Marx once said: “The secret of life is honesty and fair dealing. If you can fake that, you’ve got it made.” Groucho Marx, that is.

So what’s our problem? Actually, we have several: we did not hear an apology, we dispute characterizations that were made, and we do not believe the putative mechanism of resolution (the “Truth and Reconciliation Commission”) will resolve anything useful.

An apology has at least three characteristics (some people will say there are more, some will list more specific traits… this doesn’t matter for present purposes). The absence of any of these three characteristics immediately disqualifies a statement as an apology: a sincere expression of remorse for the behavior, the promise never to repeat the behavior, and the undertaking to undo, as far as possible, the damage done by the behavior.

“Well,” we hear some say, “the first conditions was obviously met… we all heard Mr. Harper recount a comprehensive list of offenses, halting at each one and saying ‘Canada apologizes’ and ‘it was wrong,’ didn’t we?”

Suppose, after beating his wife to the point of hospitalizing her, a man attempted to make amends in the following manner: “I’m sorry I gave you a black eye… it was wrong; I’m sorry I chipped your teeth… it never should have happened; I apologize for breaking your arm… it never should have happened; I apologize for bruising your ribs… it was wrong;” and so on.

Does this sound odd to you? It does to us. Why would anyone choose to express his remorse in such a fashion? In “apologizing” to his wife, has the man adopted this manner of speaking, perhaps, to be more thorough (the list could go on and on…)? We think not. In this instance, the specificity of the list helps him avoid saying something, something more comprehensive, something more general, but in this case, something much more accurate: “I’m sorry I physically assaulted you. It was a criminal action on my part.”

We don’t believe Prime Minister Harper adopted this obscurantist form of address to be more comprehensive; we believe he did so to avoid saying I’m sorry the Canadian government committed genocide against you. It was a criminal action on our part.

(Of course, Mr. Harper was unauthorized to avoid saying something similar on behalf of the churches; they’ve been doing their own artful dodging for years.)

Consequently, if we’re right the sincerity of what was said evaporates as an apology for residential schooling. Thus it was no apology at all, but bluff and continued evasion. We believe he said what he said honestly; that is, that he sincerely believed in what he was saying, but only because, for the governments and individuals he was representing (past and present), he had to craft an evasive statement that he could, in all sincerity, endorse. Did Mr. Harper, all on his own, come up with this muddied, tortured declaration right off the cuff, or perhaps just a few minutes before he came down the stairs with his escorts in tow? Well, since Indian Affairs Minister Strahl has been telling us for weeks now what Harper was going to say, we doubt it. We also doubt that the Conservative party didn’t have a team of lawyers, rhetoricians, and spin doctors, if not writing the statement, at least agonizing over every phrase, every word, every revelation in the evolving document, considering in detail every implication and weighing each possible consequence. Someone was even counting the number of words. No, what we saw was carefully considered, and when such a carefully prepared and comprehensively vetted document does some things (and not others) it is no accident.

So then, is our “belief” about what Mr. Harper was evading correct? We had no trouble seeing through the Prime Minister’s tortured prose because we’re well aware of related issues (such as the ones we began this essay with) that are no part of what the average Canadian is supposed to know and what government and church officials know all too well: the United Nations Genocide Convention and Canada’s role in it.

Take a moment and judge for yourself: go online (if you’re not online already) and find the text of the UN Genocide Convention. If you know anything about the internet you’ll have no trouble finding it; we give the text of Article II below:
Art. 2. In the present Convention, genocide means any of the following acts committed with intent to destroy, in whole or in part, a national, ethnical, racial or religious group, as such:
(a) Killing members of the group;
(b) Causing serious bodily or mental harm to members of the group;
(c) Deliberately inflicting on the group conditions of life calculated to bring about its physical destruction in whole or in part;
(d) Imposing measures intended to prevent births within the group;
(e) Forcibly transferring children of the group to another group.

Many of you will be reading this for the first time. You aren’t supposed to be reading it at all. We call attention to sections (b) and, especially, (e), which we call the “Slam Dunk.” If pressed we’d be willing to argue the entire list, but we don’t have to: the Article says any, not all. Even Mr. Harper in his statement comes perilously close to the Slam Dunk a couple of times:

“…very young children were often forcibly removed from their homes…”

and

“…it was wrong to forcibly remove children from their homes and we apologize for having done this.”

