[opirgyork] Urgent request for support from Six Nations

[opirg at yorku.ca]

Greetings all,

I hope you have been having a great April!

I'm emailing you to pass on the invitation from the Land Protectors of Six
Nations to you and your community for the "Community Walk and Celebration for
Peace, Respect and Friendship" that is coming up on April 28th at 2pm at
Edinburgh Square, a Haudenosaunee park across from the Caledonia Fairgrounds in
the Township of Caledonia. The walk is to be continued to the reclamation site
known as Kanonhstaton. At the site there will be a potluck, live music, games,
activities and discussions to which all people – from Six Nations, Caledonia,
and all other communities – are invited to attend.

There has be call for support and solidarity from the people of Six Nations to
all peoples to join them for this peaceful rally and march as a chance to
connect with their community and join them in their fight against racism and
colonialism. For those of you that don't know about the current and ongoing
land reclamations and conflicts between Indigenous and non-Native people in
Caledonia, "The fundamental source of the conflicts in Caledonia arises from
the failure of the Canadian government at both the provincial and federal
levels to honor the agreements the Crown has made with Six Nations. We
[organizers from the April 28th coalition] believe that the only way to truly
have peace, respect and friendship with our Six Nations allies and neighbours
is for the Canadian government and the British Crown to redress these historic
injustices. Six years after the land reclamation began at the former Douglas
Creek Estates, the time has come to stand together and respect the words of our
ancestors, to call for our treaties with Six Nations people to be honored, and
to bring together our communities and allies to celebrate the principles of
Peace, Friendship and Respect under the agreements that our peoples made
together – the Two-Row Wampum, the Silver Covenant Chain, and the Haldimand
Proclamation of 1784." (from April 28th coalition website)

As mentioned in the invitation from non-Native allies: "Whether native or
non-native, all of us residing within Canada are treaty people. We have both a
moral and a legal imperative to uphold the nation-to-nation agreements made on
our behalf by the British Crown and Canadian government with indigenous
peoples. It was treaties such as the Two-Row Wampum which gave us as
non-indigenous people the right to settle in what is now called Canada, and as
the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms affirms, these treaties are still
in force and they must be honored and upheld."

If you or members from your community need their costs subsidized to get on the
bus, OPIRG York is offering subsidies for those that need it to attend. Please
email sharmeen at opirgyork.ca if you need a subsidy. The current cost for a spot
on the bus is 10$.

To sign up and register for a spot on the bus:
http://april28coalition.wordpress.com/our-transportation-registration-form/
Invitation from Land Protectors:
https://april28coalition.wordpress.com/2012/03/21/invitationfromlandprotectors/
Press release: http://april28coalition.wordpress.com/

Thanks,
Aruna Boodram
Volunteer Coordinator
OPIRG York
www.opirgyork.ca