[Indigsol] Oct. 10 - 2 Special Events with Algonquins of Barriere Lake - Our Land is Our Identity

[ipsm ottawa]

Hello Friends!

Oct. 10 is a special day! There will be 2 talks by an Elder from the
Algonquin community of Barriere Lake. Please see below for details, come
with your friends and help us spread the word!

Thanks!

*1) PROTECTING OUR IDENTITY: THE ALGONQUIN OF BARRIERE LAKE*

*12 ~ 1 pm, **Oct. 10 **
Octopus Books Centretown, 251 Bank St., 2nd floor, Ottawa*
*Under One Roof Building*

Join us for a lunch-time round table with Michel Thusky, Elder, Algonquin
of Barriere Lake.

A slow-motion crime is taking place in Barriere Lake, three hours north of
Ottawa-Gatineau.

The Algonquins of Barriere Lake are a First Nation who hunt, fish, trap,
and harvest on more than 10,000 square kilometers of territory. Their way
of life is under threat by multinational logging company Resolute Forestry
Products and the complicity of the Quebec and Canadian governments.

Michel’s talk on “Protecting our Identity” will reveal how the Algonquins
of Barriere Lake are resisting threats to their survival from logging
companies and governments. Come hear how they are pushing back against
logging encroachment on their territories and fighting section 74 of the
Indian Act.

For more info about Octopus's Critical Engagement Series:
http://octopusbooks.ca/events.

For background information about the Algonquins of Barriere Lake:
http://www.barrierelakesolidarity.org/2008/03/resources.html


*2) OUR LAND IS OUR IDENTITY: THE ALGONQUINS OF BARRIERE LAKE FIGHT FOR
SURVIVAL Fundraiser*
*
**6 ~ 8 pm, **Oct. 10*
*Odawa Native Friendship Centre, 12 Stirling Ave. Ottawa **Unceded
Algonquin Territory*
*
*
*With Michel Thusky (Elder) and Norman Matchewan (Councilor and Youth
Spokesperson) *
*and Music by David and Aurora Finkle and Andy Mason.
**A light meal will be shared.**

Sliding scale suggested donation $10 – $20*
*
*
To invite your friends via Facebook:
https://www.facebook.com/events/109267862562163/


*“I am a survivor of a residential school. I don’t want that kind of life
experience for my children. I want my grandchildren to have a face and a
mouth that they will be proud of, not an empty face. I want them to have an
identity. This is what we are fighting for.”*
*
- Michel Thusky (from CounterPunch: Sustainable Colonialism® in the Boreal
Forest)
*


Just a few hours up the Gatineau River from Ottawa is the Algonquin
Community of Barriere Lake. Access to the forests lakes and rivers of their
territory is a vital to this Algonquin community’s identity and for
generations they have fought to protect it from destructive resource
projects, while also finding ways to co-exist with Quebec and Canadian
society. Though there have been many challenges, the language and
traditions in Barriere Lake remain strong.

In 1991 the community signed a landmark and historic agreement with Canada
and Quebec that should have created a process for co-management of their
territory and modest revenue sharing with the community. As with many other
agreements made with Indigenous peoples in Canada, Barriere Lake’s
tri-lateral agreement has not been respected.

This summer, Resolute Forest Products, a logging company based in Montreal,
has been clear cutting in an environmentally and culturally important area
of the Barriere Lake’s territory without consultation and consent of the
community. After 3 weeks of protest against the clear-cutting the community
is going to court to assert their rights and jurisdiction to protect their
land. They are asking for your moral and financial support! It is a
difficult situation for the community since they have few financial
resources.


*“You know, this land is important to us, especially the people who harvest
off this territory. Because right now they’re destroying a huge moose
habitat, bear dens, sacred sites. They don’t care about the stuff that is
out there, our medicine. And when the land is destroyed, we’re destroyed.*
*
- Norman Matchewan (from Dominon Paper Issue #84: September/October 2012)
*


For background information about the Algonquins of Barriere Lake:
http://www.barrierelakesolidarity.org/2008/03/resources.html and
http://ipsmo.wordpress.com/barriere-lake-posts/.


The fundraiser event is SPONSORED BY: Canadian Union of Public Employees,
Public Service Alliance of Canada, Indigenous People’s Solidarity Movement
of Ottawa, MiningWatch Canada and the Friends Service Committee of Ottawa.

More info contact Ramsey Hart, ramsey at miningwatch.ca / 613-298-4745.



--

In Solidarity,
IPSMO
on unceded Algonquin Territory
--

Web Site: http://www.ipsmo.org
Facebook page: http://www.facebook.com/ipsmo
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