[opirgyork] Events this week around the Yinka Dene's fight against Enbridge

[aruna at opirgyork.ca]

Show your solidarity! A concert in support of Indigenous Rights & Against
the Enbridge Northern Gateway Pipeline and Supertanker Project

FREE/PWYC Concert With Performances By

KINNIE STARR
A TRIBE CALLED RED (new album download: www.electricpowwow.com)
TANIKA CHARLES & THE WONDERFULS
FREEDOM WRITERS
CHERYL BEAR
SKRATCH BASTID
IAN KAMAU
PLEX
YINKA DENE DRUMMERS
DJ ARIEL

This Tuesday, May 8th, please stand in solidarity with our Indigenous
brothers and sisters on the West Coast against the Enbridge Northern
Gateway project! This struggle is about the very survival the Yinka Dene
and the many other Indigenous peoples who will be devastated by Enbridge.
It’s also about much more – the outcome of this fight will have an impact
on the health and survival of both Canada and the entire planet. SHOW YOUR
SOLIDARITY!

FREE / PWYC
Doors at 8pm
THE GREAT HALL
1087 Queen St. West
19+ event

Attend the Freedom Train march and gathering:
(Block the Pipelines: Stop the Tar Sands)
http://www.facebook.com/events/163762043747293/

Sign the petition:
http://freedomtrain2012.nationbuilder.com/

"This is about our freedom to choose our future, our freedom to live
according to our own culture, our freedom to govern ourselves and our
lands, and our freedom from the catastrophic risks of an Enbridge oil
spill. We are fighting for our very survival. An oil spill into our lands
and waters threatens our health, our culture, and our very existence as
separate peoples."

- Chief Jackie Thomas of Saik'uz First Nation, a member of the Yinka Dene
Alliance

Background

On April 27, the Yinka Dene Alliance of five First Nations embarked on an
historic journey – a Freedom Train from their territories in Northern BC
right across Canada to Toronto to stand up for their rights and protect
our country's lands and waters. They have spent years fighting the
Enbridge Northern Gateway pipeline and supertanker project in BC, and now
they are taking our fight to the national level. Enbridge’s Annual
Shareholders Meeting is taking place in Toronto on Wednesday, May 9th.
Yinka Dene leaders are going to be inside the meeting to demand answers
and accountability from this company, with hundreds of community members
and allies supporting outside with songs, drumming and words.

On Tuesday, May 8, 2012, a diverse group of artists are coming together
for a concert to celebrate the historic arrival of the Freedom Train
participants to Toronto, raise awareness of the pressing issues of the
Northern Gateway project and Indigenous rights among a wider audience, and
build energy ahead of the following day’s opposition march and Enbridge
ASM protest.

With the federal government coming out and verbally attacking First
Nations and their allies in the last few months, the struggle is now as
tough as ever. But they draw strength from the tens of thousands of
Canadians who have already supported them in the exercise of their
authority over their lands. The Enbridge tar sands threat has unified
First Nations and non-First Nations communities, and they are not going to
stop until we win this together.

Go to FREEDOMTRAIN2012.COM for more info!

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Yinka Dene Alliance Freedom Train - Toronto Stop
Block the Pipelines: Stop the Tar Sands

The Yinka Dene Alliance (YDA) is planning a massive Canada-wide action
against Enbridge leading up to its upcoming Annual Shareholders Meeting in
Toronto on Wednesday, May 9.

JOIN US IN TORONTO

Tuesday May 8
Freedom Train Solidarity Concert
8:00 p.m. at The Great Hall (1087 Queen Street West)
Admission by Donation

Wednesday May 9 - 11:45am
Rally, March & Water Ceremony
When: Wednesday May 9th - 11:45 am
David Pecaut Square- Toronto
(near King St. & John St., behind Metro Hall)
- closest subway station is St. Andrew Station
- TTC tokens provided
- A mobility vehicle will be made available for those that cannot walk the
march route. For a spot in the van or for any other accessibility
concerns, please email: natalie.caine at greenpeace.org

March Starts at 12:30 from the rally - towards Endbridge AGM (Meridian
Hotel, King and Victoria St.)

To RSVP and to request info on free buses from outside Toronto, visit
here:
https://docs.google.com/spreadsheet/viewform?formkey=dEV1cVRWUXk0TmpsamZ2a1ZjRkxveGc6MQ

The Yinka Dene Alliance is one of the leading groups of First Nations in
opposing the Enbridge Northern Gateway oil pipeline and super-tanker
project. We are six Dakelh (Carrier) and Tse Kay Nay (Sekani) Nations in
the interior of what is known as British Columbia, and we are where the
unbroken wall of opposition to Enbridge's dangerous tar sands pipeline
begins.

We are taking an historic journey – the Freedom Train – from our
territories to Toronto. We will make stops for rallies and ceremony in
Edmonton, Saskatoon and Winnipeg along the way, and will gain strength as
we travel across Turtle Island. Remembering the Constitution Train of
1980, we will be travelling from our lands to the Canadian centre of
financial power - Bay Street - to send the pipeline companies, oil
companies, banks, financial media and the government an unforgettable
message: tar sands pipelines and supertankers will not be permitted in our
lands and waters.

For more info about the Freedom Riders Train and the Yinka Dene Alliance see:
http://freedomtrain2012.com/

For more info on the Indigenous and allied movement Against Enbridge’s Tar
Sands Pipelines and Tankers, and the Tar Sands themselves, see:
http://yinkadene.ca/
http://pipeupagainstenbridge.ca/
http://www.ienearth.org/tarsands.html

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