[Indigsol] Ardoch Blockade Update!

[Matt Kristjansson]

Here is yesterday's uranium news and an article from today to clarify what's 
been happenign at the site lately. btw, there is a ride board at Exile right 
now so peep that shit if you want to go/are going and willing to take 
people, it'll be checked daily. it's also looking like myself and some 
allies will head up saturday for a couple nights. i'm also willing to be a 
contact point for folks who want to go still.
in resistance,
matt k.

AUGUST 28TH, 2007

In this issue:

1) UPDATE FROM THE SITE
2) TENT CITY
3) THANK YOU FOR YOUR SUPPORT
4) A REMINDER: THE RULES OF ENGAGEMENT
5) CBC ARTICLE

UPDATE FROM THE SITE

The police have stated they will be starting negotiations with the First 
Nations
tomorrow, to remove them from the site. The First Nations have been very 
clear
that they will not be leaving. There was an excellent turn out at the site
today, with lots of media coverage. Please come out and continue to show 
your
support. The next few days are crucial to raise awareness.


TENT CITY

As many of you may have heard on CBC radio and other stations, the 
non-natives
are starting a tent city outside of the gates. Come on out and bring your
camping gear, picnic style food, water, signs and activities to occupy the 
time.
We still encourage people not to go on the site. Stay on the road allowance.


THANK YOU FOR YOUR SUPPORT

Chief Doreen Davis spoke today about the alliance that our communities have
formed. Seldom has First Nations and Settlers come together as a community 
to
address a common issue.  It is so inspiring to see.  WE ARE MAKING HISTORY!


A REMINDER: THE RULES OF ENGAGEMENT

•We must not trespass on private land. Unlike the First Nations People, we 
must
stay on the road allowance (The road side of the gate.)

•Be positive and respectful with everyone.

•You are there as an observer, not as a representative of any group, so do 
not
speak about issues you are unsure about. It is important not to promote
inflammatory rumors, as it can harm our position.

•If you are approached by a police officer, they will ASK your permission to 
be
arrested. At this time you should decline. The officer will then ask you to 
step
out of the way. DO SO IMMEDIATELY AND POLITELY. DO NOT MAKE ANY SIDE 
COMMENTS OR
INFLAMMATORY REMARKS.


CBC ARTICLE

Algonquins ordered to end blockade of uranium exploration
Last Updated: Tuesday, August 28, 2007 | 11:59 AM ET
CBC News

An Ontario judge has ordered Algonquin protesters to vacate a property where
Frontenac Ventures wants to explore for uranium.

Judge Gordon Thomson granted the injunction Monday, giving the mining 
company
"immediate, unfettered and unobstructed access" to the land blockaded by the
Ardoch and Shabot Obaadjiwan Algonquin First Nations since June 29.

The injunction also gives police the authority to remove people camped on 
the
property near Sharbot Lake, about 60 kilometres north of Kingston.

Ardoch First Nation co-chief Paula Sherman says the ruling came as a shock 
since
only last week the judge ruled the protesters could stay and only their camp
buildings had to go.

"It really seems to be a kind of about-face," Sherman told CBC News. "You 
know,
over the weekend, something must have happened to change his mind. We're 
kind of
flabbergasted actually."

Although the relationship between protesters and the Ontario Provincial 
Police
has been peaceful up to now, Sherman says that could easily change.

For more of this article go to…

http://www.cbc.ca/canada/ottawa/story/2007/08/28/sudden-injunction.html
http://www.thewhig.com/webapp/sitepages/content.asp?contentid=673021&catname=Local+News&classif=

OPP hesitates after judge's ruling; Police take no immediate action
on uranium mine blockade

Frank Armstrong
Local News - Wednesday, August 29, 2007 @ 00:00

A group of natives and police officers huddled inside a screened tent
yesterday to discuss a judge's order to remove protesters barricading
a proposed uranium site near Sharbot Lake.

All eyes were fixed on Insp. Garry MacPherson, head of the OPP's
Aboriginal Relations Team, as he spoke to the group in slow, measured
words.

Dozens of non-native onlookers crowded around the tent's perimeter to
listen to the man in the dress shirt and tie and to the native
leaders around him.

MacPherson arrived yesterday morning at the scene of the blockade by
local Algonquins who have been preventing a uranium prospecting
company from entering the site since June 29.

A judge on Monday ordered the Algonquins to leave the site or risk
being forced off by police.

MacPherson said OPP lawyers haven't gone over the written order,
which was released Monday, and didn't yet have any plans to act. If
it's determined the OPP must follow the judge's order, the OPP will
warn the protesters ahead of time, he said.

