[Indigsol] IPSMO: Open Meeting, Chaudière Falls, and more!

[IPSMO]

IPSMO Newsletter

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- Open Meeting, Sunday, Dec. 7 at 4pm
- City Continuing in Colonial Footsteps: Ottawa approves rezoning of
sacred Algonquin site
- Raaymakers: Fulfill Commanda's vision at Chaudière
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Open Meeting for the Indigenous Peoples' Solidarity Movement - Ottawa

Sunday, December 7 at 4:00pm
323 Chapel Street, board room
http://www.ipsmo.org
ipsmo at riseup.net

The IPSM Ottawa is a local, grassroots indigenous solidarity collective
that supports indigenous struggles for justice and decolonization.

We have been organizing in Ottawa for the past 8 years and have done, and
do, solidarity organizing with Six Nations land defenders, the Algonquins
of Barriere Lake, organizing to secure justice for missing and murdered
women, girls, two-spirits and their families, and many other communities,
campaigns and issues.

*Basis of Unity / Base d'unité*

The Indigenous Peoples Solidarity Movement - Ottawa (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.

As we act in solidarity with indigenous people, we build relationships
where we can learn from indigenous cultures. By doing this, we can further
decolonize ourselves, and so learn to better challenge the racist and
colonial ideas that dominate Canadian society.

We provide support to actions and campaigns for Indigenous sovereignty,
self-determination, defense of the land, environmental protection,
cultural revitalization, and the honouring of treaties and agreements.

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Le Mouvement de Solidarité avec les Peuples Autochtones -Ottawa (Abrégé en
anglais: IPSMO) est une organisation populaire qui soutient directement
les peuples autochtones dans leurs diverses luttes pour la justice. Nous
travaillons au sein des communautés afin de débattre les mensonges et
demi-vérités concernant les peuples autochtones et l'esprit de
colonisation qui dominent dans la société canadienne. Cette organisation
est ouverte à tous : aux personnes autochtones tout comme aux personnes
non-autochtones, et mène une campagne concentré à un niveau local et
régional.

En agissant solidairement avec les peuples autochtones, nous construisons
des relations d'échanges où nous pouvons apprendre de leur culture. En
faisant de même, nous pouvons mieux nous décoloniser nous même, et ainsi
mieux contester et combattre les idées racistes et colonialistes qui
dominent la société canadienne.

Nous soutenons les actions et campagnes pour la souveraineté autochtone,
son autodétermination, la défense du territoire, la protection
environnementale, la revitalisation culturelle, et l'application des
traités et accords.


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City Continuing in Colonial Footsteps: Ottawa approves rezoning of sacred
Algonquin site

by A'tugwewinu "Gabriel" Castilloux

As of Oct. 8, the City of Ottawa has approved a rezoning of the Chaudière
Falls area.

The area will be transformed into a multi-purpose community, referred to
as the Isles. The plan includes approximately 1,200 residential units, 4.8
squared kilometres for retail, 17 squared kilometres for commercial space,
and a hotel.

According to the City of Ottawa, the proposed site will comprise Chaudière
and Albert Islands, and is part of the now-defunct Domtar paper mill
lands, partially located in Gatineau.

The redevelopment would also target Asinabka, also known as Chaudière
Falls, a sacred space for Indigenous peoples near Kitchi-sippi (Ottawa).
The site has been used for over 5,000 years for ceremonial and traditional
gatherings, activities and events.

Ottawa and Gatineau are built on the stolen land of the Anishinaabeg
(Algonquin) nation. The Algonquin people still retain Aboriginal title of
the land, yet their land claims remain unacknowledged and unresolved,
although an agreement in principle between Ontario, Canada, and the
Algonquins of Ontario was released in 2012 for public review and comment.
According to the Legacy Vision of the late Algonquin Kitigàn-zìbì
Anishinàbeg First Nation Elder William Commanda, the Asinabka Eco Park
should be built at the site of the sacred Chaudière Falls.

A Sept. 23 Asinabka Heritage letter to the CEO of Domtar noted that
"William Commanda's ancestors from Lac Commandant/Lac Papineau, Quebec met
the first occupier of this site, Philomenon Wright, at the beginning of
the 1800s, and they asserted the special significance of the place, as
documented in Wright's own papers."

The letter affirmed the area was considered a sacred site to the
Algonquins of this watershed, and had been since 1613, according to Samuel
de Champlain's personal records.

With this decision, the city of Ottawa is continuing in the colonial
footsteps of Wright by ignoring the Algonquin nation which has lived in
the area since time immemorial.

Elder William Commanda envisioned a redevelopment of Asinabka to include a
conference centre, an interpretive centre on regional and national
history, a National Indigenous Centre, and the freeing of Chaudière Falls
"to the extent possible." Renowned Aboriginal architect Douglas Cardinal
has produced plans according to the vision of the late Elder William
Commanda.