Was he, in subconscious guilt, aping a phrase he had read a million times before with the understanding he must avoid it at all costs? … or, perhaps, intentionally teetering along the edge of a precipice, in order to mock the dozen or so of us who were waiting to see if he used the correct word? We don’t know. He creeps into another neighborhood (b) once again when he mentions:

“…emotional, physical and sexual abuse and neglect of helpless children…”

but that’s as close as he gets to any of the other categories of acts constituting genocide in international law. It isn’t crucial, however; we already have the Slam Dunk.

Well, isn’t there some way around this… this… embarrassing fact? No. One of the contributors to the current document wrote a book 14 years ago that established the genocide that was Indian residential schooling, and the absence of ways around it was thoroughly dealt with there. However, no one read it then and no one is going to read it now (although it’s still available in print form, and free on the internet at www.nativestudies.org), particularly when we’ve gone and spoiled the ending for everyone.

But then, is there no “responsible” authority (not just a dozen or so Indians, and worse, Indian-lovers, who can read and add and reason) who can tell you, our present readership, whether our “interpretation” is right or wrong? (Over the years, time and again, work on this issue has been slighted by phrases like “X believes that the residential schools were genocide,” or “In X’s opinion, Canada and the churches are guilty of genocide,” like it was some disputable quirk on X’s part that is at issue. Well, it’s the United Nations “opinion,” as expressed in the black-and-white of the Convention, that Canada and the churches committed genocide, and the UN is the body that in 1948 got to say what genocide was.) Okay. In support of our “interpretation,” we call what all must agree is a “responsible” authority… the government of Canada.

Also available on the above web site is a paper that provides more detail and references concerning Canada’s disreputable collusion with the United States in gutting a form of the genocide convention that would have been much more explicit with respect to the point we’re making. The current convention is a watered-down version of the proposals of Raphael Lemkin (the man who coined the term “genocide” in 1944), but even watered down it is sufficient. So sufficient that, when it came time to implement the Genocide Convention in Canada’s criminal code (which was what each nation of the United Nations was supposed to do), Canada omitted entire subsections of the UN Convention (by 1970, (b), (d), and (e) were gone, Canada telling anyone who asked that the laws against murder and manslaughter already banned genocide – reducing genocide, as they discussed in the early 50’s, to outright killing). No less an authority than eventual Prime Minister Lester Pearson had suggested that surgery had to be performed on the UN Genocide Convention, or otherwise Canada and its churches would be in violation of it… and, for heavens’ sake, Indians might someday learn to read!

It’s true that even the Convention as articulated provided sufficient wiggle room to allow countries to adopt modified versions of it. But, as remarked by a commentator who first encountered the Convention last Wednesday, Canada’s excisions and elisions betoken a guilty conscience about what it had been up to. After all, this is what the US, with Canada’s aid, had forced through the conference dealing with this particular issue, and if it was good enough in principle for everyone else in the world, why was it inappropriate for Canada?

Finally, sometime in the late 1990’s, Canada quietly, surreptitiously, and without ceremony removed genocide as a chargeable offense from its criminal code, leaving mention of it now solely in the provisions against hate crimes.

We find it interesting how closely the vaporization of genocide in Canadian law coincided with rising consciousness in Native America on the distance between what international law said and what governments had done, and with a government-commissioned secret study that warned the Chrétien government that Canada was liable with respect to the “genocide issue” and recommended it bite the bullet and ‘fess up. As always, Canada provided itself with some explanatory “wiggle room” about why they did what they did, but we would certainly like to ask some direct questions of the officials involved, as well as examine documents and internal correspondence on these subjects (but see below). But, to summarize in a fashion both short and blunt, the history of Canada’s involvement in the creation and implementation of genocide law, nationally and internationally, betokens an overriding concern with its culpability and liability with respect to its treatment of indigenous peoples in general, and its operation of Indian residential schools in particular.

So, Canada itself agrees that our reading of the UN Genocide Convention is correct, and that it accurately characterizes its behavior towards Native Peoples.

