[Indigsol] IPSMO Newsletter, Nov. 23 to Nov. 30

[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)  Meetings

1a) Next IPSMO Meeting
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2)  Events

2a) Decolonial Study Group, Sunday, Dec. 13 at 1pm
2b) Rompre le silence, Sam., 28 Nov.
    Break the Silence, Sat., 28 Nov.
2c) H2Oil premieres in Ottawa! Nov. 27 - Monday Nov. 30, @ 7pm
2d) Film screening: *“FOR THE NEXT 7 GENERATIONS: 13 INDIGENOUS
    GRANDMOTHERS WEAVING A WORLD THAT WORKS"* Tuesday, 24 November
2e) Two-Spirit and Queer Liberation Movements, Wed., Nov. 25, 7pm
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3)   Akwesasne

3a)  A PROFILE OF A MODERN DAY WARRIOR
3b)  Interview with Sakoietah, member of the Men’s Traditional Council at
     Akwesasne
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4)  Anti-Olympics

4a) UPDATED CALL FOR CROSS-CANADA MOBILIZING: EXTINGUISH THE OLYMPIC
    TORCH!
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5)  Articles
5a) Residential school story wins $25K kids' book award
5b) Native children flooding into children's aid societies
5c) "Columbus Go Home!"
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IPSMO Newsletter
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1)  Meetings

1a) Next IPSMO Meeting

Next IPSMO Meeting

Next Meeting
Wednesday, Nov. 23 at 7pm
Exile Infoshop
256 Bank St.
Sorry the location is not wheelchair accessible
Everyone Welcome!
http://www.ipsmo.org
ipsmo at riseup.net

This is an organizing meeting where we discuss our current and future
plans.  These meetings are open to everyone.  Our current organizing
focuses are: support for the Ardoch Omàmìwinini, the Barriere Lake
Algonquin, Native Women and Two-Spirited People, opposition to police
brutality, the prison-industrial complex and support for political prisoners.
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2) Events

2a) Decolonial Study Group, Dec. 13 at 1pm

Decolonial Study Group
Sunday, Dec. 13 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, Dec. 13 will focus on treaties
between the Mi'kmaq and the British Crown, and on the recognition of
Mi'kmaq treaty rights in the Marshall decision.

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:

Treaty of 1752: http://mikmawey.uccb.ns.ca/treatyfour.html
Treaties of 1760 and 1761: http://mikmawey.uccb.ns.ca/treatytwo.html

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:

Supreme Court of Canada (Marshall Decision):
http://csc.lexum.umontreal.ca/en/1999/1999scr3-456/1999scr3-456.html

The Mi'kmaq and The Right to Self-Determination by James Sakej Ward:
http://web.uvic.ca/igov/research/journal/pdf/The%20Mi%27kmaq%20And%20The%20Right%20To%20Self%20Determination%20.pdf

Books:

We Were Not the Savages by Daniel N. Paul
The Marshall Decision and Native Rights by Ken Coates
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2b) Rompre le silence, Sam., 28 Nov.
    Break the Silence, Sat., 28 Nov.

(English original follows)

Sujet : Samedi le 28 novembre 2009 - Rompre le silence : interprétations
artistiques contre la violence

Bonjour tout le monde!

Pour contribuer aux 16 jours d'activisme contre la violence de genre, les
RebELLEs d'Ottawa vont afficher un événement le samedi 28 novembre 2009 de
19h à 21h au Raw Sugar Café (692 rue Somerset O)

Ceci est un événement GRATUIT avec des interprétations de création parlée,
une interprétation artistique et la musique du groupe montréalais Sunday
Morning Headline.

Toutes et tous sont les bienvenu et nous espèrons que vous serez des
nôtres pour nous aider à "rompre le silence" à l'égard de la violence
contre le genre.

En solidarité,
RebELLEs d'Ottawa

Pour plus d'information à propos des RebELLEs d'Ottawa, SVP envoyez nous
un courriel à ottawarebelles at gmail.com, ou en ligne à
http://ottawarebelles.blogspot.com


**********************************
Subject: Saturday, 28 Nov 09 - Break the Silence: Performance Against
Violence

Hello everyone!

