[IPSM] News Updates

[Indigenous Peoples Solidarity Movment - Montreal]

News Updates

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Check out Native Solidarity News on CKUT 90.3
every tuesday evening from 6-7pm for news
from around the world. www.ckut.ca/nsn
If you are interested in contributing to the
show, contact [news at ckut dot ca]
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[I.P.S.M. note: Many of the articles we send out are
from the mainstream news. They likely contain biased
or distorted information and may be missing pertinent
facts and/or context. They are provided for reference
only.  If you have any news to report, feel free to
either post it to this list (ipsm-l at lists.resist.ca or send it to
ipsm at resist.ca]

(1) Deh Cho open second front in legal war against review
(2) Domtar to halt production at two Quebec sawmills after natives block
roads
(3) Human Dignity by Arthur Manuel
(4) Cloud over Sun Peaks
(5) Métis Hunters to Exercise Rights
(6) 2nd CONTINENTAL SUMMIT OF THE INDIGENOUS PEOPLES AND NATIONALITIES OF
ABYA YALA

(1)Deh Cho open second front in legal war against review

CBC North

YELLOWKNIFE - The Deh Cho First Nations have launched a second attempt to
stop the review of the proposed Mackenzie Valley gas pipeline. The
aboriginal organization filed an application for an injunction Thursday at
the Federal Court in Vancouver.

This is the second legal action filed by the Deh Cho this month and it's
more specific than the statement of claim.

The Deh Cho are now asking the court to issue a permanent injunction to
stop the joint review panel from reviewing the pipeline applications.

Those applications are expected to be filed this month.

The joint review panel was appointed a month ago without the two members
demanded by the Deh Cho.


(2) Domtar to halt production at two Quebec sawmills after natives block
roads
Canadian Press
Thursday, September 16, 2004

MONTREAL (CP) - Domtar Inc. said Thursday it plans to temporarily shut
down two lumber mills in northwestern Quebec due to a blockade by
aboriginals, putting 350 people out of work.

Domtar said it will have to shut the mills on Oct. 4 because the blockade
has dried up log supplies and prevented wood harvesting. The shutdown will
affect mill and forestry workers.

Domtar said the dispute, which began Aug. 30, is between Algonquins and
the Quebec government over the lack of a long-term forestry management
agreement, but did not provide further details.

The mills involved are in the Val d'Or area.

Spokeswoman Josee Plouffe said the shutdowns could eventually affect a
nearby Domtar pulp mill as well, which gets wood chips from the sawmills.

Domtar (TSX:DTC) said it's waiting for the outcome of discussions between
the Algonquins and the provincial government.

[note: This situation has been brought about by a shortage of timber
resulting from a dispute between the Algonquin communities of Lac Simon
and Winneway and the Government of Quebec. A barricade erected on August
30 has prevented wood harvesting and transport in the sectors supplying
these two facilities. Domtar Inc. is the third largest manufacturer of
non-coated papers in North America. ]


(3) Human Dignity by Arthur Manuel

Sun Peaks - Skwelkwek'welt Protection Center -
September 13, 2004

The people are getting ready for the enforcement of another injunction at
the Skwelkwek'welt Protection Center. It is a very terrible time for my
people. It is funny people from around the world immigrate to Canada from
counties where their freedom has been taken away from them, and these
immigrants are of course very grateful to be here, but little if very few
understand that the freedom which they enjoy has been taken away from us.

Freedom I guess that is the greatest gift that we have given this world. We
have lands and territories which have brought the four colors and four
directions together, it is our home and native land which has done that, but
we ourselves are denied our own freedom.

That is what is being felt by my sisters and my brothers at the
Skwelkwek'welt Protection Center. I heard my dear friends talk about, maybe
they will not come and tear down our Protection Center, but I had to tell
them, that is not true. I said the RCMP are going to come. They have an
injunction and an enforcement order, and they have the local Member of the
Legislature, Kevin K. Kruger, Darcy Alexander from Sun Peaks and Frank Quinn
the Condo Developer who are all pushing the RCMP to get up here and get us
out of here. I know they are all probably really mad at the police for not
coming here sooner and are probably telling them they are falling down on
the job.

