INDIGENOUS ACTION MOVEMENT

CALL TO ACTION: Tsilhqot'in People Need Your Support to DEFEND TSILHQOT'IN LANDS AGAINST TASEKO MINES LTD

2011-11-24T08:18:00.001-08:00

Tsilhqot'in return to the Courts Call for SupportDEFEND TSILHQOT'IN LANDS AGAINST TASEKO MINES LTDMonday, November 28thRally @ 9:00 AMBC Law CourtsGathering Corner of Hornby & NelsonThe Tsilhqot'in National Government will be returning to court on November 28th against Taseko Mines Ltd. (TML) in order to defend their territories from further damage by the proposed New Property Mine project. On November 18th the community had requested that their application for an injunction against TML and permits issued by the BC Government be heard together with the companies own application for an injunction against members of their communities. The cases will now be heard together this Monday at the BC Law Courts in Vancouver.Show your support outside the Law Courts as well as inside the hearing. The hearing is expected to last 2-5 days and support inside the court room is requested, as needed, throughout the week.Earlier this month Taseko Mines Ltd. (TML) attempted to begin exploration near Teztan Biny (Fish Lake) on un-ceded Tsilhqot'in Territories. The company was asked to leave the territory & on Monday November 14th the Tsilhqot'in Nation filed for an injunction "to halt its plans for extensive road-building, drilling, excavation of test pits, and timber clearing in support of its unprecedented and controversial resubmitted bid for approval of its soundly rejected Prosperity Mine project."TML is attempting to begin work on the territories knowing that they will not get approval from the federal government for at least 12 months, and without the consent of the Tsilhqot'in. The company proceeded to apply for their own injunction on November 15th against members of the Tsilhqot'in Nation that will be heard at the BC Law Courts on November 18th.We are asking you to come support the Tsilhqot'in while the attempt to defend their territories against devastation by this so-called "new" mining proposal.The company now claims they won't drain Teztan Biny or Fish Lake, however the new tailings pond it is planning to build will destroy two other bodies of water that are vital to the survival Teztan Biny. "Fish Lake will still be on life support and die a slower death" says Chief Marilyn of the Xeni Gwet'in, one of six Tsilhqot'in communities.It is unimaginable that a company is allowed threaten Teztan Biny in pursuit of a proposal that both the CEAA and Taseko have acknowledged is more environmentally damaging that the proposal that was already rejected last year. The company is on record admitting this new option is worse than the one that was rejected last year, and a CEAA review panel has already agreed with that assessment, said Chief Joe Alphonse, Chair of the Tsilhqot'in National Government, which represents six First Nations. To proceed any further will place an unjustified burden on us and on taxpayers and will demonstrate the excessive influence that this company, its lobbyists and hired guns have on government.Join us outside the BC Law Courts on November 28th to stand solidarity with the Tsilhqot'in Nation in defense of their land, water & right to self determination.For more information about email hgrewal@canadians.org or call 604 340 2455Background Information:** Press Release from the Tsilhqot'in National Government and 10 Reasons to oppose this "new" proposal are included below:Watch the documentary Blue Gold: The Fight for Teztan Biny (Fish Lake), www.raventrust.com/projects/fishlaketeztanbiny/video-bluegold.htmlRead more the campaign against Schedule 2 changes to the Fisheries Act, www.canadians.org/TIARead Dr. Marvin Shaffer's submission to the federal review panel, www.ceaa.gc.ca/050/documents/41844/41844E.pdfRead the Council of Canadians submission to the federal review panel, www.ceaa-acee.gc.ca/050/documents/41940/41940E.PDF (starting at page 280), or listen www.ceaa-acee.gc.ca/050/document-eng.cfm?document=41852 (at the 1 hour, 18 minute mark).TSILHQOT'IN SEEK INJUNCTION TO HALT DRILLING & ROAD-BUILDING AND PROTECT THEIR COURT-AFFIRMED RIGHTSMeasured and costly legal action seeks to find a reasonable way forwardWILLIAMS LAKE, November 15, 2011: In response to attempts by Taseko Mines Ltd. (TML) to begin exploration activities near Teztan Biny, the Tsilhqot'in Nation on Monday November 14th filed an injunction against the company to halt its plans for extensive road-building, drilling, excavation of test pits, and timber clearing in support of its unprecedented and controversial resubmitted bid for approval of its soundly rejected Prosperity Mine project.The Tsilhqot'in have already filed an application for Judicial Review to invalidate or suspend the work permits prematurely issued to TML by the Provincial government, on the grounds that the Tsilhqot'in were not properly consulted and their serious concerns were ignored. The Tsilhqot'in Nation has proven Aboriginal rights to hunt and trap throughout the area and a ruling from the B.C. Court of Appeal is expected any day.We are seeking every reasonable path available to us, despite our limited resources, to ensure that Tsilhqot'in rights are protected in the face of a company and a government that do not understand how unique and important this area is to our communities, said Chief Joe Alphonse, Chair of the Tsilhqot'in National Government, which represents six First Nations. We view the B.C. exploration permits as illegal as they have failed to accommodate our already proven Aboriginal rights to this area rights which will be adversely impacted by the significant amount of roads, drilling and test pits proposed by the company.Xeni Gwet'in Chief Marilyn Baptiste said: Our people are deeply frustrated that having defeated this project last year, we are now faced with having the company once again cause extensive destruction using permits issued in breach of our consultation rights in an effort to promote a mining option that TML, Environment Canada, and the first federal review panel have all clearly stated is worse than the company's preferred plan.We are particularly offended that the company is claiming this work is needed to save Teztan Biny when its own chief engineer and other officials told the review panel last year that the option now being pursued cannot save the lake, would poison it in the long run, would kill its support ecosystem, and raise other environmental concerns, said Chief Baptiste.Five weeks before it was even known if there would be a federal review of this company's rebid, BC issued permits to TML to cut timber and build over 23Kms of road, to drill, clear timber and dig large pits. This provincial permitting came on the heels of an independent audit which showed the BC Environmental Assessment Office engaged in deeply flawed rubberstamp process for the original Prosperity Mine project. This process also failed to meet the minimum standards as set out in the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples.Media Contacts: JP Laplante, TNG Mining Manager: 250-267-3759 Chief Marilyn Baptiste: 250-267-1401Attachment: Ten facts that show why Prosperity Mine proposal cannot be approvedTSILHQOT'IN NATIONAL GOVERNMENT253 4th Avenue North, Williams Lake, BC V2G 4T4 - Phone (250) 392-3918 - Fax (250) 398-5798Ten facts that show why resubmitted Prosperity Mine proposal cannot be approved1. The CEAA review panel process was very different from the BC EAO rubber-stamp decision. Its report found immitigable, devastating impacts to the local fish stocks and endangered grizzly populations, and to the existing and future rights of the Tsilhqot in and its youth. Then Environment Minister Jim Prentice described the report's findings as scathing and probably the most condemning I have ever read. 2. The company knows its new option is worse than its first plan. TML's V.P. Corporate Affairs, Brian Battison, was clear in his Mar. 22, 2010, opening presentation to the CEAA hearings, when he stated: Developing Prosperity means draining Fish Lake. We wish it were otherwise. We searched hard for a different way. A way to retain the lake and have the mine. But there is no viable alternative. The lake and the deposit sit side by side. It is not possible to have one without the loss of the other.3. The point was emphasised by TML's VP of engineering, Scott Jones, who stated: What happens to the water quality in Fish Lake, if you try and preserve that body of water with the tailings facility right up against it, is that over time the water quality in Fish Lake will become equivalent to the water quality in the pore water of the tailings facility, particularly when it's close. 4. This proposal does not address the issues that led to the rejection of the first bid last year. Fish Lake will be affected by the toxic waste and eventually die, and it will be surrounded by a massive open pit mine and related infrastructure for decades. The Tsilhqot'in people will not have access to their spiritual place, and the area will never be returned to the current pristine state.It is not even new. It is 'Mine Development Plan 2'. TML states on page 20 of its project submission: Option 2 is the basis for the New Prosperity design . . . The concepts that lead to the configuration of MDP Option 2 have been utilized to develop the project description currently being proposed.5. This option was looked at and rejected last year by the company, Environment Canada and the CEAA review panel. For example, page 65 of the review report states: 'The Panel agrees with the observations made by Taseko and Environment Canada that Mine Development Plans 1 and 2 would result in greater long-term environmental risk than the preferred alternative.'6. The new $300 million in proposed spending is to cover the costs of relocating mine waste a little further away. There is nothing in the 'new' plan to mitigate all the environmental impacts identified in the previous assessment. TML states in its economic statement: 'The new development design, predicated on higher long term prices for both copper and gold, would result in a direct increase in capital costs of $200 million to purchase additional mining equipment to relocate the tailings dam and to move the mine waste around Fish Lake to new locations. This redesign also adds $100 million in direct extra operating costs over the 20-year mine life to accomplish that task.' In fact, this new spending is actually $37 million less than the company said last year it would have to spend just to go with the option that it and the review panel agreed would be worse for the environment.7. The federal government is required under the Constitution to protect First Nations, which have been found to be under serious threat in this case, and is internationally committed to do so under the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples. These duties are every bit as clear regarding this resubmitted proposal. 8. Approving this mine would show the Environmental Assessment process is meaningless, and would demonstrate that governments are ignoring their obligations - as the Assembly of First Nations national chiefs-in-assembly made this crystal clear this summer in their resolution of support for the Tsilhqot'in.9. The federal Department of Fisheries and Oceans has opposed this project since it was first raised in 1995. It soundly rejected it again last year. It has no reason to support it now. Nor does Environment Canada, which, as the CEAA report noted last year, also found option 2 to be worse than the original bid.10. There are many other more worthy projects to be pursued the vast majority of which, if not all will require working with aboriginal communities. Natural Resources Canada estimates there is $350 billion-$500 billion worth of such potential projects in Canada. Governments, industry and investors do not need to go backwards by pushing this confrontational proposal and rebuffing efforts by First Nations to find a way to create a better mining system that would benefit everyone in the long run.

Human Rights Commission of the Organization of American States agrees to hearings re Expropriation of Hul'qumi'num Lands

2011-10-27T12:57:00.000-07:00

On Friday, October 28, the Human Rights Commission of the Organization of American States (OAS) will hold its first ever hearings into the violation of Indigenous land rights in Canada. The case before Inter-American Commission on Human Rights (IACHR) concerns the 1884 expropriation of over 237,000 hectares of resource-rich land from the traditional territories of the Hul’qumi’num peoples on Vancouver Island. The Hul’qumi’num Treaty Group alleges that Canada has violated international human rights norms by refusing to negotiate for any form of redress for the expropriated lands, which are now mostly in the hands of large forestry companies, and by failing to protect Hul’qumi’num interests while the dispute remains unresolved .More than a dozen Indigenous peoples’ organizations and human rights groups have filed legal briefs in support of the Hul’qumi’num case.Hul'qumi'num PeopleThe Great Land GrabCowichanChemainusPenelakutLyacksonHalaltLake CowichanCraig Benjamin, Campaigner for the Human Rights of Indigenous Peoples with Amnesty International Canada, said, “The case now before the Inter-American Commission highlights crucial issues of justice that affect not only the Hul’qumi’num people, but Indigenous peoples across Canada. The very fact that a respected international human rights body like the IACHR is investigating these issues should be a wake up call to the federal and provincial governments and to all Canadians.”In agreeing to hear the complaint, the Inter-American Commission ruled that the available mechanisms to resolve this dispute in Canada, whether through negotiation or the BC treaty process, are too onerous and too constrained in their protection of human rights to live up to the standards of international justice.Grand Chief Matthew Coon Come, Grand Council of the Crees (Eeyou Istchee) said, “Fair and timely resolution of land and resource disputes is essential for reconciliation of Indigenous and non-Indigenous peoples in Canada and for closing the unacceptable gap in standard of living facing so many Indigenous communities. We hope that the intervention of the international human rights body can be a catalyst for rethinking government policies and approaches that have so blatantly failed Indigenous peoples and the cause of justice.” “Canada cannot credibly demand that other states live up to international standards for the protection of human rights -- including the fundamental right to equality and non-discrimination -- while dismissing those same standards at home,” said Heather Neun of Lawyers Rights Watch Canada. “Our organizations will be closely monitoring this hearing and are prepared to campaign to make sure governments in Canada act on the Commission's findings.” This public statement endorsed by: Amnesty International CanadaAncient Forest AllianceCanadian Friends Service Committee (Quakers)EcotrustFirst Nations SummitGrand Council of the Crees (Eeyou Istchee)KAIROS: Canadian Ecumenical Justice InitiativesLawyer's Rights Watch CanadaUnion of British Columbia Indian ChiefsIndigenous Action MovementThe hearing will be held at the Commission’s headquarters in Washington D.C. on October 28, 2011, at 9 am EST. The hearing will be webcast on the Commission's website at http://www.oas.org/en/media_center/webcast_schedule.asp

Supporting the Families re: Missing Women's Inquiry -Rally Outside

2011-10-19T10:08:00.000-07:00

RE: Rally today & Thursday, October 19-20, 2011

. Creator of all things.. I raise my hands up you on this fine new morning, for all gifts of life: The life givers; Water, air, earth, plant-life, four-legged, those that fly in the sky, those that swim in the ocean; the moon,.. The sun… all parents, grandparents.. Blessings, sustenance & protection to them today and everyday. And, we are thankful for, without even ~ just one, we would not be here today. ‘osiem (k>3) Everyone in the world.. .. was a child once… with hopes, wishes and dreams. We all wished upon a star and put it in our pocket… for a rainy day. The reality is.. that the indigenous child's reality after contact.. is a hard reality to face.. and sometimes to bear. Historically, we lived off the land, we worked hard, each family had their role, in each society, each nation. Each family member had their role for the family's survival and for teachings, traditions. Extended family.. families worked together. *But contact, colonization, loss of land, way of life.. rez school.. legislation upon legislation.. and racism.. changed our lives and continues to change it.For our women… many grew up in a happy home, where it seemed more possible to fulfill your dream. Others grew up in foster homes, where sometimes it was good, but good can never replace growing up with your own blood. But too many of our beautiful brown indigenous elders, men, women, two-spirited, transgendered, and too many of our youth and children…WE…wear too many scars… and have to keep those wishes and dreams in worn out pockets... SOME are taught to be embarrassed to even have dreams.You don’t have time for dreaming or some have given up their dreams.. because life is just too damn hard to bear. Andrew Carnegie (1835-1919)When fate hands us a lemon, let s try to make lemonade. Life gets harder to bear when you’re forced to eat lemons, without sugar… because we were only given salt to go with our green lemons. Whether it’s been given a nail for a pelt, small and useless pieces of land to be forced to live and stay on, residential schools, history books with naked Indians dancing around a fire .. IN SCHOOL, you’re the only brown ndn kid in school.. with many waiting to take their turn at you. Getting the look like you did something wrong.. every day… getting followed in the stores, getting asked to leave a mall… like Gladys Radek but she fought back! We have had to learn to make do, with sour lemons… waiting and learning to work with it. We have learned to survive.. as the lemons, historically up.. to today. And a sad reality is our view to society… that we are less than.. that we as children and youth.. boys and girls... are there to be taken advantage of… is a reality… whether it is from rez school.. to foster homes, adoptive homes, work, school, on the street… and now.. in your own home… as many of all kids on the street can attest to… by relatives who learned this from residential school. *I think the hardest thing in life for many, not all .. mind you.. of our women.. is to NOT BE ABLE TO GO HOME.. because of fear of violence or abuse and alcohol. We are standing here today… to share our strength, our pride.. and to show we understand.. some because of our own stories, some, because we have a voice.. others because they feel helpless to do anything but want to help out.. somehow…. Some because they just happened to be walking by… well.. you heard the call.. others to share support in kind…. Against the powers that be.. the government, political and justice system.. who see it as fair.. if everything in their power is for their side… that it is right… only when they win against the people they are paid to protect. And it’s important, for you to know.. that today .. we are changing the history books, we are standing up to speak up for ourselves.. shedding the Queen’s little children persona.. we are growing up and don’t forget…TODAY.. it is our First Nations, aboriginal, Inuit, Indigenous women AND men that keep getting targeted…. tomorrow it could be someone YOU love. This is why it is important we stand together as one.. like we are right now… sharing the strength and beauty of a far gone but ever returning people.

O siem.

HOMELESS ACTION WEEK: FRYBREAD FOR THE HOMELESS

2011-10-08T16:44:00.001-07:00

Celebrating Thanksgiving with Frybread!

October 10, 2011
10:00-5:00 pm.
Thanksgiving is coming and all across the continent families and friends will gather together to feast on turkey, mashed potatoes with all the fixings.

In the Downtown Eastside, churches and community organizations will apply for extra funds and donations to bring turkey dinners on paper plates to the residents, working poor, and the homeless; single people, seniors, elders, families and youth.

I was approached by two young past volunteers of the New Year’s Frybread Giveaway and asked politely, “Um, we were wondering when your next Frybread Giveaway was?”

That set into motion, plans for a Thanksgiving Frybread Giveaway for Monday, October 10, from 3:00 -5:00 pm. With the help of Andrea Reimer and DENH Executive Director Paul Taylor, the group has secured the use of the Downtown Eastside Neighborhood House for cooking and giveaway. Cooking will start at 11:00 am.

The public can participate, as part of their Thanksgiving celebration, by dropping off donations of fruit, or buns, juices, homemade cookies, cupcakes. Cold weather items: gloves, socks and toques are welcome.

Donations can be dropped off at the DTES Neighborhood House Monday, October 10 from 10:00 am until 3:00 pm
573 East Hastings @ Princess Vancouver BC V6A 1P9

thank you!

HONORING DTES ELDERS POW WOW!

2011-10-04T12:03:00.000-07:00

What: Downtown Eastside Honoring Elders Pow Wow
When: Saturday, October 15
Time: 11:00am - 4:00pm
Location: 58 WEST HASTINGS
City: Vancouver, B.C.

PHS (Portland Hotel Society) Community Services Society's DTES Honoring Elder's Pow Wow committee, invite you to share with us, a celebration to honor our elders who reside in the DTES with a traditional style pow wow.

Our elders come from all across ndn country, and rarely make it out to cultural events, so PHS Community Services Society pow wow committee want to bring a cultural celebration to them!

It will be held in the new park, rain or shine, protected by large tenting. Community and the public are welcome!

Drumming, singing, cultural dance exhibitions. Honoring Elder’s Ceremony.
Drum groups include: Love Medicine, Indian Time, Sitting Still Thunder and
Oceanside Dakota.

The Portland Hotel Society is a non-profit organization that was created in 1993 to advocate, develop and implement creative and responsive services for persons living with concurrent disorders.

The Portland Hotel itself was initiated in 1991 by Vancouver’s Downtown Eastside Residents Association (DERA). The Association converted a local hotel and named it after the US city of Portland, where Canadian organizers had been inspired by housing programs for homeless people. The facility was transferred to the Portland Hotel Society on its completion. The program moved to a new building (re-named the Portland Hotel) in the downtown eastside in 1999.

The program is funded by the British Columbia Housing and Mortgage Corporation (a provincial Crown corporation) and the Vancouver Coastal Health Authority.

* One Day Pow Wow Hosted by: PHS Community Services Society, Native Courtworkers and other DTES community groups. Thank you to all our sponors!

