[Indigsol] IPSMO Newsletter, Dec. 21 - 27

[Indigenous Peoples' Solidarity Movement -Ottawa]

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IPSMO Newsletter
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Meetings, Events, Articles
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The Indigenous Peoples’ Solidarity Movement of Ottawa acknowledges that
the city of Ottawa exists on stolen Omàmìwinini (Algonquin) land.
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IPSMO is a grassroots organization that directly supports indigenous
peoples in diverse struggles for justice. We also work within communities
to challenge the lies and half-truths about indigenous peoples and
colonization that dominate Canadian society. The organization is open to
both indigenous and non-indigenous people, and focuses on local and
regional campaigns.
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Newsletter Table of Contents
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1)         IPSM Ottawa Updates

1a) Thanks to all who came out to support Dec 10 court date

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2)      Meetings

2a)     No IPSMO General Meetings Until the New Year

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3)      Events

3a)  Jan 10: IPSMO Decolonial Study Group
3b)  Jan 11-14: Aboriginal Awareness Week
3c)  Jan 22-23: Global Apartheid Conference
3d)  Global Apartheid Conference Callout for Workshops

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4)         No Olympics on Stolen Native Land!

4a) Six Nations protesters disrupt torch relay
4b) Six Nations Will Not Let the Olympic Torch Pass
4c) Opposition to the Torch Relay in Ottawa – Dec 13, 2009
4d) Olympic Torch Relay Being Disrupted Across Canada

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5)         Articles

5a) Platinex drops lawsuits, surrenders mining claims in KI traditional
territory
5b) Campaign seeks to clear John Moore’s Name
5c) Fools' gold?  Algonquins say Canada's largest gold mine project will
leave poverty and environmental devastation when the riches are all gone
5d) From Potlatch to Welfare

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6)         Calls for support

6a) Call for cross-Canada mobilizing: Extinguish the Olympic torch!
6b) National Call to Action Against 2010 Olympic Sponsors: Blood on your
hands
6c) Send Ecard - Support Chapters/Indigo Boycott Campaign

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Newsletter
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1) Updates

1) a) Thanks to all who came out to support Dec 10 court date

There was a big turn out for the court date in Maniwaki which lent much
support to IPSMO members who participated in the highway blockade of
October 2008.  Many thanks to all of the drivers, supporters, researchers
and organizers for their invaluable help during this time.

In October 2008, members of the Indigenous Peoples Solidarity Movement
(IPSMO)- Ottawa participated in a blockade led by the Barriere Lake
Algonquins. A number of charges were laid against Ottawa, Montreal and
Indigenous protesters. On December 10th, three members of IPSMO, will plea
guilty to the charges of mischief under $5000 and obstruction of justice.
We want to pack the court room to show that we don't trust the courts
sense of justice and that we want to be there to witness the decision.

Why a blockade?
The purpose of the non-violent demonstration was to force the Quebec and
Canadian governments to negotiate with the Barriere Lake people in regards
to their rights and treaties. Since 2001, Canada has been in breach of the
1991 Trilateral Agreement. This agreement was hailed a landmark
sustainable development and resource co-management agreement praised by
the United Nations and the Royal Commission on Aboriginal Peoples.
Unfortunately, Canada backed out of the agreement.

Changes outlined in the agreement included:
-Barriere Lake reserve of 59 acres would be enlarged
-co-management of resources would be implemented
-Barriere Lake would receive a share of $1.5 million of the $100 of
resources currently extracted from the territory by Hydro Quebec and
private logging companies
The demands of the blockade included upholding this Trilateral Agreement.
A second demand of the blockade was for the Department of Indian and
Northern Affairs Canada (INAC) to respect the outcome of the traditional
leadership process. The community has documented three instances of
interference in the traditional leadership process, including two coups.
In fact, the demands that Barriere Lake people were looking to discuss
were no more than what Canada had already agreed to, the Trilateral
Agreement, and not interfering with the traditional governmental
structure, both which expected within Canada's own legal and policy
framework.

For more information please visit:
http://barrierelakesolidarity.blogspot.com/

Police Brutality and Misinformation at the Blockade
The police misinformed those who were stopped as well as media, some of
whom did not come closer as a result, falsly claiming that protesters had
guns. The blockade was completely non-violent, at least from the protestor
side of things. The police did shoot tear at the crowd which had many
children and elders in it.
Multiple members from Barriere Lake have served jail time due to arrests
at the blockades. Canada has a duty to negotiate and consult with the
Barriere Lake people, but instead it has stood back and allowed the courts
to criminalize the community through targeted arrests of the community's
leadership during blockades. Meanwhile, the root issues of Canada's
aggression towards the community is still not being addressed.

