Category Archives: Indigenous Struggles
Oshkimaadzig Unity Camp – Uniting the New People
The word “Oshkimaadzig” refers to the “New People” of the Seven Fires Anishinaabek Prophecy, the people who were prophesied to be the ones who would pick up the remnants of their traditional ways of life and values long repressed by colonialism, and by reclaiming these values they will begin to unite all peoples for the survival of humanity and Mother Earth.
Oshkimaadzig Unity Camp is located in traditional Wendat (“Huron”) land, and since the genocidal dispersal of the Wendat by the French and the wars that forced them to flee the area in the mid 17th century, the Anishinaabe have been the keepers of the eastern door, recognized by the Three Fires Confederacy (Odawa, Potawatamie, and Ojibwe). This land also falls within a number of treaties amongst indigenous people and between indigenous nations and European settlers, including the Two Row Wampum, the ‘One Dish, One Spoon’ Treaty, the Beaver Belt, the Haudenosaunee-Anishinaabek Friendship Belt, the 1764 Fort Niagara Silver Chain Covenant, and the 24 Nations Belt. Read the rest of this entry
Despite Online Land Auction, Ganienkeh Will Never Leave Its Land
Ganienkeh Territory (November 29, 2012) – Despite an online land auction set to take place tomorrow, The Ganienkeh Council Fire declares that the results of the auction are irrelevant to its territorial rights. As a sovereign and independent territory of the Kanien’kehá:ka (Mohawk) Nation, Ganienkeh Territory and its residents are not subject to the laws or the courts of the United States of America, New York State, Clinton County, or the town of Altona. The outcome of the lawsuit launched by the Turtle Island Trust on November 28th (New York Supreme Court Case 2012-00001702) and of the online auction scheduled by Clinton County for Friday, November 30, are therefore not relevant to Ganienkeh.
As a public service to anyone who is considering bidding in Clinton County’s auction on Friday, the Ganienkeh Council Fire would like to clarify the following points:
First, Ganienkeh Territory is not for sale. The Ganienkeh Council Fire has held sovereign and aboriginal title to its territory since the beginning of time. Clinton County, New York State and the United States of America have never extinguished its sovereign title. Anyone who thinks otherwise is free to make a donation to Clinton County on Friday. Read the rest of this entry