REST IN PEACE JACK LAYTON

2011-08-22T10:42:00.000-07:00

Hey Jack, we First Nations/Indigenous people wish to express our deepest condolences to your family. We also want to express to you as you start your journey onto your next life, that we truly appreciated your strength of spirit where it regarded the rights of our people. We, as an entire nation, understand that politics isn't perfect, many of us don't support it, but a necessary evil we must deal with, and you were the one person that many of our people trusted.

Your apology, was the only that many of survivors, many elders accepted with open hearts, allowing the tears to flow, and the soul to begin the journey to healing. In our Salish beliefs, we are blessed to be here for a short time on this earth. During this time, he shares gifts with us, sends us lessons that, later in life, are testaments to what we have learned from these gifts and lessons to be shared with the people.

When our journey on this earth comes full circle, and it is time to move onto our next journey into the spirit world, we look back on the world we leave, we look at our lives and the people in it, letting them know, in a way only they will understand that we are okay.

When our journey on this earth comes full circle, we cross over into our next journey.. And our loved ones wait with open arms, taking us to the pinnacle of the mountain and our lives become complete.

Jack, your good words for our people will become a teaching. For us, it means, basically, that someone within the realms of ‘power,’ cared, that someone was listening to us, to our elder’s quest for justice, for healing.

In the white world, your words will become teaching tools for those who follow behind.

I believe you will not be afraid to look back because we, and those elders who listened to your Residential School Apology, will be here to tell you that, for our people, “you did a good job Jack... move forward with no regrets..”

Kat Norris
Lyackson First Nation
Salish Nations
Indigenous Action Movement

canada day, b.c. day.. why I do what I do and for who....

2011-06-30T21:40:00.000-07:00

I've organized for BC Day.. and for 'canada' Day in the past... as a means to decolonizing my heart, as a means of a friendly reminder of whose territory, whose lands we walk on, whose lands these were:.....

- Before Colonization, Before Confederation, Before Canada, before the big land grab, reservation system, residential school system, when our people traveled free.. and could hunt, fish, collect medicines, go on vision quests with and for their families...before our grandparents had to ride with the baggage, before signs went up for WHITE PEOPLE ONLY, before poisons from gas stations, hydro plants and waterfront factories poisoned our lands and water... before our leaders were bribed with alcohol to sign away lands, and our family leaders signed their X and didn't know their land would be stolen forever, before our masks and sacred items were thrown into a big fire to be lost forever...before my mother and my grandmothers tongues were stuck with safety pins for just talking and .. didn't know they were supposed to be talking English, before racism killed the hearts of many and before many of our youth past and present quit school because the pain of hatred & marginalization of our people drop-kicked their pride in their identity, before we had a Highway of Tears, before the skid rows in cities far and wide became a place to live and die…

My .. our people have suffered so so much.. our elders still feel the pain of residential school and loss of their lands, language, family roles.. being pushed off their lands forever.. to have NO TRESPASSING signs up where they could take their grandchildren, and nephews on vision quests and to pick medicines.

The canadian flag and canada day are symbols of power over our people and a reminder to us of who is in technical power.. but to me, I need to remind them in my own way.. that I hold my own power and knowledge and I hold it as sacred as I know how FOR my ancestors and my elders, and my mom, many of whom are not here now but whose spirits are free of the pain and shame that were beaten into them. I remind people in my own way.. that I am proud of being Salish.. that's why i say it all the time... people may get sick of it.. but there is no question in anyone's mind that I am Salish.

It is difficult to shed totally the shackles of colonization of one's minds and words but my heart and soul, knows who I am. and I do my darndest to stand tall for my ancestors..for without their pain and without their strength.. we would HAVE no land at all.. no knowledge of our language, medicines, teachings, traditions, songs, strength, and more…

We have much to thank our elders and ancestors for..

Because we are carrying on, picking up our own torch.. creating ways to keep our kids in school, creating ways to bring back all the teachings, however watered down.. they belong to us..and we must bring back the utter pride and dignity of our Indigenous blood. If not for us.. then for those no longer with us.. and for those who come after us.

Hychka Creator for our survival on this continent that once was & forever shall be our sacred land. We raise our hands up to our ancestors, whose strength carries on in our people. Our people, survivors of much.. very much.. yet we still walk this land, however changed. Rekindle the warrior spirit in us all. Let us move forward & upward, head held high- teaching this to our children, grandchildren. o 'siem. (k)

O’siem

Kat Norris, Zucomulwat, Watswayma
Coast Salish/Nez Perce
Lyackson First Nation

Standing Up For Indigenous Rights Against Gold Corp and First Majestic Mining

2011-05-04T15:24:00.000-07:00

Revised event listings below. If there are any further revisions, just let me know :)

Nevermined: A Night of Arts and Resistance
Saturday May 14th, 2011, 7-10pm
Join the Mining Justice Alliance for a night of arts and resistance.
Featuring: Press Release Collective, Roberto Espinoza, Sarita Galvez, puppetry, live mask-making, artwork and speakers from mining-affected communities, and much more!
Admission by donation: $0-$10
Rhizome Cafe - 317 East Broadway

Symposium on Mining, Social Justice and Indigenous Self-determination
Sunday May 15th, 2011
Noon-5pm: workshops on the social and environmental impacts of mining, creative resistance and alternatives
6:00-8:30pm: an international resistance and solidarity panel.
Free admission
SFU Woodwards, World Arts Studio (2nd floor), Goldcorp Centre for the Arts, 149 West Hastings

Rally at Goldcorp's Annual General Meeting
Wednesday May 18th, 2011, 9:15AM
Bring your pots and pans and get ready to make some noise! We'll march to the Goldcorp AGM and the office of the Canada Pension Plan, which invests in destructive mining companies.
Family-friendly event
Waterfront Station (Cordova exit), 601 West Cordova

Rally for Wixarika People's Rights at First Majestic Silver AGM
Thursday May 19th, 2011, 9:00am
Stand up for Indigenous rights to land and water, wildlife and the environment here and in the Indigenous Wixarika Sacred Territories in the struggle against Vancouver's First Majestic.
Family-friendly event
Waterfront Station (Cordova exit), 601 West Cordova

May 15 Goldcorp Mining Protest

2011-04-23T12:12:00.000-07:00

May 18 Protest

Proposed Schedule – Goldcorp Annual General Meeting (AGM)
Proposal from the Day of Action Committee

9:15 Meet outside Waterfront Station.

9:30 March to Goldcorp AGM.
Location: Pan Pacific Hotel, Crystal Ballroom, 300 – 999 Canada Place.

9:30-10:15 Goldcorp AGM protest.

i) Brief welcome to Coast Salish Territory

ii) Two speakers of 5 minutes each on Goldcorp
speaker also from Guatemala (Benito Morales or Ruben
Herrera), with translation.

iii) Puppet theatre production from the Creative Resistance Committee

10:15 March to Service Canada office for Canada Pension Plan protest.
Location: Sinclair Centre, 757 W. Hastings Street, 4th Floor (one block away)

- Chanting, waving signs, and banging pots and pans, cacerolazo style:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cacerolazo

10:30-10:45 Canada Pension Plan (CPP) protest.

- Upon arrival we will deliver a printed statement.

- Minute speech on the relationship between CPP and mining companies like Goldcorp to explain why we are there.

- If we are told by security that we must leave the building, we will have
to take this section of the protest back out onto the sidewalk.

10:45 March to Methanex Office.
Location: 1800-200 Burrard Street (two blocks away)

11:00 Protest outside Methanex.

- We are proposing taking our protest to the outside of Methanex (world’s
largest producer of methanol) because its board member and former CEO,
Pierre Choquette, sits on the CPP Investment Board. He is one of the
people who makes decisions about investing in companies like Goldcorp. He
was appointed to the CPPIB by our Minister of Finance in 2008; he
represents a great example of the close relationship between government
and major corporations in Canada.

11:15 March back to the Pan Pacific.

11:30 Protest outside Goldcorp AGM

JOIN THE WAVE STOP THE PAVE

2011-04-23T11:27:00.000-07:00

Earth Day Activists Take Over Freeway Site

* StopThePave

DELTA – Today, 200 concerned community members took over an active construction site on the banks of the Fraser River in Delta (between 10749 and 10739, River Road), obstructing work on a key portion of the contentious South Fraser Perimeter Road freeway. They planted trees on the road bed and set up a full campsite on Friday April 22 - International Mother Earth Day. About 25 are currently camped out, vowing to stay and stop the freeway they call a ‘climate crime.’ They expect that the camp will grow as as word of the blockade spreads

"Gateway's goal with the South Fraser Perimeter Highway is to triple truck traffic. What they don't tell you is that means triple the pollution, too," says North Delta resident Richelle Giberson. "I live three doors up from where this freeway is slated to go. My windows get coated in black soot from the truck exhaust already; it scares me to think about what it could be like in a few years.”

“We are planting these trees on the freeway route to demonstrate that we are fed up with battling asthma and cancers,” explains PJ Lilley, a Surrey organizer with StopThePave.org. “As a mom with kids at a school near the highway ‘fall-out zone’, I want to see a stop to the insanity of paving over our last green spaces on the Fraser River just to bring more trucks and pollution to our communities. Christy Clark’s government is not putting ‘families first’, money must go to transit, schools and health care instead.”

The province is spending an estimated $2 billion on the new South Fraser freeway and is planning to spend up to $1 billion more on the North Fraser Perimeter Road through New Westminster. Meanwhile, this week, Translink is cutting bus service.

"TransLink has cut bus service to save a few million, and meanwhile the province is spending billions on freeways which increase our dependency on cars and tar sands oil," explains Bob Ages of the Council of Canadians national board. “1950’s thinking won’t solve the problems of the 21st century.”

"We must stop spending public money to make the climate crisis worse, and shift the money to solutions like public transit and electric trains" says Eric Doherty with the Council of Canadians Vancouver / Burnaby Chapter. “It’s time for all concerned people to take a stand against these freeway projects that are cooking our planet.”

The freeway site occupation is an initiative of local residents and climate justice activists from StopThePave.org, local Council of Canadians chapters, and the Critical Criminology Working Group at Kwantlen University, and is endorsed by the over 20 groups listed at www.StopThePave.org

Media Inquiries:
PJ Lilley, Surrey mother, member of StopthePave.org (CAMP INFO LINE) 604 355 2771

Friday April 22: Join the Wave Against the Pave!
Calling all residents, students, parents, elders, streamkeepers, treeplanters, guerilla gardeners, blockaders, rebels, climate defenders, farmers and freeway fighters!

As chainsaws roar and bulldozers get set to roll on the controversial $2 billion South Fraser Perimeter Road freeway (SFPR), join local residents and community groups to stand up for climate justice!

Last October, hundreds of people dug up the freeway construction site in Surrey with shovels and wheelbarrows, and in December we used sand from the SFPR to build a dike blocking the provincial cabinet offices. Now it's time to step up the campaign of mass direct action against climate crime. We need to turn up the heat, in order to turn down the heat.

WHAT & WHEN: Mass Direct Action against Climate Crime, beginning at 2 pm on Friday April 22 (Mother Earth Day). Actions may continue over multiple days on this long weekend and beyond. Like our previous actions, it will be non-disruptive to area residents, even as we disrupt continuation of the South Fraser Perimeter Road freeway (SFPR). There will be a variety of ways people can get involved and demonstrate their support, including roles with little or no legal risk. All are welcome to participate.

Ride the Wave Against the Pave!

WHO: This is an initiative of climate justice activists from GatewaySucks.org, local Council of Canadians chapters, the Critical Criminology Working Group and others. We welcome your involvement in the planning process, especially at a teach-in before the action (see above). We seek endorsements and input from other organizations, and your help in mobilizing your friends, neighbours, community groups or affinity group to join us!

WHY: Now under legal challenge in federal court, the estimated $2 billion proposed SFPR freeway would greatly increase greenhouse gas emissions, pave invaluable farmland, scar the banks of the Fraser River, pollute elementary school playgrounds, and damage indigenous heritage sites. This freeway is an irresponsible waste of public money, and many similar projects have been stopped before. The SFPR has already been "downgraded" due to lack of funds, and dubbed a "white elephant" in the mainstream press. We will emphasize the need to shift resources from climate crimes like freeways to public transit, and to protect communities from flooding and other effects of global warming. Read more in our Q & A.

Endorsed by: Against Port Expansion, Bridgeview Community Action Group, Car Free Vancouver, Forest Protection Allies, Friends of the UBC Farm, Indigenous Action Movement, Lily Point Defenders, Livable Region Coalition, No One Is Illegal, Pedal Revolutionary Radio, Rising Tide North America, South Fraser Action Network, Streams of Justice, Sunbury Neighbourhood Association, Transformative Communities Project, Unitarian Church of Vancouver Environment Committee, Van.Act!, Vancouver Island Community Forest Action Network, Voters Taking Action on Climate Change, Wild Salmon First, Women Elders in Action, Youth Taking Action on Gateway, add your group's endorsement now!

CONTACT: Send endorsements and questions to info@stopthepave.org or call 604 877 1223, and visit us at StopThePave.org

TO CONTACT THE ACTION (or if you are lost) call 604-355-2771.

UPDATE April 7: This action is already receiving extensive media coverage, and the push is on now to get the word out to every possible neighbourhood. Posters and leaflets are available for all at these locations:

* Burns Bog Conservation Society, 4-7953 120th Street, Delta (Tuesday-Saturday)
* Spartacus Books, 684 East Hastings Street, Vancouver (7 days per week)

You can also download the poster here and leaflet here. Weekly outreach meet-ups are happening for leafleting, postering and door-knocking. Drop us a line at info@stopthepave.org to get involved. Don't forget to hit the facebook event and invite your friends.

REQUEST FOR DONATIONS:

Please donate now to support this action! We can squeeze a lot of action out of a few bucks. Click here to donate via PayPal to info@stopthepave.org (or contact us to make alternate arrangements)

We also need donations of the following items. To arrange drop-off or pick-up, call 604 877 1223 (North of the Fraser) or 604 588 4203 (South of the Fraser)

- pop-up shelters and tents
- large water containers
- burn barrels or fire rings
- dry firewood
- outdoor chairs and tables
- flashlights and work lights (preferably LED)
- extension cords
- tarps, ropes and bungee cords
- blankets and cots
- banner making materials (sheets, paints, paintbrushes)
- food: rice, grains, beans, sugar, peanut butter, jam, tea, coffee, canned and non-perishable food and beverages
- pots, pans, dishes, cups, utensils, yoghurt containers
- cooler boxes for food
- volleyball or badminton nets
- beach balls and other outdoor games
- first aid supplies

Thanks for your support.

Let's kick off a hot summer of resistance!

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Logging Started on Witness Trail – Group Hike Sun. Feb 6, Action on Mother Earth Day April 22

* StopThePave

Group Hike on the South Fraser Witness Trail!

The South Fraser Witness Trail follows the route of the proposed South Fraser Perimeter 'Road' freeway through an urban forest in Surrey. Named as one of the city's five major natural area hubs in a recent study, it is home to deer, beavers, herons, owls, salmon, and endangered species such as the Red legged frog and Pacific water shrew.

Now the provincial government is starting to log the easily accessible sections of the South Fraser Freeway route, including at the west trailhead of the Witness Trail. Come on the hike to see what is at stake if the South Fraser Freeway gets built, and find out what we can still do to stop it and other freeways in the region.

When: Sunday February 6, 1:15 pm
Where: 168 St. & 108 Ave. in Surrey (meet at bus stop - map: http://bit.ly/aXEEZG)

(The C74 bus runs direct to this location from Surrey Central Skytrain. Just get on the bus at 12:49 pm at Bay 12 under the tracks [not in the bus loop], and ask the driver to let you off at 168 St. & 108 Ave.)

The trail includes rugged sections. Bring drinking water, a snack, and water resistant footwear. The hike will proceed rain or shine and will only be canceled in case of high winds or dangerous conditions. For more info call 604 588 4203 (including day of) or email witnesstrail@gmail.com

More info including trail map and brochure at http://gatewaysucks.org/trail

April 22 - Join the Wave Against the Pave! Save the Date(s) and Mother Earth.

As chainsaws roar and bulldozers get set to roll on the controversial $2 billion South Fraser Perimeter Road freeway (SFPR), join local residents and community groups in standing up for climate justice on International Mother Earth Day! Last October, hundreds of people dug up the freeway construction site in Surrey with shovels and wheelbarrows, in December we used sand from the SFPR to build a dike blocking the provincial cabinet offices.

Now it's time to continue the campaign of mass direct action against climate crime. Beginning on the 2nd International Mother Earth Day, Friday April 22, 2011 (Easter Friday), we will be holding a mass direct action for climate justice somewhere on the route of the South Fraser Freeway. The action(s) may continue over multiple days during this long weekend. More details and organizing meetings will be announced soon.

Canada-Philippines Solidarity for Human Rights (CPSHR) CORDILLERA DAY in Vancouver 2011

2011-04-23T11:21:00.001-07:00

The Canada-Philippines Solidarity for Human Rights (CPSHR)

CORDILLERA DAY in Vancouver 2011:

Saturday, April 23 · 5:30pm - 9:00pm

Lakeview Multicultural United Church
2776 Semlin Drive (at East 12th Ave) Vancouver, BC.

"Live Out Our Glorious History of Struggle;

...Fight for Land, Life and Honour!"

The first celebration of Cordillera Day was held in Sadanga, Mountain Province, Philippines in April 1985. Thousands from all across the country and the world now attend this annual event that affirms the Cordillera people's unity in their struggle for self determination and national democracy. The 2011 Cordillera Day in the Philippines will focus on the impact of large-scale mining and the militarization of indigenous people's lands where a number of Canadian mining corporations are also operating. It will also move towards the formation of a regional pact among the different tribes and communities to protect their ancestral lands, culture and economic sustenance.

In Vancouver, the Cordillera Day celebration is on its third year and we invite you and your organization to join us in solidarity with the indigenous peoples in the Philippines.

Speakers include Dr. Chandu Claver, Igorot physician and Chair of Bayan Canada and Ms. Kat Norris who is Coast Salish and Nez Perce, and founder of the Indigenous Action Movement.

Saturday, April 23, 2011
5:30 p.m. to 9:00 p.m.
Lakeview Multicultural United Church
2776 Semlin Drive (at East 12th Ave) Vancouver, BC.

Community POTLUCK welcomed. Dinner served at 7:30 p.m.

Contacts:
Lingling Maranan-Claver: 604.4448

Beth Dollaga: 604.320.0285
Bootz Estella: 778.709.4744
Email: cps_hr@yahoo.ca

Land and Sea Mural being unveiled at Ogden Point at the Victoria Harbour.

2011-04-20T20:12:00.001-07:00

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
CONTACT: MARK GRANFAR
1 800 519 1222 or 250 744 7272 (mobile)
Email: mark@granfar.org

Victoria, BC. April 21, 2011
Aboriginal Arts and Culture takes on center stage at the Land and Sea Mural being unveiled at Ogden Point at the Victoria Harbour. The project is sponsored by the Greater Victoria Harbour Authority (GVHA) and the Esquimalt and Songhees First Nations in whose traditional territory the harbour and the mural are located.
The significance of this event goes beyond its initial appearance, especially at a time when Canada is working to bring about reconciliation with the First People of this land. For the first time Lekwungen the original language of Victoria is being used in a large mural. This was made possible when Esquimalt First Nations artist Darlene Gait, well known internationally for her paintings asked permission from her nation as well as the elders to have a blessing translated to Lekwungen and placed on top of the second phase of the mural which will be unveiled through a Blessing ceremony on June 4, 2011.