As part of the 16 Days of Activism Against Gender Violence, the Ottawa
RebELLEs are hosting an event Saturday, 28 Nov 09, 7:00-9:00pm at Raw
Sugar Cafe (692 Somerset St W).

This is a FREE event featuring live spoken word, performance art, and
music by Montreal's own Sunday Morning Headline.

All are welcome and we hope you'll come out to help us "Break the Silence"
on gender violence.

In Solidarity,
Ottawa RebELLEs

For more information on the Ottawa RebELLEs, please e-mail us at
ottawarebelles at gmail.com, or online at http://ottawarebelles.blogspot.com.


ON FACEBOOK:
Nov 28 Event: http://www.facebook.com/event.php?eid=176897569638
Ottawa RebELLEs: http://www.facebook.com/group.php?gid=290083580483
Please forward widely!
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2c) H2Oil premieres in Ottawa! Nov. 27 - Monday Nov. 30, @ 7pm

In the countdown to the Copenhagen negotiations, international pressure is
building to discourage further expansion of Canada's tar sands, and....

H2Oil premieres in Ottawa!

When: Friday November 27 - Monday November 30, 2009 @ 7pm

Where: Mayfair Theatre, 1074 Bank Street (just south of the Glebe)

Canada has become the biggest oil supplier to the United States, is
impeding international efforts to recognize the urgency of the global
climate crisis and is ripping apart pristine forests on unceded Indigenous
territory. With the controversial developments of the Athabasca tar sands,
multinational corporations are moving into Alberta to extract crude oil
from the tarry bitumen sands using a process so toxic it has become an
international cause for concern. Four barrels of glacier-fed spring water
are used to process each barrel of oil, then are dumped, laden with
carcinogens, into leaky tailings ponds so huge they can be seen from
space. Downstream, the people of Fort Chipewyan are already paying the
price for what will be one of the largest industrial projects in history.
When a local doctor raises the alarm

about clusters of rare cancers, evidence mounts for industry and
government cover-ups. In a time when wars are fought over oil and a crisis
looms over access to clean fresh water, which resource is more precious?
And what price are we willing to pay?

Come to the Ottawa premiere of the film H2Oil screening from November 27th
until November 30th at the Mayfair Theatre! A photo exhibit will be
featured in the theatre demonstrating the toxic trail of tar sands from
the pits of Alberta to the proposed pipelines in Northern British Colombia
and refineries in the Great Lakes Region. On November 29th, Clayton
Thomas- Muller of the Indigenous Environmental Network will be in
attendance to answer audience questions. Community supporters include:
Indigenous Environmental Network, Indigenous Peoples Solidarity
Movement-Ottawa, OPIRG/GRIPO-Ottawa, OPIRG-Carleton, the Public Service
Alliance of Canada, the Canadian Union of Public Employees and the Polaris
Institute.

For more information:
www.tarsandswatch.org
www.ienearth.org/cits.html
www.yourvotetheirfuture.ca

Not in Ottawa? Upcoming  screenings of H2Oil scheduled soon in Montreal
and Vancouver!  http://www.h2oil.com/
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2d) Film screening: *“FOR THE NEXT 7 GENERATIONS: 13 INDIGENOUS
GRANDMOTHERS WEAVING A WORLD THAT WORKS"* Tuesday, 24 November


Good evening.

This is a gentle reminder of the upcoming film screening *“FOR THE NEXT 7
GENERATIONS: 13 INDIGENOUS GRANDMOTHERS WEAVING A WORLD THAT WORKS"* that
is being presented at Carleton University on Tuesday, 24 November 2009 at
6:00 pm in the Kailash Mital Theatre, Southam Hall. Visit the website for
a trailer preview. http://www.forthenext7generations.com   Suggested
donation is on a sliding scale from $5 to $15.  Please circulate the
poster attached widely and post it in your community.

