[Indigsol] Aug. 17: Free The Falls! Free The Islands! Rally at City Hall! and more.

Wed Aug 12 13:22:37 PDT 2015

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1) Free The Falls! Free The Islands! Monday, Aug. 17 at 8:30am
2) Indigenous & Palestinian Reflections on Gaza: the siege, Flotilla, and
   BDS, Tuesday, Aug. 18 at 6:30pm
3) Open Meeting for the Indigenous Peoples’ Solidarity Movement – Ottawa,
   Sunday, Aug. 23 at 2:00pm
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Free The Falls! Free The Islands!
Rally at City Hall!

Monday, August 17 at 8:30am
Human Rights Monument,
Corner of Elgin and Lisgar
http://freethefalls.ca/
https://www.facebook.com/events/862553910460879/

Join us! Tell everyone we want to free the falls and its islands!

We don’t want condominiums built on stolen Algonquin islands!

We want City Council to be accountable and democratic, and we want the
Ontario Municipal Board to be a fair and transparent institution!

We don't want City Hall to and the Ontario Municipal Board to make
underhanded and illegal deals with developers.

In October of 2014, City Council approved a request by Windmill
Development to rezone Chaudière and Albert Islands so that the
construction company could build condominiums on the islands. City council
did this despite the many concerns raised by the many people who attended
the city council meeting. First Nations people and communities were not
properly consulted about the proposed development.

This rally will be immediately before the Ontario Municipal Board (OMB)
pre-hearings, and we want to fill the room.

Opening:
Albert Dumont "South Wind"

Confirmed Speakers:
Douglas Cardinal
Lindsay Lambert
Romola Tumbadoo
Richard Jackman
Shannon Chief

About the speakers:

Albert Dumont (South Wind) is Algonquin from Kitigan Zibi. He is a
spiritual advisor, poet, artist, and activist. He has written eloquently
about the spiritual importance of the Chaudière Falls and nearby Islands
on his blog: http://albertdumont.com/

Douglas Cardinal, Richard Jackman, Romola Thumbadoo, and Lindsay Lambert
and are all appealing the City of Ottawa's decision to rezone Chaudière
and Albert Islands for commercial development.

Shannon Chief is an artist, traditionalist, and researcher of the wampum
and histories. She lives on the Anishnabe Unceded Territory and supports
restoring the custom of the Anishnabe Pike Constitution and Sovereign Laws
for the Nation.

Additionally, we’re asking you to contact your city Councillors, MPPs and
MPs to let them know: 1. That you don’t want condominiums built on Albert
and Chaudière Islands. Instead, you want this sacred place by the
Chaudière Falls to be respected and restored for healing and ceremony. And
2. You don't want this case dismissed at the pre-hearing, which is the
Motion the City has put forward. You believe this matter deserves a full
OMB hearing. Thanks!

Tentative Schedule:

8:30am – Free Snacks and Coffee
8:40am – Opening by Albert Dumont
8:55am – Drumming
9:00am – World Truth Speakers Posse
9:05am – Speakers
9:40am – Drumming
9:50am – Closing and let's go fill City Hall's Keefer Room for the
pre-hearing!
**********************
The OMB pre-hearings will start at 10:00am at City Hall (Ottawa), in the
Keefer Room, 110 Laurier Ave. W., Cartier Square Ottawa ON, Algonquin
Territory. At first we asked folks to call the OMB to the reserve a seat
at the pre-hearing, but they operate by first come first serve. The Keefer
room has a capacity for 60, and the OMB claims they have never run out of
room.

Here is all the information about the pre-hearing:
Pre-hearing case # PL141340, Case description: OPA 143, Development of
Chaudière and Albert Islands. Start date: Aug 17th. Duration: 3 days.
We invite you to join us at the Faith House on August 18th for an evening
of storytelling about the Palestinian struggle for freedom. Two speakers
will reflect on their experiences working in solidarity with the people of
Palestine and, in particular, Bob Lovelace will discuss his recent
experience on the Freedom Flotilla III.
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2) Indigenous & Palestinian Reflections on Gaza: the siege, Flotilla, and
   BDS

https://www.facebook.com/events/1482789885352775/

WHERE: Faith House, 18 Blackburn Avenue, Ottawa, ON
WHEN: Tuesday, August 18, 6:30PM
FREE EVENT

BOB LOVELACE is an Algonquin traditionalist, father of seven, activist,
scholar, professor of Aboriginal Studies at Queens University, and former
chief of the Ardoch Algonquin First Nation. This summer, he took part in
the Freedom Flotilla III Mission, which attempted to deliver humanitarian
aid to the besieged Palestinian Gaza Strip. The ship on which he was
traveling was raided by Israeli military forces, at which point he was
imprisoned and subsequently deported. He is coming to Ottawa to share the
story of his experiences with us.