This event and mural can be considered a cultural landmark of historical proportions not only for its beauty, but also because it is the fruit of a collaborative effort between the First People, the GVHA, the youth who were commissioned to reproduce the art on panels which are now placed on the walls of the breakwater and the residents of Victoria who will see for the first time that the old Lekwungen language used by the First people in Victoria is recognized and which is planned to be maintained in perpetuity on this location, a favourite for all residents and the first sight for all visitors arriving though cruise ships to the harbour.
The overall design of the mural was done by Darlene Gait in collaboration with Songhees carver Butch Dick and the mural was reproduced by a team of youth who worked in the summers of 2009 and 2010. For more information about the art of Darlene Gait, for interviews, images and film on the project, please contact Mark Granfar.

You can see a profile of the artist at her website: www.onemoon.ca or through Facebook and Vimeo at the links below.
http://on.fb.me/fVaAn7
http://on.fb.me/hyDqPJ
http://vimeo.com/11312659

Mining Justice Alliance invites artists, activists, community to a day of puppet & mask making at Purple Thistle Centre

2011-04-14T12:00:00.000-07:00

Calling all artists, activists, rabble-rousers, innovators and community members:

The Mining Justice Alliance invites you to join us for a day of puppet and mask making at the Purple Thistle Centre.

Saturday April 23 2011
11:00 AM - 5:00 PM
Purple Thistle Centre

260 - 975 Vernon Drive, Vancouver BC

This workshop is open to everyone who is interested in using creativity to raise awareness on social and environmental justice issues.

The impetus for this workshop is to generate artistic materials for a short multimedia play about the social and environmental consequences of open-pit mines. However participants are welcome to use their imaginations and to create strange and mysterious masks to their heart’s content!

This workshop is FREE! Participants may take their masks home with them; however the puppet creations will be reserved for the play (which everyone is welcome to participate in!).

[TO REGISTER: CLICK ON EVENT TITLE ABOVE -It will take you to the registration link]

We look forward to seeing you all there!

Gitanyow First Nation Takes Action Against B.C. Hydro line on their land

2011-04-13T12:46:00.000-07:00

A small Indian band in Northern B.C. says it will not support a $400-million transmission line that would cross through its traditional territory, creating a snag for a project that is a linchpin for billions of dollars worth of industrial development in the region.

B.C. Hydro has refused to discuss several key issues, including a comprehensive land management plan and measures to protect threatened moose populations in the area, Gitanyow spokesman Glen Williams said.

* B.C.’s First Nations fund building impossible expectations, not partnerships
* BC Hydro’s April 1 rate hike suspended

“We are not supporting the project until these issues get addressed,” Mr. Williams, a Gitanyow hereditary chief, said on Tuesday, adding that the band does not feel it has been consulted to the degree spelled out in previous court decisions involving aboriginal claims and resource development.

“We have gone to court a number of times – governments have not really implemented any of those decisions. So basically we are going to inform any contractors or consultants that there is really no activity on the territory. And there will be no transmission line built in the territory.”

The parties met on Monday without reaching an agreement and have been talking for more than a year. The band says B.C. Hydro has refused to discuss any revenue-sharing for the project, which the Gitanyow say will cut a swath through their traditional territory and create an “ever-widening corridor” for development.

A B.C. Hydro spokesperson was not available for an interview on Tuesday. But in an e-mailed statement, a spokesman said the utility hopes to keep talking to the band.

“The Gitanyow is clearly frustrated with the negotiations and we remain committed to staying at the negotiating table – as we have for the past year – because we share the goal of reaching an agreement that is fair and meaningful for all,” Greg Reimer, B.C. Hydro’s executive vice-president for transmission and distribution, said in the e-mail.

B.C. Hydro has signed impact and benefit agreements with several bands, including the Nisga’a Nation, in relation to the new power line. And in February, when the provincial government gave an environmental assessment certificate to the project, it said “the province is satisfied the Crown’s duties to consult and accommodate First Nations interests and the Nisga’a Nation’s treaty interests have been discharged.”

The Northwest Transmission Line would run 344 kilometres from near Terrace to a new substation near Bob Quinn Lake.

Running roughly parallel to Highway 37, the transmission line would provide electricity to areas that are now off the grid and make it possible to develop some of the region’s big mineral deposits.

“Red Chris is on track to plug in as soon as the line is built,” Mining Association of British Columbia president Pierre Gratton said on Tuesday.

Red Chris, a $443-million copper-gold project being developed by Vancouver-based Imperial Metals, is contingent on the new power line. So are a number of other projects in the region, including Teck’s Galore Creek project, a copper-gold mine that was shelved in 2007 as a result of ballooning costs but is getting a fresh look this year.

Mr. Williams said the Gitanyow band, which has about 900 members, has requested a meeting with Premier Christy Clark and Energy Minister Rich Coleman to discuss the band’s concerns.

Published on Tuesday, Apr. 12, 2011 10:18PM EDT

Tribal Delegation Traveling to Vancouver re: Gold Corp Mining

2011-04-08T09:17:00.000-07:00

NEED YOUR SUPPORT!
I know there are those who can help out. Schedule and Robert's contact below. Please forward.

Subject: Re: 3-6 TRIBAL MEMBER DELEGATION COMING TO VANCOUVER: RE: GOLD CORP MINING

From: Robert Free: robtfree@gmail.com Date: Thu, 7 Apr 2011 20:39:18 -0700

Mining Justice Alliance,
Just though I would share the news that I just spoke with Neskie Manuel (of the Neskonlith Indian Band of the Secwepemc Nation, as well as Mining Watch Canada). He is working to bring a group of Secwepemc (Shuswap) people to join us during the events of mid-May. They're planning to be with us during the events of May 18, and perhaps for several additional days.

Neskie said that the group will be mostly youth, but may also include others in his band that could share their dances/stories with us at some of the planned events. He thinks that he'll be able to bring one van of people, and perhaps more. There are a couple of proposed mines to their north that they may want to discuss/present on: Yellow Head Mining (gold and copper, with a massive tailing pond) and Imperial (lead, zinc). I believe Imperial is also the company folks are fighting in the headwaters of Clayoquot Sound.

From our end, it would be great if we could offer accommodations for
their delegation.

Dear folks in Vancouver,
A search for someone indigenous to take lead to receive the Wixarkari delegation has been slow to materialize. However, the groups organizing against the Gold Corp mining in Canada and other places have the agenda below.

They have in solidarity included the Wixarikari delegation and also offering lodging for the 3-6 tribal member delegation.

Please send me a response if you are willing to and commit to come to a meeting to participate in receiving this delegation. The meeting is planed for this weekend at a site to those that respond.

We all know struggles of health and survival may limit us...so those that can, look forward to seeing you. Thanks especially the people who have ceremonies that came originally from the Wixarakari people now needing our help.

Needed: Indigenous support/supporters and hospitality

I would be happy to help provide logistical support -- or help identify others who can.

FYI, I am a graduate student, unaffiliated with any group, although we've pulled together a network of activists and groups in Vancouver critical of BC mining companies(called the Mining Justice Alliance), so there are quite a few involved in collaborating. Originally, we were focused on Goldcorp's AGM on May 18, but with news or the Wixarika delegation, we've added First Majestic's as well.

At this point, our basic schedule of events are:

May 14: "Never mined" - an evening of art and resistance @ the
Rhizome Cafe
May 15: Conference on BC mining companies
May 16: Film showing on the impacts of mining
May 17: Press conference
May 18: Protest at Goldcorp's Annual General Meeting (AGM), followed
by a march to a political target (probably the Canadian Pension Plan)
May 19: Protest at First Majestic Mining's AGM

Please let me know what logistical support the delegation
anticipates, lodging included. Cheers,

Robert Free: robtfree@gmail.com

RE: VANCOUVER'S BIRTHDAY: Don't ever forget you're on Salish Territory

2011-04-06T01:22:00.001-07:00

RE: 'Vancouver's' birthday. Remnder that this is Salish Territory.. people of the Sḵwxwú7mesh, Tsliel-waututh, and Xwméthkwyiem nations.

RE: 'Vancouver's' birthday. Reminder that this is Salish Territory.. people of the Sḵwxwú7mesh, Tsliel-waututh, Musqueum Xwméthkwyiem nations. Much was lost.. land, river ways were covered and dried up, and salmon runs destroyed and so much more.. and pollution and on-going destruction of upper and lower mountains continue, with clear-cutting thus more destruction of natural habitat.

.. First Nations people were shunted onto small reservations, racism rampant, and on and on... Captain Vancouver, Trutch.. McDonald.. and many more names which serve to remind we First Nations of the racist legislation that sanctioned the destruction of our lands, lost ever more to developers and infrastructure.

So much more.. this is a tidbit.. but we will never forget and we will ensure that our next generations never forget.

The Commission of Inquiry into the Decline Of Sockeye Salmon" The Cohen Commission

2011-04-04T14:30:00.000-07:00

The Cohen Commission - "the Commission of Inquiry into the Decline of Sockeye Salmon in the Fraser River".

Monday, April 4 at 10:00am - July 31 at 4:30pm
Federal Court
701 W.Georgia St (8th Floor)
Vancouver, BC

The Cohen Commission - "the Commission of Inquiry into the Decline of Sockeye Salmon in the Fraser River".

Check the daily schedule for witnesses and evidentiary hearings:

More background on the Cohen Commission
...
http://www.cohencommission.ca/en/

THE PLAYERS: (Those with Standing)
1.Government of Canada

2.Province of British Columbia

3.Pacific Salmon Commission

4.BC Public Service Alliance of Canada
Union of Environment Workers BC

5. Rio Tinto Alcan Inc.

6.BC Salmon Farmers Association

7.Seafood Producers Association of BC

8. Aquaculture Coalition:
Alexandra Morton, Raincoast Research Society,
Pacific Coast Wild Salmon Society

9. Conservation Coalition:
Coastal Alliance for Aquaculture Reform, Fraser Riverkeeper Society
Georgia Strait Alliance, Raincoast Conservation Foundation
Watershed Watch Salmon Society, Mr. Otto Langer, David Suzuki Foundation

10. Area D Salmon Gillnet Association, Area B Harvest Committee (Seine)

11. Southern Area E Gillnetters Association,BC Fisheries Survival Coalition

12. West Coast Trollers Area G Association,
United Fishermen and Allied Workers’ Union

13. BC Wildlife Federation, BC Federation of Drift Fishers

14. Tsawwassen First Nation, Musqueam First Nation

15. Western Central Coast Salish First Nations:
Cowichan Tribes, Chemainus First Nation, Hwlitsum First Nation
Penelakut Tribe, Te’mexw Treaty Association

16. First Nations Coalition:
First Nations Fisheries Council, Aboriginal Caucus of the Fraser River Aboriginal Fisheries Secretariat, Fraser Valley Aboriginal Fisheries Society, Chehalis Indian Band,Secwepemc Fisheries Commission of the Shuswap Nation Tribal Council,Upper Fraser Fisheries Conservation Alliance, Adams Lake Indian Band,Carrier Sekani Tribal Council, Council of Haida Nation
Other Douglas Treaty First Nations who applied together (the Snuneymuxw, Tsartlip and Tsawout)

17. Métis Nation British Columbia

18.Sto:lo Tribal Council, Cheam Indian Band

19. Laich-kwil-tach Treaty Society, Chief Harold Sewid
Aboriginal Aquaculture Association

20. Musgamagw Tsawataineuk Tribal Council

21. Heiltsuk Tribal Council

Lawyers:

Commission Council-
Brian Wallace,Brock Martland, Kathy L. Grant

For Canada-
Tim Timberg,Geneva Grande-McNeill, Randy Mitchell

Province of BC-
Boris Tyzuk

Conservation Coalition-
Judah Harrision, Tim Leadem

Aquaculture Coalition-
Gregory McDade

Area D Gillnet Association/Area B Harvest Committee-
Don Rosenbloom

Southern Area E Gillnetters Association/BC Fisheries Survival Coalition-
Phil Eidsvik

West Coast Trollers Area G Association/ United Fisherman & Allied Workers Union-
Christopher Harvey

First Nations Coalition-
Brenda Gaertner, Leah Pence, Crystal Reeves

Sto:lo Tribal Council/Cheam Indian Band-
Nicole Schabus

Hieltsuk Tribal Council-
Lisa Fong

Prayer For Our Earth

2011-03-11T12:06:00.000-08:00

Prayer For Our Earth
.. Creator, we know you work in mysterious ways.. we know that we as humans need to take care of our earth. We know this. We know that our ancestors held the key to keeping our environment intact.

Because of the governmental and capitalist powers that be, much change has happened to our landscape, thus when catastrophe strikes...... much destruction and loss of innocent lives ensues.

The changed landscape and earth and ground instability, affects global temperature...affects the habitat for our wild life and plant life and when a catastrophe strikes much unbridled devastation follows.

What we pray for then, is to help those who fight for our environment to continue to exact change; for we as humans to do the right thing; For the teachings to come back; That innocent people are protected when where they live faces mass destruction.

We pray that eyes are open and that the trillion dollar elite might.. well.. who knows what we can ask for .. except that their eyes open up to the fact that destroying our environment is destroying lives, destroying mankind and what will their lives be worth... what life are they leaving for their inheritors .. whom they are trying to leave a financial legacy for.

Let them see that they need to leave a living legacy not a dying one. I say this to all my relations... kat

By: Prayers to the Four Directions

8000 Drums Sacred Ceremony Vancouver 2011

2011-03-06T13:54:00.000-08:00

8000 DRUMS CEREMONY
March 21, 2011 –
2:00pm-4:00pm
Oppenheimer Park
800 Powell Street

According to a sacred prophecy, Otomi elders, the day when the sounds of 8,000 Sacred Drums join together is the beginning of healing for our earth and all its living creatures. All across the world in different locations, this same ceremony will occur on this day.

8000 Drums Vancouver. You are invited to participate in the 2011 8000 Drums Ceremony, being held at Oppenheimer Park, 800 Powell Street. We gather to drum prayer songs for our people, our earth; environment; ..for all that is going throughout the world. We sing songs for peace for indigenous people all across the globe, suffering from war and genocide. We pray for our children, elders, youth and families.

A special part of our day is the blessing of the drums ceremony. A fairly new concept created especially for new drums. All the drums will be blessed.

This year promises to be the biggest one yet, as family and friends travel from the Island, from the interior, Enderby and we also will welcome our indigenous families from other nations.

All drums, pow wow, hand drums, bongo drums.. rattles..welcome.
http://www.facebook.com/#!/event.php?eid=108717709146445
___________________________________________________

Please choose ways your group can help out:
• Emailing out to contacts
• Email to media contacts
• Providing coffee, cream, sugar to serve as it will be cold, especially for elders, homeless
• Collecting gloves to hand out
• Boxes of oranges or apples to hand out
• Adding your organization or group’s name
___________________________________________________

“It is time to unify ourselves and rediscover all the seeds of the Four Directions in order to reactivate cosmic energy, heal historical wounds and heal Mother Earth by respecting life, liberty and the dignity of our Peoples. The first great ceremony was held March 21, 2004 in Temoaya, Mexico and there will be drum circles joined around the world on the Spring Equinox continuing every year until 2012.” International Indigenous University statement

To participate or help out: Kat Norris: (604) 682-3260 Extension: 7718

(Official) WORLD GATHERING FOR
THE HEALING OF MOTHER EARTH AND PEACE
Otomi Toltec and in Mexico - MARCH 14-21, 2011

Helpers thus far: BCGEU, Carol Martin, John Wolf, Candace King, Kelvin Bee

SEATTLE OFFICER NOT CHARGED IN WOODCARVER JOHN T WILLIAMS DEATH

2011-02-16T09:19:00.000-08:00

No charges against Seattle officer who shot woodcarver

King County prosecutors have decided not to file criminal charges against Seattle police Officer Ian Birk in the fatal shooting of woodcarver John T. Williams, according to sources familiar with the decision. Meanwhile, the Police Department has found the shooting unjustified, which could lead to Birk's firing.

By Steve Miletich
Seattle Times staff reporter

King County prosecutors have decided not to file criminal charges against Seattle police Officer Ian Birk in the fatal shooting of woodcarver John T. Williams, sources familiar with the decision say.

The Prosecutor's Office is expected to announce the decision in a news conference on Wednesday, the sources say.

Shortly after, Seattle Police Chief John Diaz is expected to disclose at a news conference that the department's Firearms Review Board has reached a final decision that the Aug. 30 shooting was not justified, say sources briefed on the finding.

The board's conclusion, reached in private deliberations a few days ago, allows the Police Department to begin internal proceedings that could lead to Birk's firing or other discipline, the sources said. In October, the board reached a preliminary decision that the shooting was unjustified, sources said then.

Deputy Police Chief Nick Metz said Tuesday he couldn't comment in detail on the department's plans but said police officials were working on a statement on the course of the case.

Metz said the department was aware that the outcome is a "very sensitive issue" and that the "community is watching closely."

Birk has been on paid leave since the shooting.

The Prosecutor's Office declined Tuesday to discuss its decision.

"Our decision has not been finalized and we will make an official announcement in the near future," said Ian Goodhew, deputy chief of staff for King County Prosecutor Dan Satterberg.

Prosecutors have been confronted with a steep legal hurdle in deciding whether to charge Birk with murder or manslaughter. State law shields police officers from criminal prosecution when they claim they used deadly force in self-defense, unless it can be shown they acted with malice and a lack of good faith.

A spokesman for Mayor Mike McGinn said Tuesday night that Satterberg and Diaz will make statements on the case on Wednesday.

Spokesman Mark Matassa did not reveal what would be said. He said McGinn will hold his own news conference Wednesday.

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The decision not to file criminal charges comes about a month after a King County inquest jury reached mixed findings on the shooting. Four of eight jurors found that Birk wasn't facing an imminent threat when he fatally shot Williams, and that he didn't give Williams sufficient time to put down a knife he was carrying during their confrontation on a Seattle sidewalk.

One juror found that Birk faced a threat and gave Williams sufficient time; three others answered "unknown."

Four jurors determined Birk believed he was in danger when he encountered Williams, while four others answered "unknown."

The findings regarding the actual threat to Birk stand in contrast to previous King County inquest decisions, in which jurors have almost always upheld the actions of police officers involved in deadly shootings.

Inquest jurors weren't asked to weigh whether Birk was guilty or innocent of wrongdoing in the shooting.

The results were reviewed by the Prosecutor's Office to help determine whether to file criminal charges.

Even before the inquest, Birk, 27, who joined the department in July 2008, had been stripped of his gun and badge as a result of the preliminary finding by the Firearms Review Board and Diaz, the police chief, that the shooting was unjustified, sources said. The board waited to make a final decision until after the inquest.

The board, made up of Deputy Chief Clark Kimerer, two captains and a lieutenant, heard testimony in October from civilian witnesses and police investigators. One board member sat in on the inquest. The board determines if officer shootings fall within department policies and procedures. The inquest jury sifted through conflicting testimony and two patrol-car videos and audio that captured some of the confrontation at Boren Avenue and Howell Street but not the shooting itself. Their answers did not have to be unanimous.