As for the ceremonies being led by the Ojibwe Grandmothers
(www.grandmotherslodge.com), there are a few spaces open for the *Drumming
Ceremony: Bringing Voice to Spirit* November 22 and 28, and the Reclaim
your Sacred Self Women's Re*treat at Nordik Lodge*/Spa on November 23. 
Contact Cindy Gaudet at 613.601.1647 or cindy.gaudet at gmail.com to join us.
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2e) Two Spirit and Queer Liberation Movements, Wed., Nov. 25 at 7pm

Two Spirit and Queer Liberation Movements
The OPIRG Carleton Fall Colloquium presents

TWO SPIRIT AND QUEER LIBERATION MOVEMENTS
>From Radical Revolt to Freedom Fighting Justice

With presentations by:

Jessica Yee, Executive Director of the Native Youth Sexual Health Network
Gary Kinsman, co-author of "The Canadian War on Queers"
Ashley Fortier, Q-Team
Zaheen, Agitate! Ottawa

Wednesday Nov 25th, 7-9 pm
Montgomery Legion Hall, 330 Kent Street near Somerset Ave (wheelchair
accessible)

Suggested donation $5-10, no one turned away
Advance tickets available at OPIRG Carleton (326 UniCentre), OPIRG-GRIPO
(631 King Edward Ave, 3rd floor) Venus Envy Ottawa (320 Lisgar St), and
Octopus Books (116 Third Ave)

Talk descriptions:

>> Two Spirited Indigenous Feminist Freedom Fighting with Jessica Yee <<
Jessica Yee is a self-described Two Spirited Indigenous Feminist Freedom
Fighter - and as such will outline how frameworks like reproductive
justice and movements like Indigenous feminism come into play with her
work with Two-Spirited youth specifically as the founder and Executive
Director of the Native Youth Sexual Health Network - currently the only
Aboriginal organization in North America to work within the full spectrum
of reproductive and sexual health.

Jessica Yee is a 23 year old Two Spirited young woman from the Mohawk
Nation. She is the founder and Executive Director of the Native Youth
Sexual Health Network, a North America wide organization working on issues
of healthy sexuality, reproductive justice, cultural competency, and youth
empowerment.

>> Remembering Revolt and Resistance: Queer Struggles Against the Canadian
National Security State with Gary Kinsman <<
Queer liberation started as a radical revolt against heterosexual hegemony
in alliance with other groups fighting against oppression and for social
liberation. This presentation actively remembers queer organizing against
the Canadian national security state from the late 1950s to the 1990s.
This resistance undermined and dismantled the Canadian War on Queers which
had led to the purging, surveillance, and harassment of thousands of queer
identified people. This presentation draws from the just-released book
"The Canadian War on Queers: National Security as Sexual Regulation" which
will be available for sale at the event.

Gary Kinsman is a longtime queer liberation and anti-capitalist activist.
He is the author of The Regulation of Desire: Homo and Hetero Sexualities
(1996), co-editor of Whose National Security? (2000), and Sociology for
Changing the World (2006). He is a professor of Sociology at Laurentian
University in Sudbury.

>> Queer Organizing Against Apartheid with Ashley Fortier <<
Drawing on a long history of queer solidarity organizing against South
African apartheid, and in response to Israel’s branding of itself as a
safe haven for queers in order to distract from its racist policies
towards Palestinians, a growing movement of queer solidarity against
Israeli Apartheid has emerged in recent years. This presentation will
highlight some organizing successes and challenges throughout Canada and
the U.S. and demonstrate the importance for queers to learn about and join
in the Boycott, Divestment, and Sanctions campaign against Israel.

Ashley Fortier is based out of Montreal where she organizes around radical
queer, prisoner justice, and Palestine solidarity struggles. She's also a
part-time activist researcher with the Collectif de recherche sur
l'autonomie collective, works as a coordinator at QPIRG Concordia, and
hopes one day to complete her graduate certificate in Editing and
Publishing from Ryerson University.

>> Agitating Ottawa: A Local Perspective on Queer Anti-Racist Organizing
with Zaheen <<

Think Ottawa’s bureaucratic and stuffy reputation is a drag?
Unfortunately, this reputation has permeated many facets of our community,
including the activist and queer communities. Anti-racist and queer
organizing has never been easy in this city, but we have definitely come a
long way. Zaheen from Agitate!, a local collective for queer people of
colour, will address some challenges in doing this type of organizing in
our city, as well as successes and ways we have overcome and continue to
overcome these challenges.