The Skwelkwek'welt Protection Center will be meeting with Chief Nathan
Matthew, chairman of the Shuswap Nation Tribal Council, Chief Arthur Anthony
of Neskonlith and Chief Mike Retasket of Bonaparte on Thursday, September
16, 2004 at 3:30 pm at the Skwelkwek'welt Protection Center or more
particularly the camp at Fairway 16 on the Sun Peaks Golf Course.

I believe the parties have a lot to talk about and I hope they resolve a lot
of problems the SNTC has in terms of an effective strategy relate to the
commercial activities at Sun Peaks, and how they are effectively
extinguishing or infringing on our Aboriginal Rights through third party
alienation.

It is clear that the activities of the Skwelkwek'welt Protection Center
makes it very clear that the people do not want Sun Peaks, or Sun Peaks to
expand, the real problem is the pressure from the local business and
political community, have forced many of our chiefs to cave into supporting
Sun Peaks.

That is the tough spot our people are in. The feelings of my people are
very hurt and very clear that justice cannot be found in the conflict
between the judicial system and the government here in Canada. On the
one hand the Supreme Court of Canada (SCC) recognizes Aboriginal Rights, but
on the other hand the governments of Canada and British Columbia do not
implement that on the ground, instead they seek injunctions and enforcement
orders to put you in jail for criminal contempt of court.

It is in fact the failure of the Canadian government with regard to
implementation of the SCC decision that is the force behind what is
happening at Sun Peaks. The RCMP or police are being used for "political
purposes" by the Canadian and British Columbia governments; because the
government policy regarding determination of the size Sun Peaks should be,
has not consulted or accommodated the Aboriginal Rights of the Secwepemc
peoples. In fact there is no policy to include Secwepemc peoples in that
decision making process, despite the fact the SCC of Canada recognizes
Aboriginal Title where Sun Peaks exists.

People at Skwelkwek'welt Protection Center are just contemplating on how to
cope with this injustice. Everyone is thinking about should I leave to
fight another day or should I go to jail for criminal contempt of court.

These are terrible matters to think about, when you are in a so called free
country. But for indigenous peoples Canada is not free. It is built upon
our marginalization, impoverishment, colonization, subsidization and
freedom. This must change, if, Canada is to become a mature country where
indigenous peoples and settlers can live together, not as colonizers and
colonized, but as human beings. I guess if that happens, then maybe what we
are experiencing will be worth it.

I know the Supreme Court of Canada, has given the politicians at the House
of Commons and the Legislature of British Columbia direction through their
judicial decisions, but the politicians are all too greedy with regard to
control over what we own, that they cannot learn to share with us, what is
ours. The Supreme Court of Canada said at the end of Delgamuukw that "We
are all here to stay", but that has not been heard by Prime Minister Paul
Martin or Premier Gordon Campbell.

The implications of that is we own this land, and we need to reconcile
ownership with the power to make decisions, like how big should Sun Peaks
really be, so we can enjoy the environment and still have a thrifty
business. That is not happening. What we got is the old Hollywood Cowboy
and Indian approach, but that is not going to work any more. Our struggle
will continue.

Human dignity and respect, freedom and decolonization are our goal, that was
in our heart yesterday as we talked well into the night. I share a few
pictures of our home. Will keep you informed.


(4) Cloud over Sun Peaks
A planned $285M B.C. ski resort expansion has divided the native community
and sparked a bitter land claim battle

John Greenwood
Financial Post

Monday, September 20, 2004


SUN PEAKS, B.C. - From the road, all you can see is the protestors'
shelter -- tree trunks covered with blue plastic at the edge of the
yet-to-be-completed 15th fairway. It's raining today and the group has
retreated inside. But the workers building a string of nearby condominiums
are careful to give the camp a wide berth -- a deer carcass was recently
spotted hanging by the shelter and they worry about stray bullets from the
group's hunting activities.

"We've just got a chunk of the meat left," said Janice Billy, a member of
the Shuswap First Nation and one of the protest leaders. "The rest is in
someone's freezer."

For the past four weeks, the protestors -- there are nine on this day,
native and non-native -- have been camped out at Sun Peaks, a popular ski
resort about five hours northeast of Vancouver.