Evidence presented during the inquest showed about four seconds elapsed between Birk's first order to Williams to put down the knife and when he fired.

The shooting occurred after Birk saw Williams cross the street holding a flat piece of wood and a knife with a 3-inch blade. Williams, a member of Canada's First Nations people, used the knife for carving, his family says.

Birk got out of his patrol car and followed Williams onto the sidewalk. Birk shouted at Williams to get his attention and ordered him three times to put down the knife. Birk fired when Williams didn't respond, hitting him four times.

Birk testified during the inquest that he was initially concerned because Williams showed signs of impairment while carrying a knife. He said when he sought to question Williams, Williams turned toward him with a "very stern, very serious, very confrontational look on his face."

Birk told jurors Williams "still had the knife out and [was in] a very confrontational posture" when he opened fire.

Williams, a chronic inebriate, had a blood-alcohol level measured during his autopsy at 0.18 percent, above the 0.08 percent at which a driver is deemed legally drunk.

During the inquest, two witnesses contradicted Birk, saying they didn't see Williams do anything threatening before he was shot.

Birk testified that shortly after the shooting he told a witness, a responding officer and a detective that Williams had not complied with his order to put down the knife. He acknowledged that, at that time, he did not tell them that Williams had threatened him.

It wasn't until hours later, Birk testified, that he provided a detailed written statement alleging that Williams had menacingly displayed the knife and "pre-attack indicators."

Williams' knife was found folded in the closed position after the shooting.

Jurors unanimously found that Williams was carrying an open knife when first seen by Birk. But four answered "no" and four "unknown" when asked if the blade was open when Birk fired.

In reviewing the case, prosecutors had various options: charging Birk with second-degree murder, first-degree reckless manslaughter, second-degree negligent manslaughter, or declining to bring a charge.

A second-degree-murder charge would require prosecutors to show beyond a reasonable doubt that Birk intended to unlawfully kill Williams, or that Birk intentionally and unlawfully assaulted Williams, causing his death.

Manslaughter requires less proof. Prosecutors must show only that reckless or negligent conduct caused a death, though they still must do so beyond a reasonable doubt.

Federal prosecutors have been monitoring the case and could consider bringing a criminal civil-rights case against Birk. But they must show willful criminal conduct to obtain a conviction.

The shooting of Williams and other incidents have prompted the American Civil Liberties Union of Washington and 34 community groups to call on the U.S. Justice Department to investigate Police Department practices. Seattle officers have been under scrutiny over use of force in several incidents in the past year, particularly in dealings with minorities. Justice has opened a preliminary review of the department.

At least two protests are planned for Wednesday over the decision not to file criminal charges against Birk.

The Capitol Hill Blog said there would be a protest at City Hall at 4 p.m., and a Facebook event page announced a protest at 6 p.m. at Westlake Park in Seattle.

Information from staff reporter Jennifer Sullivan and Times archives is included in this story.

Steve Miletich: 206-464-3302 or smiletich@seattletimes.com

RALLY DEMANDS MURDER CHARGES AGAINST SEATTLE COP WHO SHOT JOHN WILLIAMS

2011-02-16T09:13:00.000-08:00

Rally demands murder charge against cop who shot woodcarver

By RAY LANE
KOMO NEWS

Hundreds of people rallied Saturday at Westlake Park, renewing a push for a Seattle police officer to face criminal charges for killing a woodcarver near downtown Seattle in August.

The rally came as the King County Prosecutor's Officer nears a decision on whether to file charges against Officer Ian Birk.

On Saturday, a vocal crowd had their answer: absolutely.

With a small group of police watching from a distance, protesters demanded that Birk face charges of murder.

Many of them said there will be no accountability for what happened to woodcarver John T. Williams unless that happens.

"There is an epidemic of police brutality in this city," shouted one young woman with a megaphone.

"People have to stand up and say 'no' to that - just like they did in Egypt," said protester Val Carlson. "If anything, that hopefully inspires people that we don't have to continue to watch that happen."

An inquest jury split its decision last month over the question about the true danger the 27-year-old police officer faced when Williams failed to drop a knife at a Seattle street corner.

Four jurors said there was no actual threat - while three others said the answer is unknown.

The results of the inquest are being reviewed by the King County Prosecutor's Office to help determine if criminal charges will be filed sometime this month.

Protesters say they've been turning up the heat.

"We are seeing more and more people calling (Prosecutor) Dan Satterberg's office," said protester Linda Domingo. "Also reviewing the tapes and also going through the timeline."

The Seattle Police Department is still examining Birk's actions that summer day.

He's already been stripped of his gun and badge after a preliminary ruling by Seattle Police found that the shooting was unjustified.

Adding fuel to the growing discontent with police are new videos showing more alleged abuses at the hands of Seattle Police Department officers.

The U.S. Justice Department has even begun a preliminary review of the department - focusing on "use of force."

But there's great skepticism that prosecutors will target a police officer with such a serious criminal charge.

"They're only going to do it if the federal investigators file a report," says Tony Johnson, a friend of Williams. "They're not going to do nothing. If they get their way, they're not going to do anything."

For their part, Seattle police say they've been taking extra steps to improve training and improve relations in the community.
Comment on this story at KOMO.

SEA LICE FROM SALMON FARMS INFECT FRASER RIVER SOCKEY

2011-02-09T07:06:00.001-08:00

NEWS RELEASE: February 9, 2011
Tuesday, Feb 8th

New research shows sea lice from salmon farms infect Fraser River sockeye salmon

Sidney, B.C. - A new study published yesterday in the journal Public Library of Science ONE by researchers from Raincoast Conservation Foundation, Watershed Watch Salmon Society, and the Universities of Victoria and Simon Fraser provides the first link between salmon farms and elevated levels of sea lice on juvenile Fraser River sockeye salmon.

The article, Sea Louse Infection of Juvenile Sockeye Salmon in Relation to Marine Salmon Farms on Canada's West Coast, genetically identified 30 distinct stocks of infected Fraser sockeye that pass by open net-pen salmon farms in the Strait of Georgia, including the endangered Cultus Lake stock. The study found that parasitism of Fraser sockeye increased significantly after the juvenile fish passed by fish farms. These same species of lice were found in substantial numbers on the salmon farms.

Not only did juvenile Fraser sockeye host higher lice levels in the Georgia Strait after they passed salmon farms, these fish hosted an order of magnitude more sea lice than Skeena and Nass River sockeye that migrated along the north coast where there are no farms.

"The implications of these infections are not fully clear, but in addition to any direct physical and behavioural impacts on juvenile sockeye, sea lice may also serve as vectors of disease or indicators of other farm-origin pathogens" said Michael Price, lead author.

The data further showed that the differences in infection level for one species of louse in relation to fish farm exposure could not be explained by differences in salinity or temperature.

"Given the high intensities of lice observed on some juveniles in this study-up to 28 lice/fish- there's an urgent need to understand the extent of threat posed by sea lice to juvenile Fraser River sockeye" said Dr. Craig Orr, a co-author of the study.

The study also recorded the highest lice levels on juvenile sockeye near a farmed salmon processing plant in the Georgia Strait, heightening concern for the full potential impact of the salmon farm industry on wild salmon in this region.

Sea lice from salmon farms are likely another stressor for sockeye already subjected to multiple human impacts. Importantly, however, risks to juvenile sockeye from open net-pen salmon farms can be much more easily mitigated than changes to ocean conditions from climate change and ocean acidification. Options already recommended include removal of farm salmon from the migration routes of juvenile sockeye, and transition of salmon farms to closed-containment facilities.

Sea Louse Infection of Juvenile Sockeye Salmon in Relation to Marine Salmon Farms on Canada's West Coast list of authors: Canada's West Coast list of authors:

Michael HH Price1,2, Stan L Proboszcz3, Rick D Routledge4, Allen S Gottesfeld5, Craig Orr3, John D Reynolds4

1 Department of Biology, University of Victoria, Victoria, BC, Canada
2 Raincoast Conservation Foundation, Sidney, BC, Canada
3 Watershed Watch Salmon Society, Coquitlam, BC, Canada
4 Simon Fraser University, Burnaby, BC, Canada
5 Skeena Fisheries Commission, Hazelton, BC, Canada

Relevant photos and B-roll available.

To view the study, visit:
http://dx.plos.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0016851

For more information contact:
Michael Price
Raincoast Conservation Foundation ( www.raincoast.org) / University of Victoria
pricem@uvic.ca
(250-847-1519)

Dr. Craig Orr
Watershed Watch Salmon Society ( www.watershed-watch.org) -member group of the
Coastal Alliance for Aquaculture Reform
corr@telus.net
(604-809-2799)

Both Raincoast Conservation Foundation and Watershed Watch Salmon Society are part of the Conservation Coalition - a participant group of the Cohen Commission of Inquiry into the Decline of Sockeye Salmon in the Fraser River.

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Police Sargeant Darcy Taylor,, NOT GUILTY.. where IS the justice people?

2011-02-06T19:57:00.000-08:00

By: Bethany Lindsay, ctvbc.ca

Date: Friday Feb. 4, 2011 4:57 PM PT

A high-ranking Vancouver police officer who attacked a man outside a Kitsilano pub in 2009 has received an absolute discharge and will have his criminal record wiped clean.

Sgt. Darcy Taylor was found guilty of assault in November for cross-checking a man in the face with his baton outside the Regal Beagle Pub in August 2009.

But despite that finding, Judge David Pendleton ruled Friday that Taylor will not be convicted in the assault and will not serve any time in prison. The judge said that there is no risk of Taylor reoffending, and it is in the officer's best interest to receive a discharge instead of a conviction.

Pendleton said Taylor was attempting to control an unruly crowd and get out of a dangerous situation when the assault occurred.

At what was meant to be his sentencing hearing in Vancouver provincial court on Friday, Taylor said he was deeply remorseful for the attack.

"This caused me great personal grief," he said. "I think about it when I wake up and when I go to bed."

Taylor is a 20-year veteran with the Vancouver Police Department, and had no previous criminal record.

During his trial, Crown prosecutors presented surveillance video showing Taylor rushing in to hit bystander Justin Wachtel. Wachtel says he was using his cell phone to send a text message at the time of the attack.

Taylor testified that he was surrounded by a huge brawl and had tunnel vision when he rammed into Wachtel.

Wachtel's lawyer Jason Tarnow wasn't in court Friday, but told ctvbc.ca that he respected the judge's decision.

"I'm sure the judge was the very careful with his decision," he said. "He probably looked at all the circumstances carefully."

Absolute discharges are relatively rare in Canadian criminal law. Anyone who receives an absolute discharge will not receive a black mark on their criminal record, although the discharge will remain on the record for one year.

Taylor will have to pay a $500 victim surcharge.

STATEMENT BY CANADA'S PM RE: EGYPT

2011-02-03T21:27:00.000-08:00

hypocritical, 'ironical,' and 'superpowerific' statement by "our" PM. re: situation in Egypt

Statement by the Prime Minister of Canada on recent events in Egypt
1 February 2011
Ottawa, Ontario

Statement by the Prime Minister of Canada on recent events in Egypt Prime Minister Stephen Harper issued the following statement today on recent events in Egypt:

“Following President Mubarak’s announcement today that he will not seek re-election, Canada reiterates its support for the Egyptian people as they transition to new leadership and a promising future.

“Canada supports universal values – including freedom, democracy and justice – and the right to the freedom of assembly, speech and information. As Egypt moves towards new leadership, we encourage all parties to work together to ensure an orderly transition toward a free and vibrant society in which all Egyptians are able to enjoy these rights and freedoms – not a transition that leads to violence, instability and extremism.

“We commend the many groups, such as the Egyptian military, who have worked hard to support freedom of assembly and to minimize violence during recent demonstrations. We stand by the people of Egypt, young Egyptians in particular, for their steadfast support for the fundamental values that Canadians profoundly share with them.

“We also extend our condolences to the families and friends of those who were killed or injured during recent events.

“We urge all parties in Egypt to renounce violence and allow peaceful and meaningful dialogue between the people and government to address political, economic and social concerns. This dialogue should lead to free and fair elections and a government that supports universal values.”

VIGIL FOR RELIGIOUS TOLERANCE. Honoring Victims of Persecution

2011-01-30T12:31:00.000-08:00

I'm heading out here today:

Sunday, January 30 · 4:00pm - 7:00pm
Holland Park, Surrey
King George Blvd & Old Yale Rd
Amal Rana, Shahzad Nazir Khan

To honor victims of persecution in Pakistan.

In remembrance of Salman Taseer and thousands of others who laid down their lives due to religious intolerance.

Light a candle to say 'NO' to all kinds of extremism.

Live and let live!

Please join in for a Candle light vigil for peace, social justice and equal rights for all religious and ethnic minorities in Pakistan

Date: Sunday, 30th January 2011
Time: 4.00 pm (sharp)
Venue: Holland Park, (King George Blvd & Old Yale Rd), Surrey, BC

Candles will be supplied. Just bring matches/lighters, family, friends and yourself.

Organized by; (CPPC) Committee of Progressive Pakistani Canadians, Vancouver chapter.

CANADA HAS "NO HISTORY OF COLONIALISM"

2011-01-26T15:00:00.000-08:00

Remember this?: “We also have no history of colonialism. So we have all of the things that many people admire about the great powers, but none of the things that threaten or bother them about the great powers.” Steven Harper

FRANK PAUL RALLY NOVEMBER 1, 2010

2010-10-15T15:31:00.000-07:00

RALLY FOR FRANK PAUL & INDIGENOUS PEOPLE WHO DIED IN CUSTODY

November 1, 2010
Supreme Court Building,
701 West Georgia Street
4:00pm-5:30pm

Harvey Jack, Richard Alfred Mountain, Victor George, Frank G, Bell, Benjamin Dickson, Adeline Wilson, Stanley George Paul, Anthany James Dawson, Shelly Etzerza, Gerald Shuter, Dallas Leighton, Paul Alphonse, Richard William Allen, Francis Joseph Mark, Peter Benoit Prince, Matthew Dumas, Darrell Paquette, Clayton Alfred Wiley, Lorraine Jacobson, Adam Wayne Beadle, Joey Peters, Frank Watts, Fred Quilt, Irvin Stump, Thomas Prince, Howard Fleury, Harley Clayton, Geronimo Forbister, Corinne Jacobs & son, Neil Stonechild, Lloyd Dustyhorn, Rodney Naistus, Lawrence Wegner, Gerald Chenery, Darrell Night, Dennis St. Paul, Darwin Robert Campbell, JJ Harper, Floyd Head, Jason Daniels, Patrick Dan De La Ronde, Dudley George, Ramsey Whitefish, Kyle Tait, Michael Langan, Clarence George Jack, Rocky Allan Pearson, Joanne Leah Totus, Harold Joseph Prince, Sylvester Thomas Plasway, Darrel Steve Wilson, Christopher Stephen Bell, Kevin Jason Skin, Randy Monk, Robert Satiacum, Victor Michael Vincent George, Darrell Horace Yeltatzie, Russell John Abraham, Martin Russell Mather, Larry Horace Jack, James Edward Gray, Eddie Munro Basil, Donald Joseph Rossetti, Eliza Wokely, Mark Ned Francis, George David Patterson, Lorraine Moon, Merle Albert Nicholas, Adrienne Claudette Bos, Frank Joseph Paul...

These are only some of the known Aboriginal Indigenous men and women who have died during arrest, or in custody. B.C. has the highest death rate by police in Canada. There are also many unreported beatings and assaults by police and RCMP on innocent, intoxicated or disabled First Nations people over the past many decades.

“A report in the Vancouver Courier, (03/02/03) which stated that the B.C. Coroner’s Service, show 60 percent of all First Nation’s deaths while incarcerated in the past decade occurred in police custody. For the Non-Aboriginal population, the figure is 25 percent.

During the last decade, when First Nations person died in custody, the Coroner ruled that the cause of death was ‘undetermined’ in 20 percent of the cases. The undetermined rate for the non-First Nations inmate population was eight percent. Accidents were ruled the cause of death in 40 percent of the First Nations cases but only 28 percent for non-First Nations. February 03, 2003. (3)”

Our people should not fear those who are paid to serve and protect. It is because of these deaths, the on-going cover ups and the historical and current prejudiced handling of Indigenous people, during arrest, or while in custody, a public rally is being held November 1, in downtown Vancouver.

We will remember Frank Paul whose inquiry resumes November 3, 2010. We will recognize the many Indigenous men who have died while in custody within the Canadian prison and jail system; as well as men who have died after being tasered or shot or beaten by police, during arrest, many whose deaths were investigated by inquiry, many without recourse. Clayton Willey, for example, died after being Tasered and subdued by RCMP officers, August 1994. Joe Peters of Alert Bay died being shot in the head by RCMP,

”As pieced together from the police video by the 2004 Ryneveld report, a "motionless" Paul was dragged into the jail elevator at 8:25 p.m. on December 5, 1998. His condition was seen by a number of individuals, including the sergeant on duty, who determined that Paul wasn't intoxicated. Five minutes later, at 8:30 p.m., a police wagon driver and a provincial jail guard dragged "a still rain-soaked, motionless Frank Paul from the elevator to the police wagon along the floor of the wagon bay area". (frankpaulinquiry.ca)

The paddy wagon driver that evening was Constable Instant. He delivered a couple of men to the Vancouver Detox the evening of December 5, 2998. On the stand the detox staffer testified he asked driver Constable Instant, “What about the other guy?” Constable Instant simply stated, “No, he stays with me.” Frank’s body was found the next morning, December 6, 1998 at 2:41 a.m., a few feet away from the detox centre.

INQUIRY RESUMES NOVEMBER 3, 2010: The names of the former prosecutors who fought against testifying regarding Frank’s death: Attorney General Wally Oppal’s assistant, deputy attorney general in charge of the Criminal Justice Branch- Robert Gillan; Current B.C. Supreme Court justice Austin Cullin; and provincial court Judge Michael Hicks. The system hired the best lawyers in all the land, to try to protect them from testifying. What a huge victory for Frank’s family and our people.

Frank’s cousin Peggy Clement said that Frank traveled the continent, and settled here in Vancouver, ending up homeless, suffering extreme physical disabilities and that he was also a residential school survivor.

Taking action & using our voices, standing beside Chief Stewart Phillip of the Union of BC Indian Chiefs; young leader David Dennis; the Métis Association of BC; Lawyers Cameron Ward, Steve Kelliher, David Eby & more.. does make a difference. It's not over yet, let's keep moving forward. There is strength in numbers.

Stand with us Monday, November 1 at 4:00 pm, in front of the Supreme Court Building, 701 West Georgia to call societies attention to the upcoming continuation of the hard fought Frank Paul inquest which resumes November 3 and 4th, 2010. Hychka to the Buffalo Spirit drum group for accepting the invite to share medicine songs. Bring your drums, your regalia! (Kat) indigenousactionmovement@gmail.com

Hychka
Contact Info: Kat Norris
Indigenous Action Movement spokesperson
(604) 682-3269, Extension: 7718

Women are PAYING with their lives over drug debts- after being coerced into addiction by drug dealers and their mules who became indebted to drug dealers by being coerced or forced into drug addiction.....

2010-09-24T13:35:00.000-07:00

Ashley Machiskinic was a beautiful First Nations woman whose young life came crashing to the ground Sept. 15 in a sordid lane behind the Regent Hotel in Vancouver's Downtown Eastside.