Okay, you might say, Canada’s behavior is at variance with international genocide law… but didn’t implementing what they did, however maimed and deformed, into Canadian law remove all future problems? After all, aren’t their actions simply a version of what the United States, also worried about the possibility of being charged with genocide, undertook… adopting a limited version of the Convention, finally, at the end of the Regan administration, and then subjecting it to interpretation by American courts?

It’s true it was pure evasion, but it isn’t true that it lets Canada off any hook. Apart from the “guilty conscious” their behavior evidences, putting aside any question of legal liability that might or might not be attached, and forgoing any discussion of what jurists have long ago established concerning the priority of international law (e.g., that countries and government officials can’t exempt themselves from accountability to international law); instead of all that, just ask yourself: was it merely the failure of the corrupt powers of Rwanda (or Slobodan Milosevic) to exempt themselves (or himself) from the Genocide Convention that got them (or him) into trouble? Suppose the Genocide Convention was in force during the Holocaust… would Hitler’s declaring himself and his chums “immune” have rendered it inoperative? Is that the length the average Canadian is willing to have her or his government go to avoid having to deal with its genocide of indigenous peoples?

It has taken us some time, but Mr. Harper’s statement:

“…it was wrong to forcibly remove children from their homes and we apologize for having done this.”

…must be amended to say:

“…it was wrong for the government of Canada to forcibly remove children from their homes and we apologize for having done this. And it was a crime.”

Bank robbers, thieves, drunk drivers… all criminals, in fact… don’t get to erase their crimes by saying “I’m sorry,” regardless of how sincerely they might say it.

Genocide on the Table

A television snippet from country-wide reaction on Wednesday featured Diane Blair crying out “It was genocide! Why not just admit it?!”

A fair question, and one well-put. As we have seen, Mr. Harper could have used the term, and it was a deliberate act not to. What motivated him? Without too much thought we can see several reasons, grounds sufficient for us to have anticipated long before Wednesday’s circus that what we weren’t going to hear would be a genuine apology. To answer the woman’s question, first, keep on reading the Convention; immediately you will find:
Art. 3. The following acts shall be punishable:
(a) Genocide;
(b) Conspiracy to commit genocide;
(c) Direct and public incitement to commit genocide;
(d) Attempt to commit genocide;
(e) Complicity in genocide.
Art. 4. Persons committing genocide or any of the other acts enumerated in Article 3 shall be punished, whether they are constitutionally responsible rulers, public officials or private individuals.
So we have Reason 1: rulers, public officials, and private individuals, criminals all, prefer to avoid being punished for their actions. It is very common, we think, for criminals to not want to be punished. In most cases, however, and unlike the case under consideration (i.e., the Indian residential schools), criminals are not in charge of the political, economic, legal, and journalistic controls of a nation. Journalistic control, of course, is particularly necessary if one is going to maintain the manufactured ignorance of multiple millions of Canadians.

Reason 2: Canada has held other nations accountable to a standard of international law that it has itself evaded. That is hypocrisy. Canada wants to complain to China about its human rights abuses; it does not want its own abuses thrown back into its face.
Reason 3: Assaults, rapes, and every other form of abuse expire in national law, perhaps even in international law, according to their Statute of Limitation. Genocide has no Statute of Limitation.

Reason 4: Canada presents itself as a good world citizen, a paragon of virtue. However, a country that bears comparison with Nazi Germany is a paragon of virtue like Charles Manson is a boy scout leader.

Reason 5: Speaking like a psychologist for a moment, abusers frequently tell themselves they have good grounds for the abuses they perpetrate. Often they repeat the lie to themselves with such regularity that they come to believe it.

Reason 6: This is a reason the head of the United Church gave us in a public meeting in 2002: “genocide” is such a harsh word that the membership of his church would be upset by its use, however appropriate. Thus, it’s better to perform genocide than give it its proper name. So perhaps Canada is similarly just thinking about the tender sensibilities of its real citizens, and not those of its pseudo-citizens against whom the genocide was implemented.

