#unsurrendered traditional lands

[auressea]

Call to Action

Dear allies,

The images published by the Narwhal this week are nothing short of heartbreaking. So I will be brief.

I am sad and furious that this has been allowed to happen. I want people to call the “regulators” who have been deliberately asleep at the wheel.

Our Sacred headwaters, The Wedzinkwa river that we drink from, shows up muddy which should be clear! This is devastating and unacceptable!

Pipeline construction work drowned in a wetland used by salmon, a food that has fed our people for well beyond thousands of years.

But three individuals have the power to stop this work immediately. I have had my allied team set up this link so you can call them. CALL THEM NOW PLEASE!!!

We have warned this would happen forever. We were ignored.

We will never tire of speaking our truth. This river is a part of us. The Land is a part of us.

CGL has proven reckless and violent. They do not care!

Please click this link to call the ministers who have the power to stop this now!!

The work continues on the Wet’suwet’en struggle for autonomy. We thank you for your ongoing support.

Standby for more…

Eve

*** this will take you to an Autodialer Phone Train- which connects you to the voicemail of the relevant 'authorities'. have a script ready

[lookslikedaylight]

The Unist’ot’en clan of the Wet’suwet’en Nation established a camp by Wedzin Kwah (maurice river) after plans for construction of the Coastal GasLink pipeline (and the proposition of another 6) began about 5 years ago. The Costal GasLink pipeline will be 670km, bringing fracked gas from dawson’s creek to a state of the art processing plant in kitimat. It will run through 190km of Wet’suwet’en territory.

The Unist’ot’en are one of six clans within the Wet’suwet’en Nation who govern themselves, each clan being responsible for an area of land. The Wet’suwet’en Nation and Hereditary Chiefs have never consented to allow development or construction on their land. In defence of their unceded, unsurrendered territory, members of the Gitdumt’en clan have erected a camp about 20km down the road from the Unist’ot’en camp(the road is the only way to access the land for construction).

According to obtained court documents, the pipeline must start construction now or the company will lose money. Currently the canadian courts have granted an injunction (this was passed in early december prompting Gitdumt’en clan to mobilize) which allows rcmp to remove land defenders and dissolve the camps as well as facilitate the construction of the pipeline.

Today (January 6th) rcmp have set up checkpoints along the main road to prevent further supporters of Unist’ot’en/Gitdumt’en from reaching the camps but they have also sent heavily militarized officers to the barricades to arrest peaceful land defenders and dismantle the physical barriers. so far 14 people have been arrested including Gitdumt’en spokesperson Molly Wickham.

The rcmp have also erected a “temporary exclusion zone” where no one but enforcement officers are allowed to enter. Journalists and defenders have also reported problems with experiencing communication blackouts, which has been believed to be caused by the rcmp to prevent media outlets and the public from getting current news on the event; they have denied this.

It is so important that the Wet’suwet’en Nation protect their traditional land; it sustains life (from the salmon in the river to the berries and trees, and the clean water). it’s where culture is experienced, taught and passed down to the young people. It’s vital that this land be protected from pipelines for the respect of inherent rights and the lives of the Wet’suwet’en people.

Please consider donating to the camp fund or the legal fund to support the rights of indigenous people working to protect traditional land and ensure its sovereignty for future generations

to donate:

for more information visit the Unist’ot’en camp page on facebook and follow @/submedia on twitter for current updates and daily recaps on protests at the Unist’ot’en and Gitdumt’en camps.

There are also solidarity protests planned across north america as well in other parts of the world. linked below is the list of places and events. ** just a reminder for all the non-indigenous people planning to attend a peaceful protest in solidarity, many of these events are organized and hosted by indigenous people which will include ceremony and prayer. respect the sacredness and remember your privilege and your place**

[canadianabroadvery]

“ ...  As Dr. Karla Tait and Anne Spice point out, the injunction pushing for pipeline industry access to Wet’suwet’en land “shows blatant disregard for Anuk Nu’at’en (Wet’suwet’en law) which pre-dates Canadian and provincial law, for the feast system of governance that upholds Anuk Nu’at’en, and for Aboriginal title."

"Its enforcement would be illegal under both Canadian law and Anuk Nu’at’en," they add. "The dispute over the pipeline is, at heart, a struggle over the meaning of Aboriginal title and the rights of Indigenous peoples to determine the use of their unceded, unsurrendered ancestral territories.”