Description of police brutality towards the three IPSMO protestors and
subsequent reactions:
"Police move to shield the remaining blockaders from view, forming a human
wall around the lock-boxes. Peering between riot police standing with
batons at the ready, we can see an official (he's wearing a different
uniform) giving orders. We see those locked in kicking or flailing in
agony. We will later learn that police used "pain compliance" methods. We
will hear from those who were locked in that the police pinched and pushed
at pressure points, causing severe pain. We will hear that police told
those locked in that by remaining, they were causing more pain to their
comrades. We will hear that police used a crowbar to attempt to pry one
blockader's arm loose. We will hear about sexual harassment. We will argue
about whether or not "torture" is too strong a word to describe what the
police did. We will decide that causing someone pain in order to convince
them to do something they do not want to do does in fact qualify as
torture, but that the media will not take us seriously if we use that
word. An elder will say that "pain compliance" is a good description of
the government's policies towards the Algonquins of Barriere Lake. . . "
Full article detailing blockade, "Pain Compliance as Indigenous Relations"
by Dru Oja Jay, is available at:
http://barrierelakesolidarity.blogspot.com/search/label/media


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2) Meetings
2) a)     No IPSMO General Meetings Until the New Year

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3) Events
3a)  Jan 10: IPSMO Decolonial Study Group

Decolonial Study Group
Sunday, Jan. 10 at 1pm
Exile Infoshop
256 Bank St. (2nd Floor)
Sorry this location is not wheelchair accessible
Everyone Welcome!
ipsmo at riseup.net
http://www.ipsmo.org

The reading for the study group on Sunday, Jan. 13 will focus on "British
Colombia".

The Decolonial Study Group is a new project of the IPSM Ottawa. We will be
deepening and broadening our understanding and analysis of indigenous
struggles for decolonization, social justice and revolution. We will be
doing this through readings, workshops, oral presentations, movies and so
on.

Some of the readings for the next study group are to be determined.

For this study group there will be core articles which we ask everyone to
read, as well as additional articles and information for people who have
the time and the interest to get deeper into the subject matter. And
everyone is welcome whether they've done the readings or not!

Core reading:

Oppose the BC Treaty Process: BC Treaty Monster Grows 3 Heads, Warrior
Publications

New Relationship or “Final Solution” by Arthur Manuel

http://noii-van.resist.ca/?page_id=37

Domestic Laws versus Aboriginal Visions:
An Analysis of the Delgamuukw Decision by Candice Metallic and Patricia
Monture:
http://www.borderlands.net.au/vol1no2_2002/metallic_angus.html

Additional reading:

http://csc.lexum.umontreal.ca/en/1997/1997scr3-1010/1997scr3-1010.html


3b)  Jan 11-14: Aboriginal Awareness Week

The Aboriginal Service Centre, Equity Services, and the Centre for
Aboriginal Culture in Education present

ABORIGINAL AWARENESS WEEK
JAN 11-14, 2010
Porter Hall

A celebration of life, culture, history, and community at Porter Hall
(Second floor of Unicentre)

Monday: The Child Welfare System: Past and Present Realities
11:30- Opening Ceremonies with Elder Paul Skanks, and President O’Reilly
Runte’s Opening Remarks.
Discussion with Cindy Blackstock, President of the First Nations Child and
Family Caring Society on contemporary issues affecting First Nations
children
3:00- Join individuals from Every Woman’s Drum as we march through the
tunnels
5:00- Aboriginal art work available at Mike’s Place
6:00 Aboriginal movies showcasing in the Aboriginal Service Centre Lounge
(316A Unicentre)

Tuesday: Métis Traditions, Identity and Legal Challenges
12:00 – Join Ida Meekis at the Teepee (outside of Loeb) and make your own
Bannock on a stick!
1:00- Interactive discussion with Ottawa Métis Council President, Robert
Pellerin
2:00- Cultural Crafts
3:00- Panel on Métis identity and contemporary legal challenges. The
Alberta Métis Settlements and the Métis Nation of Ontario talk about the
significance of cases such as Powley and Peavine v. Alberta
5:00- Aboriginal Art Work available at Mike’s Place
6:00- Aboriginal movies showcasing in the Aboriginal Service Centre Lounge
(316A Unicentre)

Wednesday: Inuit Communities and Anti-Poverty Policy
12:00 – Come out to enjoy Inuit cultural expressions and a sampling of
traditional Inuit Cuisine
2:30- Inuit Communities and Anti-Poverty Policy Lecture
5:00- Aboriginal Art Work Available at Mike’s Place
6:00- Aboriginal movies showcasing in the Aboriginal Service Centre Lounge
(316A Unicentre)

Thursday: Ikwewag: Issues Affecting Aboriginal Woman
12:00- National Aboriginal Showcase in the Galleria (4th floor Unicentre)
1:30- Native Woman’s Association, Pauktuutit and Assembly of First
Nations, Woman Council panel on violence against women and gender-based
analysis
3:00- Jessica Yee, Director of the Native Youth Sexual Health Network
talks about working at the only sexual health network, that isn’t
disease-controlled focused, and is for and by Native youth
5:00- Aboriginal art work available at Mike’s Place
7:00- After-Party Concert, with headliners “Digging Roots”, Lakota Jonez
and many more to be confirmed

DAILY DOOR PRIZES

This event is sponsored by the Centre for Aboriginal Culture and
Education, the Department of Equity Services, Carleton University
Student’s Association , Aboriginal Service Centre, Aboriginal Student’s
Council, the Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences, the Faculty of Graduate
Studies and Research, the Centre of Initiatives in Education, the
Department of Law, the Institute for Interdisciplinary Studies, the School
of Canadian Studies, OPIRG-Carleton and the Department of English Language
and Literature.