Area residents and community leaders are convinced that Machiskinic, despite her off and on battles with drug addiction, did not take her own life.

They say Machiskinic, just 22, was the latest of several women to be killed or punished in a highly public way by drug dealers who want to send a message to women about what will happen to them if they don't pay off their drug debts.

"Women get their heads shaved for a $30 drug debt, they're killed for $50," said Carol Martin of the Downtown Eastside Women's Centre.

Martin and others familiar with the area say Hispanic and native drug dealers are doing a booming business on the eastside, and that women, predominantly First Nations women, are still the primary victims of violence.

"Our women are the mules, they are sex-trade workers, they're drug-addicted, they're holding or selling drugs for dealers and they're paying with their lives, now more than ever," said Martin.

Honduran and Salvadoran dealers, doing a brisk trade Thursday just after "welfare Wednesday," boast of profits as high as $15,000 a month.

Their collection methods, if they front a woman drugs that she uses or loses, can be brutal.

"There's been a few women lately thrown out of windows, at the Balmoral, the Regent, women missing fingers, wearing wigs because their heads have been shaved," said Gladys Radek, organizer of the annual Walk 4 Justice in support of missing and murdered women in Vancouver and along the Highway of Tears.

"Whoever threw Ashley out chose the busiest time when the alley was full of people buying drugs, to make a point — don't rip us off."

Martin was one of the first to the scene after Machiskinic's death.

"I ran over to her right after she fell and she was staring straight up, just gasping her last breaths — I was totally traumatized and I've worked down here for 15 years," she said.

Eastside leaders charge that drug dealers are able to kill or maim with impunity, because Vancouver police, short of witnesses willing to come forward, write off the women's deaths as drug overdoses or suicides.

"Violence against women down here ... is worse than ever — it's at an all-time high," said Dave Dickson, a former Vancouver cop who worked in the eastside and is now a well-respected outreach worker.

"I've known Ashley since she was 15. She was an attractive, quiet young woman and there is absolutely no way on earth that she committed suicide by jumping out of a fifth-floor window of the Regent Hotel," said Dickson.

Standing in the alley in front of a memorial poster put up by Machiskinic's grieving mother, Cheryl Strongarm, Dickson is approached by people who trust him enough to talk, even with a reporter present.

"Ashley was a beautiful, good-spirited person and she didn't deserve what those assholes did to her, throwing her out in the alley like a bag of garbage," said an angry young native man, hiding his face from nearby dealers.

"I was right here when her body hit the street with a sound I'll never forget.

"Are we intelligent people? Give me a break — Ashley didn't commit suicide by jumping out of the Regent Hotel. She was thrown out to send a message to pay up your drug debts, or else."

Hiding his face behind an umbrella, he added: "Those dealers are just laughing. They know the police can't prove nothing down here."

Marlene George of the Carnegie Centre, who will lead the Oct. 4 Sisters in Spirit March to the spot where Machiskinic perished, agreed: "There's a code of silence down here. The worst thing you can be is a rat.

"It is very difficult to get the police to speak about this and to acknowledge the drug dealers are behind these events."

Vancouver police spokesman Const. Lindsey Houghton called Machiskinic's death "a tragic rumour that has not been corroborated ... a case of what appears, after investigation, to be someone taking their own life."

Houghton, who also knew Machiskinic, urged anyone with information to come forward to police, saying that her death is still an "ongoing investigation."

In the rain-sodden lane Thursday, a rose and a sheet of paper posted by the dead woman's mother paid tribute to "Ashley Nicole Lori Machiskinic. You are sadly missed and never forgotten ... Rest in Peace, you're in a better place. Love Mommy."

sfournier@theprovince.com
© Copyright (c) The Province

Read more: http://www.theprovince.com/news/Women+being+pushed+their+deaths+drug+dealers+Downtown+Eastside+advocates/3572655/story.html#ixzz10TsITDmA

PLANNING MEETING FOR DAY OF ACTION RE DEATH OF ASHLEY TO BE HELD BEHIND REGENT HOTEL EAST HASINGS NEAR MAIN: OCTOBER 5 5-8 PM

PLANNING MEETING: Monday September 27th at 2 pm at WAVES Coffee house Cordova/Main St. Everyone welcome

BRINGING OUR SISTERS HOME, A VIGIL AND CEREMONY GEORGINA PAPIN

2010-09-21T02:06:00.001-07:00

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE APOLOGIES FOR CROSS POSTINGS

Contact Info: Gladys Radek: (604) 569-5989
Donations: Marlene George, Carnegie Centre: (604) 665-3005

Vigil for Georgina Papin
Tuesday, September 21, 2010
1:00 pm-3:00 pm
Crab Park, 101 Waterfront Road

Georgina Papin: Born March 11, 1964 last seen March 1999. Her DNA, found at the Pickton farm. Robert "Willy" Pickton was charged with her murder.

Georgina Papin's family, with support of DTES activists and various organizations have come together to organize a "Celebration of Life ceremony" to honor Georgina's passing and journey to her final resting place. The family was finally able to claim Georgina's remains and may now take her home, to Hobbema, Alberta, as the family says, "To rest with her ancestors," and to, truly, rest in peace. 13 long years later.

The ceremony will include drumming, singing of the women's warrior song, a smudge ceremony and prayers, followed by a traditional barbecued salmon feast.

"While serving time in now-closed Oakalla prison, she was the native sisterhood liaison, tasked with going from cell to cell trying to interest native women in their culture." Associated Press 2006

"Bringing Our Sisters Home" Vigil for Georgina Papin

Missing Women, "Bringing Our Sisters Home" Vigil for Georgina Papin

2010-09-17T14:35:00.001-07:00

Contact Info: Gladys Radek: (604) 569-5989
Donations: Marlene George, Carnegie Centre: (604) 665-3005

Vigil for Georgina Papin
Tuesday, September 21, 2010
1:00 pm-3:00 pm
Crab Park
101 Waterfront Road

The family of Georgina Papin, invite you to a Vigil to be held in her honor. Tuesday, September 21, 1:00-3pm. 101 Waterfront Road-end of Main St over bridge. Join Georgina's daughters and sisters, as they reunite the family to claim and honor her in a celebration of life ceremony and to honor her passing for the journey home to Hobbema, Alberta.

The tragic disconnect will finally end. They may now take their sister, their daughter, Georgina, home to rest with her ancestors.

13 long years overdue.

Please pass on info. Lets support our families who need love and for us to stand with them to give them the strength they need at this time.

Ceremony followed by barbecued salmon feast.

Bring drums, regalia, prayers and support for the family.

Much love, Kat

Ways You Can Help

Donation Items needed: Flowers, coffee, coffee cups & condiments. Drop off to Marlene George: Carnegie Centre, (604) 665-3005, 401 Main Street, Vancouver, BC V6A 2T7, 604 665 2220. If away, she will notify security staff to put away. Mark GP Vigil

Event Info: Please call Gladys Radek: (604) 569-5989..

SUPPORT MAPUCHE POLITICAL PRISONERS

2010-09-02T09:34:00.000-07:00

Rally today for the Defence of Human Rights of Mapuche political prisoners on Hunger Strike in front of the Chilean Consulate (located at 1185 West Georgia St., Suite 1610 – Vancouver, BC).

A campaign declaring solidarity with 33 detained Mapuche hunger strikers has attracted substantial local and international attention to the Mapuche struggle.

Press release issued by the Mapuche Solidarity Collective – Unceded Coast Salish Territory:

In a declaration of solidarity with 33 detained Mapuche hunger strikers whose current medical status is of grave concern, the Mapuche Solidarity Collective – Unceded Coast Salish Territory has joined the International Campaign in Support of Mapuche Political Prisoners and, we are inviting community activist from the Vancouver and surrounding areas of the Lower Mainland and all those concerned with the rights of indigenous people, to attend a demonstration in front of the Chilean Consulate (located at 1185 West Georgia St., Suite 1610 – Vancouver, BC) to formally declare our opposition to the Chilean government's continued application of Pinochet-era anti-terrorism legislation against Mapuche democratic protest. The event, which will involve the presentation of a letter to the Chilean Consul in Vancouver, will take place on Thursday, September the 2nd at 12:00 (Noon).

The demonstration will denounce the deteriorating health of the political prisoners, some of whom have been on hunger strike since July 12th, 2010. Originally, the Mapuche protest broke out in response to the refusal of the Chilean authorities to recognize both the human rights of the detainees and the essentially political nature of their indictment and detention. Although news coverage of the action has been severely curtailed by a government ‘blackout’, the hunger strike has already inspired Mapuche communities in cities across Chile to take to the streets to declare their support.

There has also been a growing interest in the international campaign which has undoubtedly been encouraged by the open criticism of the Chilean authorities by international bodies. The widespread and inappropriate use of anti-terrorist law 18.314 has therefore been highlighted by both the Ethical Committee against Torture and the UN Human Rights Council.

In this sense, the neat demarcation which could be drawn between the Pinochet regime and its civilian successors is misleading, precisely because, under this law - which was first enacted by the dictatorship - defendants are subject to dual trial by military tribunals and civilian courts - for this reason, amongst others, the distinction between ‘military’ and ‘civilian’ rule is nowhere as clear as it should be, a conclusion which is further reinforced by a petition addressed to Sebastián Piñera, the current President of Chile, demanding that the ‘use of militarized violence
against communities, young people and the elderly must stop’.

The Mapuche struggle - of which the prisoners’ strike is only the most recent manifestation - is the latest chapter in a story which began with the campaign of genocide which was launched against the indigenous population in 1863-1883 (in the form of the Araucanian Pacification). The Mapuche have since struggled against the results of a ‘settlement’ which was imposed upon
them by force.

We call upon both the Chilean government and the international community to instead work towards a settlement founded upon respect for basic and fundamental rights, whether human, political or cultural. For this reason we call upon the Chilean government to:

* Repeal the anti-terrorism law.
* End the institutionalized violence.
* Ensure guarantees of due process for Mapuche political prisoners who are currently incarcerated.
* Repeal the method of ‘double simultaneous trial’ before a military tribunal and civilian court.
* Implement political and territorial rights of autonomy and self-determination.

The Mapuche are an indigenous nation which straddles Southern/Central Chile and Argentina. Their population is estimated at two million. They are the only indigenous nation from South America whose sovereignty and autonomy were formally recognized during the Spanish conquest of the continent. To this day, the Mapuche continue to struggle against the repression of their
legitimate cultural and territorial rights by the Argentinean and Chilean authorities.

Mapuche Solidarity Collective – Unceded Coast Salish Territory

August, 26 - 2010

Support Vigil Today for Tsilhqot'in First Nations & Fish Lake

2010-09-02T08:51:00.000-07:00

TASEKO MINES AND PM STEPHEN HARPER EMBROILED IN IMPENDING GENOCIDE OF THE TSILHQOT'IN FIRST NATIONS THROUGH PROPOSED DESTRUCTION OF FISH LAKE

'Teztan Biny (Fish Lake) is More than just a Lake It's Part of Our Culture. Our Elders and ancestors have passed the responsibility to protect our lands and way of life on to us. It is not possible for us to agree to the destruction of the land that sustains us.' - Chief Marilyn Baptiste, Xeni Gwet'in First Nation, Tshilqot'in Nation

SUPPORT VIGIL TODAY FOR FISH LAKE & THE SURVIVAL OF TSILHQOT'IN FIRST NATIONS

SEPTEMBER 2, 2010 - 12 NOON

905 West Pender Street (Pender/Burrard)
Vancouver, BC, Canada

Following Report prepared by Ivona Vujica

Paradigm Shift Environmental Alliance

VANCOUVER, AUGUST 27, 2010

A travel along a river may conjure images of nature-love only those who peacefully commune with their environment may know about. It is a dreamy plan the BC Ministry of Tourism has for the Fraser River. Metro Vancouver and Fraser Valley regional districts are working to 'give public access to the river' by creating 'a continuous walking, canoeing and cycling route,' through parks such as Surrey Bend, Douglas Island and Crescent Island in an attempt to recreate an air of Australia's Great Ocean Walk, Europe's Rhine River walk or the U.S.'s Mississippi trail.(Sinoski, 2010)

'The connectivity' theme in the Experience the Fraser project remains within a safe zone outside the BC's interior or Northern BC and fails to follow the trail along the Fraser River the way mining, fossil fuel burning, hydraulic imperialism of damming and piping lakes and rivers, unsolicited private power projects for exports, tar sands pipelines and the genocide of the First Nations do.

Somehow, the disconnectedness of the connectivity theme serves to refocus attention from what should be of crucial importance to every person in BC and Canada and around the world: the irreversible environmental and socio-economic destruction through current 'development projects,' one of them being the proposed Taseko corp's Prosperity gold-copper mine in northern BC.

It may be that Experience the Fraser is creating an inkling of an economy that is hoping to exist in harmony with environment and people. However, with rogue benefits generally drawn from the destruction in the interiors and northern BC, it cannot but remain a self-interested fad for a few for whom the environment and human rights remain out-of-sight-out-of mind phenomenon.

The vision of a dreamy landscape belies the agony of fish, lakes, rivers and people who are awaiting their liquidation moment to make way for a mining corporation,125 kilometres southwest of the Williams Lake.

The agony is wrapped in the silence of those who in two-to-three years will enjoy the 'connected' out-of-sight-out-of mind recreation amnesia along the river, and the cheer of those who mistakenly believe themselves to be temporary benefactors of such an enormous and irreversible destruction and genocide.

Sue Redford, president of the Williams Lake District Chamber of Commerce is 'comfortable' and calls it 'a little sunshine.' 'A number of glowing editorials' in the Williams Lake Tribune support her view, and its publisher Lorne Doerksen has stated that he is 'at peace.' (Andrew Findlay, 2009)'

Shiny euphemisms, used as the plywood of the genocide construction, are 'the camouflage vocabulary' to 'mask the evil,' (Waller, 2008,156) and make 'mass murder .. personally and socially acceptable by portraying it as serving socially worth or moral purposes' (Waller, 2008, 155).

The cheerfulness over the hopes of temporary 'economic gains' from forcing Tsilhqot'in First Nations out, 'taking their possessions and depriving them of rights' (Welzer 2008, 171) seen in the form of mining jobs by the Williams Lake community will surely backfire.

Environmental destruction / human rights abuse - jobs go hand in hand with all other kinds of human right abuses, and are not meant to massage the local economy into its perkiness. Remember, we are dealing with the legislated feudal suzerainty of a 'pathological corporation' (Bakan, 2004) over our homelands. Alberta Federation of Labour cries foul over 'out of control' import of 'disposable' foreign workers...who are being misled and taken advantage of by unscrupulous brokers and employers' (Oilsands Truth). 'Jobs' are for the imported slave labour not for those who cheer 'the genocidal process of the First Nations [they find] useful for [their] career and...social prestige' (Jensen 2008, 12)

The provincial and federal governments have legislated the corporation into an agent of exponential self-serving greed/destruction in our home communities. When the genocide is wrapped in the celofan of 'camouflage' labels such as 'environmental review,' or 'fisheries act' we are faced with 'what Gunter Anders calls an 'opportunity for unpunished inhumanity'' (Welzer,167), giving 'the signal that [Tsilhqot'in First Nations] have lost all their rights and that [Taseko is] allowed to do to them whatever they like.' (Jensen 2008,12).

'Context can mean legitimization, rationalization and justification of acts that otherwise seem illegitimate, irrational and unjustifiable' (Bloxham, 2008, 187). Introduced in 1996 by the Conservative government, and currently legally challenged by the Council of Canadians, and St. John's The Sandy Pond Alliance, the Schedule 2 of the Fisheries Act, for example, allows mining corporations to dump mining waste into pristine lakes.

The proposed destruction of Fish Lake and the consequent genocide of the Tshilqot'in First Nation is an example of a 'bureaucratically organized and industrially driven extermination process' (Szejnmann, 2008, 33).

The existing context is shaped through the legislation, governmental decisions, the submergence of individual responsibility within the status quo and the silence of the general population which opens the door to such destruction.

'Environment Canada claims it is more environmentally sound to destroy a natural lake than build a tailings pond' (Crawford 2010) Brigitte Lemay, a media spokesperson for Environment Canada describes a natural lake as 'the best storage option' to keep tailings 'in a safe and controlled way, as it may have fewer risks of engineering failure...' (Crawford, 2010).

The Environment Canada's sole focus on ensuring the 'safety of Taseko's tailings,' by allowing dumping of the toxic mining waste into the pristine rainbow trout-rich lake, which is the food storage (fridge), the water supply, a connection to Creator and ancestors and an expression of a way of life of the Tsilhqot'in First Nations, has eclipsed what should be immediately obvious: a 'death march' of people who will be expelled to 'perish from exposure, starvation and thirst,' (Bloxham 2008, 192) their impending 'everyday oppressions and discriminations,' (Bloxham 2008, 193), and 'depredations, rape, kidnap, mutilation and outright killing'(J (Bloxham 2008,192).

The Environment Canada's preoccupation with the safety of the tailings at the expense of the full blown genocide signals a 'shift [of] attention from the morality of what they are doing to the operational details and efficiency of their job' (Waller 2008, 159). James Waller calls this 'diffusion of responsibility' through 'segmentation and fragmentation of the killing tasks' (159)

The destruction of a living base of a people in the north is unsurprisingly flanked by the world of Robert Pictons and Down Town East Sides in the south coupled with 'the passivity of the police toward [anti-Aboriginal] violence..and the perception that it [is] good not to be Aboriginal' {Welzer 2008, 170) into which the expelled are liquidated a true theme of connectivity, Experience the Fraser fails to achieve.

Mass murderers in the south go together with mass murderers in the north. While the two types of characters may differ in scale but not in purpose, the former act as the 'release valve' for the latter. In his article 'Modern Serial Killers,' Kevin D. Haggerty of University of Alberta says that 'murderers embrace and reproduce the wider cultural codings that have devalued, stigmatized, and marginalized specific groups' (180).

As explained by the Aboriginal Women's Action Network (AWAN) in their Statement Opposing Legalized Prostitution and Total Decriminalization of Prostitution Dec 6, 2007

'We have a long, multi-generational history of colonization, marginalization, and displacement from our Homelands (bold added), and rampant abuses that has forced many of our sisters into prostitution. Aboriginal women are often either forced into prostitution, trafficked into prostitution or are facing that possibility. Given that the average age at which girls enter prostitution is fourteen, the majority with a history of unspeakable abuses, we are also speaking out for the Aboriginal children who are targeted by johns and pimps. Aboriginal girls are hunted down and prostituted, and the perpetrators go uncharged with child sexual assault and child rape. These predators, pervasive in our society, roam with impunity in our streets and take advantage of those Aboriginal children with the least protection.'

Drawing on the work of Agamben Giorgio (1995) titled 'Homo Sacer: Sovereign Power and Bare Life', Haggerty notes 'western legal systems routinely treat some categories of people as pariahs, effectively positioning such individuals beyond the law, and as a result, providing few if any, legal consequences should they be killed' (179).

According to the Submission 'Nothing to Report' of the B.C. CEDAW Group to the United Nations Committee on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women:

'Aboriginal girls in British Columbia have also experienced sexual violence directly from the officials from the justice system. In British Columbia in 2006 Judge David Ramsay plead guilty to charges of procuring and sexual assault on four First Nations Girls who were between twelve and sixteen at the time of his attacks, and who had all appeared before him in youth criminal court or family court. The RCMP began their investigation into Judge Ramsay's assault after a complaint in August 1999. But Judge Ramsay was not removed from the Bench until 2002, three years after the investigation began. According to media reports, his assaults continued until 2001.'

