Mercury Rising: Asserting self-determination – Idle No More
Join Idle No More in Toronto on July 29th – 31st, as we stand with Grassy Narrows to bring attention to their continuous struggle for clean water, and their inherent right to protect it. The mercury discovered in the fish has poisoned and destroyed their main staple diet as well as their primary source of revenue. The devastation of Grassy Narrows continues to this day with clear cutting and the termination policies of the Canadian state, which result in the loss of traditional lands and waterways. Canadian policies and legislation regarding Indigenous lands that backs the oil industry will adversely affect our communities from coast to coast.
The Anishinaabe of Grassy Narrows live everyday with the devastation that mercury poisoning has done to their land, food, water and most importantly, their bodies.
Grassy Narrows River Run 2014
Former Grassy Narrows Chief Steve Fobister Sr. is on hunger strike to call for justice for mercury survivors at Queen’s Park in Toronto. Join him after 12pm if you can and take action at www.freegrassy.net
Ontario is planning to clearcut an area more than half the size of Toronto in Grassy Narrows. Clearcuts will deepen the tragedy of mercury poisoning in Grassy Narrows. A tragedy that Ontario and Canada have refused to apologize and make amends for forcing Steve Fobister’s hunger strike.
Make sure to join River Run 2014 activities this week.
Grassy Narrows Public Forum
6:30pm, July 29, 2014, 55 Dundas E (Ryerson University)
Featuring: Grassy Narrows Chief Roger Fobister; Judy Da Silva – Grassy Narrows Clan Mother; Leanne Betasamosake Simpson – Writer, educator and activist and Stephen Lewis.
Get tickets: http://bit.ly/GrassyTorontoPublicForum
River Run 2014: Walk with Grassy Narrows for Clean Water and Indigenous Rights
12pm, July 31, 2014, walk starts at Grange Park.
www.facebook.com/events/740594235961702
http://freegrassy.net/2014/05/25/river-run-2014-water-is-sacred/
250th Anniversary of the Treaty of Niagara – 1764 August 1st – 2nd, 2014
To commemorate the 250th anniversary of the Treaty of Niagara, First Nations Elders, youth, men, women and leaders will be gathering to celebrate as well as discuss this hugely significant Treaty. Read more about Treaty of Niagara events.
During the 1764 gathering, 24 Native Nations including the Seneca, Cayuga, Onondaga, Oneida, Mohawk, and Tuscarora of the Haudenosaunee Confederacy; Akwesasne, Kahnawake, Kahnasatake, and others of the Seven Nations of Canada; Wyandot of Detroit; Algonquin, Nipissing, Mississauga, Odawa, Ojibway and other Anishinaabe Nations; Menominee, and others who were part of the Western Lakes Confederacy, were in attendance of this historic event. It was signed by Sir William Johnson for the Crown and the 24 Nations that came from the Six Nations, Seneca, Wyandot of Detroit, Menominee, Algonquin, Nipissing, Ojibwa, Mississaugas, and others who were part of the Seven Nations of Canada and the Western Lakes Confederacy. It was on August 1st in 1764 that the Treaty of Niagara concluded.
Support Beau Dick and the Copper-Breaking Ceremony
Idle No More raises our hands up for these brave people, lets help them return home to their territories now that they have completed their sacred task, please donate generously.
You can also donate directly by e-transferring to Pam Bevan at pbevan0603@gmail.com
First Nations say No to Nuclear Waste Storage
“There will be no nuclear waste buried in Creighton, Sask., if a pair of First Nations get their way.Both Opaskwayak Cree Nation, which is near The Pas, and Peter Ballantyne Cree Nation, near Creighton, have passed bans on nuclear waste from Ontario, Quebec and New Brunswick passing through their traditional territory and being stored there. “ Read Full article by Alexandra Paul from Winnipeg Free Press
Indigenous Events at the Peoples Social Forum
The People’s Social Forum in Ottawa opens on August 21st with a Sunrise Ceremony on Unceded Algonquin Territory followed by a celebratory peoples march to begin that afternoon. Thousands of people from across the country will join together including many Indigenous organizers.