The Harper government did not provide the National Capital Commission with
the funds to buy the land in order to support the plan put forward by
Elder William Commanda, and the city of Ottawa has also said it does not
have the money to do so. As a result, the Windmill Development Group was
able to
purchase the land.

The proposed residential and retail area would only serve to profit
developers instead of realizing Elder William Commanda's vision and the
demands of the people.

The legacy of racism, colonialism, oppression and genocide of Indigenous
people is increasingly recognized as Canada's greatest historical and
current shame. With the leadership of the Algonquin people, the federal
government could work with the City of Ottawa, Domtar and Windmill
Developments to realize the Asinabka redevelopment plan, thus taking
legitimate steps towards healing and reconciliation between the Canadian
state and the Indigenous people who have legal and historical title to the
state's territory.

The city's plans have been met with petitions, a large anti-rezoning
protest at the city development meeting on Oct. 8, and several other
actions. Activists say more protests are planned for the near future.
A Facebook group called, "Don't let the City of Ottawa 'rezone' unceded
Algonquin territory," actively provides updates and information about the
opposition from First Nations and their allies. If local municipal leaders
choose to ignore the legitimate holders and protectors of this area's
land, they will certainly come up against people taking action to make
them realize they cannot rezone a sacred site for private profit.

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Raaymakers: Fulfill Commanda's vision at Chaudière

By Peter Raaymakers

Last week, the City of Ottawa's Planning Committee unanimously passed a
request from Windmill Developments to re-zone Chaudière and Albert Islands
for mixed-use community-scale sustainable development as part of its
redevelopment project on the old Domtar lands. Windmill's project, called
The Isles, would remediate the old industrial lands and convert them into
"a world-class sustainable community" featuring parks, retail,
residential, and commercial space. Preliminary drawings show a beautiful
and vibrant space with generous consideration given to public spaces and
ecological sensitivity.

In isolation, it looks like a home run from an urban development point of
view. The Isles offers an opportunity to open up prime real estate to the
public, and it would give the National Capital Region an eco-district
people around the world would envy. But as with any such decision, this
one can't be made in isolation.

Ottawa and Gatineau are cities built on land that was never ceded by the
Algonquin people who once lived in this region. The Algonquin people still
retain Aboriginal title of the land, and their land claims over vast
swaths of Ontario and Quebec, including the National Capital Region,
remain unresolved (although an agreement-in-principal between Ontario,
Canada, and the Algonquins of Ontario was released in 2012 for public
review and comment). And the Chaudière islands and falls aren't just
normal pieces of that land; they're sacred sites to the Algonquin people.

As a reflection of this importance, William Commanda of the Kitigàn-zìbì
Anishinàbeg First Nation championed a restoration of Asinabka -- the
Algonquin word that refers to the Chaudière Falls, Chaudière Island, and
Victoria Island -- to a site of national importance for all people of
Canada, including Indigenous, French, and English. Commanda, a recipient
of the Order of Canada and the key to the City of Ottawa, envisioned a
redevelopment of Asinabka to include a conference centre, an interpretive
centre on regional and national history, a National Indigenous Centre, and
the freeing of Chaudière Falls "to the extent possible." With all due
respect to Windmill Developments, it's a plan with far more boldness and
significance than a condos and retail space.

The construction of a conference centre (and possibly attached hotel)
would establish Asinabka as a meeting place for diverse people, and the
parkland surrounding it would be an ideal location for many meetings of
national or international relevance. A long-overdue Indigenous museum or
interpretive centre would also grace the site, providing context and
history of the French, English, and Indigenous histories of this land.
Architect Douglas Cardinal, who also designed the Canadian Museum of
History, submitted conceptual plans for a National Indigenous Centre
(which is planned for Victoria Island, which isn't part of the Domtar
lands or The Isles proposal) to the NCC in the 1990s and received its
support, but -- as you might expect -- the NCC had no money to offer.
Finally, freeing the Chaudière Falls would be a symbolic gesture of
reconciliation with the natural environment that would enrich the Asinabka
park environment.
Management of the facilities would be a shared responsibility of federal
and Indigenous governments. Administrative decisions like that are
important and would have to be settled before anything could happen, but
establishing a mutual interest and willingness to work together to
re-establish Asinabka is a vital first step.

As for The Isles, there remains an opportunity for Windmill Developments
to remediate and develop the north shore of the Domtar lands, those fully
on the Gatineau side of the Ottawa River. Although the project wouldn't be
as large as the current plan, its proximity to the Asinabka development
represents a great opportunity for urban revitalization on the current
industrial lands.

In partnership with Algonquin and other Indigenous people in Canada, the
federal government should work with the City of Ottawa, Domtar, and
Windmill Developments to realize the Asinabka redevelopment plan. The
legacy of colonialism and oppression of Indigenous people is Canada's
greatest shame, and Commanda's vision represents a huge opportunity for
Canada to take legitimate steps towards healing and reconciliation between
Canada and the Indigenous peoples who've lived on this land since time
immemorial.

Peter Raaymakers is an Ottawa writer.

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