Zaheen is a local community activist and has been a member of Agitate for
almost 5 years. She is also involved with other community organizations
such as Ladyfest Ottawa, SASC, and has recently joined the staff at
OPIRG-GRIPO as one of their Coordinators. In her spare time, she likes to
eat ice cream, be a Muslim heathen, and rock out to Whitney Houston.

* * *
Endorsed by the CUSA GLBTQ Centre for Sexual and Gender Diversity, the
CUSA Womyn's Centre, the CUSA Aboriginal Service Centre, the Carleton
Centre for Aboriginal Culture and Education, the Indigenous Peoples
Solidarity Movement-Ottawa, Agitate! Ottawa, Queer fAction, Q-Team, the
Native Youth Sexual Health Network, PTS LBTTQ Women's Health and Sexuality
Program, Students Against Israeli Apartheid-Carleton, After Stonewall,
Venus Envy Ottawa, and Octopus Books.
Brought to you by OPIRG Carleton . . . research, education and action on
social and environmental justice issues, since 1980.
For more info, contact opirg at carleton.ca or 613 520 2757
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3) Akwesasne

3a) A PROFILE OF A MODERN DAY WARRIOR

A PROFILE OF A MODERN DAY WARRIOR

http://akwesasnepeoplesfire.org/

For the past month we have had assistance from a member of the Choctaw
Nation from Oklahoma. He arrived on the bus and was dropped at the
Speedway and walked to the closest establishment with lights. This
happened to be the Akwesasne Mohawk Casino, where he and his partner were
picked up by members of the Peoples Fire.

He has traveled many miles to join us in Akwesasne with our fight with
Canada Border Services Agency(CBSA). He had been traveling since mid-July
and hopes to be home in time to celebrate the Thanksgiving holiday with
his family.

>From a young age he has always believed that we must support our brothers
and sisters in their struggles to retain their rights as Onkwehonwe. Last
Year this modern day warrior joined the Longest Walk Two in Oklahoma
carrying the flag from his nation, the flag for the Mississippi Band of
Choctaw and also the flag for the Iowa Nation. He spent 2 and a half
months on the walk, went through 3 pairs of shoes and finally reached
Washington, DC. He met and was welcomed by many people from many walks of
life and always spread his philosophy of being a modern day warrior.

The Longest Walk II was done 30 years after the first walk.  This walk
covered over 8000 miles and had a northern route and a southern route. The
purpose of this walk was to promote Native American Rights, Environmental
Protection, to stop global Warming and to protect Sacred sites. The
Longest Walk II had the premise "All Life is Sacred, Protect Mother
Earth."
During the course of the walk a splinter group broke off from the main
group and they became the Peoples Walk. They wanted more spirituality in
their quest to promote native and environmental issues. They traveled
without money, food and supplies. Various nations came to their
assisstance and helped them get to Washington, DC.

A man of many talents and wisdom, Lead Horse is also a veteran of the
United States Army. He is a true warrior in the wandering spirit of peace,
he travels to nations that require his assistance in any manner. He has
helped us by chopping wood, splitting the logs, watching the fire, burning
tobacco to keep the fires sacred and sharing his wisdom and knowedge that
he has gained in his interactions with different peoples. Nia:wenkowa,
Lead Horse, for all that you have done for us and continue to do.

He continues to promote native rights by supporting other nations with
their struggles with outside government agencies in the quest for
defending the inherent rights of all Onkwehonweh. Lead Horse does not want
to be asked in his golden years, why did you not do something about the
issues that concern native people. He will be able to tell them that he
tried to make a difference for all onkwehonwe.

Lead Horse has been taught that a warrior's job is not just war. It is to
chop the wood, carry the water, protect the people and respect the elders,
women and children.