Reason 7: The lengths Canada has gone (first, to limit the definition of genocide, and second, to obstruct every way there might have been for indigenous peoples to even raise it as an issue) shows the fear that, if the governments and churches show “weakness,” Indians will treat them with the same rapacity Westerners show weaknesses detected in one another. That is, that Indians will behave like Westerners (the irony that this transformation is what the residential schools were trying to institute has not escaped our notice). It is to our credit that there is no evidence at all that we would behave in such an inhuman manner. More than for any other reason, the moves that have been made toward litigation have been motivated by the government and churches closing off any other ways of seeking redress. From the beginning, all the survivors wanted was a genuine apology, along the criteria we’ve mentioned at the beginning of this commentary.

Reason 8: For us, Reason 1 and its first cousin, Reason 7 are is the overriding motivations behind avoiding the word “genocide.” But it takes not a moments reflection to appreciate that, once “genocide” is on the table, its application across the entire range of policies and programs affecting Native Peoples, historically and contemporaneously, must be considered.

Let’s briefly look at some specific cases in light of Reason 8. So; how well does “genocide” fit the various incentives manufactured over the years for Indians to enfranchise themselves or to be enfranchised? Perfectly, we think. So; how descriptive is “genocide” concerning the 60’s and 70’s Scoops, where uncounted numbers of indigenous children were adopted out, some overseas, to non-Native foster parents? Flawlessly, in our opinion. (Sterilization? Who said that?) Or, can “genocide” accurately characterize the current status of suicide in aboriginal communities? It can and it does, we would argue.

And on and on. Maybe some of you would prefer to argue the point, but that’s our point: the Indian residential schools were not isolated idiosyncrasies of a few members of a governmental department or two. Genocides involve a host of interrelated and interwoven policies and programs, the understanding of which requires sustained effort and the application of all 5 of the specific headings given under Article II. The Nazis, for goodness’ sake, made it illegal for Jews to own parrots!

Bringing genocide to the table would take the churches, but more centrally the government of Canada, into the exhaustive examination of additional regions of its policies and programs with respect to indigenous peoples, regions that, up until now, it has successfully avoided (or at least, as it is now trying to do with residential school, managed to isolate from other policies). And, what is perhaps even more important, establishing that Canada’s policies toward indigenous peoples constitute an historic and ongoing genocide rules out Mr. Harper’s statement as an apology, since such would violate the second feature of a genuine apology; someone who is still doing it can’t be promising not to do it again.

If Genocide, Why?

So far we have only dealt with why what Mr. Harper said on Wednesday was not an apology (to summarize, he meticulously avoided using the proper term “genocide” to characterize Canada’s actions, thereby impugning the sincerity with which he had worked so hard to infuse his words). But at the outset we objected to more than the non-apologetic nature of his statement; we took exception with characterizations he made of the actions of the churches and governments.

We don’t dispute his repeated assertions that “it was wrong.” For us, this was a no-brainer: genocide is wrong. Mr. Harper’s pathetic attempt to insinuate mitigating circumstances (“While some former students have spoken positively about their experiences at residential schools…”), another evasion which disqualifies his statement as an apology (just try to apologize for killing someone while driving under the influence of alcohol by saying “I always do silly things when I’m drunk”), also boomerangs when we consider the irrelevance of the specifics of a genocide to decide upon its “wrongness.” After all, some Jews learned a useful trade working as slave labor in concentration camps; some made new friends; many lost weight; and some even had their metabolisms re-set, so that they were able to maintain a healthy weight for the rest of their lives! But when you make the moral decision that genocide is wrong, you don’t have to listen to sophistry that tries to turn the task of making moral judgments into an accounting of the “goods” and “bads” of a particular program.

There are numerous other places we could be picayune. Calling residential schools “educational institutions” grated on us, for example. But in at least one more point the presentation descended much too far into pure fiction for us to leave it uncommented. With genocide now revealed as the accurate term to characterize the governments’ and the churches’ actions, the question of why arises. Even Mr. Harper, in evading the issue of genocide, still felt compelled to provide his listeners with an historical vignette of the underlying cause of creation and operation of the schools:

“Two primary objectives of the residential schools system were to remove and isolate children from the influence of their homes, families, traditions and cultures, and to assimilate them into the dominant culture. These objectives were based on the assumption that aboriginal cultures and spiritual beliefs were inferior and unequal.”