"We're not going to sneak in. We're not going to come in en masse or
anything like that," he told the Algonquins around him.

The hour-long meeting involved three OPP officers, including
MacPherson, and six Algonquins, leaders of the Ardoch and Shabot
Obaadjiwan First Nations. It was held in the form of a traditional
First Nations pipe ceremony and telling circle, a native tradition
that is meant to provide courage and encourage people to speak the
truth. The person who is speaking holds an eagle feather, which is
passed from person to person.

A few metres away, more than 30 cars lined both sides of the road,
the vehicles of dozens of area residents and Algonquins who had heard
the news about the judge's order and came to lend their support.

The Algonquins took over the entrance to the site between Clarendon
Station and Mississippi Station on June 29, the national day of
aboriginal action.

Oakville-based Frontenac Ventures has been prospecting for uranium
there, but has been blocked from entering by the Algonquins who fear
a uranium mine could destroy the region's water table.

They say the provincial government shouldn't have allowed Frontenac
Ventures to pros-pect there before consulting with them because the
land belongs to them.

According to an agreement signed by the British in 1873, any land not
sold to or surrendered to the Crown belongs to their native allies.

Frontenac Ventures is suing the Algonquins for $77 million and is
seeking a court order that would permanently force the protesters off
their land.

Last week, Ontario Superior Court judge Gordon Thomson issued a
temporary order for the Algonquins to remove all their gear from the
site, but didn't specifically say they must go.

He also didn't authorize the provincial police to remove anyone who
disobeyed in hopes the two sides would work out a solution.

After it became apparent neither side would negotiate, Thomson issued
the interim injunction, which tells the protesters to leave and
authorizes police to arrest or remove anyone who contravenes the
order.

Algonquins and non-natives yesterday said they won't let Frontenac
Ventures onto the site and said Ontario Premier Dalton McGuinty must
step up to the plate to end the standoff.

"We will keep this as peaceful as possible, but we will not be
pulling down the barricade," said Shabot Obaadjiwan chief Doreen
Davis.

A spokesperson from the premier's office said yesterday they could
not comment specifically on the Clarendon mine site case as it is
before the court.

Some protesters voiced fears of a repeat of Ipperwash or Caledonia,
where native land claims disputes have led to violence.

In Caledonia, police, natives and non-native protesters have clashed
over a four-month aboriginal blockade to protest a housing
development that was being built on land local natives claimed as
their own.

During the 1995 Ipperwash crisis in Ipperwash Provincial Park,
several members of the Stoney Point Ojibway band occupied the park in
order to assert their claim to the land. The occupation led to a
violent confrontation between protesters and the OPP, who killed
protester Dudley George.

MacPherson said the OPP have learned from those two experiences and
don't intend to repeat history.

He told the protesters that the interim injunction could probably
arrive in the hands of a sheriff within a day and at some point the
sheriff would visit the site.

"That may be today," he said. "If that does occur, our intent would
be simply to maintain the peace for everybody and that the order
would be read, period."

MacPherson wouldn't speak to reporters after the meeting.

Snow Road resident Carolyn Hudson, a United Church minister, said
she's impressed by the diplomatic efforts of the provincial police.
"It was very reassuring to hear the OPP talking about the need for
communication before anything happens," said Hudson, who has helped
lead a letter-writing campaign to politicians.

Harold Perry, honourary chief of the Ardoch Algonquins, said he's
pleased that the OPP have kept open lines of communication, but he's
wary of what's to come.

"It's great to have those conversations and dialogue going on, but at
the same time, we can't be totally trusting of what they say," Perry
said. "We have to assume they're going to come in and try to move us
out."

He hopes this struggle will go more smoothly than the last time local
Algonquins asserted their native rights.

In the 1980s, when the federal government decided to allow a Manitoba
businessman to harvest the wild rice plants that the local Algonquins
had harvested by hand for centuries, hundreds of people came together
to block the access roads.

Tensions mounted and police arrived in the small community of Ardoch
by the dozens.

"There was a lot of hostility and pushing and shoving," Perry said.
Police brought two helicopters, hired tow trucks and brought in paddy
wagons to haul people away, recalled Perry.

Nonetheless, the Algonquins held their ground for 27 days and in 1982
the federal government reversed its decision.

The hearing for the permanent injunction application will begin Sept. 20.

farmstrong at thewhig.com

http://www.theglobeandmail.com/servlet/story/RTGAM.20070828.wuranium0828/BNStory/National/home

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