For more information, please contact:
Sheila Grantham
Aboriginal Cultural Liaison Officer
Tel: 613-520-2600, ext. 1787
sheila_grantham at carleton.ca
3c)  Jan 22-23: Global Apartheid Conference

OPIRG Carleton and OPIRG-Ottawa/GRIPO-Ottawa present

GLOBAL APARTHEID
a conference/convergence

global apartheid
— noun  A system of global inequality that dictates access to wealth,
power and basic human rights based on race and place.
— origin Afrikaans, ‘separateness’

January 22-23, 2010 - Ottawa

panels // workshops // skillshares // actions // art

feat presentations by shawn brant, rozena maart, jaggi singh, harsha walia
and others

for updates:
globalapartheid2010 at gmail.com
613 520 2757
http://opirgcarletonpis2010.wordpress.com


3d)  Global Apartheid Conference Callout for Workshops

Every year, the Ontario Public Interest Research Group (OPIRG) organizes a
weekend of workshops about environmental and social justice issues,
providing activists the opportunity for skills development and cooperative
learning.  This year, OPIRG Carleton and OPIRG-Ottawa/GRIPO-Ottawa have
teamed up to organize a conference focusing on Global Apartheid: the
system of global inequality that dictates access to wealth, power and
basic human rights based on race and place*.  Apartheid, an
institutionalized system of racial subjugation which means ‘separateness’
in Afrikaans, did not end when South African apartheid formally ended in
1994, but continues to manifest itself today in many local and global
contexts: Indigenous struggles for justice from Turtle Island to
Palestine; Canada's system of unfree migrant labour; struggles against
colonial borders and racist citizenship regimes around the world; and
racialized economic apartheid, to name but a few examples.

We are currently soliciting workshops for the conference from community
organizers and activists.  The Global Apartheid conference will take place
on January 22 and 23, 2010 in Ottawa, Ontario, and the workshop component
will take place from approximately 11 am to 4 pm on Saturday January 23rd,
in 1.5 hour blocks. Workshops which discuss how the concept of 'global
apartheid' pertains to your particular movement are encouraged.  Workshops
are an important way to offer conference attendees the ability to tune
into the issues, movements, groups, and ideas that most invigorate them,
as well as making all of us aware of the thread that ties our struggles
together, and closing in on the solution of cutting the cord, so to speak.
 Suggested workshop topics could include: no borders organizing;
anti-Olympics organizing; the anti-Israeli apartheid movement; Canada's
economic apartheid; Indigenous solidarity; gendering the apartheid
analysis; anti-G8/G20 organizing from an anti-colonial perspective;
opposing the national security agenda; queer struggles against apartheid;
and opposing the prison industrial complex, to name a few.

We would like to encourage a level of critical analysis that can still be
fun and interactive. We are open to a variety of formats, keeping in mind
that we are committed to an anti-oppressive and accessible forum for all
participants (i.e. workshops should be interactive/participatory for all
participants). Workshop facilitators should expect between 10-20 people
per workshop.  If you want to cap the number of participants attending
your workshop, please let us know.

Workshop proposals must be typed, and include the following:

   * The title of your workshop
   * A summary of the goals/focus of the workshop
   * A detailed outline of your workshop
   * Any props, equipment or space requirements you might need
   * A short (2-3 sentences) biography of the individual or group
presenting the workshop
   * Subject matter that may trigger painful experiences of participants

We are also open to creating a panel session made up of shorter 20-minute
presentations by organizers or groups, if you do not wish to organize a
full 1.5 hour workshop.

While OPIRG is a student-funded social justice organization with a limited
budget, we will do our best to subsidize travel costs and provide
honoraria to all presenters. If you require travel assistance or an
honorarium, please include that in your workshop proposal.

**Please forward workshop submissions to: Globalapartheid2010 at gmail.com
The deadline for submitting workshop proposals is January 1st, 2010.

Any questions? Email globalapartheid2010 at gmail.com or call (613) 520 2757.

In solidarity and thanks,
The Global Apartheid Conference Organizers

Stay updated: http://opirgcarletonpis2010.wordpress.com/
*For the formal definition of the crime of apartheid in international law,
visit http://www.un.org/ga/search/view_doc.asp?symbol=A/res/3068(XXVIII)

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4) Articles

4a) Six Nations protesters disrupt torch relay

Tuesday, December 22, 2009 CBC News

Aboriginal protesters diverted the Olympic torch relay route on Monday
away from the Six Nations reserve near Caledonia, Ont.
Runners had been expected to carry the torch down Highway 54 onto the
reserve. Officials instead drove it to a local hall, where 25 torchbearers
took turns running it around a circuit in the parking lot.
Protesters waving Mohawk Warrior and Iroquois Confederacy flags said the
torch had no business on Six Nations land, which they consider sovereign
territory.
But many more reserve members gathered at the hall to support the
aboriginal torchbearers.
Tuesday's route
On Tuesday, the Olympic torch relay will weave its way through southern
Ontario, with stops in Brantford, Paris, Simcoe, Tillsonburg and St.
Thomas, Ridgetown and Blenheim. It will end the day in Chatham, 51 days
before the 2010 Olympic Winter Games are set to begin in Vancouver.
The relay will wend its way through Chatham's downtown before arriving for
a cauldron-lighting ceremony at the Kinsmen Auditorium and Memorial Arena
on Tweedsmuir Avenue at 6:10 p.m.
"It'll be something really to see," said Ashley White, project manager for
Chatham-Kent's torch relay. "We've got great acts and local dance groups.
We've got fireworks to finish off the night."
The torch will also be blessed by members of the Oneida of the Thames and
Chippewas of the Thames.

