[IPSM] Native Solidarity News: A publication of the Indigenous Peoples Solidarity Movement – March 2005

[hhazel at gmail.com]

Native Solidarity News: A publication of the Indigenous Peoples
Solidarity Movement – March 2005
visit ipsm.nativeweb.org


Events Calendar:

Thursday, 17 March, 7:00pm
Unmasking Canada in the
War of Terror panel discussion
DS-R510 Pavillion De-Seve, UQAM
320 Ste-Catherine E. (Metro Berri-UQAM)

Friday, 18 March, 4pm
Film: "Above the Law, Part 1 & 2"
Le Frigo Vert, 2130 Mackay

Saturday, 19 March, 1:00pm
March Against the Occupation of Iraq
Dominion Square (Metro Peel)

Friday March 25th, 4pm
Film: "As Long as the Rivers Flow"
Le Frigo Vert, 2130 Mackay

Friday, March 25, 7:30pm
Resistance is not a crime:
Kanehsatake Benefit Show
La Petite Gaule, 2525 rue Centre (Metro Charlevoix)

Mining Showdown:
Elders occupy Tahltan band office
Elders from the Tahltan First Nation have been occupying their band
council office and demanding Chief Jerry Asp step down because of his
involvement in recent mining deals. The occupation began on January 17
after a supposed community consultation was revealed to be nothing
more than the unveiling of a completed deal between Nova Gold, Chief
Asp and the British Columbia government to open new mines on the
territory, which could threaten Salmon populations in the Stikine
river. In the words of the Elders Jerry Asp is no longer chief of the
Tahltan people. The occupation is continuing despite a court
injunction but the Elders face the prospect of Asp calling in the RCMP
to enforce his authority at any time.
The resistance to Asp and the mining deal strikes a major blow to the
new BC mining plan, hatched just weeks before the occupation began. In
the government plan Jerry Asp is portrayed as the poster boy of a new
era of happy relations between First Nations and mining companies. The
arrogance of show consultations and back room dealing by Asp have led
the community Elders to send a reminder that any mining that takes
place is happening on First Nations land and must be approved by First
Nations people not just Indian Act representatives or the BC
government. Many of the Tahltan Elders claim that Asp has no
credibility because his dual role as Chief and head of the Tahltan
Nation Development Corporation puts him in the position of bidding on
and giving approval to mining projects and has led to his betrayal of
traditional values in his search for a quick buck.
Under the new BC mining plan anyone with a computer and a credit card
can access a government site and lay claim to mineral rights across
British Columbia.  Under the first two weeks of the new system there
was more land claimed than in the entire previous year. The cyber land
rush completely ignores the fact that what is in fact being claimed is
not empty land on a computer screen but unceded territory belonging to
First Nations communities.
As a reminder of this the Tahltan Elders with the support of their
community, including four band councilors, are resisting this latest
project and forcing the return of accountability to their people as a
whole. Their struggle is essentially the same as those taking place
across Canada wherever  corporations with either Government or Band
Council support are trying to destroy or remove what is not theirs.
The resistance to mining development on Native land is an attempt to
put an end to years of environmental abuse, arrogant lack of
consultation and economic blackmail. The fight in the Tahltan Nation
mirrors worldwide resistance of Indigenous communities to mining
incursions.
Notably in the Philippines where the Cordillera Peoples Alliance has
warned mining companies to stay off Indigenous ancestral lands or be
met by force. Closer to Montreal in Kanehsatake, Niocan is attempting
to construct a mining project on unseeded territory which would have
massive
environmental repercussions and has not even had the pretense of
addressing Mohawk concerns separate from surrounding white
communities. This is only the most recent conflict between First
Nations and the mining industry.
In the fall of 2000 the Timiskaming First Nation blocked a road
leading to the Adams Mine site which crushed a billion dollar deal to
mine on their land and in 2004 members of the Clearwater River Dene
First Nation blockaded Highway 955 in Saskatchewan in opposition to
being left out of jobs and economic benefit from the Cluff Lake mine,
despite it  taking place on their territory.
Join the Indigenous Peoples Solidarity Movement to confront Mining
Developers at their annual Prospectors and Developers Association
Convention in Toronto.  Buses will be leaving Montreal on Tuesday
night March 8th and returning Wednesday March 9th in the evening.
Contact ipsm at resist.ca or call (514) 398-3323 to get on the Bus!