They are protesting a planned $285-million expansion that will include
several new ski runs, hotels and condominiums with space for more than
10,000 beds.

In the 12 years since Nippon Cable Co. of Japan bought Sun Peaks, it has
become one of the most successful ski resorts in Western Canada. Today it
employs 1,100 people and is home to 400 permanent residents.

But with that growth has come controversy. And the battle has divided the
local native community.

What the protesters are trying to accomplish depends on who is talking.
According to Ms. Billy, it is to force the government to recognize the
right of the Shuswap to their ancestral territory, including the land on
which Sun Peaks sits. But if you talk to the Council of Canadians, one of
several non-native groups that has waded into the dispute, the issue has
to do with the environment, or more precisely the effect of resort
development on aquifers.

One thing that is not disputed is the protest has placed Sun Peaks at the
centre of a bitter land claim battle over which it has no control and
indeed isn't even a participant.

Since Ms. Billy and her associates first began targeting the resort about
four years ago, company officials have been forced to make regular
appearances in the media to fend off charges that they have somehow taken
the land illegally.

The truth is virtually all of British Columbia is subject to native land
claims and Sun Peaks is no different from nearly every other business
operating in the province.

Officially, Sun Peaks denies the protest has had an effect on its bottom
line. But in an industry as cutthroat as this, all that negative attention
can hardly be helpful.

Despite the controversy, Sun Peaks is a rare success story in British
Columbia. While other businesses, including some resorts, have been forced
to make cut backs, Sun Peaks has been quietly flourishing. Since being
bought by a private Japanese company in 1992 it has grown to become one of
the biggest ski resorts in the province.

Most Shuswap elected leaders want nothing to do with the protesters.
Nathan Matthew, chairman of the Shuswap Nation Tribal Council, said the
protesters don't represent the views of the majority of the people.

The council, which represents all 17 bands, issued a statement sharply
criticizing the group.

"Protests such as these continue to have a detrimental effect on our
economic and tourism developments that will be long lasting," said Richard
Lebourdais, chief of the Whispering Pines Indian Band.

"It is insulting when outside groups attempt to compromise our efforts in
dealing with issues that affect our people in our territory," said Felix
Arnouse, chief of the Little Shuswap Band, referring to groups such as the
Council of Canadians and the Anti-Poverty Committee that have taken up the
cause.

The chiefs make no bones about the fact they have an outstanding land
claim against the government.

The Shuswap have laid claim to a vast slice of the south central part of
British Columbia, running from the Alberta border in the east to the town
of Williams Lake in the north Okanagan.

Like many B.C. first nations, they never signed any treaties giving up
title to their ancestral lands. But after years of protest that brought
only economic stagnation, Shuswap leaders decided their battle is best
fought in court. In the short term, they have decided the best way to
serve their people is to become players in the local economy.

The last thing they want is a gaggle of fringe groups getting involved and
muddying the waters even further than they are already, which is why
members of the tribal council have responded so harshly.

Back at Sun Peaks, Chris Nicolson, president of Sun Peaks Tourism, shakes
his head in dismay. The British Columbia Supreme Court on Sept. 3 issued
an injunction ordering the protesters to leave. The police have said they
arrest the protesters unless they obey the order.

But there have been arrests before and the protesters have always returned.

"It makes us feel powerless," Mr. Nicholson said.

While Nippon Cable is the main investor, it isn't the only one.

Other investors include some of local first nations communities. The
Little Shuswap Band has several joint ventures with the resort, including
a housing development. The band recently built a 72-room hotel on their
reserve, not far from the resort. And they're in talks to start a joint
venture around a back-country skiing company, according to Mr. Arnouse,
the chief.

He said the idea was to create jobs for band members, but it's not turning
out that way. "The businesses have been negatively impacted by the
protests," Mr. Arnouse said.

(5) Métis Hunters to Exercise Rights
17 September 04

Manitoba Métis hunters were issued Métis Harvester Identification Cards in
a ceremony September 9, 2004, despite refusal by the Manitoba Minister of
Conservation to recognize Métis' right to harvest for subsistence
purposes, similar to the right of other Aboriginal peoples in Canada.