A warrior is not just about the physical or mental fight. It is about the
heart that goes into the belief that what you are doing is going to have a
positive outcome for the next seven generations. It is not about the short
term goal but the bucket of gold at the end of the rainbow. The struggles
that we are enduring is for the future of our children and grandchildren.
We need this type of warrior to help us stand tall and strong and to not
bend to the easy way out in the struggle to maintain our stance of NO GUNS
FOR CBSA.

We need all of the people of Akwesasne to realise that we have received
assisstance from a modern day warrior who has traveled many miles to share
his knowledge and to help in any way that he can to come to a peaceful
resolution of the issues that we face on a daily basis at Kawennoke.
More of our young people should take a stand and help to see what the big
picture is that we are fighting. Come together and share your thoughts and
ideas.

The following are some of the issues that Lead Horse has supported. This
warrior has also fought for the United States Army in the first Desert
Storm. He is no stranger to the struggles of many peoples and their basic
human needs to live free and to be accepted for who they are.
On June 1, 2009 he challenged the right of Onkwehonwe people to cross the
US Canadian border without prescribing to the use of a passport at the
border in Calais, Maine. The reason that Lead Horse challenged the pass
port issue is that this is our homeland and not foreign soil.
Lead Horse has shown us the way to become involved in community, the
community of the world to promote native solidarity. It is now up to us as
Onkwehonweh to continue the struggle together as one people.
We have received assisstance from other nations as well. Several people
from the Navajo nation, a young man from Tyendinega and a man from the
Burnt Church area have been fire keepers during the past few months.
Nia;wenkowa to these people for all of their help.

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3b) Interview with Sakoietah, member of the Men’s Traditional Council at
Akwesasne

AUDIO: Interview with Sakoietah, member of the Men’s Traditional Council
at Akwesasne (No One Is Illegal-Montreal Radio, June 4, 2009):
http://www.radio4all.net:8080/files/jaggisingh@gmail.com/2840-1-sakoiepah-final.mp3

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4) Anti-Olympics

4a) UPDATED CALL FOR CROSS-CANADA MOBILIZING: EXTINGUISH THE OLYMPIC TORCH!

- forward widely -

UPDATED 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.

On October 31, over 400 people gathered to oppose the Torch Relay launch
in Victoria. An Anti-Olympics Festival and Zombie March, organized by
No2010 Victoria, succeeded in disrupting the relay.  Security personnel
were forced to extinguish the torch, load it in a van, and reroute it in
order to reach the Legislature. (Visit http://no2010victoria.net or
http://olympicresistance.net for videos)

WHY ORGANIZE AGAINST THE TORCH?

The Olympic torch is a propaganda tool that promotes gentrification,
repression and environmental destruction. 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. (See
Globe and Mail article here: http://no2010.com/node/1113)

The 2010 Olympic Torch Relay is a $25 million publicity stunt to promote
the Olympic Brand, particularly its top sponsors. 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. While people suffer consequences, the public money
invested by the city of Vancouver, the city of Whistler, the B.C.
government and the Canadian government is now nearing $7 billion.

WHAT CAN I DO?

This Torch Relay will be the longest in-country relay in Olympic history,
giving us the chance to make some anti-Olympic history! You might be
opposing the Torch due to the rally call No Olympics on Stolen Native
Land! Remember the Torch does not represent a sacred fire, it is a
destructive force. Or you might be protesting the Torch because of the
impacts of its corporate sponsors on your community, such as the link
between the RBC and Alberta Tar Sands. Or you are generally concerned
about the overall negative impacts of the Games such as homelessness,
misdirected public spending, attacks on civil liberties, and the general
oppression and repression it represents.

There are many reasons and many ways to oppose the Torch, so whatever your
reason might be, get out there and be visible! Create a leaflet and make
some placards, and you and your group can protest along the Torch route
and hand out information to those along the sidelines. You can lead a
march to disrupt and detour the relay, as Victoria organizers successfully
did without arrests. Setup a blockade through your community and stop the
torch from going through and spreading its false propaganda. Hold
educational events prior to and after the Torch going through to spread
awareness about the impacts of the Olympics (you can contact
olympicresistance at riseup.net for educational materials to assist in this).

Do whatever makes the most sense for your context; most important is that
you organize something!

