[Indigsol] Fwd: days of action against CN in october?? (ottawa?)

[karen cocq]

hey folks, for discussion at the next meeting (in addition to the
1000x$5 campaign that matt sent info about earlier).
karen



---------- Forwarded message ----------
From: Jaggi Singh <jaggisingh at gmail.com>
Date: Wed, Sep 10, 2008 at 5:11 PM
Subject: days of action against CN in october?? (ottawa?)
To: karen cocq <karen.cocq at gmail.com>, Monika Thakker
<monika.thakker at gmail.com>, Pierre blais <pierrejbb at gmail.com>, Dan
Sawyer <opirgadmin at gmail.com>, Lia Tarachansky
<lia.tarachansky at gmail.com>


hi all -- please pass this on to any groups/individuals in ottawa who
could follow-up on this. thanks! -- jaggi.
---------- Forwarded message ----------
From: Indigenous Solidarity Montreal <indigenoussolidaritymontreal at gmail.com>

Dear friends --

We're writing on behalf of the Montreal Tyendinaga Support Committee.
Locally, we're continuing to raise money for the Tyendinaga Legal
Defence Fund, as well as to raise awareness about the struggle for
self-determination by the Mohawks of Tyendinaga.

One further focus in Montreal has been CN Rail, which is suing Shawn
Brant, Jason Maracle and Tara Green for millions of dollars. CN's
corporate headquarters are in downtown Montreal, which makes it a
logical target for us. We've previously organized two pickets at CN
(on July 1, 2007 and August 14, 2007).
We were planning a local action on October 18, 2008 to help re-start
the campaign against CN, and more generally to raise awareness about
the situation at Tyendinaga. It turns out that October 18 is the
national day for anti-war protests against Canada's role in
Afghanistan (as it happens, CN rail employees wear buttons to "support
our troops", apparently required by CN's bosses). AND, October 18 is
when the CP Spirit Train rolls into town! (Montreal is the last stop).

So, in Montreal, we're planning a day of protest, which begins at CN,
continues at the anti-war demo, and ends at the Spririt Train. This
will all happen on October 18, and our theme is "From Kandahar to
Turtle Island: No Justice on Stolen and Occupied Land!" At each part
of our day of action, we'll focus on various particular themes and
slogans: "CN: Drop your racist lawsuit against the Mohawks of
Tyendinaga" at CN's headquarters; opposition to the war in
Afghanistan; and "No Olympics on Stolen Land!" at the Spirit Train
event.

We're getting in touch because we were hoping that there could be
other national actions against CN rail, under the theme: "CN: Drop
your racist lawsuit" and in support of the Mohawks of Tyendinaga.
Actions could include pickets, banners drops, a delegation visit, a
protest, or whatever you feel your local groups and activists have the
capacity for and make sense for your context. Since October 18 most
likely means an anti-war protest in your town, choose whatever nearby
date makes senses for you. Hopefully, assuming there are enough towns
and cities doing something that focusses on CN, we could have
"national days of action" against CN in mid-October.

Whether a delegation visit to local CN offices by a few folks, or a
protest at a CN installation (they're everywhere acrosss Canada), we
thought it would be cool to try to coordinate something around the
same dates. We chose the October 18 period because it's a week after
Thanksgiving, where there are often anti-colonial activities, which
allows for a bit of awareness-raising before the action.

Below, we've included some of the texts we're using for our local campaign.
--> Do you think something against CN is possible around the date of
October 18?? Either way, please get in touch with us at
indigenoussolidaritymontreal at gmail.com <--

In solidarity,
The Montreal Tyendinaga Support Committee
----------


--- DRAFT MONTREAL FLYER TEXT ---

Support the Mohawks of Tyendinaga

CN: Drop your racist lawsuit!


-- Defend Shawn Brant and the Mohawks of Tyendinaga

Tyendinaga is a Mohawk community located on the shore of the Bay of
Quinte between Toronto and Montreal, in eastern Ontario. The Mohawk
Nation is one of the five original nations of the Iroquois
Confederacy.

As part of long-standing struggles for land and self-determination –
including unresolved land claims, poverty, suicides and polluted water
-- members of the Tyendinaga Mohawk community have organized to defend
their territory. In particular, several actions, including blockades,
have taken place to expedite the slow negotiation process over the
Culbertson Tract, a piece of land the government has long acknowledged
was taken illegally from the Mohawks. A quarry on the land was
reclaimed in March 2007, and Mohawks have maintained a fulltime
presence on-site ever since.

Because of his role as an outspoken spokesperson for the community,
Shawn Brant has been repeatedly targeted for arrest and incarceration.
Shawn's trial for his role in blockades of highways and railways
running through the Tyendinaga territory will begin in January 2009;
the Crown prosecutor is asking for 12 year prison sentence.

The attack on Shawn Brant is no less than an attack on all Indigenous
peoples who stand up to defend their land and community. Other members
of the Tyendinaga community have also been charged with serious
offences, and forbidden from participating in protests. Instead of
acknowledging the just claims of the Tyendinaga Mohawks, the
government and police are criminalizing the community.

We must not let the state succeed with their attacks on Shawn Brant
and the Mohawks of Tyendinaga. As non-native allies, living in settler
communities on or near Mohawk lands, we need to stand up in support of
Indigenous sovereignty and self-determination. Read more below about
"How you can help?"


-- CN: Drop your racist lawsuit!

While various Mohawk activists are facing criminal charges, some are
also facing civil lawsuits by CN Rail, a multi-billion dollar company
with installations and tracks from ocean-to-ocean. CN's corporate
headquarters are in Montreal (935 de La Gauchetière Street West, right
beside the main Central Train Station). CN's rails through the
territory of Tyendinaga were blocked in April 2006, and again in June
2007.