The September 2003 Supreme Court of Canada Powley Decision recognized the
Métis as a distinct Aboriginal people and affirmed aboriginal hunting and
fishing rights to Métis who can show their connections to ancestral
communities which continue to hunt and fish today. The Court also
acknowledged the urgent need to identify Métis rights-holders through an
objective and verifiable process.

Manitoba Métis Federation (MMF) President David Chartrand met with
Conservation Minister Stan Struthers earlier in the week, but Minister
Struthers said his department will charge cardholders if they break the
law. Struthers said the province is working on new rules for Métis hunters
that are in keeping with the recent Supreme Court ruling. He did not know
when the new rules would come into effect.

Métis leaders maintain that Manitoba is ignoring the 1982 Canadian
Constitution and disregarding the Supreme Court. The MMF will challenge
the province by having cardholders take part in a mass hunt.


(6) II CONTINENTAL SUMMIT OF THE
INDIGENOUS PEOPLES AND NATIONALITIES OF ABYA YALA
(21-25 July 2005, Quito - Ecuador)


Kito Declaration


>From the Heart of the World, in the place of the vertical sun, as  a
follow up to the I Summit held in Teotihuacán, Indigenous Peoples and
Nationalities of Abya Yala have summoned ourselves on the July 25, 2004, 
to meet in the II Continental Summit organized by the Confederation of
Indigenous Nationalities of Ecuador (CONAIE), the Organization of Quichua
Nationalities of Ecuador (ECUARUNARI) and the Coordinating Body for the
Indigenous Organizations of the Amazon Basin (COICA). With participants
from 64 Indigenous Peoples and Nationalities, we express our voice.


We are aboriginal peoples from Abya Yala. Our ancestors, our grandparents 
taught us how to love and revere our bountiful Mother Earth (Pacha Mama) 
and how to live in harmony and freedom with the natural and spiritual 
beings that inhabit Her. Our political, economic, social and cultural
institutions are a heritage from our ancestors and form the foundations 
to build our future.


The valleys and pampas, the forests and deserts, the  mountains and snow
reservoirs, the seas and the rivers, the eagle and  the condor, the
quetzal and the hummingbird, the puma and the jaguar, have been witnesses
of  our collective socio-political systems based on human and
environmental sustainability.


Colonizers and national states have robbed us of our ancestral
territories;  they divided us in order to control us politically and to
push us to  inhospitable places. The territories we inhabit today are
noted for the  conservation of biodiversity and the existence of natural
resources.  Multinational corporations desire these resources, and this
provides  a new reason for which we suffer further despoliation.


National governments, following the guidelines emanating from the IMF,  WB
and IDB, are devastating us for the payment of the external debt and  are
disregarding our collective rights to our land, changing legislation  to
allow privatization, corporative alliances, and individual appropriation.


We denounce that national governments in the Americas are increasingly 
using violent repression, and this is expressed in: the violation of  our
human rights and our rights as Peoples; the criminalization of our actions
 for the defense of life and religious ceremonies, paramilitarization, 
removal from our lands, military occupation, the corruption of leaders 
and local authorities; promotion of projects to "compensate" the  damage
done by transnational corporations; the so-called equitable
benefit-sharing;  and forced migration. They promote division,
confrontation and armed conflict  among the communities to impose their
excluding, racist, and oppressive  policies.


We firmly oppose the development of plans such us the South American 
Regional Plan for Infrastructure Integration (IIRSA); Plan Puebla Panama; 
Plan Patriota; Plan Colombia; Plan Dignidad; Plan Andino, and the
establishment of military bases. We also oppose the adoption of the FTAA 
and FTAs, which are fostered by the WTO for the benefit of the looter
countries of the world. They only intend to create infrastructures to 
facilitate the circulation of their goods, to exploit natural resources 
on our lands and territories, and to protect transnational corporations. 
We consider them invasion plans for plundering, destruction and death.


We reject the implementation of territorial organization plans, the 
exploitation of minerals and hydrocarbons, the establishment of natural 
protected areas and forest plantations, the payment for environmental 
services, the privatization of water and air, fumigations, the granting 
of patents on natural and cultural resources, and the use of transgenic 
seeds in our territories which only intend to guarantee the reproduction
of  large transnational capital to detriment of our lives.