There you have it; the objective was to assimilate Indians, because we were believed to have inferior cultures (spiritual beliefs are an expression of culture, and thus redundantly included in Mr. Harper’s statement). This was “wrong,” “caused great harm,” and has “no place in our country.”

We have no doubt about the “great harm” part of his statement; however, you should notice how it leaves the agents of all this misery unnamed. It was “the residential school system” that had objectives (and not people working for the churches and governments), and the “inferiority assumption” apparently just hung in mid-air during the years of operation of residential schools, unattached to anything identifiable as a human being wearing a frock or business suit.

Are things any better when we supply warm bodies to this dodge? Well, inserting human beings into all this would at least make explicit that it was people who had the objectives of (1) removing Indian children from their forms of life and (2) insinuating them into mainstream culture, and that people had the (now more obviously racist) assumption that Indians were inferior. So now, our agreeing that this was “wrong” allows us to encapsulate and restate this part of Mr. Harper’s little history lesson into “people did harmful things to Indians because those people were racists.”

But anyone who thinks we are satisfied with this rendering is much too used to bad movie scripts, where bad people do bad things because they are bad. As if the clergy and governmental officials responsible were all wearing black hats. Life is not so simple.

First, the image that in Indian residential schools an “inferior” culture was being replaced with a “superior” culture (which thinking, thanks to the P. M., we now know has “no place” in Canada) is simply wrong. Indian children were not being taught to drink tea with their pinkies extended, speak with an affected English accent, or appreciate poetry and opera; they were being taught to perform as menials (domestics, farm hands, cooks, etc.) for members of the superior culture (and even the not-so-elevated members of that culture). If they were expected to learn anything in residential schools, it was to learn their place; to perform, without question and with dispatch, the commands of their betters. If this was assimilation into “dominant culture” it was into its lowest, most wretched, most disposable stratum, where the inhabitants moiled to eke out a marginal existence. It was alright that these serfs would be Indians; after all, our “betters” have never really concerned themselves with the color of their peons.

Second, attributing this all to “the racists” (who, thank heaven, no longer have a place in Canada) erects a faceless, nameless straw man we’re all supposed to take a turn at pummeling. But this piece of misdirection insinuates that ideology determines actions, rather than actions determining ideology. This is too big a subject to go into here, but ideologies of race, race inferiority, and sub-humanity arise from the material needs to dispossess and expropriate, and not vice versa. Canada’s wealth has arisen from the willingness of the settler society to simply take what they want from indigenous populations (just ask the Lubicon, the Cree of Northern Quebec, and the Labrador Innu, for recent examples). It’s in casting about for some excuse to justify satisfying a material agenda that Canadians have had to create and then invoked the non-humanity of the real owners of Canada.

Consequently, holding anonymous racists responsible for the woes of Indians and assuring us they no longer abide here is nothing but additional falsification on a heroic level. For banishing faceless and nameless spirits to some vasty deep does no such thing as long as the material need to do away with Indian rights and claims continues to abide here. Thus Mr. Harper’s history lesson is nothing more than another kind of bribe… like the forthcoming Truth and Reconciliation Commission. “Just let us insinuate a comic-book version of Canada,” it says. “We don’t have to name the ghosts in the story; we all know who they were anyway. We’ll just pretend they’re all gone now, so you can sleep better at nights. And we get to pretend there’s a clean and complete split with this admittedly reprehensible past.” But the past is present, and it seems, the future.

Resolving Anything Useful?

For a “clean break” the events of Wednesday leave an enormous number of loose ends (some thicker than the Atlantic Cable) flailing around, at least for us. Even several of the leaders of the other political parties, in their responses to Mr. Harper’s statement, noted on Wednesday that it was short on detail. That may be true; however, directly by Mr. Harper’s words and indirectly by implication the upcoming Truth and Reconciliation Commission has been accorded the task of sorting out the remaining specifics.

Is it up to the task? Not even in the cartoon world Mr. Harper has created, much less in the real world.