In a legal maneuver that can only be described as colonial, CN is
currently suing three activists from the Tyendinaga Mohawk Territory –
Shawn Brant, Jason Maracle and Tara Green -- for over $100 million.
CN's lawsuit is that much more offensive when you consider that CN
tracks cross native territories all over "Canada." Their lawsuit is
about intimidating and marginalizing effective indigenous organizers,
who are active in the legitimate defense of their land and livelihood.

While CN uses the courts to attack native activists, the company's CEO
-- E. Hunter Harrison -- is a member of the North American
Competitiveness Council, a key promoter of the recently formed
"Security and Prosperity Partnership" (SPP) between Canada, the United
States and Mexico. The SPP continues the imposition of the
pro-corporate North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA), combined
with paranoid "Homeland Security" policies.

When travelers consider the "inconvenience" of delayed trains, or
blocked highways and bridges, contrast that temporary inconvenience
with the permanent and deeply entrenched theft of land from native
communities, and the adverse social conditions that hundreds of years
of genocide have produced.

As part of the campaign of support for the Mohawks of Tyendinaga,
Montreal-area organizers are also organizing a campaign to target CN
Rail for their colonial and racist role in attacking the Mohawks of
Tyendinaga. We are demanding that CN drop their racist lawsuit.


-- How you can help? --

* The Montreal Tyendinaga Support Committee is actively raising money
for the Tyendinaga Legal Defence Fund, which divides funds raised
between the legal costs of Shawn's trial, and maintaining the quarry
reclamation site. Get in touch to contribute, or if you're organizing
your own fundraising events. Check out our website for more info about
the $5 x 1000 Montreal Fundraising Campaign.

* We are also continuing our campaign against CN Rail, whose corporate
headquarters are in Montreal. If you can help with popular education
and action efforts in the coming months, please get in touch. More
info about the CN campaign is also on our website below.

* More generally, get in touch so that you can receive more info about
upcoming events and actions, as well as updates.

INFO: indigenoussolidaritymontreal at gmail.com - 514-848-7583 -
http://www.amp-montreal.net



--- DRAFT $5x1000 TEXT ---

1000 x $5: A Montreal Fundraising Campaign in support of the
Tyendinaga Legal Defence Fund

To all indigenous sovereignty supporters in the Montreal-area

A call for your support: Looking for up to 1000 individuals to donate
$5 in support of the Tyendinaga Legal Defence Fund


This coming January 2009, Mohawk organizer Shawn Brant will be on
trial. If convicted by Canada's colonial courts, the Crown prosecutor
is asking for 12 years in prison. Shawn faces trial and imprisonment
for his involvement in defending the sovereignty and
self-determination of the Mohawks of Tyendinaga, in eastern Ontario.

The legal system's attack on Shawn occurs in the context of blockades
and actions to bring to public attention the longstanding demands for
justice in indigenous communities: unresolved land claims, poverty,
suicide and polluted water. In particular, the Mohawks of Tyendinaga
are demanding the return of the Culbertson Tract, where they have
reclaimed a quarry and maintain a full-time presence on site. The
Culbertson Tract is a piece of land the government has long
acknowledged was taken illegally from the Mohawks.

One tangible and important form of support is to donate to the
Tyendinaga Legal Defence Fund, which splits funds raised between legal
costs and maintaining the quarry.

We are calling on local groups to ask their members to donate $5 in
support of indigenous sovereignty and self-determination. We have set
a goal of trying to collect $5000 by November 30, 2008, $5 at-a-time.
Larger donations won't be turned away, but we still would like to
reach at least 1000 individuals in the Montreal-area, as a way of
raising awareness about this important issue. Please take the time to
read our flyer, or visit the website, to get acquainted with the
issues.

There are three ways you can contribute to the $5 x 1000 Montreal
Fundraising Campaign:

  1. Contact the Montreal Tyendinaga Support Committee directly –
indigenoussolidaritymontreal at gmail.com or 514-848-7583 – to arrange to
make a donation.

  2. Organize a collection of $5 each from individuals within your
group or network at your next meeting, or at an event. When collecting
$5, please be sure to acquaint people with issues surrounding the
court attack on Shawn Brant. After you have collected the money,
please contact the Montreal Tyendinaga Support Committee directly to
pass on the money and information about how many people donated
(again, we'd like to raise $5000, $5 at-a-time).

  3. Visit any one of the eight donation drop-off sites below, and
make your donation (at the same time, pick up an information flyer).
There is an envelope where you can leave your donation behind the main
cash at each location.:


La Librairie L'Insoumise
2033 boulevard Saint-Laurent
(near métro St-Laurent)
tel: 514-313-3489

DIRA Anarchist Library
2035 boulevard Saint-Laurent
(near métro St-Laurent)
tel: 514-843-2018

Le Cagibi
5490 boulevard Saint-Laurent
(near métro Rosemont)
tel: 514-509-1199

QPIRG-Concordia
1455 de Maisonneuve ouest
(near métro Guy-Concordia)
tel: 514-848-7585

Le Frigo Vert
2130 MacKay
(near métro Guy-Concordia)
tel: 514-848-7586

Café Co-op Touski
2361 Ontario est
(near métro Frontenac)
tel: 514-524-3113

Revolution Montreal Bike Store
1757 rue Amherst
(near métro Beaudry)
tel: 514-313-7521

L'Escalier
552 Ste-Catherine est
tel: 514-670-5812
(near métro Berri-Uqam)

----------
Montreal Tyendinaga Support Committee
514-848-7583
indigenoussolidaritymontreal at gmail.com
www.amp-montreal.net (to be updated)