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Six Nations

Solidarity with Six Nations

    AW@L Indigenous Solidarity Committee: "These site shut downs are about land protection. They are about shutting down industrial development, commercial intensification, and urban sprawl. They are about protecting habitat, ecosystem, and the river. They are about protecting the land for future generations, for both Six Nations and for settlers. They are also about recognition and respect... A land base is a part of who a people are and should be cared for accordingly."

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Solidarity with Six Nations and Organizing against the 2010 Olympics

    No Olympics on Stolen Native Land: AW@L and KW ARA members supported No2010 Olympics actions taken by Six Nations youth activists at the Canadian Aboriginal Fesitval in Hamilton, Nov 28.
    [Video]

    Declaration of Onkwehonwe of Grand River Territory on 2010 Olympic Torch Relay, Dec 13.
    [Link]

    Interviews w Six Nations No 2010 torch action spokespersons
    from Ohsweken, Dec 21, by AW@L Radio
    No Olympics on Stolen Native Land - No Torch at Six Nations

    AW@L Indigenous Solidarity Committee: "We plan to support Six Nations activists and community members in their stand when VANOC tries to bring the torch through the Six Nations res on December 21; we will support in whatever way we are asked. There the issue is sovereignty. Canada wants Six Nations to participate in the Torch relay as a Canadian municipality. But Six Nations is not a Canadian municipality. So we will support activists from Six Nations when they assert their sovereignty by saying that Canada and VANOC cannot dictate the terms by which an international symbol is paraded across Haudenosaunee territory."
    [Link]

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AW@L Supports Young Onkwehonwe United (YOU)

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Six Nations Solidarity Network

6NSolidarity.wordpress.com

Brantford, Rally in Solidarity w Six Nations Land Rights, November 7, 2009

    Down with the Brantford Injunction!
    No Developments on Six Nations Land!
    Drop all charges against Six Nations land defenders!
    Meaningful negotiations now!

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Edwards Landfill, Cayuga, Six Nations Grand River Territory:

AW@L Supports HALT and Six Nations

"Cayuga is a small community on Six Nations territory south of Hamilton. For five years, protesters, First Nations and Cayuga residents have been trying to stop the development of a landfill by SF Partnership Chartered Accountants and Haldimand Norfolk Sanitary Landfill Inc. On October 2, preliminary hearings to stop the site's development occurred."

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AW@L Supports Six Nations in Brantford

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Chiefswood Park, Ohsweken:

Peace & Friendship Gathering

August 22-24, 2008

    "The Haudenosaunee Men’s Fire at Six Nations welcome[d] people from all four directions to come and participate, support or volunteer at a historic gathering at Six Nations of The Grand River. The vision for this event was inspired from the work that has been accomplished by the people of Six Nations in the spirit of the Great Law of Peace and the Good Minds that have been tireless in moving this vision forward. The event [was] organized by a grass roots committee of Six Nations residents and supporters." Read the Callout from the event Here

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Why We Should All Support Six Nations Land Rights

    1. BECAUSE THEIR CLAIM IS JUST AND RIGHT
    Canada has a long and shameful history of mistreating First Nations peoples. Canada has broken treaty after treaty and has refused to fulfill its obligations to First Nation peoples, the Six Nations people included. Despite the fact that the Six Nations people have always been (and remain to this day) a national confederation with whom the British crown entered into nation to nation agreements, the Canadian government imposed its own “Indian Act” by force upon them and encouraged the illegal sale and theft of land and revenue belonging to Six Nations. Respect for First Nations land and treaty rights and respect for indigenous sovereignty is a matter of upholding human rights, international law and the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms. Colonization and appropriation of other peoples resources is morally wrong and must be opposed, even if we or some of our ancestors have benefited from it.

    2. BECAUSE THE FAULT LIES WITH THE GOVERNMENT, NOT THE PEOPLE
    The government knew that the Douglas Creek Estates (DCE) lands were contested when it allowed them to be sold. If the government had developed a comprehensive land claims settlement process and had negotiated in good faith with Six Nations from the start, this problem would never have taken the form it has. People from Six Nations occupied the Douglas Creek Estates to stop a housing development from being built on contested land. Now that the situation has been escalated, non-natives on and off the Haldimand tract can best resolve this issue by pressuring the Canadian government to establish a fair and comprehensive settlement of all outstanding land claims with Six Nations.

