First Nations

Coast Salish Unite Against Tar Sands Pipeline

October 29, 2014 Terri Hansen, www.indiancountrytodaymedianetwork.com Resist! Energy, Environment, First Nations, Indigenous Rights

The Coast Salish peoples of the Pacific Northwest are the traditional canoe pullers. They are the cedar people. The salmon nation. Their nearly 60,000 people have lived along the coasts of Oregon and Washington State, and in British Columbia, Canada for more than 10,000 years. They are united by language, culture and the Salish Sea. And now, in addition, they are united in their opposition to oil giant Kinder Morgan’s proposed $5.4 billion expansion of its existing Trans Mountain tar sands oil pipeline, which links the Alberta oil sands fields to a shipping terminal in Burnaby, near Vancouver, B.C. The new pipeline would nearly triple the capacity of the existing pipeline from 300,000 barrels per day to 890,000, increasing by sevenfold the number of tankers carrying diluted tar sands bitumen through the Salish Sea in Washington and Canada.

Columbus Day: Celebrating A Brutal War Criminal

October 12, 2014 Indian Country Staff, www.indiancountrytodaymedianetwork.com Educate! Columbus, First Nations, indigenous

The US Should Not Be Celebrating the Legacy of Columbus: Slave Trade, Sex Trade, Ethnic Cleansing, Mass Slaughter, Rape, War Crimes, Mutilation and Carnage Today America celebrates a man who committed obscene slavery, rape and genocide, comparable to the horror perpetrated by Adolf Hitler. Indian Country Today Media Network lists a few of Columbus' most offensive cruelties inflicted upon the Caribbean inhabitants. 1. He cut off the hands of roughly 10,000 Natives in Haiti and the Dominican Republic. Columbus mandated every indigenous Taino over the age of 14 provide him with a “hawk’s bell” of gold every three months. Those who failed to meet orders were “punished by having their hands cut off” and were “left to bleed to death,” Columbus’s son Fernando reported. 2. Columbus punished minor offenses by cutting off Natives' noses and ears. 3. Columbus combatted resistance by releasing hunting dogs to rip Indians apart . . .

First Nations Pull Out Of TransCanada Hearing Citing Industry Bias

September 29, 2014 Eriel Deranger, www.linkis.com Resist! Energy, Environment, First Nations, Indigenous Rights, Tar Sands

Today the Athabasca Chipewyan First Nation (ACFN) announced they will no longer participate in the TransCanada Grand Rapids Pipeline hearing citing impossible timelines and prejudice within the process. The First Nation is referring to the project as the “Mother of All Pipelines” feeding projects like the Energy East Pipeline and the controversial Keystone XL pipeline projects. “The AER put us in an impossible position. I am dumbfounded by this process,” stated Adam before he continued to speak about the obstacles the ACFN has faced in trying to get action from both government and industry to adequately address their concerns.

Development Agreements: Alternatives Or Containment?

September 6, 2014 David Peerla, Shiri Pasternak, www.cbc.ca Educate! Canada, Development, Finance and the Economy, First Nations

The new religion of economic development — mines, pipelines, power projects and private property — is being promoted by Bob Rae, Jim Prentice, and even former prime minister Brian Mulroney as the only realistic alternative for First Nations. Last month Rae, acting as a negotiator for nine Ontario First Nations, joined Premier Kathleen Wynne to celebrate the signing of a framework agreementthat would open up the province's far north to a mineral development bonanza. The Ring of Fire, now re-branded as Wawangajing, is located in one of the largest intact wetlands on the planet, 500 kilometres northeast of Thunder Bay in the James Bay Lowlands. The Ring of Fire apparently holds a treasure chest of chromite, nickel and other minerals. If we are to believe the Chamber of Commerce, it has the potential to drive the Ontario economy for decades. The chamber estimates that within the first 32 years of operation, the Ring of Fire could generate more than $25 billion in economic activity across a number of sectors.

40 Years Later First Nations Occupation Remembered

August 24, 2014 Staff, www.cbc.ca Educate! First Nations, indigenous, Indigenous Rights

A gathering in Kenora this weekend will mark the 40th anniversary of the Anicinabe Park occupation. Dozens of young First Nations people from across the continent, including members of the American Indian Movement, joined the protest in 1974. They were demanding better living conditions, education and access to land. One of the original protestors, Lorraine Major, said the people who were there with her should be remembered and honoured. "I'd like to remember the people that have passed,” she said. “They had the guts to stand up for their rights. They had the guts to speak out against leadership." Events are planned in Kenora throughout the weekend, to mark the anniversary.