It takes small sparks of imagination to create an economy steeped in human rights and environmental protection. Williams Lake should stand up in fierce solidarity with Tsilhqot'in First Nations, Fish Lake and its unique and intricate environment, and imagine many economic initiatives based on a moral framework which condemns destruction of people and environment.

Santiago Rengstorff, a student at the San Francisco State University Department of Geography explains in 'The Biogeography of Rainbow Trout' that 'cold water lakes,' such as Fish Lake, 'are perfect for rainbow trout, which belongs to Onchorhyncus mykiss species, and is the cousin of the salmon. It is defined by the reds, violets, greens and yellows on its back, a brilliant reddish band along each side and black spots on the upper body above the lateral line and also on the upper fins and the tail.' It is estimated that about 90,000 rainbow trout live in the Fish Lake.

Brian Battison, vice president of corporate affairs for Taseko mining corp. has described the lake as ''overpopulated' with small 'starving' fish that have parasites' (Tait, 2010). 'The fish that are there now are small and unhealthy' Battison (Crawford 2010).

Enjoying the freedom of 'moral disengagement' through 'a barbarity of language that dehumanizes the victim'(J (Waller 2008, 155), and 'de-individuation' (159) [or] hiding of [his] individual [responsibility] in the 'anonymity'of 'situation-specific group norms' (159) derived from the Schedule 2 of the Fisheries Act, and the BC's approval of the project, Mr. Battison, is ready to extirpate the rainbow trout from Fish Lake, and in their stead pour millions of litres of mining waste. From a perspective of the Kensington Mine in Alaska, 900,000 litres of wastewater are dumped per day into the Lower Slate Lake (Findlay 2009).
Can the corporate destruction of the Creator's food storage and fresh water supply, a brilliantly intricate and interconnected aquatic-amphibian-terrestrial environment (Schultz, 1991), and a whole nation of people be justified by execrating the rainbow trout in Fish Lake in a canard statement that they are 'starving and unhealthy?'

This is not unlike the attitude of about a hundred years ago, when the Fisheries Act was used to strip Native communities of their fishing rights after the salmon species collapsed consequent, on the one hand, to the frivolous work of the Canadian Northern Railway which triggered the fatal landslides in the Hells Gate canyon in 1910/1914, blocking the salmon from returning to their spawning grounds in cold northern lakes, and the overfishing for exports on the other.

People with a self-sufficient local economy and a holistic way of life rooted in harmony with their local environment 'became portrayed as deprived animal killers, destroying the resource that could be profitably put to use' - only because they fished to supply themselves with food and not starve. Some commentators suggested that a 'ration for natives would be better than preserving their access to fish.' (Evenden 2004, 38).

In line with the current attitude of wannabe miners in the Williams Lake, native fishing traps and weirs of a hundred years ago were cracked on 'at the behest of local canners.' (38)

In the voice of Nlaka'pamux who were affected by the catastrophe of the Hells Gate landslides and overfishing: 'The white men are to blame for the scarcity of fish, yet they would take away from us Indians the only means of making a living after taking everything back from us.' (37)

As UBC Geography professor, Matthew Evenden explains, 'rather than contend with the boiler politics of fishing [and development] regulation, fisheries officials used the field of habitat restoration as a regulatory release valve' (45).

The focus has not changed or evolved. The destruction of people and environment is legitimized as long as there is a false promise of a hatchet remedial work involved.

According to Environment Canada, 'Companies must develop a habitat compensation plan' and 'prove that dumping waste in a fresh water body 'makes the most environmental, technical and socio-economic sense.'' (Crawford, 2010).

The lack of accountability, corruption and an air of the genocidal lack of morality may be seen in the fact that Environment Canada falls for the 'evidence' which suggests that irreversible destruction of people, environment and a way of life 'makes environmental, technical and socio-economic sense.'

If genocide and environmental destruction is the way to keep 'tailings safe,' then it is plausible to suggest that there is no solution for mining, and that we should not create problems which are beyond the powers of our humanity to solve.

Mr. Battison's remedial idea is to create a man-made lake larger and deeper than Fish Lake, to have a hatchery and to introduce large fish for sport fishing (Tait; Crawford, 2010).

Man-made lakes are dead bodies of water without circulation or cleansing power. They become clogged in silt and are sponges for toxic runoff from nearby mines. In them, the fish cannot survive. This is why Mr. Battison is referring to the need for a hatchery. The fish has to be artificially introduced over and over again in order to be found in the lake.

Man-made lakes are fragile construction projects, subject to engineering failure. To make an artificial lake, Mr. Battison, would have to flood a large area of land by splicing a whole watershed of lakes, rivers and tributaries into one body of water pent up behind a man-erected dam, always at risk of bursting out and causing further damage due to numerous reasons. As G.A. Schultz of the Institute of Hydrology, Water Resources and Environmental Techniques from Ruhr University Bochum, Germany explains, manmade lakes are prone to 'catastrophes due to potential earthquakes...incompetent engineering (design and operation), bad structural work or inadequate dam maintenance.' He warns that 'creating and operating a manmade lake requires great professional competence and high personal responsibility.' He reveals that 'dam break flood waves ...usually hidden from the population, are frightening' (Schultz 1991, 149).

Taseko corp's Battison is not interested in creating a lake. It is a remedial action. No remedial action has ever worked in the history of environmental destruction. Corporations are not here to remediate anything. A glimpse into the enormity of the proposed destruction of people and environment paints 'remediation' as a cruel joke or rubbing some more salt into the fresh wound.

Historically, the Canadian Northern Railway demonstrated a very 'reluctant response to the federal department's demands for assistance' (Evenden 2004, 31) after its 'hurried construction' (24) caused the landslides at the Hells Gate, which affected the salmon runs for three decades to come.

Cariboo Hydraulic Mining Company, which in 1890s built a dam on Quesnel River 'blocked a system of lakes and rivers...and cut off many thousands of miles of the best spawning grounds in the province' (70-71) according to the then Fraser River Canner Association Secretary W.D. Burdis. Before the dam was built, 'Quesnel Lake and Horsefly River had been the largest single spawning habitat in the basin'(72).

In the words of an engineer at the dam, the 'fish had died in enormous numbers while struggling to pass upstream... So many salmon had expired at the site that workers had placed them in great heaps on the shore and burnt them.' No federal or provincial water officials expressed interest or concern. (70).

'The danger of a dam break' (bold added) was cited as a reason to remove the dam, after the fad of gold was forgotten, leaving behind the horrific environmental damage.

The remedial measure of adding a fishway so that salmon can pass upstream, legislated by the federal Fisheries Act, did not work (Evenden 2004, 70-71).

Few fish could pass.

As it was discovered in the case of the Coquitlam Buntzen dam on Coquitlam river, those few salmon that did swim upstream through a fishway caused pollution of the drinking water. Simply, the stale waters behind the dam lacked circulation to clear the rotting fish bodies after spawning. No compensation was paid to the Coquitlam First Nations Band after the dam construction destroyed their fishing grounds.

Another failed remedial antidote to dam developments was 'to relocate thousands of spawners' after a dam on Alouette Lake 'cut off salmon habitat and disturbed spawners in the lower Alouette River' in 1927. Kwantlen Band was cut off from their food supply, but 'there is no evidence that the Stave Lake Company ... concerned itself with these problems' (Evenden, 2004, 76-77).

Before damming Nechako River in the early fifties, Alcan Aluminum did 'not care about any remedial steps until they have gained their full water rights' according to Milo Bell, an engineer with the International Pacific Salmon Fisheries Commission (Evenden 2004, 164). After Alcan received a legal right to dam Nechako River, Alcan vice president McNeely Dubose, 'informed Minister of Fisheries Robert Mayhew, that the remedial work was unnecessary and too expensive' (Evenden 2004, 170).

'We have compromised and accepted maximum risk. The Company had done nothing.' (bold added) were the words of the then Department of Fisheries scientist A.L. Pritchard. (Evanden 2004, 174)

The 'stirring white water' of the Nechako River from the glossy brochures, the government used to woo developers, met their still death, and the environment became an industrial zone. The Cheslatta Ten First Nations were fooled into signing papers, 'which gave Alcan legal title...without a full understanding of the consequences or a third party advice. Department of Indian Affairs simply asked them to 'abandon the territory' while those who were not informed were simply 'evacuated.' 'The dam flooded several lakes into one large circular reservoir chain as well as the ancestral burial grounds and the fishing and trapping territories of the Cheslatta Ten Peoples.'

Currently, tying the tubes of the watershed into an artificial lake is considered a remedial action to the destruction of a natural rainbow trout bearing lake of the Tsilhqot'in First Nations. But what is the remedial action for the man-made lake itself?

As documented, throughout history, Canadian government has used 'remediation' solely as a justification for environmental destruction that really cannot be remediated.

If gold and copper, Taseko hopes to excavate, lie under the lake as reported by David Williams (Williams 2009), an issue not transparent in the communication from the Environment Canada, Fish Lake will have to be completely drained and the surrounding area flooded, another natural lake would have to be found for mine waste disposal, and other lakes and rivers would have to be rerouted and dammed to create a remedial artificial body of water. So Taseko's dalliance with the government is more than about Fish Lake. Many more lakes and rivers in the area will be destroyed.

The artificial lake Mr. Battison is talking about is neither meant to create the food storage for the Tsilhqot'in First Nations, nor the sport fishing tourism. Taseko needs cheap power for an energy intensive mining operation, a more useful purpose its remedial action can be put to.

Fiercely independent, the Tsilhqot'in First Nation's the Xeni Gwet'in people of 300 or so residents who in a landmark court case had won their hunting and fishing rights over the territory which includes Fish Lake, but due to a 'technicality' according to Justice Vickers could not secure their Aboriginal title, were not included in a Joint Environmental Review Process (ERP), in which the BC Minister of Environment made a decision that a public open review process will not take place. (Williams, 2009).

When previously used, a public review process called a Joint Review Panel, stopped Kemess North Mine north west of Prince George from destroying Amazay Lake on the territory of the Tsay Keh Dene, Takla Lake, and Kwadacha of the Tse Keh Nay Nation, and the Gitxsan house of Nii Kyap. (Williams, 2009)

The January 2010 decision of the British Columbia Environmental Assessment Office stated that 'the adverse effects on fish and fish habitat... were justified in the circumstances.' (Report of the Federal Prosperity Review Panel, Executive Summary July 2010).

The Federal Prosperity Review Panel points out that the Province of British Columbia made their decision without an input from either federal departments or from the public hearings involving the First Nations.

The Xeni Gwet'in have launched a lawsuit hoping to secure a declaration of an Aboriginal Right to fish in Fish Lake also called Teztan Biny. (Williams, 2009)

Their claim is that the mine construction based on the Fish Lake destruction cannot be legally approved by the federal or provincial governments. (Kennedy, 2010)

Mr. Battison, has laughed off the lawsuit based on what he perceives to be a 'standard practice' of BC mines 'proceed[ing] in spite of the threat of legal action.' (Kennedy, 2010)

The Federal Prosperity Review Panel (the Panel), appointed on January 19, 2009, announced its decision on July 2, 2010, in which it concluded that Taseko's Prosperity mine project will result in significant adverse environmental effects on fish and fish habitat, the First Nations and the grizzly bears. It reviewed the project's cumulative effect by considering it in the context of past, present and future developments, and was based on a 30-day public hearing in ten communities, which it found 'instrumental in gathering information from First Nations ...' (Executive Summary)

The report was submitted to the federal Minister of the Environment and to the Ministers of Fisheries and Oceans Canada, Transport Canada and Natural Resources Canada. (News, Canadian Environmental Assessment Agency July 2, 2010)

Mr. Battison has laughed off the findings of the Federal Prosperity Review Panel saying that the Panel did not consider the economic aspect of the mine. (Tait, 2010)

And so will Mr. Battison likely laugh off Taseko's faulty water management plan about which Kevin Morin, an acid mine drainage expert, hired by the Tsilhqot'in National Government, has to say the following: 'Taseko has underestimated the acid generating potential and overestimated the neutralizing potential of the rock at the mine site... ' (Findlay 2009).

It is possible that Mr. Battison cannot stop laughing about Taseko's Gibraltar Mine's free wastewater daily discharges into the Fraser River (Findlay 2009) nor potential spillage of the wastewater of its proposed Prosperity mine into the Fraser River through a connected string of rivers -Taseko Lake - Taseko River -Chilcotin River - Fraser River (Crawford, 2010).

Mr. Battison is putting on a display the self-fulfilling prophecy of the connectivity of destruction and pollution by mining and he cannot stop laughing.

Many people are worried about Mr. Battison's lack of conscience including his mining counterpart Copper Mountain CEO Jim O'Rourke after Taseko's 'unsolicited takeover...approach of interfering with the company's financing [which] could deprive [their] shareholders of substantial benefit.' (Vancouver Sun, 2009)

Not once in this orgy of destruction has Mr. Battison pronounced the name of the nation whom he is about to wipe out.

The unilateral decision of the government of British Columbia which wrongfully approved Taseko's destruction project, their issuing of a long-term mining lease to the company without the consultation with the involved First Nations, the Schedule 2 of the Fisheries Act, which encourages mining waste dumping into pristine lakes, the incendiary calls for the outright destruction of the Tsilhqot'in First Nation by the surrounding self-interested settler groups, the narrow focus on the safety of the tailings by Environment Canada, the barbaric language used to vitiate the rainbow trout of Fish Lake, the obvious absence of language used to overlook the victim, euphemistic descriptions of genocide as serving economic good and the silence of the general population, and a history of unpunished genocides of First Nations has created a context in which committing mass murder feels comfortable, and in fact socially sanctioned and desirable. In this context, committing mass murder becomes the easiest job you and I as normal, ordinary people, highly educated, professional people can have.
Hitler built his social welfare state on the foundations of mass extermination. Concentration camp staff were public employees whose jobs came with benefits, and also volunteers.

'[P]eople are the weapons by which genocide occurs'(147) reminds us James E. Waller. 'Perpetrators of genocide. They are you and I,' (149) says Waller in his grounding and eye-opening explanation of the reality 'difficult to admit, to understand, to absorb,' (148). It takes 'ordinary, 'normal' people [to commit] acts of extraordinary evil' and this 'ordinariness does not diminish the horror of their actions, [but] ...increases it.' (148).

'For most of us, it is usually important to cross the first threshold in order to be able to cross the last' (Welzer 2008, 179).

We, the people of British Columbia and Canada have been set up as anonymous killers by the bureaucratic-industrial machine of mass extermination. We have to resurrect our own personal responsibility in order to face and address an overarching structure of manipulation and control which prioritizes extermination of many for the benefit of some.
A nation, so gentle, so peaceful, with en economy so sophisticated that it exists in harmony with the environment and people, with a way of life so ancient and so unique is about to be swept into ditches by the charging mining bulldozers.

NO!!!

NEVER!!!

No to BC mine, National Chief
http://www.bclocalnews.com/bc_north/northernsentinel/news/99866174.html

August 04, 2010 6:00 AM

Before the federal government decides the fate of the Prosperity gold and copper mine proposed near Williams Lake, people will know what it means for the struggling Cariboo-Chilcotin region and for the aboriginal communities who oppose it.

Energy, Mines and Petroleum Resources Minister Bill Bennett says an economic impact study is being prepared for the federal cabinet (PM Stephen Harper), which is to decide this fall if the long-proposed mine can proceed..

The Tsilhqot'in National Government and its local aboriginal bands strongly oppose the project, and reject the proposal to construct a new lake to replace the lost trout habitat in its traditional territory. Last week the national Assembly of First Nations backed the Tsilhqot'in and warned Ottawa there will be confrontation in and out of court if the mine gets the green light...

The chiefs' assembly voted to "advise the federal government that First Nations across Canada are watching its decision to see whether there remains any value or integrity in environmental assessments for major projects, or whether First Nations must turn to litigation and other means to assert our rights and protect our cultures."

Assembly of First Nations (AFN) leaders from across Canada have backed National Chief Shawn Atleo's call for the federal cabinet to reject the Prosperity gold and copper mine proposal near Williams Lake after more than a decade of study.

We are calling all people and organizations of conscience and lack thereof to action to prevent the impending genocide of Tsilhqot'in First Nations.

Civility is a chosen state, not a natural condition... and being aware of our own natural capacity for evil and how to ... curb that capacity is the best safeguard we can have against future genocide and mass killings(Waller 2008, 163).

Paradigm Shift Environmental Alliance(a homeless network of transborder activists, students, academics, Aboriginal etc.) psea does not do media interviews since july 2007,we thank all media for their inquires.
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The Great Struggle Continues . . .

REFERENCES

http://www.tsilhqotin.ca/news.htm

http://www.protectfishlake.ca/

Aboriginal Women's Action Network (AWAN). Statement Opposing Legalized Prostitution and Total Decriminalization of Prostitution Dec 6, 2007 http://www.awanbc.ca/articles.html

Bakan, Joel. (2004). Corporation: the pathological pursuit of profit and power. Toronto: Penguin Canada

Bloxham, Donald. (2008). The organization of genocide: perpetration in comparative perspective. in ed.Olaf, Jensen., Szejnmann, Claus-Christian W. (2008). Ordinary people as mass murderers: Perpetrators in comparative perspectives. New York: Palgrave Macmillan

Canadian Environmental Assessment Agency. (July 2, 2010). Federal Review Panel Issues Environmental Assessment Report for Proposed Prosperity Gold-Copper Mine Project <(Jfont size=4 color=black face=Arial>http://news.gc.ca/web/article-eng.do?m=/index&nid=545069

Crawford Tiffany. (June 4, 2010). Fish-bearing lakes to be destroyed to become tailings ponds: CoC to sue feds. Vancouver Sun

Evenden, D. Matthew (2004). Fish versus power: an environmental history of the Fraser River Executive Summary of the Environmental Assessment Report July 2, 2010 http://www.ceaa.gc.ca/050/document-eng.cfm?document=43937

Findlay Andrew, (August 27, 2009). Fight looms over fish lake. Georgia Straight
Haggerty Modern Serial Killers - 168-187 CMC_335714.indd

Kennedy, Peter. (June 23, 2010). Taseko confident despite legal threat. http://www.stockhouse.com/Community-News/2010/Jun/23/Taseko-confident-despite-legal-threat

Oilsands Truth. AFL denounces 'out of control' import of 'disposable' foreign workers in Alberta
http://oilsandstruth.org/labour-afl-denounces-"out- control"-import-"disposable"-foreign-workers-alberta

Olaf, Jensen., Szejnmann, Claus-Christian W. (2008). Ordinary people as mass murderers: Perpetrators in comparative perspectives. New York: Palgrave Macmillan

'Nothing to Report'

Submission of the B.C. CEDAW Group to the United Nations Committee on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women:

http://docs.google.com/viewer?a=v&q=cache:IZszRZ-cHo0J:www.cccabc.bc.ca/res/pubs/pdf/CEDAW_report_Dec2009.pdf+nothing+to+report&hl=en&pid=bl&srcid=ADGEESjzQd0LuoGdfOz8D25M7wKmJDwShRNKrxvG82W6F9-vtldtiojqwIQSgedQTZwXKz0CNcHtEWRxEDQr7KNBfmx0y5cncL7rcoGn2enGx4C0s_70XdIz3Afcn6qTwuvFyrjKkOwE&sig=AHIEtbSC3UAt_yuCCabNHoZTbhtQIZ0I-w

Rengstorff, Santiago San Francisco State University Department of Geography. The Biogeography of Rainbow Trout
http://bss.sfsu.edu/holzman/courses/fall01%20projects/rainbow%20trout.htm

Schultz, G.A. Hydrology of Natural and Manmake Lakes (Proceedings of the Vienna Symposium, August 1991) IAHS Publ. no. 206. 1991
http://docs.google.com/viewer?a=v&q=cache:g8rQ6JpndXEJ:iahs.info/redbooks/a206/iahs_206_0139.pdf+hydrology+of+natural+and+manmade+lakes+schultz&hl=en&pid=bl&srcid=ADGEESi9kTVmJ1vWw1jVuGSupvTxVG9-qHJzTaPKDUO8UFd_PgYXBO9u4exqNfu9Z2vYPowBbwWJ8svMppp4UmPnWzpSAgOg6dsiJ2xJKB0ehfQpos0oQhlDXmFTBSay8JwabgaWK68G&sig=AHIEtbSNbDtEFxrbHqvpYbVVpZOcEQC69A

Sinoski Kelly. (August 6, 2010) Fraser River to get a green makeover for tourism: Metro Vancouver aims to develop a 300-kilometre, land-and-water-based recreation system of parks, trails, campsites and boat docks, Vancouver Sun

Szejnmann, C.C. (2008). Perpetrators of the Holocaust: a historiography. in ed.Olaf, Jensen., Szejnmann, Claus-Christian W. (2008). Ordinary people as mass murderers: Perpetrators in comparative perspectives. New York: Palgrave Macmillan

Tait, Carrie. (July 5, 2010). Taseko drops 20% on impact report. Financial Post

Vancouver Sun. (September 18, 2010). Copper Mountain rejects Taseko bid.