Having guided people for millennia on this land, traditional Indigenous laws like Anuk Nu’at’en provide more long-term wisdom than colonial laws because embedded within them is a respect for nature. They are ecologically intelligent in a way that western-imposed law is not because they recognize and respect physical limits, teaching us to only “take what we need, and leave the rest”. As such, I see the Wet’suwet’en exercise of their traditional laws and responsibilities as something that everyone needs to learn from in a time of climate emergency... “

[atlanticcanada]

N.B. RCMP tweets commitment to acknowledging Indigenous land; 'strengthening relationships'

The New Brunswick RCMP says it remains committed to “strengthening relationships” between Mounties and Indigenous communities, as the province finds itself in the midst of litigation involving several Indigenous groups.

On Saturday, New Brunswick RCMP sent several tweets acknowledging that the lands in which the province is situated are the unceded and unsurrendered traditional territory of the Wǝlastǝkwiyik/Wolastoqiyik, Mi'kmaq/Mi'kmaw and Peskotomuhkatiyik/Peskotomuhkati.

“We prioritize the education and awareness of all employees in fostering a change in the culture of the RCMP to attain and promote mutual respect, trust and open communication with Indigenous communities," the police service said.

The move comes two days after the New Brunswick government ordered employees to stop making territorial or title acknowledgments in reference to Indigenous lands, citing a series of legal actions and land claims initiated by First Nations.

The New Brunswick RCMP acknowledges that the lands on which New Brunswick is situated are the unceded and unsurrendered traditional territory of the Wǝlastǝkwiyik/Wolastoqiyik, Mi'kmaq/Mi'kmaw and Peskotomuhkatiyik/Peskotomuhkati.

— RCMP New Brunswick (@RCMPNB) October 16, 2021

Attorney General Hugh Flemming told reporters late Friday, the directive was in response to a lawsuit filed last year by six Wolastoqey communities claiming ownership of more than 60 per cent of the province.

The order was included in a memo issued Thursday to all government employees by Flemming.

It is common across Canada for politicians and others to begin events by stating that they are standing on unceded territories of various Indigenous Peoples.

The memo said the order covers land or territorial acknowledgments during meetings and events, in documents and in email signatures. Employees can make reference to ancestral territory but not use the terms "unceded" or "unsurrendered," Flemming's memo said.

- With files from The Canadian Press

from CTV News - Atlantic https://ift.tt/3AL29F7

[rihkee]

