[Indigsol] Three things you should know

[ipsmo at riseup.net]

** Alex Hundert, G20 defendant and Indigenous solidarity activist, subject
to 'unprecedented' bail conditions
> Video: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QmhDrgurJic
> Statement: http://torontomobilize.org/node/571


** 10 Indigenous Struggles Canadian Climate and Environmental Activists
Should Support
Statement from Climate Justice Montreal for October 12 Day of Action for
Climate Justice
> article:
http://climateactionmontreal.wordpress.com/2010/10/12/10-indigenous-struggles-canadian-climate-and-environmental-activists-should-support/
> 2-page pdf (for printing and distribution):
http://climateactionmontreal.files.wordpress.com/2010/10/oct-12-tenindigenousstruggles.pdf


** Indigenous Sovereignty Week in Ottawa
by Sara Falconer
(from Community Garden column in Ottawa XPress, Oct 14)

Overcoming several hundred years of colonialism isn't going to happen
overnight. It's a process that starts, says indigenous solidarity activist
Greg MacDougall, with understanding and confronting history.

"You have to decolonize your heart and your mind," he explains. MacDougall
is on the planning committee of Indigenous Sovereignty Week, a nationwide
series of events aimed at encouraging this process. The week was started
in 2009 by Defenders of the Land (http://www.defendersoftheland.org), a
network of indigenous activists, and is held in around 20 cities.

"We live in this country on native territory. Ottawa is on unsurrendered
Algonquin territory," he says. "I think it's important for people to think
about what that means." As an independent journalist and then an organizer
with Indigenous Peoples Solidarity Movement Ottawa (IPSMO), MacDougall has
been grappling with these issues for several years.

Land and environmental struggles taking place in nearby Barrière Lake and
across the country are deeply rooted in contradictions, he says. "All the
original treaties were done on a nation-to-nation basis which recognized
that these are sovereign nations. Now First Nations are treated more like
municipalities."

An indigenous sovereignty symposium on Oct. 30 will focus on these
struggles, as well as on urban aboriginal and youth issues. A full day of
workshops and discussions will culminate in an artistic and cultural
celebration.

The goal is to provide native and non-native organizers with an
opportunity to strategize ways to move forward together, MacDougall says.
"If you're not indigenous, be open to listening." He hopes that
participants will look beyond simplistic, negative media portrayals of
problems in native communities, such as alcoholism and poverty, and begin
to see the larger context.

During the G20 meeting in Pittsburgh last October, for example, Harper
insisted that Canada has "no history of colonialism" - shortly after
offering an official apology for residential schools. "There's this
history and continuing presence of colonialism," MacDougall says. Part of
the journey of decolonization is recognizing the "myths, half-truths and
racism" that shape perceptions of First Nations communities, he adds.
IPSMO is compiling a resource list of books, websites and films to explore
during the week and beyond. They will also feature groups that are doing
positive work in their communities.

A separate panel during the week will bring attention to over 582 missing
and murdered aboriginal women. On Oct. 4, the Native Women's Association
of Canada (NWAC) held its fifth annual Sisters in Spirit vigil in 80
cities to protest what they describe as "the most pervasive human rights
crisis in Canada today." Families and supporters are demanding a public
inquiry into the epidemic.

Other highlights of the week include screenings of film A Windigo Tale, on
residential schools, and Schooling the World, a look at indigenous
approaches to education for sustainability.

The second annual Indigenous Sovereignty Week takes place in Ottawa from
Oct. 25 to 31. Visit http://www.bit.ly/iswottawa or call 613-656-5498 for
an updated schedule. You can also join the conversation with IPSMO on
Facebook (http://facebook.com/IPSMO).