We denounce that the nation states of the Americas have customarily 
violated national and international legal instruments, thus ignoring  our
collective rights. The ILO Convention 169 is one of those instruments, 
and we demand its immediate ratification on the part of all the countries 
in America and in the rest of the world.


We protest a lack of will in the OAS to modify the American Declaration 
on the Rights of Indigenous "Populations," which should be done  with the
participation and decision making of Indigenous peoples.


We object to the United Nations because it proclaimed an empty Decade  of
the Indigenous Populations, as the necessary steps have not been taken  to
adopt a Universal Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples.


Facing the situation of exploitation of our Peoples:


We resolve


To create a space for the permanent linkages and exchanges where we  can
share experiences and proposals, so that our peoples and nationalities 
can  confront together the neoliberal globalization policies.


To develop a common agenda of actions and mobilizations to show our 
rejection of the exclusionary model and to act together and in
coordination  under the institutions in which we decide to participate.


To establish alliances with other civil society sectors, particular  other
social movements, which help allow us to face the policies which  oppress 
us.


To demand unconditional freedom for Indigenous leaders and authorities 
unfairly imprisoned for defending their land and exercising their 
autonomy, and the redress for the moral damage done to Indigenous peoples 
and  nationalities by murder committed against their people, as well as
compensations to the families of those killed.


To demand from national states the unconditional repatriation of genetic 
and natural resources which have been legally or illegally extracted  from
 our lands and territories; the restitution of lands; the free transit  of
 Indigenous persons within their territories when these territories  are
transboundary; the compensation to peoples affected by any kind  of
impacts  and exploitation, and the restoration of their lands and
territories  to their original conditions; and the full respect for our
Indigenous peoples  and nationalities' territories, particularly the
territories of  uncontacted  or voluntary isolated peoples.


To demand that governments resolve any conflicts arising from the
exploitation of natural resources and from the lack of guarantees on our
territories and lives when state and corporate policies are applied, as in
 the cases of Sarayacu, Raposa Serra do Sol, Plan Colombia, Pilcomayo
River,  Blue Mountains, Camisea, the gas issue in Bolivia, and Margarita,
Ashánica.


To participate in international fora such as the World Social Forum  and
the  Americas Forum with common proposals reflecting the position of the
Indigenous movement.


To express our solidarity with the CONAIE that is facing a strong attack 
from the Ecuadorian government of Colonel Gutiérrez that is trying to 
undermine its struggle to build a plurinational state.


To express our solidarity with the Venezuelan people and President Hugo 
Chávez who have defended their national sovereignty in the face of a 
strong push from the United States government, and we call on them to take
action  against the referendum scheduled for August 15, 2004.


To express our solidarity with the Cuban people for its continuing
anti-imperialist struggle.


We declare:


That the territories we inhabit are ours due to time, history and  right,
and so they are inalienable, imprescriptible and inembargable.


That we have our own models which guarantee the reproduction of  our
Peoples and Nationalities in harmony with nature, and are rooted  in  our 
ancestral  cultural heritage.


That we do not require legal recognition to create autonomous  spaces
which may allow us to exercise our peoples' and nationalities' 
self-determination.


Translated by ALMACIGA.


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Indigenous news sources

*The Eastern Door - www.easterndoor.com

*Turtle Island Native Network - www.turtleisland.org/

*Wii'nimkiikaa - http://users.resist.ca/~wiinimkiikaa/
[Wii'nimkiikaa is an information source for indigenous sovereingtists.
This is the online accompanyment to the print version; published in Coast
Salish Territories (vancouver, british columbia, canada). contact:
wiinimkiikaa at resist.ca]

*Windspeaker - www.ammsa.com/windspeaker/

*Redwire Magazine - www.redwiremag.com/

*Anti-Poverty Committee Skwelkwekwelt news -
http://apc.resist.ca/skwelkwekwelt

*Ontario Coalition Against Poverty First Nations News -
www.ocap.ca/1stnations.html

*Friends of Grassy Narrows - www.friendsofgrassynarrows.com