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

Basic torch route

Nov 16 - Nov 28, 2009: through Nova Scotia, Prince Edward Islands, and New
Brunswick: Sydney, Whycocomagh, Port Hawkesbury, Truro, Paq'tnkek,
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, Kahnawá:ke,
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,
Lil'wat, Merritt, Fraser Valley, Lower Mainland and others.

* Full route information:

Complete listing by day:
http://www.vancouver2010.com/dl/00/68/42/-/68420/prop=data/119u8t6/68420.pdf

Interactive Map:
http://www.vancouver2010.com/en/torch-relays/olympic-torch-relay/the-route/interactive-map/-/58040/17ckajb/index.html

Provincial and Territorial Routes:
http://www.vancouver2010.com/en/torch-relays/olympic-torch-relay/the-route/provincial-and-territorial-routes/-/58046/wk4d42/index.html

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5) Articles

5a) Residential school story wins $25K kids' book award

Residential school story wins $25K kids' book award

CBC News

Shin-chi's Canoe is written by Nicola I. Campbell and illustrated by Kim
LaFave. (Groundwood Books)

Shin-chi's Canoe, a picture book about a little boy leaving home for a
residential school, has won the $25,000 TD Canadian Children's Literature
Award.

It was one of four children's books awarded prizes Thursday night at the
Children's Book Centre in Toronto.

Shin-chi's Canoe, written by Nicola I. Campbell of Vancouver and
illustrated by Kim LaFave of Roberts Creek, B.C., is one of the first
picture books to explore the story of the impact of Canada's residential
schools on children.

The six-year-old boy Shin-Chi leaves home with his older sister
Shi-shi-etko, who explains to him that it will be many months before he is
allowed to go home. The book captures the emotions of the two children as
they miss family and the natural environment where they grew up.
The Bite of the Mango was written by Mariatu Kamara with Susan McClelland.
(Annick Press)

"Understated text with emotional truth hovering beneath the lines.... The
complementary softness of the illustrations seems to make the overwhelming
sadness and loss the children experience more poignant," the jury said in
its citation.

The $20,000 Marilyn Baillie Picture Book Award was awarded to Mattland, a
picture book that celebrates new friendship and imaginative childhood
play.
It was written by Hazel Hutchins of Canmore, Alta., and Gail Herbert of
Cambridge, Ont., and illustrated by Dusan Petricic of Toronto.
The other winners.

•	The $10,000 Norma Fleck Award for Children's Non-Fiction: The Bite of
the Mango, about a young girl surviving the war in Sierra Leone, written
by Mariatu Kamara of Pickering, Ont. with Susan McClelland of Toronto.
•	The $5,000 Geoffrey Bilson Award for Historical Fiction: The Landing, a
young adult novel set in Muskoka, Ont., during the Depression, written by
John Ibbitson of Ottawa.

Ibbitson, a Globe and Mail writer, won the Governor General's Literary
Award last year for The Landing.
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5b) Native children flooding into children's aid societies

Native children flooding into children's aid societies
November 22, 2009

Laurie Monsebraaten
SOCIAL JUSTICE REPORTER

More First Nations children are in the care of children's aid societies
today than were forced to live in residential schools at the height of
that shameful chapter in Canadian history.

And yet because of Ottawa's longstanding record of short-changing children
on Indian reserves, these children get far less support than
non-aboriginal children served by provincial child protection systems,
First Nations activists say.

They have taken the matter to the federal Human Rights Commission, which
was supposed to begin hearing testimony last week. But in a surprise move,
the Harper government's newly appointed commission chair has adjourned the
tribunal hearings until January.

"This came as a complete surprise," said Cindy Blackstock, executive
director of the First Nations Child and Family Caring Society of Canada,
which along with the Assembly of First Nations launched the complaint more
than two years ago.

"All of the procedural issues were dealt with in September with the former
(commission) chair and we were ready to begin testimony," she said in an
interview. "We really want to move this forward and have the evidence put
before the Canadian public and before the tribunal itself. Two months is a
huge amount of time in a child's life and they have already waited so
long."
A spokesperson for the tribunal said the adjournment was "procedural" and
is aimed at getting the parties to narrow the issues so "that the hearing
can proceed in a faster manner."