As already mentioned the statement not only said things we dispute, it left unmentioned a host of issues we needed to see addressed. Let’s run through a few of the omissions:

(1) Genocide. Is the commission going to bring this up? And so what if it does? Canada has already demonstrated it will simply ignore the charge if it’s made, and has been careful to eliminate any possibility of treating the matter in a serious way. Minister Strahl, for example, stated repeatedly in the run-up to Wednesday that nothing Mr. Harper would say would prohibit an ongoing, aggressive investigation into crimes associated with the residential school. But he knew, as we did, that the central crime had already been removed from consideration. Even if Indian after Indian stands before the commission and charges genocide, nothing will happen about it. Most of all, such repetition will only dispose the “average” Canadian, who is supposed to be getting an education on these things, into the familiar stupor of “there go those damned Indians again, always complaining about something.”

(2) The Cover-Ups. Once “wrongs” are correctly identified as “crimes,” can anyone else see that Canada and its churches have been covering up the crimes of the residential schools for quite some time now? The pattern of responding to charges made by former prisoners of Indian residential schools was predictable and familiar: stonewall, then impugn the testimony and motives of the victims (“those troublemakers just like to make noise, or they’re looking for another handout”), then admit that maybe, just maybe there was a “bad apple” here and there in a gigantic barrel of nice apples (“some bad things may have happened, but it was all done with the best of intentions”), then throw a sacrifice (preferably one already dead) to a dissatisfied and growing crowd of lawyers, and then go back to stonewalling (“Hey, enough already! The issue has been settled!”).

Canada and the churches have worked long and hard to avoid admitting anything (in 1998 it was estimated that the Anglican Church, for one, had spent the overwhelming bulk of their budget for dealing with residential schooling on advice from publicity agencies), much less general and specific criminal acts. As anyone paying attention could probably guess, here the government has long ago moved to limit its own possible damages from colluding in knowingly hiding crimes and hindering investigations, so that, for example, while it’s illegal in Canada to destroy documents needed for criminal investigations the people who do the destroying can’t be charged with anything (the “Naughty-Naughty” Principle).

But the churches have long looked out for their own, with known pedophiles in their ranks given a “time out” and then transferred to a new assignment without the inconvenience of having to face a criminal charge. By the way, isn’t this what Becket and King Henry were arguing about back in the 13th century? Eventually, didn’t English law come down on Henry’s side? We have to agree with Henry on this one.

The victims of abuse at residential schools have had to endure not only the original abuse, but the vituperation and calumny of criminals and those assisting criminals in evading disclosure and prosecution. And, for parliamentarians and bureaucrats, even if they’ve removed themselves from the possibility of formal criminal charges under the existing criminal code, justice demands an accounting and acknowledgement of the cover-up as much as it demands them of the original crimes.

(3) The Secret Histories. Attention has been focused so much on church and governmental abuses that there is a clear and present danger that an additional unknown number of malefactors will slip through the cracks. It has already been acknowledged that, for example, in the 50’s the Canadian Medical Association asked for, and received, permission to study the distribution and growth of tuberculosis in “human” populations by giving unpasteurized milk to the children in residential schools. Around the same time, the Canadian Dental Association asked for, and received, permission to study the lifelong development and growth of caries (tooth decay) in “human” populations by giving “sham treatments” to Indian children in residential schools. Here, not only are the people who “authorized” these child abuses culpable, so are the people who ask for them. Both these cases, of course, took place long after the Nuremburg Protocols for ethical research with human beings had been articulated and accepted.

Nor does it end here. The notorious Dr. Cameron, who, while in the pay of the Central Intelligence Agency, used electroshock and mind-altering drugs to experiment on innocent Canadians (a chapter in Canadian history immortalized, so to speak, in a CBC movie), also had some kind of involvement with Indian residential schools, mainly in the Prairie provinces. Rumors abound (since at least the early 90’s), but there has never been enough hard evidence to sustain charges. Doesn’t this bear investigation?

In fact, with a captive population and a supervening authority at best indifferent to their well-being and without any mechanism of complaint or due process available to the victims, what could not have happened? On this subject our imaginations have already been far outstripped by what everyone admits actually did happen; what a broadly-thrown finely-gauged net might dredge up is, in our opinion, anybody’s guess. The (now, finally, at last) movement to start digging in church graveyards and remote, unmarked locations is merely the tip of an iceberg, one that could well nail, even for those Canadians at the utmost levels of denial, the concept of genocide to Canada’s treatment of indigenous peoples.