4b) Six Nations Will Not Let the Olympic Torch Pass

Today, the Olympic Torch is scheduled to pass through Six Nations. However,
our allies at Six Nations have declared that the Olympic Torch will not pass
through their territory. Here is the Declaration of the Onkwehonwe of Grand
River Territory on the 2010 Olympic Torch
Relay<http://peaceculture.org/drupal/sites/default/files/6Ndeclaration_0.pdf>[pdf].
Here is another document from Six Nations, The
Top 7 Reasons why Haudenosaunee Nations have a responsibility to take a
stand against 2010 Olympics & Torch
Relay<http://peaceculture.org/drupal/sites/default/files/6NTop7Reasons_0.pdf>[pdf].

Allies have been asked come show support. The meet up point at Six Nations
is at the corner of Hwy 54 and Chiefswood Rd, any time after 7am. The torch
is scheduled for around 5pm. At 1pm there is press conference at which an
announcement will be made whether or not Torch Relay is going to be
officially rerouted. If not, the people will reroute it.

AW at L Radio will be present on site all day with live streaming video
throughout the day and frequent updates to our twitter stream on the
website: http://peaceculture.org <http://peaceculture.org/drupal>, or follow
us on twitter directly at http://twitter.com/peaceculture.
the live feed will also be up at http://6NSolidarity@wordpress.com

For any questions, we can be contacted throughout the day at
No2010 at peaceculture.org
All media queries will be redirected to Six Nations spokespersons.

-- 
No2010 at peaceculture.org <alex at peaceculture.org>
http://twitter.com/peaceculture <http://twitter.com/alexhundert>
http://peaceculture.org

4c) Opposition to the Torch Relay in Ottawa – Dec 13, 2009

IPSMO joined forces with Olympics Resistance Ottawa and Common Cause
Ottawa to organize opposition to the Olympics Torch relay as it passed
through Ottawa on Sat Dec 13. Three individuals dropped a huge banner off
of McKenzie King bridge, that read 'No Olympics on Stolen Native Land',
just before the torch passed over the adjacent Laurier bridge. Then there
were approximately 20 people at the City Hall pavillion with signs and
pamphlets, who chanted things like 'Private Olympics, Public Debt' and 'No
Olympics on Stolen Native Land', and handed out pamphlets based on the
information available at www.no2010.com. The police really tried to
marginalize the protests, encircling the group, cutting people off from
each other, and generally trying to intimidate this free expression. Some
people there for the torch ceremonies were receptive to the protesters'
ideas, while others were angry to see the torch opposed and started
chanting 'Go Canada, Go Canada'. The chants and counter-chants got louder
and louder, and the official speakers on stage had to raise their voices
in an effort to be heard over all the yelling. In the evening, some
protesters made it to Parliament Hill and clandestinely handed out more
pamphlets without being noticed by police.

4d)  Olympic Torch Relay Being Disrupted Across Canada

==> Anti-Olympic Protesters bring their message of resistance across
Canada; Olympic Torch shamed.
==> Six Nations community members declare Olympic Torch will not pass
through their territory.

Monday, December 21 2009, Vancouver Unceded Coast Salish Territories-
Protesters are bringing their anti-Olympic message with chants of “No
Olympics on Stolen Native Land”, “Get your torch off our land, we don’t
want your Olympic scam” and “2010 Homes not 2010 Games” across Canada. In
many instances, activists have successfully disrupted the Torch Relay,
forcing delays and route cancellations, with at least four arrests
associated with anti-Torch related actions.

Today, Six Nations community members have declared that the Olympic Torch
will not pass through their territory. A Declaration by the Onkwehonwe
(people) of the Grand River Territory states “This land is not conquered.
We are not Canadian
 We hereby affirm our peaceful opposition to the entry
and progression of the 2010 Olympic torch into and through our territory.”
(Visit: http://6nsolidarity.wordpress.com or No2010 at peaceculture.org for
media interviews). In the coming weeks, dissenters are also expected to
converge in Kitchener, Calgary, Edmonton, Stratford, and Guelph.

In Toronto over 250 people took to the streets on December 17, blocking
major intersections and forcing the cancellation of the Torch in parts of
downtown Toronto. A banner dropped directly across the stage read “Gego
Olympics Da-Te-Snoon Nishnaabe-Giing Ga-Gmooding” (“No Olympics on Stolen
Native Land” in Anishinaabemowin). (Visit http://torontotorch.blogspot.com
or email torchblock at gmail.com)

At least four communities in the province of Quebec have opposed the Torch
Relay: Sept-Iles, Montreal, Kanahwake First Nations, and Quebec City. In
Montreal, over 200 people converged and delayed the relay as well as the
main ceremonies and concert. (Visit: http://www.amp-montreal.net). On
October 30, over 400 people gathered to oppose the Torch Relay launch in
Victoria. An Anti-Olympics Festival and Zombie March succeeded in
disrupting the relay. Security personnel were forced to extinguish the
torch, load it in a van, and reroute it. (Visit http://no2010victoria.net
or no2010victoria at gmail.com).

Actions have also occurred in cities as diverse as Comox Valley, Kingston,
Halifax, Ottawa, and St. John's. With the number of protesters equaling
or exceeding spectators, dissatisfaction to the 2010 Winter Olympics is
growing across Canada. According to a November 2009 Angus-Reid poll, over
30% of B.C. residents feel the Olympics will have a negative impact and
almost 40% of residents support protesters.

Protesters note that the Olympics are not simply about the athletes;
rather the corporate Games are leaving a legacy of displacement,
militarization, and repression. Public funds invested by all levels of
government are nearing $7 billion. According to the Olympic Resistance
Network, “While Olympic corporate sponsors are getting bailed out,
Indigenous lands are being stolen, people are becoming homeless, thousands
are losing their jobs and access to public services, the environment is
being destroyed, and civil liberties are being eroded with almost a
billion dollars sunk into surveillance. The negative Olympic legacy is
turning into an anti-Olympic legacy of resistance across the country.”