In Nak’azdli Territory, People Are Firmly Against Northern Gateway

August 18, 2014 Gordon Hoekstra, www.vancouversun.com Resist! Canada, First Nations, Pipeline

The waters of Nak’al Koh are a deep emerald, almost black at times. The forest presses in at the sides — a mixture of spruce, pine, aspen, birch and willow — so thick it seems like a primeval blanket. A fierce rain rises up suddenly, hammering the water and the aluminum boat that Stuart Todd navigates, strengthening the already deep, tangy-earth smell. Todd smiles wryly at the sudden downpour, recounting tales of moose he has seen swimming the river. “They are great divers,” he says. “They can go down deep and feed on the weeds at the bottom.” The river (called Stuart River in English after John Stuart, a clerk with the fur-trading North West Company in the early 1800s) is also home to salmon, trout, dolly varden, ducks, geese, elk, grizzly, black bear and beaver. This is the heart of Nak’azdli territory — downriver from where the revered chief Kwah is buried, and where Calgary-based Enbridge wants to run its $7.9-billion Northern Gateway oil and condensate pipelines.

First Nations Serve Eviction Notice Over Eniro Disaster

August 16, 2014 Deirdre Fulton, www.commondreams.org Resist! Canada, Environment, First Nations, pollution

The Neskonlith Indian Band on Thursday served an eviction notice to Imperial Metals, the company responsible for the massive tailings pond breach at Mount Polley Mine in British Columbia, which is seeking to site a separate lead and zinc mine near the headwaters of the Adams River — within Neskonlith territory and home to an important sockeye salmon run. Known as the Ruddock Creek Mine, the contested project is still in the development phase and has yet to go through the environmental assessment process. "As...the caretakers of our land and waters, Neskonlith, part of the Lake Secwepemc People, have an obligation to protect our land for our future generations,” according to a statement issued by the First Nation band. “Neskonlith Indian Band cannot permit any mining development especially in these Sacred Headwaters that will contaminate the water or destroy our salmon habitat.” In an interview with the Canadian Press, Neskonlith Chief Judy Wilson said the Mount Polley spill shows the company cannot be trusted to build and operate a mine while also protecting the surrounding environment. "The industry has proven at Mount Polley that they can't regulate all of that," she said. Last week, a group calling themselves the Klabona Keepers blocked access to workers at the pending Red Chris Mine, also developed and operated by Imperial Metals and scheduled to open later this year.

Native American Indians Take A Stand For Gaza

August 12, 2014 Mike Ahnigilahi, www.banoosh.com Resist! First Nations, Indigenous Rights, Palestine

The parallels to the plight of the Palestinian people and Native Americans have been drawn by many. Speaking in San Francisco, Tony Gonzales of the American Indian Movement (AIM), ”with a common legacy of bantustans (homelands) – Indian reservations and encircled Palestinian territories – Native Americans understand well the situation of Palestinians.” While there are certainly diverse views on nearly every political issue imaginable within Native American communities, a growing number are beginning to empathize with and see a disturbing parallel between what happened to the First Peoples of North America, and Palestinians in the Levant. The Native American and Indigenous Studies Association made news back in December of 2013 for being one of three academic groups based in North America to endorse the Palestinian campaign for an academic and cultural boycott of Israel. In January of 2013, the Jerusalem Post ran a telling article, entitled: “Native Americans turning on Israel?” The article focused on an anecdote of Muscogee Creek scholar and literary diva Joy Harjo, who ignited a “firestorm of controversy when she announced on Facebook that she was leaving for a trip to Israel where she was scheduled to perform.”

First Nations Protesters Block Workers’ Access To Mine

August 11, 2014 Amy Judd, www.globalnews.ca Resist! Canada, First Nations, Mining, pollution, Protest

The disaster at the Mount Polley Mine will have long-term consequences for years to come across the whole of the mining industry but specifically for Imperial Metals – the owners of the Cariboo mine and a major resource company in B.C. Earlier this week the company took a huge hit on its stock price and on Friday, near Dease Lake at the Red Chris Mine, First Nations members blocked access to employees. Red Chris is a five-hundred million dollar gold operation that has been front and center in B.C.’s resource sector for a decade. On Friday when construction crews began arriving for work, finishing before the mine goes into full production, they were greeted by protesters who demanded a halt to the work. The company has yet to respond. The disastrous tailings pond breach is also sparking concerns about the Mount Polley Mine owner’s involvement in another project. The Ruddock Creek Mining Corporation is a subsidiary of Imperial Metals. It wants to operate an underground zinc-lead mine 100 kilometres northwest of Revelstoke.

First Nations Will Block Nuclear Dump

August 7, 2014 Thomas Walkom, www.thestar.com Educate! Corporatism, Environment, First Nations, Nuclear Waste

Ontario’s plan to bury nuclear waste beside Lake Huron is running into heavy weather. Ontario Power Generation, the Crown corporation behind the proposed dump site for low and intermediate level radioactive waste has publicly acknowledged that its long-term safety plans are based, in part, on new technologies that have not yet been invented. As the Star’s John Spears reported this week, that explanation hasn’t endeared itself to the small but politically important aboriginal communities near the proposed Kincardine dump site. In a brief to the federal review panel that will eventually rule on the plan, the Saugeen Ojibway Nation reminds OPG of its assurance that no nuclear waste dump will be built without aboriginal consent. Will that consent be given? The First Nation doesn’t say. But in its brief, it does express profound unease with what it calls OPG’s vague and open-ended scheme. Plans for this so-called deep geological repository at Kincardine have been in the works since 2005. Initially, the proposed dump was supposed to house waste such as the rubber gloves used by nuclear workers — items with relatively low levels of radioactivity.

