[IPSM] [six nations] Public Forum in Caledonia: Moving Beyond Conflict and Blame: Why Canadians Should Support Six Nations Land Rights - Sept 30th, 1pm]

[nora butler burke]

-------- Original Message --------
Date: 	Tue, 26 Sep 2006 23:54:34 -0400
From: 	Autonomy & Solidarity <auto_sol at tao.ca>



We encourage everybody who is able to to attend this important event in 
southern Ontario. We will be posting video and audio from the event to 
our web site for those of you unable to make it. (www.auto_sol.tao.ca)
****************************************************

*please forward widely*

Community Friends for Peace and Understanding with Six Nations Presents:

Moving Beyond Conflict and Blame: Why Canadians Should Support Six
Nations Land Rights.

A panel discussion on the background to the Douglas Creek Estates
reclamation and the possibilities for peace, justice and reconciliation
between Canada and Six Nations.

September 30th 2006, 1pm-4pm

At the McKinnon Park Secondary School (91 Haddington Street) in Caledonia.

Speakers:

Jan Watson, Caledonia resident, member of Community Friends.

Kate Kempton, a lawyer with Olthuis Kleer Townshend in Toronto, with
expertise in indigenous peoples' rights, environmental and social
justice law.

Rolf Gerstenberger, President, United Steelworkers Local 1005.

This event is being put on in the spirit of peace and togetherness and
is designed as a safe environment for discussion and exchange of ideas
about the possible ways that the issue of Six Nations land claims can be
peacefully and justly resolved.  All open-minded people interested in
genuine discussion and dialogue are welcome.




PRESS RELEASE - SEPT 19TH, 2006

Caledonia Group Plans Public Forum in Support of Six Nations

On Saturday, September 30, the Caledonia based group Community Friends
for Peace and Understanding with Six Nations will be holding a public
forum in Caledonia entitled “Moving Beyond Conflict and Blame: Why
Canadians Should Support Six Nations Land Rights.”  The meeting is aimed
at bringing together people in Caledonia and surrounding communities to
discuss the Douglas Creek reclamation and the larger issue of indigenous
land rights in Canada.

The event will be held from 1-4 p.m. at the McKinnon Park Secondary
School (91 Haddington Street) in Caledonia. It will begin with a series
of presentations that will include: Jan Watson a Caledonia resident and
spokesperson for the Community Friends group, Andrew Orkin a lawyer
specializing in indigenous land claims, and Rolf Gerstenberger the
President of United Steelworkers Local 1005.

According to Community Friends spokesperson and Caledonia resident Jan
Watson, “we are holding this event as a way to try overcome the tension
and conflict in our community as well as to show that there are good
reasons why Canadians should demand that the government honor the
treaties and obligations it has made with First Nations peoples."

The objective of this meeting is to provide a forum for peaceful and
respectful discussion on the issue of the Douglas Creek reclamation and
the larger question of indigenous sovereignty and land rights in Canada.
As Watson notes "the primary aim of the meeting is to show that the
standoff over Douglas Creek Estates should not be simply portrayed as a
conflict between native people and non-native people, but rather one
based on larger questions of human rights, social justice and nation to
nation relationships.”

For more information about the event, please contact the Community
Friends group at smiley100 at mountaincable.net or by phone at
289-284-0154. The group's web site can be found at
www.honorsixnations.com.

-30-