Social justice activists also believe that the Olympic Torch is a $25
million propaganda tool for corporate sponsors who have some of the worst
social and environmental practices. The Royal Bank of Canada has been
under fire for its financing of the environmentally devastating Alberta
Tar Sands, while Coca Cola has been responsible for massive depletion of
groundwater and toxic waste pollution in India.

– 30 –
For media quotes visit: http://olympicresistance.net/content/media

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5)         Articles

5a) Platinex drops lawsuits, surrenders mining claims in KI traditional
territory

Platinex drops lawsuits, surrenders mining claims in KI traditional territory
December 14, 2009
by: Rick Garrick/Wawatay News

Kitchenuhmaykoosib Inninuwug Chief Donny Morris said Platinex Inc.’s
agreement to drop its lawsuits and surrender its mining claims is a “good
Christmas present for the community.”
“I have to say I’m feeling happy about it,” Morris said, about 10 minutes
after reading the Dec. 14 press release issued by the Ontario government
stating Ontario had reached an agreement to settle litigation with
Platinex that will provide greater certainty to the company and allow the
Province to continue to build its relationship with KI.
Morris said his community has always been concerned about possible
environmental issues stemming from the development of a mine so near to
the lake from which they have always derived their livelihood.
“Our concern was the site contaminating the (Big Trout) Lake,” Morris
said, noting the community uses the lake for fishing and hunting. “It was
too close. It was more of an environmental issue.”
Ontario reached the agreement with Platinex to settle on-going litigation
over the company’s Big Trout Lake Property in return for $5 million and
potential future royalty interest on the property. In addition, the
government will withdraw those lands from staking and mineral exploration.
“This is a unique situation, and I am pleased that we were able to reach a
fair and reasonable negotiated settlement that will provide greater
certainty to Platinex while allowing our government to continue working
with KI to strengthen our relationship and to pursue future
opportunities,” said Michael Gravelle, minister of Northern Development,
Mines and Forestry.
The settlement will assist Platinex in moving forward with exploration and
development of its other mining properties in Ontario, and responds to
KI’s past concerns.
Should the province, at its discretion, issue new mineral tenure on the
lands in the next 25 years and a mine be developed, Platinex would be
entitled to receive a royalty of 2.5 per cent of the mine revenues paid by
the mine operator if a mine is developed. This kind of royalty is common
industry practice.

5b)       Campaign seeks to clear John Moore’s Name

by Scott Neigh
Thursday, December 10, 2009

A new group based in Sudbury, Ont. is working to build national support
for John Moore, an Ojibway man wrongfully convicted of second degree
murder in 1978. Moore and the committee are currently asking groups and
individuals from across Canada to sign on to a one-paragraph statement
that outlines the injustice and asserts that "in recognition of the long
history of indigenous people being targeted unfairly by the Canadian
justice system, we, the individuals and groups listed below, call upon the
Government of Canada to conduct a review of Moore's conviction."

Moore, a member of the Serpent River First Nation who grew up in Sault
Ste. Marie, Ont. was accused of involvement in the murder of cab driver
Donald Lanthier in August 1978. Moore said, "I unequivocally did not
commit the crime."

The Crown's case was not based on asserting that Moore actually
participated in the crime, and it conceded that he was not present when it
happened. Rather, Moore spent time earlier that day with the men who did
commit it. He was found guilty, both at his initial trial and in the
retrial ordered after an early appeal, on the basis of the law at the
time, which maintained that Moore should have known that a murder was
going to be committed.

Moore's lawyer, Denis Michel, said, "This archaic law that permitted the
conviction of Mr. Moore was rectified in 1987 and despite that fact,
nothing has been done to rectify the harm that has been caused to Mr.
Moore."

Will Morin is a long-time friend and supporter of Moore , as well as an
artist and a professor of Native Studies at Laurentian University. He,
like Moore, puts the conviction in a context larger than one unjust law.

"Racism is systemic in our country, by the nature of colonization," he
said. A central feature of this history was "the demonizing of Aboriginals
to justify colonization," a process that continues to this day. He pointed
to social institutions that reflect and reinforce this racism, such as the
ongoing refusal to put substantive, truthful Aboriginal content in
mainstream education and mass media, and the disproportionate targeting of
Aboriginal people by police and the courts.

In the course of working with Moore, Morin has examined many of the
relevant legal documents, including trial transcripts, in detail. He
identified the most visible manifestation of systemic racism as the lack
of any Aboriginal people on the juries of either of Moore's trials,
despite the many reserves in the Sault Ste. Marie area -- "He was not
tried by a jury of his peers." Morin also saw evidence of racism at work
in "the treatment of [ Moore ] by the Crown."

Morin said that several other people were connected to the crime in a
similar manner to Moore, and in some instances in actually substantive
ways. One of these people was charged and acquitted. Several others were
never charged. All were white.

Moore served ten years in prison, most of it in the maximum security
Millhaven Institution in Bath , Ont. In his time inside, Moore said, "I
lost a lot more than people can ever imagine." His father, one of his
three sons, the grandmother that raised him, and several other members of
his family died during this time. "Losing everything I had close to me was
the hardest part. And not seeing my sons grow up."

