[IPSM] Chief Terrance Nelson: Time for Action, not Talk!

[Ahni]

FYI... Chief Terrance Nelson has sent out a response to the recent KI
arrests....

Ahni
http://intercontinentalcry.org


*Time for Action, not Talk!*

March 20, 2008
Chief Terrance Nelson is taking the position that when Anishinabe people are
sitting in jail for defending the resources of their lands from thieves, it
is time for First Nations to take action. Today Rachel Ariss writes in the
Globe and Mail * "As of this week, Chief Donny Morris and five other band
council members of Kitchenuhmaykoosib Inninuwug First Nation sit in jail.
They were sentenced on Monday to six months in prison by Mr. Justice Patrick
Smith of the Ontario Superior Court in Thunder Bay."** * Chief Nelson
said *"Now
is not the time to talk about another National Day of Action, we must
respond and respond immediately with clear intent to this act of aggression
on the part of the immigrants." * The Treaties signed with the immigrants
were a framework of peaceful co-existence, we agreed to share our lands with
the newcomers, we did not agree to impoverish ourselves by giving everything
away to the immigrants. Make no mistake, jailing our people is an act of
aggression, it is a clear breach of the treaty framework and we as Chiefs of
all 633 First Nations in Canada must signal our willingness to go to jail in
defence of our right to live in peace and to share in the wealth of our
lands. With crude oil prices at a $107 a barrel and the Alberta Tarsands
holding 1.4 to 1.6 trillion barrels of oil, there is no shortage of resource
wealth in Canada. We as indigenous people have encountered absolute greed on
the part of the immigrants who continue to rob and pillage our people of the
wealth of our lands and resources. Americans account for 72% of all foreign
investment in Canada. The benefits of the 60 different metals and minerals
mined in Canada flow to the immigrants without any regard to the rights of
the original owners of the lands and resources. Americans are paying $1.4
billion a day for foreign oil, over half a trillion dollars a year, the fear
for US National Security is that Americans paying $4 a gallon are financing
future terrorist activity by paying trillions of dollars in the next decade
to unstable countries. We as indigenous peoples in Canada must Wake up the
Americans, we must collectively take the position that no Canadian oil will
flow to the United States without some respect for the fundamental human
rights of indigenous peoples north of the border and that must be made clear
to the Americans. The time for talk is over if Chiefs and council members
are being jailed for defending their right to be consulted and accommodated.
The Supreme Court of Canada has already decided in numerous decisions that
development cannot take place without the permission of the affected First
Nations. To jail our people is not only illegal, it is immoral and it is the
first step to ending the peaceful co-existence that the Treaties have
brought to Canada. For Canadians to idly stand by and watch a middle-east
type of violence come to these lands is beyond stupidity, it is crime
against our future generations to disregard the benefits of treaties. Chief
Terrance Nelson will take action by       -skipping the Treaty Conference in
Saskatoon next week as a exercise in futility  when the Minister of Indian
Affairs has already stated that he has no ability to  address the real
issues of our  people being in jail       -joining American Indian Movement
leader Dennis Banks in the Longest Walk II,  the walk across America, where
we will take the opportunity to directly tell the  Americans what is
happening in Canada.       -taking a position that no pipelines will cross
Treaty One Territory until the  Crown upholds the law as decided by the
Supreme Court of Canada, on the need  to consult and accommodate. The annual
$47 billion worth of crude meant for the  American market on the Enbridge
and TransCanada pipelines will not cross  our territory without the Crown
fulfilling its duty to consult and accommodate.       -American companies
doing business in Canada, exploiting our resources, will be  forced to tell
their share holders the truth of how much risk is involved in jailing  the
indigenous people. Investment stability in Canada is key to
negotiations. Burning
cars on railway lines across Canada is possible. Last year in the National
Day of Action, we as chiefs asked Canadians to take seriously the bitterness
we felt. We don't want the white man's money, we want a rightful share of
our wealth, the wealth of our lands and resources as agreed to in the
treaties. We urge Canadians not to allow an end to peaceful co-existence.
Canada is in the "Trillion Dollar Club", the nine richest countries in the
world that account for 68% of the world economy. We cannot and will not
allow our people to continue to suffer at the 63rd level of the United
Nations living index while our resource wealth flows south of the border and
seems to benefit only the immigrants to our lands. *For Further Information*
*Contact Chief Terrance Nelson* *204-782-4827*chieftnelson at rrafn.com
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