Canada:
Cops carry out racist attacks from coast to coast
Police violence and murder has become a growing problem in all of
Canada's major cities and one of the most regularly brutalized
communities is urban native populations. The past few months in
Winnipeg, home to Canada's largest urban first nations community have
seen police shoot dead two native men. In Vancouver, the police
department recently shot a Nisgaa man 10 times from behind and the
practice of beating Native men and leaving them freezing out in the
countryside has been exposed as widespread among Saskatchewan police.
Meanwhile, in Toronto a court threw out charges against two officers,
even after an internal police investigation alleged they had thrown a
native man down a set of stairs and beat him bloody, giving a good
example of the type of justice doled out to cops who kill or beat first
nations.
In the second murder of a native man within two months, Winnipeg
police gunned down 18 year old, Matthew Dumas on January 31, 2005.
They allege that he fled as police searched for a robbery suspect and
brandished a screwdriver at two police who then shot him dead.
Witnesses say that the police had their guns drawn throughout the
entire chase. The Assembly of Manitoba Chiefs rejected an opportunity
to work with police on the investigation, calling their version of
events suspicious and demanding a change in the attitude of Winnipeg
police.
Even the former Vancouver Police Department tactical trainer Alan Chad
calls the police version of their murder of Gerald Chenery "absurd"
Chenery, a 29 year old Nisgaa, was shot 12 times, 10 from behind, on
December 26, 2004. Police claim Chenery attacked two officers with a
knife but witnesses say there were more cops than two present and they
never saw Chenery with a weapon. The injuries sustained by Chenery
included two pinpointed shots to the back of each wrist, which suggest
that they did not occur in a tussle.
Ramsey Whitefish claims to have been dragged into a stairwell, thrown
down stairs and then beaten to a pulp with no charges resulting from a
June 2002 run-in with Toronto 14 division officers- a division
notorious for their off the record tactics. In a criminal hearing on
the matter charges against two police were thrown out of court for
lack of evidence. The reason: racism against Native people. The
defense case rested primarily on portraying Whitefish as an alcoholic
and his story as uncredible. In throwing out the charges the Judge
noted that it was clear race was not a factor in the incident!
In 2000 the case of Darrell Night, member of Saulteaux First Nation,
brought to light racist policing practices in Saskatchewan.  Night had
been beaten by police and then taken out of the city and ditched in
freezing temperatures to make his own way back or die. When the case
became public it emerged that this was not an isolated incident but a
regular practice of racist cops from multiple forces in Saskatchewan-
one that has more than likely led to several deaths.
There can be no doubt that racism against First Nations people is
widespread among police forces from coast to coast.  Ontario
Provincial Police, the assassins of brother Dudley George, have been
caught emailing photos of the autopsy of a native woman with racist
jokes alongside. These are not isolated incidents. We must learn to
defend each other and all our brothers and sisters.
The cases listed show that there will be no justice in the internal
investigations of the police or in the courts.
Tuesday March 15 will mark the 9th Annual International Day Against
Police Brutality.  In Montreal meet outside St. Laurent Metro at 5pm
to remember our brothers and sisters who have been murdered by police
and to stand up to the racist force that took their lives.


Grassy Narrows:
Resistance to Incursion Continues
Through the first 2 weeks of March, members of the Asubpeeschoseewagong
(Grassy Narrows) Anishinabe community will be touring through 
southern Ontario to raise awareness about their ongoing campaign for
justice, dignity and self-determination on Anishinabe territory.
Most recently, in December 2002, a blockade was erected in Grassy
Narrows to force an end to the illegal clear-cutting practices of
Abitibi-Consolidated Inc on their territories. Since that time, the
defiance of the Grassy Narrows community to corporate and state
colonialism has become a source of inspiration for indigenous
selfdetermination across the continent, and around the world. (See
events listings for details.)