He faces supervision by parole authorities for the rest of the life. The
stigma of a murder conviction also follows him. "Jobs are pretty hard to
get," he said, and having that conviction on his record is "one of the
biggest barriers."

Moore has been working since he was released to clear his name.
Ultimately, he is seeking a full exoneration but his immediate goal is to
get a pardon, a more limited remedy that can come from an official Justice
Department review of his case. He has requested this on many occasions
from many Justice Ministers, both Liberal and Conservative, but the
responses have been "nothing promising."

Over the years in Sudbury, Morin has seen "a continual slow increase in
support by the community" for Moore. The goal for Moore and the support
committee, called Justice and Freedom for John Moore, is to extend this
solid base of local support and build momentum that will force the Justice
Department to change its position.

Moore calls for people to read the statement and supporting information on
the committee's website and then for organizations and individuals to sign
on in support. "The most important thing that needs to happen," Moore
said, "is pressure to review my case, from all of my supporters."

Prominent individual signers so far include Glenn Thibeault, the NDP MP
for Sudbury; Charles Roach, a founding member of the Black Action Defense
Committee and a well-known Toronto lawyer; and Roxanne Dunbar-Ortiz, a
long-time indigenous and feminist activist based in San Francisco.
Organizational endorsements have come from Common Cause, Canadian Union of
Postal Workers, Sudbury and District Labour Council and the Aboriginal
Peoples Alliance of Northern Ontario, among others.

The campaign has led to other opportunities for Moore to get his message
out. This fall, he has twice gone to Ottawa to speak and made a trip to
Montreal in late November. As well, Carleton University journalism student
Samantha Pollock is shooting a documentary about his case, which she will
soon be pitching to potential buyers such as the CBC and the Aboriginal
Peoples Television Network.

Scott Neigh is a writer, activist, and parent who lives in Sudbury,
Ontario. For more of his writing, visit http://scottneigh.blogspot.com


5c)     Fools' gold?

Algonquins say Canada's largest gold mine project will leave poverty and
environmental devastation when the riches are all gone

By Amy German

http://www.nationnews.ca/index.php?option=com_zine&view=article&id=446:fools-gold

The Algonquins of Kitigan Zibi say Quebec's investment in a foreign-owned
gold mine project at Malarctic demonstrates the government's complete
disregard for their territorial rights to the region – to say nothing of
the environmental costs of the controversial massive open-pit mine that
will be carved from the earth.
Osisko Mining Corporation, which is controlled by the German firm Eurasia
Holding AG, says it can potentially mine about six million ounces of gold
from the project east of Val d'Or, worth more than $7 billion at today's
prices, over the next decade. It's believed to be the biggest undeveloped
gold deposit in Canada.
On November 9, the Quebec government's investment arm, the Société
Générale de Financement (SGF), announced it would provide Osisko with $75
million in financing for the project. The Algonquins say this is on top of
$18 million for a 20-kilometre electricity line to connect the mine to its
network and a further $11.5 million to develop the site where Osisko will
send its tailings.
"This announcement is an insult to the Algonquin Nation, which has
Aboriginal title to those lands," said Lucien Wabononik, the Grand Chief
of the Algonquin Anishinabeg Nation Tribal Council. "Quebec is a lot
faster to help wealthy foreign mining companies than the original
inhabitants of the territory."
Wabanonik notes that Quebec's contributions to the project are being
pledged even before the government's environmental assessment agency, the
Bureau d’audiences publiques en environnement (BAPE), has issued its
approval of the project – which is nonetheless already well underway as
Osisko has begun moving residences away from the neighbourhood of the
mine.
Wabanonik is especially concerned about the environmental impact of the
mine. Canadian gold mining operations elsewhere in the world have become
infamous as ecological disaster zones.
"Gold mines use a lot – a lot – of water," he emphasized. "We don't know
how much water from the region the company plans to use. The Environment
Ministry is very aware of this. We cannot accept the risk of polluting the
watershed in our territory."
Compared to the environmental costs, Wabanonik predicts the economic
benefits to the region will be relatively few, observing that the company
plans to wrap up the operation in 10 to 12 years. "The people around the
area – even those in white society – won't get much work," said Wabanonik.
"And if the project is sold to a bigger company, which is expected, that
firm won't necessarily respect the promises that Osisko has made."
The Grand Chief pointed to the 2009 report of the Auditor General of
Quebec. It revealed that 14 mines in the province had extracted and sold
over $ 4.2 billion of minerals without paying any royalties. From 2002 to
2008, the Quebec mining industry had contributed just $259 million in fees
instead of the $2 billion in royalties that should have been paid.
So far, Quebec has turned a deaf ear to the Algonquins' objections to the
project. "They don't care, they just ignore us," said Wabanonik. "But they
can't ignore us forever: this project is on Algonquin land. This has even
been confirmed by legal advisors for the Grand Council of the Cree."
Wabanonik said the Algonquin Anishinabeg Nation Tribal Council is
considering a court action in order to obtain an injunction against the
project while its claims to the territory are dealt with.
"Petitioning the court for an injunction is an option, but courts are
generally hesitant to stop projects in which a lot of money has been
invested," he admitted.
In the meantime, the Algonquins will work with other similarly minded
groups in the Abitibi-Témiscamingue region and elsewhere to raise
awareness of the project and to rally public opinion against it.
"The Algonquin people do not want charity, but the right to live decently
on their territory and we intend to assert our rights by all means,"
Wabanonik said. "In 10 years, when Osisko will have taken all the gold
from Malartic, prosperity will be gone, but the Algonquins will still be
there. It is time that Quebec and Ottawa respect the decisions of their
own institutions and initiate a real process of consultation and
reconciliation with our nation.”