RANA NAZZAL is a Palestinian-Canadian student, writer, and activist who
organizes with Students Against Israeli Apartheid Carleton (SAIA) and sits
on the board of directors of OPIRG-Carleton. She will discuss the current
situation in Gaza and greater Palestine, what real solidarity looks like,
and the Boycott, Divestment, and Sanctions (BDS) movement and how folks
can get involved.

The prepared presentations will be followed by an open discussion.
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BACKGROUND

Since 2007, the Gaza Strip has been subjected to an illegal Israeli
blockade controlling the entry/exit of people and goods from land, air,
and sea. As a result, the Palestinians of Gaza have been deprived of their
basic needs, including adequate food, medicine, fuel, and building
materials.

Last summer and for the third time in three years, Israel led a brutal
attack on the besieged Gaza Strip, killing more than 2,200 Palestinians
and leaving more than 100,000 homeless. Due to the siege, much of Gaza has
not been rebuilt, with people still living out of bomb-destroyed homes or
temporary shelters.

The first Freedom Flotilla sailed to Gaza in 2010, bearing much-needed
humanitarian aid. Israeli authorities responded to it with incredible
brutality. A squad of Israeli commandos raided the flotilla, murdering
nine Turkish activists. The episode sparked global outrage and brought
international attention to the illegal Israeli blockade of Gaza.

Nonetheless, the Freedom Flotilla Coalition has continued to challenge
Israel's domination over the Gazan coast.

The Freedom Flotilla III left from Sweden on May 10th, 2015 and stopped in
several European cities along the way to Gaza. It left Athens, Greece on
June 25th, 2015, headed for the Gaza coast.

On 29 June 2015 the Swedish-flagged vessel "Marianne" was intercepted by
the Israeli navy in international waters about 100 nautical miles from the
Palestinian coast of Gaza. The Israeli military reported that no force was
needed during the operation. However, eye-witness video published by
Israeli TV shows people being tasered by Israel military commandos. The
Marianne was boarded by Israeli forces and taken to the port of Ashdod,
while the rest of the ships turned back.

This event will invite participants to reflect on the relations and
intersections between the genocidal aspirations central to the governing
ideologies of both the Canadian and Israeli states. Though the situations
are very different, there are clear parallels between the colonization of
Turtle Island and the colonization of Palestine.

This event is a collaboration between Students Against Israeli Apartheid –
Carleton (SAIA-Carleton) and Rebel! Rebuild! Rewild!, an eco-anarchist
collective dedicated to supporting the struggles of Indigenous communities
against the extractive industry.

More information about Rebel! Rebuild! Rewild! can be found at
rebelrebuildrewild.noblogs.org

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3) Open Meeting for the Indigenous Peoples’ Solidarity Movement – Ottawa

https://www.facebook.com/events/626532130783641/

Sunday, August 23 at 2:00pm
McNabb Community Center, 180 Percy St.
Meeting Room C (Craft Room)

Come get involved in doing indigenous solidarity!

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

In this meeting we'll be talking with new members about the group, about
what indigenous solidarity and decolonization are, and finding ways for
new people to get involved.

We have been organizing in Ottawa for the past 9 years and have done, and
do, solidarity organizing with Six Nations land defenders, the Algonquins
of Barriere Lake, organizing to justice for missing and murdered women,
girls, two-spirits and their families, and many other communities,
campaigns and issues.

Recently we have done work to free the Chaudière Falls and its Islands,
supporting indigenous women, opposing the Energy East Tar sands pipeline
and we raised over $1500 for 510 Rideau, the indigenous drop-in center.

-- 
Love and Solidarity,
IPSMO
On stolen Algonquin land
--

IPSMO's Facebook page, Website and Twitter:

http://www.facebook.com/ipsmo
http://ipsmo.wordpress.com
twitter: @IPSMO1