Waller, James. (2008) The ordinariness of extraordinary evil: the masking of perpetrators of genocide and mass killing. in ed.Olaf, Jensen., Szejnmann, Claus-Christian W. (2008). Ordinary people as mass murderers: Perpetrators in comparative perspectives. New York: Palgrave Macmillan

Welzer Harald (2008). On killing and morality: how normal people become mass murderers. in ed.Olaf, Jensen., Szejnmann, Claus-Christian W. (2008). Ordinary people as mass murderers: Perpetrators in comparative perspectives. New York: Palgrave Macmillan

Williams, David. (March-April 2009) Fish Lake is Not a Tailings Pond. Watershed Sentinel http://www.watershedsentinel.ca/content/fish-lake-not-tailings-pond

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Full document with images publicly available at:

http://floodiceorfire.wordpress.com/taseko-mines-and-pm-stephen-harper-embroiled-in-impending-genocide-of-the-tsilhqotin-first-nations-through-proposed-destruction-of-fish-lake/

http://www.climateimc.org/en/breaking-news/2010/08/31/taseko-mines-and-pm-stephen-harper-embroiled-impending-genocide-tsilhqotin

RE SALISH LANGUAGE HIGH WAY SIGNS ON THE WAY TO "WHISTLER"

2010-08-25T12:29:00.000-07:00

In a letter to the editor 24 hrs Newspaper, Mark Smith complains about the cost of adding native languages to signs on the way to Whistler and his second question: "Since when did Canada adopt a third language."

Pretty funny stuff. To add your 2 cents, reply to: van24feedback@sunmedia.ca
http://eedition.vancouver.24h...rs.ca/epaper/viewer.aspx (Page 5)

DONALD MARSHALL ONE YEAR COMMEMORATION

2010-08-04T11:16:00.001-07:00

On August 6, 2010 we are asking all people across the country to hold a ceremony marking the 1 Year Anniversary of the passing of a National Aboriginal Icon, Donald Marshall Jr., wether it be a sweatlodge ceremony, a smudge, a prayer or even a moment of silence.

A few members of the Marshall family will be attending Grandfather William Commanda's ANNUAL INTERNATIONAL CIRCLE OF ALL NATIONS SPIRITUAL GATHERING beginning on August 6, 7 and 8 in Maniwaki, Quebec. Other family members will be attending/hosting ceremonies/gatherings on August 6th on the East Coast.

Donald Marshall Jr. received the Wolf Award for his courageous efforts in creating awareness about issues of systemic and overt racism, particularly with respect to Aboriginal peoples and the justice system and for his efforts to promote mutual respect between Aboriginal and non-Aboriginal peoples through outreach to youth, communities and to justice system representatives.

This Wolf Award was presented on May 24, 2000 to Mr. Marshall in Ottawa during a the conference "A Circle of All Nations - A Culture of Peace" gathering hosted by Elder William Commanda.

Jr had a lot of respect for Grandfather William Commanda and spoke highly of him and often.

Donald Marshall Jr. September 13, 1953 .. passed away: August 6, 2009

It was with great sadness the family announced the end of an extraordinary life with the passing of Donald John Marshall, Jr. on Thursday, Aug. 6, 2009, in Sydney, surrounded by the love of friends and family.

- The case of Donald Marshall Jr. became one of the most controversial in the history of the Canadian criminal justice system. Accused of the 28 May 1971 stabbing death of a black youth, Sandy Seale, in Sydney, Nova Scotia, Marshall, a 16-year old Micmac, was convicted of murder and sentenced to life imprisonment. After he had served 11 years in a penitentiary, a re-examination of the case found him innocent of the murder, as he had maintained all along. Roy Ebsary was charged and convicted of manslaughter, and Marshall was acquitted in May 1983.

- Marshall's landmark case became a central figure in a 1999 Supreme Court of Canada ruling that guaranteed Aboriginal Treaty Rights to fish and hunt. He was the primary petitioner in the case after he had been arrested while fishing for eels out of season.

The high court ruling also confirmed that Mi'kmaq and Maliseet in New Brunswick and Nova Scotia have the right to earn a moderate livelihood from hunting, fishing and gathering.

http://www.facebook.com/home.php?#!/group.php?gid=142046369150746&v=info&ref=mf

BC CIVIL LIBERTIES ASSOCIATION SUPPORTS CALL FOR CORONERS INQUEST INTO THE DEATH OF CURTIS BRICK

2010-07-27T11:41:00.000-07:00

British Columbia Civil Liberties Association
July 27, 2010

For immediate release

BCCLA supports community call for coroner’s inquest into heat exposure death

The BCCLA is supporting a community rally on the anniversary of the death of Curtis Brick and its call for a coroner’s inquest into the homeless aboriginal man’s death. Curtis Brick died of heat exposure in Grandview Park in Vancouver. Hyperthermia—heat exposure—is a cause of death whose symptoms are often mistaken and not appreciated in a timely way. At the time of his death, witnesses alleged that Brick was improperly treated by emergency personnel.

“Coroner’s inquests are held to improve public safety and prevent situations involving avoidable deaths from recurring. Lessons ought to be learned and mistakes not repeated. Doing so in a public process such as a coroner’s hearing helps, largely because coroners are in place for fact-finding, not fault-finding,” said Robert Holmes, President of the BCCLA. “Curtis Brick was a homeless aboriginal man whose death aroused intense community interest and concern. It is important that the coroner act to ensure that the circumstances of his passing are investigated. It is important to ensure that all service providers understand the dangers of heat exposure and the need for vigilance and caring in dealing with disadvantaged persons.”

The BCCLA met with the coroner’s office in early July and at that time was advised that the Brick file remains open and that no final determination has yet been made on whether or not to hold an inquest.

“Government should address publicly and prominently what it is doing to ensure that first responders, law enforcement, medical service providers and the public generally are suitably prepared to deal with events in hot weather,” said Holmes. “On this anniversary of his untimely passing, we’re hoping that the coroner acts to address the community’s demands for answers.”

Curtis Brick died on July 29, 2009 of heat exposure. The memorial rally is on Thursday, July 29, 2010 at 5:30 p.m. at Grandview Park and is being organized by the Indigenous Action Movement. In the wake of Curtis Brick’s death, the City of Vancouver has begun to phase in over a 2 year period, hot weather protocols for vulnerable populations to minimize the risk of similar deaths.

POLICE BRUTALITY - Vancouver Police Push Down Disabled Woman, Then Walk ...

2010-07-24T01:18:00.000-07:00

CURTIS BRICK A PEOPLES INQUEST ONE YEAR LATER

2010-07-19T17:28:00.000-07:00

(click on title in blue font above to go to the Facebook event page)

(604) 682-3269, Ext. 7718

CURTIS BRICK, One Year Later, the People’s Inquest

The Indigenous Action Movement is organizing a 2nd gathering to remember one of their fallen. Curtis Brick needlessly and horrifically died on the hottest day on record, in plain view of the public, in Grandview Park , Vancouver, Commercial Drive and Charles Street July 29, 2009.

The final insult: In their report, the attendants stated they had provided care to Curtis, including placing cool towels on him, and trying to provide liquids to him, when according to witnesses, they had not. Then upon arrival to hospital, it took another hour before Curtis was admitted to the Intensive Care Unit. An hour too late. It is now one year later, and what's being done?

“Our people standing together, is immensely important to break the cycle of, not only racial discrimination, but society’s indifference towards injustice where it concerns our brothers and sisters. Doing our part, may help one of our family members, friends and loved ones, and maybe even ourselves one day. I should not have a fear of laying there dying on the street only to be seen as “most likely just passed out.” I hope that someone will check on me to see if I’m okay and get medical assistance. I hope for that assistance to be at least considerate, given that they know I have a society behind me that cares.” Kat Norris, Coast Salish/Nez Perce

On July 29, 2010 the community will gather together at Grandview Park in East Vancouver, Commercial Drive and Charles Street, We ask supporters to arrive about 5:00 to help put together the survival packs to hand out. Drumming, singing, speakers, and a smudging ceremony will take place. Survival packs will be handed out. Survival packs will include: Bottled water; juice cartons; frybread or sandwiches; mini sun block. Some of Curtis Brick’s friends will be there, & we are inviting any family members as well to share in this dedication and call for an inquest. If you know of family members, please have them contact me at (604) 682-3269 Extension: 7718

City Hall Update: “As a result of Curtis Brick’s death, (Vancouver City) Council on September 10, 2009, moved: “FURTHER THAT staff undertake a review of existing extreme weather emergency services offered by the City and make recommendations on these services that would further reduce the risk for street homeless and other vulnerable populations, such as homebound senior citizens, in the event of extreme heat or cold events.” This report provides follow up to this motion in the form of a brief review and a proposed Preparedness and Response Plan for 2010. Full document here: http://vancouver.ca/ctyclerk/cclerk/20100706/documents/rr1.pdf

“The Creator works in mysterious ways and I am sure that Curtis is pleased that his friends will be better taken care of. It still means that, as a community, we must continue to do our parts, ensuring that respect is apparent when services providers are at work and to call advocacy and/or call attention to mistreatment or racism.

We will still do the gathering in his honor and to call for a public inquest into his untimely death. We want to educate ourselves as to how we can better help those in need and to ensure that this doesn’t happen ever again.” Kat

We are just doing our part that his death, the deaths of Frank Paul, who police dragged and dumped outside in freezing weather comatose; Francis McAllister who ambulance attendance left out only to freeze to death in 2008; the Saskatoon “Starlight Tours” where Neil Stonechild, Lawrence Wegner and so many more who didn’t make it into the news. We also do this for our young generation today; hopefully many lessons will be learned.” Kat Norris, Community Contact Line: (604) 682-3269 Extension: 7718

BACKGROUNDER: Curtis Brick was a homeless man who, through circumstance, ended up on the streets of Vancouver ’s east side. On July 29, 2009, he was spotted by community member Eric Schweig at 9:00 am lying in Grandview Park with his shirt covering his head. Approximately 4:00 pm, the same day, Eric again saw Curtis laying in the same spot, convulsing and in extreme physical distress. No one had stopped to help. Ambulance was called by staffers of the Vancouver Aboriginal Transformative Justice Services Society, which operates out of the Vancouver Aboriginal Friendship Centre.

Witnesses, including the VATJSS staff were stunned at how crude emergency attendants were towards Curtis pushing at his foot, yelling for him to get up, knowing he lay there all day, seeing his darkened tongue and foam at his mouth. They took him away by ambulance, no sirens, the back of the ambulance dark.

** Family friendly event ** Everyone welcome to bring food .. clean or new baseball caps, socks, underwear, soaps, shirts.. anything you can think of.. that our people on the street need. If there are a lot of left over items, we can bring them to the First United Church or the DTES Women's Centre.

Kat

Salish Sea ceremony Thursday in Victoria

2010-07-15T01:05:00.001-07:00

Comment E-mail Print
Salish Sea to be inaugurated in ceremony on Vancouver Island
By Stephen Thomson

A First Nations leader from Vancouver Island is welcoming a plan to re-name a marine area that overlaps the B.C. and Washington State boundary as the Salish Sea.

“I’m really pleased to see the recognition and the opportunity to start moving towards a fuller discussion of the health of the Salish Sea,” said Cowichan Tribes Chief Lydia Hwitsum.

Provincial, state and federal authorities approved use of Salish Sea as an umbrella term to describe an area covering the Juan de Fuca Strait, Strait of Georgia, and Puget Sound.

In February, the B.C. government announced its endorsement of the new title during the throne speech.

“The Salish Sea will not change existing names but will serve to designate the body of inland salt waters stretching from Campbell River and Desolation Sound to the southern reaches of Puget Sound,” the speech reads.

Hwitsum plans to attend a ceremony tomorrow on the Victoria-area waterfront to officially introduce the new title.

Lt.-Gov. Steven Point, Minister of Aboriginal Relations and Reconciliation George Abbott and Coast Salish First Nations leaders from B.C. and Washington State are also expected to take part.

Hwitsum said she hopes the inter-jurisdictional co-operation shown during the naming process continues.

“I think that [co-operation] serves the additional purpose of having us talk about ecosystem-based management in a way that is based on the Salish people’s perspective,” she told the Straight today (July 14) by phone.

“The representation of the Salish people and recognition of the people and that sense of connection to our territory comes across strongly as well.”

Robert Morales, with the Hul’qumi’num Treaty Group, also welcomed the new name.

“I think it’s a positive step,” he told the Straight today by phone. “Certainly the issue of the recognition of the Coast Salish people’s presence in this territory is an important symbolic gesture on the part of government.”

“The issue of place names is something that I know our communities have worked very hard at in terms of trying to preserve those names,” said Morales, chief negotiator for the treaty group, which includes several First Nations on Vancouver Island.

HOUSE OF COMMONS ADVISES TO RENEW ABORIGINAL HEALING FOUNDATION FUNDING

2010-07-12T14:04:00.000-07:00

From: Ed Sadowski
Date: Fri, 18 Jun 2010 06:32:17 -0400
To: ShingwaukDG
Subject: Renew Aboriginal Healing Foundation: MPs Report

Renew Aboriginal Healing Foundation: MPs

http://www.cbc.ca/canada/north/story/2010/06/17/aboriginal-healing-commons-report.html
CBC - Thursday, June 17, 2010

The federal government should renew the Aboriginal Healing Foundation so it can keep supporting programs across Canada that help residential school survivors heal, according to a House of Commons committee.

In its report, released Thursday, the House of Commons standing committee on aboriginal affairs and northern development says the Aboriginal Healing Foundation should receive three more years of federal funding.

In turn, the committee said the foundation should continue supporting 134 community-based programs across Canada that provide counselling and healing services to those who have been affected by physical, emotional and sexual abuse from their Indian residential school experiences.
Funding ran out in March

"The committee supports the very real need to continue to provide the appropriate and meaningful supports to all those who have suffered, and continue to suffer, from the immeasurable harms of the residential schools system," the report states.

The Aboriginal Healing Foundation was established in 1998 with an original federal grant of $350 million and a mandate to run for just 10 years. It received additional allocations totalling about $50 million in the last two years.

But this year's federal budget did not allocate any more funds for the Ottawa-based non-profit foundation, and it expired at the end of March.

Since then, groups that were previously funded by the foundation have been scrambling to find other funding sources so they can keep their doors open.
Health Canada working out agreements

The government did commit $65.9 million over two years for Health Canada to administer mental health and emotional support services for former residential school students and their families.

The standing committee's report notes that while Health Canada has been trying to work out agreements with some of the groups that were funded by the Aboriginal Healing Foundation, some other groups may not be eligible for Health Canada funding.

"This may leave several communities without healing supports, at least for a time, with potentially serious and disruptive effects in communities and on those who had been actively participating in treatment," the report states.

The report calls on Health Canada to work closely with the Aboriginal Healing Foundation to ensure the federal Indian residential schools health support program's mandate includes the community-based healing programs that have been funded by the foundation.
Abuse reported at schools

More than 150,000 First Nations, Métis and Inuit children were placed in more than 130 residential schools across Canada from the late 1870s until the last school closed in 1996.

Many students were forbidden to speak their native language or practise their culture at the schools, most of which were run by churches. Many were also physically, sexually and psychologically abused.

The schools were government-funded and meant to prevent parents from being involved in the "intellectual, cultural and spiritual development of aboriginal children," according to the Truth and Reconciliation Commission, which is hearing from former students at a national event in Winnipeg this week. Six more events will be held in different regions of the country.

In its report, the standing committee noted that some aboriginal groups wanted the Aboriginal Healing Foundation to continue running until the Truth and Reconciliation Commission finished its work.

"We believe this would have been considerably less disruptive to affected communities at such a critical juncture in the reconciliation process," the report states.

Read more: http://www.cbc.ca/canada/north/story/2010/06/17/aboriginal-healing-commons-report.html#ixzz0rCPponzt

MORE Politics Re: Truth and Reconciliation Commssion as Director "Resigns" FOR TELLING THE TRUTH

2010-07-12T13:56:00.000-07:00

Further upheaval in senior ranks of residential schools inquiry prompts concerns
By Bill Curry

Ottawa — From Monday's Globe and Mail
12 July 2010

Canada’s Truth and Reconciliation Commission on Indian residential schools is in the midst of another shakeup of its senior ranks following the resignation of the director of research and the appointment of a new executive director.

The personnel moves come just weeks after the commission’s first national event in Winnipeg, which was largely viewed as a success for gathering former students, teachers and religious leaders together to share stories about the boarding schools that operated for decades before almost all were closed in the 1970s.

Already more than a year behind schedule due to the resignations of the original three commissioners who were then replaced in June 2009, the changes at the highest levels of the support staff are prompting concern of further delays to the commission’s herculean task.

A product of the 2007 multi-billion out-of-court settlement between former students and the federal government and churches that ran the schools as a joint venture, the commission has a five-year mandate.

But the commissioners are up against a deadline to produce a report by the end of its second year on “historic findings.” The problem is that the commission has yet to even get its hands on the church records because of continuing technical negotiations over what form these documents should be in when they are handed over.

The resignation of research director John Milloy, who had only been in the position for a few months, comes after he delivered a face-to-face apology to church leaders during a meeting in Winnipeg over ("controversial")?? remarks he made expressing his frustration over the pace of the document negotiations. The chair of the commission, Mr. Justice Murray Sinclair, sent a letter of apology to church representatives in April after Mr. Milloy’s comments were published.