    3. BECAUSE THIS SITUATION WILL NOT BE RESOLVED BY VIOLENCE
    The time when the Canadian government or non-native vigilantes could drive first Nations Peoples off their land has passed. Any attempt to use force to resolve the reclamation of Douglas Creek Estates will only make matters far worse and will likely end in bloodshed and serious injury on both sides. As events at Ipperwash and Oka proved, native land rights are political issues that must be solved through dialogue and negotiation. These are political and not “law and order” issues, and the use of force or threat of violence will not resolve them. Might does not make right, and attempts to raise the level of tension through the formation of the so called “Caledonia Militia” will only make the situation worse and increase the likelihood of people being injured or even killed.

    4. BECAUSE OUR LIVES AND FUTURES ARE TIED TOGETHER
    The conflict over the Douglas Creek Estates and the future conflicts brewing over the Haldimand tract stem from the greed of real estate developers who are turning farmlands, animal habitat and countryside into suburban sprawl in order to enrich themselves. This way of life is not sustainable in the long-term and although it makes profits for the bankers, realtors and lawyers it does not benefit rural life or the average people in small towns like Caledonia. As suburban sprawl spreads small businesses are pushed out by the major chains and big box stores, farmers are pushed off the land and our natural environment is degraded. First Nations peoples have a long history of protecting the environment and of respecting nature. A recognition
    of their rights will ensure that the lands on and around the Haldimand tract are not ecologically devastated by further suburban sprawl or clogged up by excessive road traffic and smog.

    5. BECAUSE IT IS THE ONLY WAY THAT CALEDONIA CAN HEAL ITSELF
    The people of Six Nations and of Caledonia live closely connected lives, sharing schools, workplaces, friendships and families. The tensions caused by this conflict need to be resolved. The people of Six Nations have made clear over and over again that they are not calling for the removal of non-natives from their lands. No non-natives living in Caledonia are at risk of eviction. What Six Nations wants is the compensation they are owed and recognition of their land and treaty rights. It is possible for natives and non-natives to live together in peace and harmony, but in order to have peace there must be justice.

    Why We Should All Support Six Nations Land Rights
    Produced by the CUPE 3903 First Nations Solidarity Working Group
    For more information contact 3903fnswg@gmail.com

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PRESS RELEASE (from Six Nations):

Canada Using Bad Faith Negotiations and Jail Against Ongwehonhwe'

    Land Defenders Call for Negotiations Towards a Guswhenta Protocol

    April 22, 2009 (Ohsweken, Haudenosaunee Six Nations Territory): We Ongwehonhwe' have been charged by Canada for allegedly committing criminal acts while peacefully defending our land. We make this statement to strongly denounce Canada for its present day approach to Ongwehonhwe' nations. The Governments of Canada and Ontario are engaging us in bad faith negotiations that produce no meaningful results and pressing criminal charges against those who take peaceful action to protect our rights and our land.

    We are Haudenosaunee and our Great Law of Peace, the Kaianeraserakowa, requires us to protect the land for future generations and to do so peacefully. The actions that we have taken are out of rational desperation to defend the survival of our people.

    We make this statement in solemn recognition of the on-going criminalization of our men and women who have been involved in defending our rights. While Canada and Ontario have not been serious about a negotiated solution with the Haudenosaunee, it is clear that they are serious about putting our people in jail. Many of our people have suffered jail terms, bail and probation conditions that cause our people to violate our own law and police abuses. While our resolve is unshaken, we acknowledge the suffering experienced by our children, our family and our communities as a direct result of criminal charges laid against our people.

    The Guswhenta, the Two Row Wampum, is a treaty that requires each of our nations to respect our separateness: “Neither of us will make compulsory laws or interfere in the internal affairs of the other.” The present approach by Canada of engaging in bad faith negotiations and pressing criminal charges when we take action to preserve our rights is unacceptable. We propose the following two solutions:

    - We ask that Canada and Ontario immediately engage with the Haudenosaunee to develop a Guswhenta Protocol for establishing a dialogue about Canada’s concerns with Haudenosaunee persons alleged to have engaged in unacceptable or “criminal” conduct, making it a priority to address those situations involving efforts by Haudenosaunee people to preserve their rights; and

    - We also ask that Crown Attorneys who are involved in the prosecution of people involved in reclamation activity make every effort possible to implement the spirit of the Guswhenta.
    -
    Iokwiratekha
    (a.k.a. Gene Johns)

    Kevin Isaacs (“Whoodat”)

    Ro' ni konh ra sha' tste
    (a.k.a. Dick Hill)

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