"Smart" Cards:
Government Bloodhound Plan to Track Indians
The Mohawks of Kahnawake and the Cree of Quebec will soon be guinea
pigs for a worldwide 'Smart Card" system. These new super ID cards
have been on the wish-list of the powers that be for years. But their
dream keeps getting shot down because human rights activists say
"Smart cards" are an invasion of privacy. So now they have done a
run-around all the idealistic do-gooders - the project has surfaced in
Indian Country. Smart cards are being passed off as a make work
project in Kahnawake. Anteon, a private American company in Virginia
with close ties to the US government has persuaded Canada's Department
of Indian Affairs to fund the project. The new card will replace the
present Indian Status Card. The work is being done in conjunction with
the U.S. Department of Homeland Security.
The plan is to make smart cards for all of the Aboriginal nations.
Anteon is preparing specifications for a new facility in Kahnawake even
though the project has never been publicly discussed there. Some of
the machinery is apparently already on location. Mike Bush of the
Mohawk Council of Kahnawake says, this card "will prevent fraud and
satisfy the border crossing requirements, while bearing a unique logo
for each community and including 'additional' information". Former
Kahnawake chief, Joe Norton, has been hired as a consultant. His
services are appreciated because he brought the Assembly of First
Nations on board. Joe Norton met in late October 2004 in Ottawa with
the AFN. The AFN then met with the Minister of Indian Affairs and got
his support. And there you have it. Smart cards get their foot in the
door and Indians get ruled by American Big Business.
The colonization of North America began in Virginia. It was started by
a private company chartered to a foreign monarch. Nothing has changed
in 500 years.
Is there any real justification for all this spying? Once it's in place
it will be even easier for them to inhibit freedom of speech, freedom
of association and freedom of movement. Smart Cards are the electronic
bloodhounds of the 21st century.
—Akwesasne Phoenix

Kanehsatake:
Elections, Anyone?
Canada's 4 Chiefs should know this: This is about all the people who
stood up to your attack on January 12, 2004. This is about the 24
people wrongly accused for defending their territory and their
families on January 12, 2004. This is about our Police Commissioners
roughed up by your KMP goon squad on January 12, 2004.
This is about our Elders who were mistreated on January 12, 2004. This
is about the safety and security of all our children who were caught
in the middle of your attack on January 12, 2004. This is about our
Traditional People who proudly and respectfully represented
Kanehsata:ke in their oration to the members of the United Nations.
This is about our Security Cars and the incredible amount of time
committed by many of our Mothers and Fathers who Patrol our Territory
day and night. This is about the incredible amount of support this
community has received from our Elders, the Mohawks of Tyendinaga,
Kahnawake, and Akwesasne, as well as the legal firm Reynolds Dolgin,
and other groups like the Ontario Coalition Against Poverty (OCAP),
the Indigenous Peoples Solidarity Movement (IPSM), The United Church
of Canada, Amnesty International, student bodies from several Montreal
Universities, and Prayer Warriors from around the world.
This is about all the people you mistreated, fired or who lost their
jobs as a result of your actions.
Shame on you all!
Should the candidates be calling the shots? What about Canada and
Quebec? What about the AFNQL? Let's talk about breach of trust. Let's
talk about the turmoil created in Kanehsata:ke on January 12, 2004
with the illegal police coup in our territory organized by Jimmy, led
by the AFNQL, and paid for by Canada and Quebec.
When it comes right down to it, this was never about security. The
propaganda Canada spun through Jimmy's PR firm hasn't fooled anyone.
This is not an election to choose between GOOD versus EVIL, as they
would like everyone to believe. This is not just about the Mohawk
bashing or beatings that have taken place at the hands of the
Kanesatake Mohawk Police (KMP). This is certainly not about the
governments doing the right thing. This election really has nothing to
do with the AFNQL, KPMG or Judge Poitras who insulted us by attempting
to control Kanehsata:ke's Electoral Process on the strength of a BCR –
an Indian Affairs Policy – signed on November 16th 2004 by an
illegitimate group of Chiefs named to their positions by Canada and
Quebec without input from the true holders of that power, the People
of Kanehsata:ke.
This is about justice. This is about being accountable for the attack
of January 12, 2004. This is about being accountable for the illegal
policing agreement. This is about an unprofessional and partisan KMP
police force controlled by Jimmy. This is about millions being
misspent on policing, PR firms, and 3rd Party Managers for
Kanehsata:ke.
This is about Canada and Quebec manipulating, interfering and
illegally mandating Kanehsata:ke Chiefs without the People's consent.
This is about the AFNQL remaining silent to Canada and Quebec's
appointment of Chiefs in Kanehsata:ke.
This is about our schools closing.
This is about no housing for the last 8 years.
This is about a lot of things, including the turmoil we have endured
for the last year.
This is about the People being heard and finally having Peace.
This is about our collective right to prosper and exercise our rights
in a peaceful environment.
This is about our Lands. 15 yrs after 1990 and 100 million dollars
later and what did we truly get? Nothing but more abuse of power and
misuse of our band monies.
But most of all, this is about the lengths that Canada and Quebechave
gone to cover-up their crimes, abuses and interference with the Mohawk
Nation at Kanehsata:ke. And this is about their fear of facing the 90
million dollar lawsuit launched by this community aimed at exposing
all the lies, corruption and backdoor deals.
Canada and Quebec must legitimize Jimmy and his KMP goons at any cost
before any election happens. They couldn't do it at the end of a gun.
Their foreign court has no jurisdiction to do it. And we will never
allow it. We do not put any trust in a process that Canada, Quebec or
Jimmy have their grubby little hands in. Canadians did not tolerate
the Liberal Sponsorship Scandal. They got the Gomery Inquiry. What do
we have? Nothing but the prospect of another Police attack and
possibly with the army's assistance this time. But trust us, another
invasion will be met with the appropriate force necessary to defend
our sovereign territory and our inherent rights as Mohawk People in as
peaceful a manner as possible. And trust us Jimmy, you and your crew
will not escape your illegal acts. Many of us have received death
threats by telephone and mail from your supporters. You, your Canadian
handlers and your small group of cowardly supporters will not be
trusted anywhere near the communities electoral process. In short,
Canada and Quebec have no say.