Check out the list below of Indigenous workshops and assemblies at the social forum and if you are planning on going make sure to read the rideshare info at the bottom of the email.
- Extractivism, Sovereignty and Indigenous Struggles in the Andes
- Indigenous Solidarity for Settlers
- Sharing My Treaty at Niagara Wampum Bundle – A Traditional Teaching
- i-ACUSE – Indigenous And Civil Unified Sovereign Enactment, Direct democracy and the Two Row Living Constitution
- The Sacred Run, the lotus & the feather documentary film and Circle Ceremony
- Dispossessed but Defiant: Indigenous Struggles from around the World – Insight into the 100+ photo exhibition
- Introduction to Indigenous Solidarity
- Sacred Water Circle – Leading with prayer walking together for solutions and actions
- Breaking the Cycle: Ending the Cycle of Violence in our Communities
- Chevrons Dirty Hand
- Started from Idle No More, Now We’re Here: The Story of a Spiritual Awakening from a Youth Perspective
- Forum for Independent Research – reclaiming knowledge
- Sacred Sites Protection
- #It Starts with Us – Alternatives to State led Interventions
- Climate Jobs! … Making the Shift to a Low Carbon Economy
- Indigenous Walking Tour
- Displacement
- Learning from Andean Indigenous Peoples on Living in Harmony with Mother Earth
- The Blanket Exercise: the Indigenous rights history we’re rarely taught
- Cultural Appropriation Working – Youth leadership Activity
- Corporate Trade and Investment Agreements: an attack on people’s rights, the commons and democracy
- RESIST: The Unist’ot’en’s Call to the Land
- Women’s Talking Circle
- Parents and Children Drumming Circle
- The Present and Future of Indigenous Media
- Traditional Indigenous Knowledge Keepers
- Indigenous Struggle Today Within Historical Perspective: A Marxist View with an Eye on Howard Adams
- From the Highlands of Papua New Guinea: Indigenous Resistance to Barrick Gold
- People of Colour and Indigenous Peoples Dialogue
- Bilan des luttes sur Northern Gateway, Keystone XL et d’autres // Rundown of fight against Northern Gateway, Keystone XL etc.
- Brainstorm: Quelles stratégies pour contrer TransCanada-Energie Est / Strategies to employ against TransCanada-Energy East
- Mapping Indigenous National Territories
- Treaties in Ontario and Quebec
- CSIS Out of Wallmapu: Criminalization and Securitization of the Indigenous Mapuche Struggle
- The Power of Contemporary Indigenous Art: An Alternative Enlightenment
- ICMI Mulit-Media Screening and Artist E-Commerce Workshop
- The Vision for the National Historic Site at the Sacred Chaudiere Falls
- Healing Circle
- Rights of Mother Earth / Les droits de notre Terre mère
- The “Green Red Road” The way back to Minobimadziwin (“the good life”)
- The Criminalization of Indigenous Dissent
- Restorative justice in Indigenous communities
Peoples Social Forum Rideshare Information: (copied directly from social forum email)
“We would like to know if you are planning on driving and if you will have space in your vehicle for other members of your community or communities along the way. We encourage people to travel by land and offer ride shares because it is the most ecologically friendly option. Ride sharing will also ensure that more people from your community are able to join us in Ottawa. By buddying up with others, you can split the costs of a journey. Fuel, tolls, ferry and parking too. Meet people with a common passion to building an alternative future committed to social and environmental justice. You may even find that your travel companions become friends for life.
If you have space in your vehicle, please let us know:
1. where you are travelling from
2. how many people you could take with you
3. your departure and return dates
4. your preferred method of contact
Please use our rideshare boards to find each other!”
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