There’s more (Sterilization? Who said that?), but this is enough for now. These three loose ends, rather than “details” that can be dealt with summarily, are, we predict, Hydra’s Heads that will sprout hundreds or even thousands of additional inquiries if pursued with due diligence. We have a number of problems with the upstart commission, but our question here is: Is the “Truth and Reconciliation Commission” equal to this task?

This commission can (1) subpoena no witnesses, (2) compel no testimony, (3) requisition no document. It cannot find, charge, fine, or imprison. Thus far, the only ones lining up to testify are members of groups who have already testified (the Royal Commission on Aboriginal Peoples generated thousands of pages of testimony from school survivors, a corpus, we must add, that has not in the slightest way entered into the consciousness of the average Canadian in the 12 years since its publication) and those who still maintain sufficient plausible deniability to publicly defend its inactions (the RCMP, for example). Those most obviously culpable have already stated their intentions not to bother showing up.

Will, somehow, the victims of residential schooling show up dragging bales of documents proving abusive actions, abusive policies, collusion, cover-ups, etc. on the part of ministers, bureaucrats, clergy, professors, bag-men, pedophiles, and the full host of assorted miscreants? They’d better, for the “Truth and Reconciliation Commission” won’t have them.

Or maybe we just need to pray for our own version of a governmental or ecclesiastical “Valachi,” who will show up and rat out the Dons, all the way up to and including the Capo de Tutti Capi. However, not only is this an extremely thin thread upon which to hang our hopes for truth (and more importantly, JUSTICE); what “witness protection program” is going to protect him or her?

“Truth” is an odd name for a body that can trade not at all in that particular commodity. “Reconciliation,” too, is an odd word for five years of allegations that can be either scorned or ignored, according to the tastes of those who are its subject. It invokes the same fantasy world Mr. Harper constructed, where Canadian and indigenous peoples are returned to that happy state of mutual respect and cooperation that existed before the bad old residential schools came along and ruined everything. In “truth,” however, there never has been any “conciliation” to “re.”

Conclusions

We don’t know about you, but we’ve been unable to swing a dead cat since Wednesday without whacking someone telling us about how the “apology” has “closed a painful chapter” and signals “a new beginning in relations” between “Canadians and Indian-Canadians” (sic). Like someone tearing apart a picture of a former boyfriend or girlfriend, spitting on it, and walking away from the pieces tossed over the shoulder, however, we’ve been witnessing a made-up ceremony, one where the participants, for various reasons, are trying more to convince themselves they’ve dealt with all the serious issues rather than actually putting an end to them.

Canada has, once again, missed a truly historic opportunity, putting paste on display rather than an authentic diamond, because the diamond, in someone’s estimation, would have been far too expensive. Already, after the patina of ceremony has worn off, there have been some rumblings, primarily around the fact the Mr. Harper’s statement was long on being sorry and short on being active. And as we pointed out at the start, a real apology promises to undo, as far as possible, the damage done. But now that the statement is revealed as just another evasion, we must caution against whatever action the governments of Canada would propose; as we’ve tried to make clear, the “action” Mr. Harper’s statement endorses, the “Truth” and “Reconciliation” Commission, is no action at all. And someone who steals your car, wrecks it, and is unrepentant about his/her actions is most definitely not the person you’d choose to repair it or replace it.

But that person most certainly at the very least would be responsible to pay the costs of repair or replacement. If this be genocide, the role of Canada’s government (and churches) is to make it possible for us to once again make ourselves whole, nothing more and nothing less. How should we do this, how long it will take us, where do we start… these questions and more crowd in on us all. But they are questions we must identify, discuss, and answer ourselves.

Those of you who saw clearly and immediately the farce that was being played out; those of you who felt in your heart of hearts that the whole orchestration was out of tune but couldn’t identify the offending instruments until now; and those of you who were misled until you brought the powers of your own intellect to the examination of this exercise in rhetorical excess; whatever your history is that led you to complete this overlong commentary; we invite you to join in the task of building what ultimately must replace this charade, some kind of response authentically committed to truth in this history and justice in its resolution.

Roland Chrisjohn
Andrea Bear Nicholas
Karen Stote
James Craven (Omahkohkiaayo i'poyi)
Tanya Wasacase
Pierre Loiselle
Andrea O. Smith