Nia:wenko:wa,
Pearl Bonspille,
Kanehsata:ke Mohawk
John Harding,
Kanehsata:ke Mohawk

Homelessness:
NFCM diary
There are various estimates of the number of homeless on the streets
of Montreal. The Ka'wahse Street Patrol Van (Mohawk for Where are you
Going?) serves between 60 and 130 persons per night, around 2000 per
month, about 60% repeats. That is still several hundred individuals,
with fluctuation from new people arriving, regulars going to jail for
certain periods, some losing their lives through violence, exposure,
disease or accident. It is a rough life, but the regulars to the van
express gratitude and exhibit a zest for life and a realness that is
beautiful in its own unique way. I met with Pete, a 32 year old fellow
from BC, who currently volunteers for the NFCM. Pete is First Nations
and says he has been homeless throughout much
of the past 15 years. Pete has a great attitude, is very streetwise
and is friendly, hard working and dedicated. He is very reliable as a
volunteer and loyal and respectful of the Friendship Centre, the
community and especially the Ka.wahse Street Patrol van, which is his
main focus as a volunteer.
Your greatest challenge when you're on the street is finding food.,
says Pete, his face weathered by smiles and sharp winds carving a
roadmap of his travels to Vancouver, Victoria, Calgary, Toronto and
now Montreal. You need to find a safe spot to sleep, he says, but
admits he doesn.t much
like shelters. When asked why, he tells of a place in California where
he had to sleep on the floor, with a knife under his pillow, no
blanket, no feeling of safety. Somebody in Calgary went through his
bags. Pete says he likes to live and sleep outside because .of my own
head.. He says outside he has his own freedom, he can do what he likes
and can make his own decisions about where he goes, the people he
associates with. His eyes light up when he talks about this. Freedom
is a powerful thing.
I asked Pete about volunteering. He says he has been volunteering at
the Friendship Centre since October of 2004. He likes working on the
Street Patrol van because he really thinks the program of bringing
food out to the streets is great. He says he likes that the NFCM has
lunches, snacks and especially fresh fruits, because that is the major
thing you need on the street.fresh fruit. If there was no donated
food, says Pete, who sleeps most nights outside regardless of the
weather, lots of people would go hungry. Lots would be unhealthy. Some
serious things would happen., he says, without the food donations of
others. Donating food for others shows a real person., says Pete. And
he should know, as Pete is as real as it gets. He is always willing to
help, lend a hand, do what needs to be done to make sure the food, the
warm clothing, the blankets are loaded and ready to
go out to the streets where they will help others. Pete is the real
deal, a real Human Being. I am proud to know him.
Sky Bellefleur 
Native Friendship
Centre News