The Bawating Water Protectors (Sault Ste Marie) are coming to Ottawa, on unceded and unsurrendered Algonquin territory, for a four-day long public ceremony. Join our us and support them. This will be a Two-Spirit and LGBTQIA+ inclusive space. As part of Idle No More - OFFICIAL-  Unsettling Canada 150: A Call to Action, the Bawating Water Protectors from Sault Ste-Marie are coming to Ottawa to tell another story and to reject the upcoming celebrations. Along with a four-day fasting ceremony, from June 28th to July 2nd, sustained programming will also take place in the form of public panels, performance art, workshops, and so much more.   Given that Canada 150 celebrations will be taking place in less than 3 weeks, the organizers of REOCCUPATION are calling on all Nations across Turtle Island  to join us on July 1, 2017 to reoccupy the traditional lands of the Algonquin people by setting up tipis, wigwams, longhouses, or other lodges used by our respective nations on parliament hill. The goal of this call to action is to reaffirm our rightful claim to these lands as the original caretakers of Turtle Island, and to demand the repatriation of the territories that were and are illegally seized by the Canadian state. This is not a celebration of Canada, but assertion of indigenous self-determination and sovereignties over our lives, lands, languages and cultures, among other aspects of living Mino-Bimaadziwin (the good life). We recognize that the colonial legal state of Canada does not and cannot serve indigenous people as agents of our own lives. The inability of the Canadian government to carry out inquiries into missing and murdered Indigenous women and girls;  the over representation of indigenous people in the justice system, including unconstitutional imprisonments of land and water protectors; the lack of health and welfare services for indigenous communities; the inability to conform to free, prior, and informed consent surrounding resource extraction, among other things all serve as evidence to Canada’s inability or unwillingness to work with Indigenous nations on a ‘nation-to-nation’ basis. This grassroots movement requires your help so we urge you to join us on July 1st to reoccupy the capital of the illegal settlement of Canada. How can you help and support? See below: DONATE: https://www.youcaring.com/bawatingwaterprotectors-843534 FORM TO HOST WATER PROTECTORS: https://goo.gl/forms/Hp5IeNsiT0GDBese2 FORM TO FEED THE WATER PROTECTORS: https://goo.gl/forms/EnFbGBGtNbEQyoBu2 FORM TO JOIN THE INDIGENOUS YOUTH ART TEAM: https://docs.google.com/forms/d/1BbKU5-nPaCli_s9xTfprvabWgdnDBN-HIW5gnYcYFxw/viewform?edit_requested=true We ask that you, your community, and your organization join us to send a loud and clear message to Canada and the world that we will no longer accept the colonial system of dispossession, expropriation, and oppression that Canada has imposed on us for the past 150 years. CALL FOR SPEAKERS AND PERFORMERS: (Indigenous 2S/LGBTQIA, women and femme voices are going to be prioritized in collaboration with the anti-colonial stances woven into this initiative) Public Schedule: (subject to variation - non-scheduled time might also have speakers and activities): If you would like to join any meal, please note that Water protectors will be fed first and we ask you to bring your utensils and tupperware :). If you join them, we can clean and re-use your tupperware to serve you food. Bring a reusable water bottle. June 28th: 1PM Water Protectors arrive in Ottawa. We invite you to prepare your own signs and banners! 12PM-4PM Accepting Food Donations at 329 Bell Street South 6PM Orientation and Opening Ceremony, Human Rights Monument. All Welcome. 8PM Lighting of the Fire June 29th: 5AM Sunrise Ceremony 9AM Breakfast----- 12PM Outdoor Talk: 'History and Importance of the Chaudiere Falls (Asinabka)' - Lindsay Lambert 1PM Lunch----- 2PM Outdoor Panel: 'Unsettling colonial perspectives: emerging theories and futurism from BIPOC Communites' Hamda Deria is an undergraduate student at Carleton University majoring in Law, with a Minor in Indigenous Studies, and a concentration grounded in Transnational Law and Human Rights. As a Black-Somali Muslim woman living in Canada, her academic profile is deeply rooted in her social realities, personal experiences and violent tensions regarding the racial colonial state and how this may also inform her relationships of resistance with First Nations, Inuit and Métis communities. Kenneth Aliu 6h30PM Dinner----- 6PM Outdoor Panel: 'Water, Gender and the 150th'. Jocelyn Wabano Iahtail is an Ininew Eeyou Eskwayow from the Cree communities of Attawapiskat First Nation and Chisasibi First Nation. John Fox grew up in Wikwemikong FN’s on Manitoulin Island. John is a survivor of the 60s scoop and he has lobbied for the Missing and Murdered Aboriginal women Inquiry. Lynn Gehl. Ph.D., is an Algonquin Anishinaabe-kwe. She is an advocate, artist, and writer and is an outspoken critic of colonial law and policies that harm Indigenous women, men, children, and the land. Elsa Hoover, Algonquin, PhD Student June 30th: 5AM Sunrise Ceremony 9AM Breakfast---- 1PM Lunch---- 2PM Outdoor Panel: 'Land Dispossession and Legal Technologies' Fredrick Stoneypoint, Ojibwe, Sagamok Anishnawbek First Nation, Student in Sociology & Human Rights more speakers to be confirmed 6h30PM Dinner---- 7h00PM-9PM Indoor Panel: 'Cultural Appropriation in Art & Resurgence in Indigenous Art' The Origin, 57 Lyndale Cody Purcell Delilah Saunders Alex Nahwegahbow Victoria Ransom July 1st: 5AM Sunrise Ceremony 7AM-4PM All Day Action! Join for Details. 6PM Feast and Debrief for Protectors and Participants. Location to Be Announced on Place. Interested? Contact Us at: TurtleIslandwaterprotectors@gmail.com National Call to Action: https://www.facebook.com/events/193248851194723/

[auressea]

Pow Wow photos..

Am home from The Songhees Nation Powwow, held to honour the survivors of the residential school system in so called 'Canada', and all the many children who never came home at all.

Every Child Matters.

..anyway, my computer has decided that there is NO Bluetooth function. it simply 'evaporated' over night I guess>? and I have to sort that out before I can share my pictures of the lovely and compassionate outpouring of support.

If you or your loved ones are effected by today's events and activities, please seek support!

The Indian Residential School Survivor Society maintains a hotline for residential school survivors who are in crisis. The 24-hour a day crisis line can be reached at 1-800-721-0066.

Individuals impacted by the issue of Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women and Girls can contact the MMIWG Crisis Line toll-free at 1-844-413-6649.

First Nations, Inuit and Métis seeking immediate emotional support can contact the Hope for Wellness Help Line toll-free at 1-855-242-3310, or by online chat at hopeforwellness.ca.