Posted by admin on Jun 23rd, 2008
When it’s truly alive, memory doesn’t contemplate history, it invites us to make it. -Eduardo Galeano.
On June 29, 2007, Mohawks from Tyendinaga Mohawk Territory near Belleville, Ontario, erected blockades on the Canadian National rail line, local Highway 2, and Highway 401-the busiest thoroughfare in the country. This marked the second time in six months that the community blocked the rails in defence of their land. In the days before June 29, which had been declared a National Day of Action by the Assembly of First Nations, Mohawk spokesperson Shawn Brant explained to the CBC why the community could no longer wait on distant negotiations. “We bury our children in this country every day,” he said. “We have to force them to drink polluted water. We’re sick and tired of it. It’s going to end-June 29 is going to mark the time when First Nations people are going to be in a different relationship with the rest of the country.”
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Posted by admin on May 29th, 2008
(Wednesday, May 28, 2008) Yesterday, Shawn Brant was put on 23 hour-a-day lock-down, for a 12-day period. This is punishment for what Detention Centre officials term “a misconduct”. In this case, the misconduct consisted of Shawn burning sage in his cell. While regular Chapel services and bible study are available, and the med cart rolls around three times daily, Aboriginal inmates are all but denied access to their religious practice and medicine.
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Posted by admin on May 4th, 2008
(May 4th, 2008) Eight days ago, on Friday, April 25th, 2008, my husband, Shawn Brant, was arrested and detained on assault and weapons charges. Since that time, Commissioner Julian Fantino and the Ontario Provincial Police have issued numerous public statements that have wildly and, it seems, purposefully misstated the events leading to my husband’s arrest, and sought to vilify and criminalize him personally. I believe it is important to the public good for people to understand the circumstances that have lead to Shawn’s incarceration at this time. Those circumstances are as follows:
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Posted by admin on Apr 30th, 2008
My name is Skyler Williams. I am a Mohawk, Wolf, from Six Nations of The Grand River Territory. I am speaking on behalf of myself and several others that have been charged with criminal offences in connection with defending our land rights at Six Nations. We have instructed our lawyer today not to proceed with our legal defence, so long as police have guns turned on our brothers and sisters in Tyendinaga. Over the past months, Canada’s efforts to criminalize those of us who are standing up for our land rights has reached epic proportions. The message is clear: participate in negotiations that go nowhere as our lands are developed and destroyed – or go to jail.
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Posted by admin on Apr 30th, 2008
1) APTN video footage of Vancouver action
2) Reportback: Major Truck Route Blocked in Coast Salish Territory
3) Text of flyer handed out: Solidarity with Tyendinaga Mohawks
APTN Coverage of Vancouver action that blocked traffic:
http://www.aptn.ca/streaming/index.php?wmv=tuesday/six
– (the coverage is at approximately 6 mins 20 sec into the news)
A few photos of the action can be found here:
http://hammondface.blogspot.com/2008/04/this-didnt-happen.html
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