Did Canada Commit Genocide Against First Nations?

August 5, 2014 Mary Agnes Welch, www.winnipegfreepress.com Educate! Canada, Education, First Nations, Genocide

THE Canadian Museum for Human Rights will not use the word "genocide" to describe Canada's aboriginal policies during the last century, including the residential schools system and forced relocations. That's despite a growing academic consensus Canada did indeed commit genocide, and repeated calls by aboriginal leaders -- including, most recently, Phil Fontaine -- for the federal government to recognize its role in the destruction of indigenous culture and institutions. "It's a shame. I think the museum needs to be a leader, not a follower on this," said University of Manitoba Prof. Adam Muller, a genocide expert. "You look at colonial activity in the Americas and it seems clear to me, at the end of the day, they were trying to destroy a group and way of life." Those familiar with the museum's plans to tackle indigenous issues understood the word would be included in its exhibits. But after what spokeswoman Maureen Fitzhenry said was extensive internal debate and an ongoing process of revision, the museum's senior staff decided not to use the word. The decision was made about a month ago. Fitzhenry said the museum is not a court or government -- the two bodies that have traditionally decided what counts as a genocide. And she said academic research is still evolving.

Ontario First Nations Ready To Die Defending Lands

August 1, 2014 Maria Babbage, www.cbc.ca Resist! First Nations, Indigenous Rights, Land, Pipeline

Aboriginal people in Ontario are prepared to lay down their lives to protect their traditional lands from any unwanted development, a group of First Nations chiefs said Tuesday. Five aboriginal chiefs served notice on the Ontario and federal governments, developers and the public that they'll assert their treaty rights over their traditional territory and ancestral lands. That includes the rights to natural resources — such as fish, trees, mines and water— deriving benefit from those resources and the conditions under which other groups may access or use them, which must be consistent with their traditional laws, said Ontario Regional Chief Stan Beardy. Ontario Regional Chief Stan Beardy says "all those seeking to access or use First Nations lands and resources have, at a minimum, a duty to engage, enquire and consult with First Nations with the standards of free, prior and informed consent." "All those seeking to access or use First Nations lands and resources have, at a minimum, a duty to engage, inquire and consult with First Nations with the standards of free, prior and informed consent," he said.

Why First Nations Are Stopping Enbridge’s Tar Sands Pipeline

August 1, 2014 Elizabeth Douglass, www.insideclimatenews.org Resist! First Nations, Pipeline, Tar Sands

British Columbia's First Nations have fought the proposed Northern Gateway oil sands pipeline that would cross their land for years, and they have no intention of letting up just because the federal government recently approved it. They've ignored the wishes of Canadian Prime Minister Harper, shrugged off oil industry promises of local jobs, and rejected offers of part ownership in what could be a lucrative and long-lived project. In short, they've been impervious to the kinds of political pressure and financial enticements that routinely succeed in smoothing the way for oil-related projects in the United States. How come? A big part of the defiance comes from the Coastal First Nations, an alliance of aboriginal groups in British Columbia that has no interest in allowing diluted bitumen from Alberta's oil sands to pass through their territories or get shipped through their fishing grounds. The environment is too important to their culture, to their economy and to a succession of generations to come.

First Nations Shaming Ceremony

July 30, 2014 Martha Troian, www.cbc.ca Resist! Canada, Environment, First Nations

A traditional shaming ceremony held today on the steps of Parliament Hill is meant to challenge the federal government to renew its troubled relationship with First Nations, says a prominent West Coast artist. Beau Dick, 59, a master carver and hereditary chief from the Namgis First Nation, says the ceremony involves cutting or breaking a large copper shield. “Breaking copper is a challenge, it is also a shaming, and it is also about banishment,” Dick explained. “There are a lot of layers to this. Some people have described this as a protest and that is valid ... [But] it's beyond that. What it is, is about waking up the consciousness.” Once practised throughout the Pacific Northwest, when copper shields were a measure of wealth and power, the shaming rite had all but disappeared until Dick revived it with a ceremony in front of the B.C. legislature in 2013.

Public Employees Union Allies With First Nations

July 29, 2014 CUPE, www.cupe.ca Organize! Canada, First Nations, Indigenous Rights, Labor, Unions

In a continuing effort to build relations and stand with Indigenous peoples, CUPE sent a delegation to the Assembly of First Nations (AFN) 35th Annual General Assembly from July 14 to 17. This year’s assembly in Halifax, Nova Scotia (the traditional territory of the Mi’kmaq), drew more than 300 First Nations leaders, youth and elders. The chiefs in assembly discussed treaty implementation, ways to gain First Nations control of First Nations education, funding for post-secondary education, fracking on First Nation territory, reconciliation and justice for survivors of residential schools, among many other issues. The assembly delegates passed a resolution renewing their commitment in calling for a national public inquiry into missing and murdered Indigenous women and girls. The assembly held a special tribute, standing in a “Circle of Hope” in honour of over 1,100 murdered and missing Indigenous women and girls reported in Canada. CUPE fully supports the call for a national public inquiry.

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