5d)    From Potlatch to Welfare
Lutz on historical "dialogue" and the subordination of Indigenous
economies in the Pacific Northwest
by Kim Petersen
At the Dominion: http://www.dominionpaper.ca/articles/3032

============================================================================

6)         Calls for support

6a) Call for cross-Canada mobilizing: Extinguish the Olympic torch!
Call for cross-Canada mobilizing: Extinguish the Olympic torch!
>From October 31 2009 - February 12 2010, the Olympic Torch Relay--A Path
of Northern Lights--will be traveling across Canada. The Olympic
Resistance Network, based in Vancouver Unceded Coast Salish Territories,
is calling on and encouraging our allies to coordinate efforts in over
2000 communities to oppose and resist the Torch Relay.

The origins of the Torch Relay lie in the dark history of the 1936 Games
in Berlin, where it was devised as a means to spread Nazi fascism and to
promote the Third Reich. The Royal Bank of Canada and Coca Cola are the
main sponsors of the 2010 Torch relay. RBC is the top financier of the
environmentally devastating Alberta Tar Sands, while Coca Cola has been
responsible for health degradation as part of the junk food industry,
massive depletion of groundwater and toxic waste pollution in India, and
involved in hiring paramilitary groups to violently repress union
organizers in Colombia.

It is becoming increasingly evident that far from being simply about
sport, the 2010 Olympics is rooted in displacement, corporate greed,
militarization, and repression. While Olympic corporate sponsors are
getting bailed out, Indigenous lands are being stolen, more people are
becoming homeless, thousands are losing their jobs and access to public
services, the environment is being destroyed, and civil liberties are
being eroded as over a billion dollars are being sunk into security and
surveillance measures.

This Torch Relay will be the longest in-country relay in Olympic history,
giving us the chance to make some anti-Olympic history! No Olympics on
Stolen Native Land!

If you are organizing an event or action in your city, town, or community
please email us the details so we can compile the information and build
strength and unity in our efforts by having this information available on
our website.

Basic route details (see links below for full information) are as follows:

Oct 30 - Nov 5, 2009: through BC, Yukon, and Northwest Territories:
Victoria, Duncan, Nanaimo, Port Alberni, Snuneymuxw, Esquimalt First
Nations, Tla-o-qui-aht, Qualicum, Courtney, Campbell River, Whitehorse,
Taku River Tlingit, Dawson City, Kugluktuk, Yellowknife, and others.

Nov 6 - Nov 15, 2009: through Alberta, Saskatchewan, Manitoba, Nunavut,
Quebec, and New Foundland:
Fort McMurray, Cold Lake, La Ronge, Thompson, Qausuittuq, Iqaluit,
Kuujjuaq, Gaspé, Labrador, Happy Valley-Goose Bay, Sheshatshiu, St.
John's, St. Anthony, Grand Falls-Windsor, and others.

Nov 16 - Nov 28, 2009: through Nova Scotia, Prince Edward Islands, and New
Brunswick:
Sydney, Whycocomagh, Port Hawkesbury, Truro, Antigonish, Halifax, Bear
River FN, Lunenburg, Charlottetown, Moncton, Sussex, Saint John,
Fredericton, Esgenoôpetitj, Grand Falls, and others.

Nov 29 - Dec 11, 2009: through Quebec:
Rimouski, Baie-Comeau, Les Escoumins, Saguenay, Lévis, Saint-Georges,
Black Lake, Victoriaville, Sherbrooke, Drummondville, Trois-Rivières,
Longueuil, Kahnawáke, Beaconsfield, Mont-Tremblant, Montréal, Laval,
Gatineau, and others.

Dec 12, 2009 - Jan 4, 2010: through Ontario:
Ottawa, Pikwàkanagàn, Akwesasne, Kingston, Tyendinaga, Peterborough,
Toronto, Hamilton, St. Catharines, Six Nations, Brantford, Oneida,
Leamington, Windsor, Sarnia, London, Stratford, Kitchener, Waterloo,
Guelph, Barrie, Huntsville, Temiskaming, Sudbury, Sault Ste. Marie, Red
Rock FN, Kenora, and others.

Jan 5 - Jan 20, 2010: through Manitoba, Saskatchewan, and Alberta:
Winnipeg, Sioux Valley Dakota, Regina, Moose Jaw, Swift Current,
Saskatoon, Prince Albert, Moosomin FN, Edmonton, Wetaskiwin, Red Deer,
Medicine Hat, Lethbridge, Calgary, Canada Olympic Park, Stoney Nation, and
more.

Jan 21 - Feb 11, 2010: through BC:
Golden, Cranbrook, Nelson, Trail, Osoyoos FN, Penticton, Kelowna, Vernon,
Revelstoke, Salmon Arm, Kamloops, 100 Mile House, Williams Lake, Prince
George, Smithers, Gitanmaax, Fort St. John, Terrace, Bella Bella, Powell
River, Sechelt, Squamish, Whistler, Liliwat, Merritt, Fraser Valley, Lower
Mainland and others.

Full route information:

Complete listing by day

interactive map

Provincial and Territorial Routes

Why we oppose the Olympics Games

 Contact email:

olympicresistance at riseup.net

6b)       National Call to Action Against 2010 Olympic Sponsors: Blood on
your hands

*The 2010 Corporate Campaign continues
*

In the lead up to the 2010 Winter Games, host communities have been
organizing to expose the impact of the Games on indigenous communities,
low-income and homeless populations, public services, and the environment.