But NDP Indian Affairs Critic Jean Crowder, who along with Blackstock was
slated to testify last week, is troubled by the new commission chair's
push to narrow the issues at such a late date.

"If that's what the tribunal is saying and if that's what's happening then
I'm very alarmed about it," she said in an interview.

A spokesperson for Indian Affairs Minister Chuck Strahl said the
commission is an independent body that makes its own decisions.

"There is no interference from this government on this issue, whatsoever,"
said Ted Yeomans.

Although numbers are difficult to obtain – particularly in Ontario, which
has the largest population of First Nations people – Blackstock estimates
there are 27,000 aboriginal children in foster care across Canada. That's
three times as many children as were shipped off to residential schools at
the peak of their operation in 1948 and 1949, she said.

First Nations children receive an average of 22 per cent less for child
protection services than non-aboriginal children, said Blackstock. And yet
the remote location of most reserves, the poverty, substance abuse and
squalid living conditions, means these children are 10 times more likely
to need child protection services, she said.

"A year after the apology for residential schools, this case is in many
ways a truth and reconciliation commission on how Canada is treating First
Nations children today," she said.

"It will decide whether or not it is acceptable for the government of
Canada to provide First Nations children with a lesser standard of child
welfare services than other children on the basis of race."

The implications of this case go beyond child welfare – the blanket term
used to describe services that respond to reports of child abuse and
neglect. Other children's services on reserves such as education are also
under funded. Children on reserves receive about $2,000 to $3,0000 less
per year for elementary and secondary school than their peers off
reserves, Blackstock said.

The federal Indian Affairs department funds the delivery of First Nations
child protection on reserves. Numerous reports have shown that funding
levels are lower than what children off reserve receive and do not allow
First Nations children's aid societies to respond adequately to reports of
neglect.

Blackstock notes that even the Indian Affairs website admits this is a
problem when it says: "A fundamental change in the funding approach of
First Nations Child and Family Services Agencies to child welfare is
required in order to reverse the growth rate of children coming into care,
and in order for the agencies to meet their mandated responsibilities."
In 2005, a joint federal-aboriginal commission found that Ottawa needed to
spend $109 million per year over seven years to achieve basic equity for
First Nations children in Canada outside Ontario. For Ontario, the
commission recommended a separate funding review, which still hasn't
happened.

Indian Affairs officials say spending for First Nations child welfare has
increased from $193 million in 1996 to $523 million in 2008.
But last year, federal Auditor General Sheila Fraser found that despite
funding improvements in some provinces, federal funding of child
protection services on reserves is still inadequate to meet the need and
is still less than what non-Aboriginal children receive.

The result is increasingly higher numbers of First Nations children in
peril. Between 1999 and 2005, the number of First Nations children on
reserves going into care increased 71.5 per cent. In Ontario it went up
164 per cent, Blackstock said.

Ontario is the only jurisdiction where the province pays for child
protection services for First Nations children and is reimbursed by
Ottawa. Under a 1965 agreement, Ottawa pays 93 per cent of the province's
cost and Ontario pays the rest. However, Ontario uses the same funding
formula for its six First Nations children's aid societies as it does for
the rest of the province, said Virginia Rowden of the Ontario Association
of Children's Aid Societies. But costs are dramatically higher to serve
remote reserves which can only be accessed by air.

This situation was made worse by Ontario's decision last summer to cap
administration costs at 10 per cent for all provincial children's aid
societies and to stop covering funding shortfalls. Ontario's refusal to
change the funding formula to reflect the higher costs of serving children
on remote reserves is a concern to children's aid societies, Rowden said.
"The federal tribunal is very important," she said. "We are watching it
very closely."

Ontario Child Advocate Irwin Elman said the federal tribunal is an
opportunity for Canadians to learn about the inequality that persists for
First Nations children.

"It's a landmark case. It's a unique case," he said. "I just hope people
will do something with this story once they've heard it. I think it will
be impossible not to. It's such a compelling case."

Toronto Star

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