[IPSM] REMINDER: Ipperwash Inquiry: Lessons Unlearned? OPP Escalation and Weaponry at Tyendinaga Mohawk Territory

[stef at tao.ca]

** please circulate widely **

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Ipperwash Inquiry: Lessons Unlearned?
OPP Escalation and Weaponry at Tyendinaga Mohawk Territory
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TORONTO EVENT:
Tuesday, JUNE 17th, 2008
Cervecería
842 College Street West (just west of Ossington)
Doors open at 6pm / Event begins at 7pm
PWYC - Donations appreciated
(all proceeds go to the Tyendinaga Legal Defence Fund)

Speakers:

** Jerome Barnhart, Tyendinaga Mohawk Territory

** Representative from CUPE Ontario, to speak on the recent passing of CUPE
Ontario's Resolution 38, in support of indigenous struggle for the
land, against the criminalization of indigenous resistance, and in
support of the Mohawks of Tyendinaga, and spokesperson Shawn Brant,
and how we can build on this important step forward.

** Jackie Esmonde is a lawyer member of the New Socialist Group and the
Law Union. She acted as co-counsel for members of the George Family at
the Ipperwash Inquiry.

Also featuring Slide-Show / Audio from Tyendinaga Mohawk Territory and
short films.

Hosted by the Tyendinaga Support Committee.

Endorsed by Judy Rebick, CAW Gindin Chair in Social Justice and
Democracy, the Coalition Against Israeli Apartheid, No One Is Illegal
- Toronto, and the Ontario Coalition Against Poverty

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In April 2008, the Mohawk community of Tyendinaga was subject to an
unacceptable escalation of police tactics, including the drawing of
guns by OPP officers on unarmed Mohawks.  At the time, the OPP laid
unfounded, fear-mongering claims, saying they saw 'one long gun' at
the quarry reclamation site, a land reclamation which the Mohawks have
been holding for more than a year, as part of their struggle for the
return of the Culbertson Tract.   Psychological warfare on the part of
the police resulted in a tense face-off between the OPP and unarmed
community members that lasted for days. More than a month later, 16
men and women from Tyendinaga are facing charges, one of whom - Shawn
Brant - remains in maximum security pre-trial custody.

In 1995, the extra-judicial execution by an OPP officer of Dudley
George was found to be the inevitable result of centuries of
discrimination and dispossession rooted in racism. In the findings of
Justice Sidney Linden's Ipperwash Inquiry, the conclusion was reached
that Ipperwash revealed a deep schism in Canada's relationship with
First Nations peoples and was symbolic of a grevious history of
destructive government policies.  The Inquiry made constructive
findings and recommendations regarding policing, appalling
decision-making, the wrongful use of force against indigenous people,
and the racist demeanor of Ontario's then-Premier Harris and the police.

Despite these findings, it appears that Ontario has opted for the
criminalization of First Nations people over the resolution of
outstanding land issues, and the adoption of Justice Linden's
Ipperwash Inquiry policing recommendations are experiencing some
delay. During the recent road closures in April, an OPP officer on the
scene audibly commented to her colleagues, "We should just shoot them
(Mohawks) all."  And while in custody at the Napanee OPP Detachment,
several different officers repeatedly informed Shawn Brant that they
were going to "slit his throat".  Just this week, Stan Jolly, a
retired Ontario public servant who served as advisor to almost a dozen
provincial attorney generals, publicized his 41-page report into the
suspension and dismissal of Tyendinaga police chief Larry Hay, in
which he strongly criticizes the actions of OPP Commissioner Julian
Fantino, in first suspending Hay for eight months before firing the
veteran officer for allegedly making a series of racially-charged
comments about the OPP and RCMP to a student newspaper reporter last
April.

The current situation in Tyendinaga is developing into a sweeping
crack-down on community members, the stifling of resistance to
increased policing and further development of the Culbertson Tract,
while federal monies are being poured into the Territory for policing
matters.  What lessons have really been learned, in the 13 years since
Dudley George was killed? To what lengths are the authorities prepared
to go, in order to quash indigenous resistance and sovereignty?

Join us as we hear from speakers who will discuss these issues.  A
CUPE rep will speak on the recent passing of Resolution 38 at the CUPE
Ontario Convention, and the labour movement's support for Tyendinaga
and how we can build on this important step forward. The evening will
also feature a slide-show of recent photographs and audio interviews
from Tyendinaga Mohawk Territory, and short films.

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Ipperwash Inquiry: Lessons Unlearned?
OPP Escalation and Weaponry at Tyendinaga Mohawk Territory
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

TORONTO EVENT:
Tuesday, JUNE 17th, 2008
Cervecería
842 College Street West (just west of Ossington)
Doors open at 6pm / Event begins at 7pm
PWYC - Donations appreciated
(all proceeds go to the Tyendinaga Legal Defence Fund)

Speakers:

** Jerome Barnhart, Tyendinaga Mohawk Territory

** Representative from CUPE Ontario, to speak on the recent passing of CUPE
Ontario's Resolution 38, in support of indigenous struggle for the
land, against the criminalization of indigenous resistance, and in
support of the Mohawks of Tyendinaga, and spokesperson Shawn Brant,
and how we can build on this important step forward.

** Jackie Esmonde is a lawyer member of the New Socialist Group and the
Law Union. She acted as co-counsel for members of the George Family at
the Ipperwash Inquiry.

Also featuring Slide-Show / Audio from Tyendinaga Mohawk Territory and
short films.

Hosted by the Tyendinaga Support Committee.

Endorsed by Judy Rebick, CAW Gindin Chair in Social Justice and
Democracy, the Coalition Against Israeli Apartheid, No One Is Illegal
- Toronto, and the Ontario Coalition Against Poverty
For more information, please contact: support.tmt at gmail.com