While we continue to expose the impact of the Games themselves, anti-Olympic
organizers in Vancouver want to make sure that the spotlight is directed at
the social and environmental crimes of the corporate sponsors as well.

*Hudson’s Bay Company: Blood on your hands*

HBC's red 2010 mitts are selling like hotcakes, but we want to draw
attention to the company's colonial history of bloodshed.

HBC is the oldest corporation in North American and they took control over
several areas of Canada, forcing their rules of trade, immigration,
settlement and governance onto indigenous people.

We’ve just completed a flyer that you can distribute in your community. In
it we highlight the Bay’s ongoing colonial role from the small pox to
Cowichan sweaters.

We encourage you to print off the flyer, fold them in half and sneak copies
into clothes at the Bay. You can download this flyer here:
http://2010campaign.wordpress.com/
Put ‘em up Posters

We’ve also just completed several posters highlighting the crimes of various
2010 Olympic Sponsors. Please see our website for posters that you can put
up in your city! Look out General Electric, CTV, Dow and Coke- we’re onto
you.

*Royal Bank of Canada*

In October 2009, we successfully mobilized against Olympic national partner
The Royal Bank Canada (RBC). Actions took place at RBC locations over
several weeks in Vancouver, Whistler, Nelson, Edmonton, Ottawa, Toronto and
Waterloo.

RBC has been identified by the Rainforest Action Network as the biggest
financiers of the Tar Sands. The Tar Sands are clearly the most
environmentally destructive project on the planet, destroying indigenous
lands, emitting more Greenhouse Gases than hundreds of countries, poisoning
the watershed for the entire Athabasca region.

We encourage you to keep distributing flyers outside the Royal Bank in the
lead up to the Games.


Please join us as we continue to mobilize against Olympic sponsors in an
effort to build awareness and mobilize people in the lead up to the Games.

Keep in touch and let us know where you take action:
2010corporatecampaign at gmail.com

 http://2010campaign.wordpress.com/


6c) Send Ecard - Support Chapters/Indigo Boycott Campaign
*Please Post Widely*

It’s coming up to the holiday shopping season - send your friends, family
and colleagues a boycott Chapters Indigo eCard and wish them an apartheid
free holiday season!  The eCard is customised and ready to send at this
link: http://www.greetlets.com/send/?go=start&c=0q7vpn19ve24c.

It only takes a second to send the eCard – please support the BDS campaign
by spreading the message about the Chapters Indigo boycott.

CAIA (Coalition Against Israeli Apartheid) launched the campaign to
boycott Indigo Books and Music Inc. in December 2006 with the demand that
its controlling owners, Heather Reisman and Gerry Shwartz, publicly cut
all financial ties to Heseg - Foundation for Lone Soldiers. For more info
on the campaign see full CAIA booklet at:
http://www.caiaweb.org/sites/caiaweb.org/files/indigo%20leaflet%20may%2009(5).pdf.

HESEG - which was founded by Ms. Reisman and Mr. Schwartz - provides
scholarships and other support to former “lone soldiers” in the Israeli
military – individuals from outside Israel with no family in the country
who join the Israeli military and participate in all aspects of its
repression of Palestinians. In January 2009 HESEG representatives handed
out $160,000 worth of “thank you” gifts to Israeli soldiers participating
in the attacks on Gaza.

Check out the Chapters Indigo boycott webpage and see the photo of HESEG
board member Bushinsky  giving out "thank you" gifts to Israeli Soldiers
in Gaza
during the 2008/9 attacks:
http://www.caiaweb.org/sites/caiaweb.org/files/bushinski.pdf

In the lead-up to this holiday season there are a number of things you can
do to support the Chapters / Indigo boycott campaign:

* Support your local independent bookstore instead of buying gifts from
Indigo, Chapters, World’s Biggest Bookstore, Smith Books, Coles, The Book
Company or Indigo Spirit.

Boycott Chapters Indigo gift cards:
*Don’t buy Chapters.Indigo gift cards - buy gift cards instead from your
local independent bookstore Ask your friends and family to do the same.
*If you are part of a non-profit/charitable organization, don’t use
Chapters Indigo gift cards to acknowledge contributions to your
organization. Instead send a letter to Indigo telling them why you will
not be giving their gift cards this season. Letters available at
http://www.caiaweb.org/indigoboycott

* Send the 2009 Chapter/Indigo Campaign eCard greeting to your friends and
family this holiday season. Suggested message: “Have a happy
apartheid-free holiday season – boycott Chapters Indigo stores and gift
cards. For more information visit: http://www.caiaweb.org/indigoboycott


_________________________________________________________________
Windows Live: Make it easier for your friends to see what you’re up to on
Facebook.
http://go.microsoft.com/?linkid=9691816

-- 
Stubborn, adj. [prob. <AS. stubb, a stub], 1. refusing to yield, obey, or
comply; determined to have one's way; obstinate. 2. done or carried on in
an obstinate or persistent manner: as a stubborn campaign. 3. hard to
handle, treat or deal with: as a stubborn engine.

-- 
Check out IPSMO's Videos:

http://ipsmo.wordpress.com/video-archives/

IPSMO's Facebook page:

http://www.facebook.com/home.php?#/group.php?gid=120142932547&ref=ts
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