[IPSM] WASÁSE CALLS ON AFN TO GO BEYOND “NATIONAL DAY OF ACTIACTION”

[stef at tao.ca]

COMMUNIQUÉ – FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

WASÁSE CALLS ON AFN TO GO BEYOND “NATIONAL DAY OF ACTION” AND SUPPORT
SUSTAINED CAMPAIGN OF POLITICAL CONFRONTATION

( WSANEC Territory , Victoria , BC) – June 14, 2007

The chiefs of the Assembly of First Nations (AFN) have encouraged people
to organize and participate in a “National Day of Action” to draw
attention to and educate Canadians on First Nations issues. In solidarity
with those who will be taking action on June 29th, the Wasáse Movement
challenges the AFN to go further than this one-day national day of
rhetoric and symbolic protest. We challenge the chiefs of the AFN to truly
respect their people and to engage in a real strategy of action to improve
the quality of life for Indigenous people in this country.

The AFN’s motives for calling this single and limited National Day of
Action are questionable. The Assembly’s May 23rd call to action references
the removal of the current funding cap on band councils as a focal point
for concern, and it is clear that the primary motive behind the National
Day of Action is to pressure the federal government to increase funding
for the band council system. The Conservative government recent response
to the AFN’s call for increased funding, in its “Specific Claims Action
Plan”, and National Chief Phil Fontaine’s immediate support for the this
deft and distracting move, is an indication that there is no serious
intent behind the AFN’s position.

More funding for band councils and tribunal for specific claims will not
make a difference in the way our people are affected by land-loss, racism,
and poverty. We believe creating a better life for our people means
fighting for the respect of our inherent rights and the return of our
lands through a sustained campaign of political confrontation and direct
non-violent action. Wasáse calls on the Assembly of First Nations to go
further in responding to the hearts and minds of all the people who engage
in the National Day of Action by:

1. Redirecting the agenda and efforts of the AFN inward to strengthen our
communities; and,
2. Supporting a strategy of sustained political action and confrontation
going beyond June 29th.

“Some of us believe in reconciliation, forgetting that the monster has a
genocidal appetite, a taste for our blood, and would sooner tear us apart
than lick our hands
 We need to stand against history and against those
who would submit to it, and with the warriors who want to beat the beast
into bloody submission and teach it to behave.” – Wasáse.
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CONTACT:

Taiaiake Alfred
(250) 213-7446
taiaiake at gmail.com