Dr. Milloy, a Trent University professor and author of a history of residential schools called A National Crime, will continue to play a key role with the commission later this year as a special adviser on research to the commissioners.

“I’m sorry to hear he has resigned because I do believe that will stall things for a time,” said Cecile Fausak, the United Church’s liaison minister for residential schools.

In an interview, Dr. Milloy said his resignation had nothing to do with his remarks, which included a comment suggesting the Roman Catholic Church was afraid of lawsuits against living priests if diaries reveal details about “buggering boys in the basement and that sort of thing.”

Rather, he says the position involved far more administrative work than he had expected and that his preference was to leave that to someone else so that he could focus solely on research.

“It’s a bigger administrative job than everybody thought it would be,” he explained, adding that research projects have all been assigned to others so his move should not delay those plans.

In a statement, the commission said Paulette Regan, a senior program adviser with an academic background in residential schools research, will replace Mr. Milloy as interim director.

In another move, the commission’s executive director, Tom McMahon, has been replaced by Kim Murray, a lawyer and law professor from the Kanesatake First Nation of Oka.

Mr. McMahon will also stay on with the commission as general counsel, with a focus on establishing a National Research Centre on residential schools.

Ms. Murray is a graduate of Osgoode Hall Law School who won an award for her work advocating for the rights of aboriginal people who have been detained or incarcerated. She had recently joined the commission as special adviser of “statement gathering and regional liaisons.”

American Indian Movement Boycotting MTV, FRITO LAY, BURGET KING OVER 'DUDESONS' episode

2010-07-11T11:33:00.000-07:00

The American Indian Movement of Santa Barbara has started a boycott against MTV and its advertisers over an episode of the “Jackass”-style series in which four Finnish friends perform stunts as they assimilate to American culture.

In the episode, which aired in May, the Dudesons performed tasks to qualify as honorary Indians under the direction of Native American actor Saginaw Grant. The stunts included one Finn mounting a horse while wearing a feathered headdress and little else and one involving a totem pole falling painfully on a man’s crotch.

“There’s no other racial group that has to put up with this harassment. People may think it’s funny to do the fingers in front of the mouth and yell, ‘Whoo! Whoo! Whoo! Whoo!’ but that’s deliberate discrimination,” said AIM director Michael Fairbanks.

The group wrote to MTV in May asking it to scrub the episode from the network and online. Then AIM called for a boycott of MTV and “Dudesons” sponsors, including Frito-Lay, Burger King and Pepsi. The petition site has already gotten 1,000 signatures. Fairbanks is also threatening to file a federal suit alleging the show violates Native Americans’ civil rights.

MTV rep Jeannie Kedas responded to Fairbanks via e-mail on July 2, writing, “I am sorry that members of the American Indian Movement were offended by that one particular episode where the Dudesons were trying to master challenges to gain acceptance into the Native American culture.”

She continued, “While I understand your concern with the dress that the Dudesons wore, in no way did they or MTV intend to offend Native Americans.”

New and previous episodes of the series will continue to run on MTV2.

WHAT ELSE IS NEW? UNITED STATES SAYS 'NO' TO UN DECLARATION ON THE RIGHTS OF INDIGENOUS PEOPLE

2010-06-27T17:11:00.000-07:00

http://www.presstv.ir/detail.aspx?id=124290

The US, the self-proclaimed protector of human rights, has failed to vote in favor of the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples.

Speaking to the Islamic Republic News Agency (IRNA) at the UN, Kenneth Deer, the representative of US and Canada Mohawk Indians, said that Washington had refrained from recognizing the UN declaration on indigenous rights.

Deer described the conditions of the Indians living in the US and Canada as catastrophic, saying that they enjoy the minimum life requirements.

He reiterated that despite living in a wealthy country, the Canadian Indians challenge unemployment, poverty and lack of healthcare and shelter.

Deer, who was speaking to IRNA on the sidelines of the Ninth Session of the United Nations Permanent Forum on Indigenous Issues, added that now Canada is mulling to reconsider its vote on indigenous rights. But, he said, Washington has not moved to review its decision.

On Sept. 13, 2007 the UN General Assembly adopted the Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples to protect their lands and resources, and to maintain their unique cultures and traditions.

About 370 million indigenous people live in the world. The US, Canada, Australia and New Zealand that are home to the world's major indigenous population have so far rejected to vote in favor of the UN rights declaration.

http://www.presstv.ir/detail.aspx?id=124290

Message From Leonard Peltier

2010-06-27T02:20:00.000-07:00

Forwarded on behalf of the Leonard Peltier Defense Offense Committee

June 26, 2010

Greetings,
I want to first say thank you--thank you for taking the time and
making the commitment to come to this place--but thank you mostly
for remembering. Sometimes I sit in this cage and I find myself
wondering if anyone really remembers. Many days, remembering is
all my mind allows me to do. So, again, thank you. Thank you for
bearing witness and being a part of a living memory.

But maybe the most important thing I'd like to say is don't
forget. Not ever.

You must be the historians who keep this lesson alive because
this story isn't about one day, one event, one person, or even one
lifetime. This is a story that goes all the way back to the day a
misguided fool, whose name I won't even mention, led his troops in
an attack on innocent people at the Greasy Grass, and in the process
got himself and over two hundred of his troopers killed. And while
the victors on that day had no choice but to defend themselves,
we have been the victims of a genocidal revenge that continues
until this very moment. So don't forget. Not ever.

It is vengeance that preoccupies the mind of the colonizer. It
is this fervor to show us who is boss that led to the massacre
at Wounded Knee, the theft of the Black Hills, the establishment
of boarding schools, and the criminalization of our languages
and traditional ways. It is vengeance that armed the GOON squads,
killed our leaders, and surrounded our people at Wounded Knee again
in 1973. Revenge is why they today prosecute Indian people for the
crimes they know the government committed during their murderous
campaigns of the last generation. Vengeance is what killed Joe
Stuntz, Anna Mae Aquash, Buddy Lamont and so many others. Getting
even is what keeps me in prison. So don't forget. Not ever.

All of these events are bound together, interrelated and
interdependent. And quite clearly the lesson they intend for us
to learn is don't defend yourselves. Don't stand up for what is
right. Don't think for yourselves. Don't choose to be who you
are. Don't remember your ancestors. Don't live in defense of the
Earth. Don't you do it! Don't even think about it. If you do,
this government--this mindset of control--will unleash an attack
so vast it will even seek to destroy our genetic memories. So don't
forget. Not ever.

In days past, some among our people were induced to become
"scouts". For whatever reasons, these individuals made possible
the treacherous campaigns that resulted in the deaths of countless
innocent people. These days--sadly--there are still these types
amongst us. The government preys on the weaknesses of these people,
inducing them to turn against the rest of us. The government
uses this treachery to cover up state sanctioned murder and
terrorism. They do this and then tell us that what we remember
didn't really happen at all, as though memory or truth is something
to be shaped and molded to fit a preconceived outcome. So don't
forget. Not ever.

We gather today after decades and generations of blood and trauma. We
gather in defiance.

And we remember.

We remember not just one day or one event, because remembering what
occurred on June 25 or June 26--or any particular date--is important,
but not as important as an understanding of the ongoing campaign
of colonization. This is a continuing human drama of slaughter
and uncontrollable bloodlust and we're still here, engaged in
our running defense; praying for balance, peace and justice; and
trying to make some sense of it all. Perhaps, in the face of such
a menace, the most important thing we can do is remember. So teach
your children. Pass this knowledge. Don't forget. Not ever.

Remembering is resisting and, if we remember, then we'll be free
one day. Free of their mindset. Free of their theft. Free of their
guns and their bombs. Free of their cages. Free to be who we are.

And free of their fear. That's the truest freedom of all and true
freedom is what this is really all about, not the illusion of
freedom they offer us.

So don't forget. Not ever.

In the Spirit of Crazy Horse,
Leonard Peltier
---
See also
,
Leonard's message to the US Social Forum.

CUPE BC sponsors DTES festival for National Aboriginal Day | cupe.bc.ca

2010-06-17T00:55:00.000-07:00

CUPE BC sponsors DTES festival for National Aboriginal Day | cupe.bc.ca

CUPE BC sponsors DTES festival for National Aboriginal Day

VANCOUVER—A four-day celebration of aboriginal culture and communities in the Downtown Eastside—culminating in National Aboriginal Day on June 21—promises to be an empowering event for the Lower Mainland’s First Nations, Metis and Inuit peoples and an eye-opener for the non-native population, says a member of CUPE BC’s aboriginal working group.

CUPE 951 member Dale Whitford, co-organizer of the events at Oppenheimer Park (440 Powell Street), says the June 18-21 festival, partly sponsored by CUPE BC, will be especially poignant for aboriginal people as it is being organized entirely from within the community.

“There’s been a lot of interest,” he says. “For native people who will be there, it’s important for us to know who we are and who we have been, and this event is a way to remind us of that.”

The festival theme is “healing”, which should have powerful symbolic resonance in the Downtown Eastside.

“A lot of what is seen in that neighbourhood is the social difficulties,” says Whitford, “but this festival tells a far different story. It’s a story that resonates far more for aboriginal people than what’s shown in the media. It will show that the drum is important to us, that the elder is important to us, and that territory—land and resources—is important to us.”

Each day of the festival will feature a sunrise ceremony led by an elder, in recognition that the event is being held on Musqueam territory. There will be children’s activities, traditional storytelling, a pow wow, a neighbourhood smudge ceremony and a daily feast.

The cultural program on June 21st will feature traditional and contemporary performances from various artists including M’Girl, Arlette Alcock, the Indian Time Drum Group, Harmony of Nations and the Hobbema School of Rock.

Whitford says that holding the event in the Downtown Eastside—rather than a location that’s distant from aboriginal culture—sends a strong message of support.

“It’s a way for us in CUPE and for native groups to carry our message into the community—to bring it to the people in the heart of the community,” he explains. “M’Girl and Arlette were grateful to be invited, because the fact there’s a large aboriginal population where they’ll be performing was very appealing.”

More to the point, says Whitford, the way the festival was conceived guarantees that important cultural and traditional details will not be missed.

“There’s a certain way that the tee pee must go up and a sunrise event be held,” he says. “Because the festival is being planned and organized by people in the native community, non-natives who attend the event will gain a greater understanding of the history of different places where they live, and a deeper awareness and sense of perspective about how native people see the world around them.

The final day of the festival will coincide with other National Aboriginal Day events held throughout the country.

“It’s part of the wider recognition of the important place in the history of Canada that aboriginal people have had and continue to have,” says Whitford.

“This is a chance to bring this out into the open and, if just for a day, bring alive that whole other side that people don’t see. When I go into a meeting, people are very enthusiastic about what they can do to help. They want to know: ‘How can we bring something that is very real for us out into the community that shows we are far more than an under-represented image?’”

Whitford adds that he’s grateful to CUPE BC for sponsoring events like the festival, and for standing up for aboriginal rights in general.

NATIONAL ABORIGINAL DAY OPPENHEIMER PARK - JUNE 18-JUNE 21 2010

2010-06-15T00:51:00.000-07:00

Start Time: Friday, June 18, 2010 at 12:00pm
End Time: Monday, June 21, 2010 at 5:00pm
Location: Oppenheimer Park
Street: 400 Powell Street

Carnegie Center and the DTES Mark Celebrate Aboriginal Day with a Four Day Event!

Monday June 21 marks National Aboriginal Day! A day when First Nations, Metis and Inuit people, and organizations are busy organizing cultural and community events to celebrate with community members. June 21 was chosen as a significant date in time our people traditionally celebrated their culture, tradition and way of life as well the changing of seasons.

This celebration aims, not only, to share with society, the beauty of Indigenous art, music, oral history and traditional games but to insure that the Indigenous voice is heard.

The Oppenheimer Park festivities kicks off on Friday
• Friday 18, 2010 Storytelling by First Nations Journeys. 1:00-3:00 pm
• Saturday: DTES Smudge Ceremony~ 10:00 am-2:00 pm
• Sunday: Kids Day! JB Tha First Lady! Storytelling, Red Fox Entertainment, Face Painting, Pizza, Games. 12-4pm
• Monday June 21, 2010 is National Aboriginal Day! Canoe Arrival Ceremony, Performers. Special Honoring Song for all dads and grandfathers!

Monday National Aboriginal Day Schedule:
11am – Squamish Nation Elder Sam George – Opening Ceremony
11:15am - M'Girl
11:45am - Leanne Louie (CUPE BC)
12 noon – Metis Singer/Songwriter: Arlene Alcott
12:30pm – Singer/Songwriter: Dalannah Gail Bowen
1pm - Harmony of Nations
1:15pm - Open Mic
1:30pm - Hobbema School of Rock
2pm - Pow Wow Dancers and Singers
3pm – “Letting Go” Ceremony for those who have experienced loss, open to the public. Prayer led by Squamish elder Sam George.

DTES VANCOUVER
Although aboriginal people make up only four per cent of B.C.'s population, they comprise 10 per cent of Downtown Eastside residents. Because of the number of aboriginals living in the area, it is nicknamed by some the "Urban Rez."

They come from almost every nation in the country, pushed out of their hometowns or reserves by a lack of opportunity, abysmal living conditions and dysfunctional families. They come, drawn by the warmer weather, in pursuit of jobs, education, medical treatment, long-lost family members or a familiar face.

Many also struggle with social ills such as broken families, domestic abuse, alcohol and drug addiction -- consequences of colonization, Canada's destructive policy of residential schools and the general failure of modern political leaders in Canada, both native and non-native, to find a way to undo the damage.

National Aboriginal Day in Vancouver's Downtown Eastside gives people of all walks of life the opportunity to celebrate and share knowledge about the Aboriginal peoples’ values, customs, languages, and culture. “This event brings the celebration to them, as many for various reasons cannot leave their world, so we bring the world to them!”

Nowhere in Canada is there an aboriginal population as diverse as Vancouver's.

**These festivities are free and welcome all residents.

Together, Indigenous Action Movement, Downtown Eastside Neighbourhood House, Neighbourhood Helpers, Carnegie Community Centre Association, Hundreds of hours of Volunteer labour will be donated by community members

2010-05-18T13:08:00.000-07:00

Fighting for Lakes, Water & Rights

Panel presentation on defending Teztan Biny (Fish Lake) and the rights of communities.

Thursday, May 27th
Doors @ 6:30 pm, Panel @ 7:00 pm
The Maritime Labour Centre
1880 Triumph Ave, Vancouver

By donation, sliding scale from $5 to $20, no one turned away.

The panel:
- Chief Marilyn Baptiste, of the Xeni Gwet'in First Nation, on the struggle to defend Teztan Biny (Fish Lake) and the rights of Tsilhqot'in Nation and communities.

- Rex Weyler, cofounder of Greenpeace International and editor of the Greenpeace Chronicles, on challenging the fundamentalist logic of economic growth and consumerism.

- Maude Barlow, the National Chair of the Council of Canadians, on the fight to defend lakes across the country, the broader struggle for water justice around the world and the impact of new trade proposals on the rights of communities.

Vancouver-based Taseko Mines Ltd is proposing to drain Teztan Biny (Fish Lake) in order to stockpile ROCK waste and use Fish Creek and Little Fish Lake as tailings impoundment areas for a gold-copper mining project called Prosperity Mine. Teztan Biny is home to an estimated 85,000 rainbow trout. The Tsilhqot’in have lived in the area for thousands of years. They oppose the environmental destruction being proposed by Taseko Mines and were not consulted by the Province of British Columbia when it approved the project.

The Tsilhqot’in Nation filed a writ in B.C. Supreme Court claiming an Aboriginal right to fish in the area that they have never ceded to the Province. The claim, if successful, will prevent Taseko Mines Ltd. from developing its proposed Prosperity Project, 125 km southwest of Williams Lake. Additionally, the Canadian Environmental Assessment Agency's federal review panel that has traveled to communities throughout the territories was given a clear message that the Tsilhqot'in and their supporters in Williams Lake are saying no to the project. However, given that the voices of communities are often ignored in favor of business interests of the applicant we need your support to save Teztan Biny. The decision from the panel is expected before July 2nd.

Trade agreements and government policies continue to promote the rights of corporations over the rights of people and communites. The logic of allowing "economic growth" to cause ecological destruction needs to be challenged and the destruction of pristine fresh water lakes is simply another reason why. Water is a common resource. The rights of communities to protect water that they depend upon for their very basic needs and cultural traditions must be prioritized over the profits of a mining company.

Join us on May 27th and join the fight for lakes, water and community rights!

This event is being organized by the Surrey-White Rock, Vancouver-Burnaby and Delta-Richmond Chapters of the Council of Canadians.

For more information please call 604 688 8846 / email cathwi@telus.net or karinjohnson_@hotmail.com

rally

2010-05-07T16:39:00.001-07:00

ddd

VANCOUVER COASTAL HEALTH CLOSES HEALTH CONTACT CENTRE

2010-05-07T16:26:00.000-07:00

ome » News Release
Health authority closes DTES Health Contact Centre
3 May '10

The Vancouver Coastal Health Authority is closing a drop-in centre that has been used by residents of the Downtown Eastside for many years.

"The closure of the Contact Centre is a direct hit on the people who desperately need these services," said Brenda Brown, the chair of the BCGEU's health services component. "The closure of this facility alone, means over 100 people a day will be scattered about, looking for some stability in their lives."

"Make no mistake, this closure is dramatic and will hurt the very people who need these services," said Brown. "I am very concerned about what will happen with the many clients these services have dealt with."

The closure of the Health Contact Centre, which has been operating since early 2000, provides drop-in services for people who need washrooms, life skills advice and some nursing care. Eleven regular staff and 20 casual staff will lose their jobs today.

The BCGEU will be meeting with its members who have been impacted by the cuts to see what their employment alternatives might be.

PROSECUTORS MUST TESTIFY INTO FRANK'S DEATH

2010-04-08T09:08:00.000-07:00

This is truly a victory for justice.

Frank Paul's death was absolutely inhumane! The police, prosecutors & the flawed justice system further committed violations of Frank’s human rights by denying any wrong doing in his death.

Officers are human beings, and citizens of what’s now called Canada, and should not be absolved of commiting crimes against another human being. That’s an abuse of power. If the Supreme Court decided otherwise, then we would be living in a police state.

I wanted to share this with you to show that taking action & using our voices & standing beside the organizations such as the Union of BC Indian Chiefs, Metis Association of BC & David Dennis of the United Native Nations, lawyers Cameron Ward & Steve Kelliher & more.. does make a difference. It's not over yet, let's keep moving forward.

I raise my hands to the organizations, individuals, grassroots groups, Frank's sister, lawyers who all did their part to show their support in the fight for justice for Frank ♥ IT'S DEFINITELY NOT OVER BUT ANOTHER BATTLE WON

The Canadian Press
OTTAWA - Crown lawyers will have to testify at a public inquiry into the freezing death of a Vancouver man.

The Supreme Court of Canada has refused to hear their appeal of an order requiring them to explain why they decided repeatedly not to charge police in the death of Frank Paul. As usual, the justices gave no reasons for their decision.
... See More
Paul died in December 1998 after a police officer dumped him in an alley, soaking wet, after he'd been released from a drunk tank.

A decade later, retired judge William Davies, who is leading an inquiry into the death, ruled that Crown lawyers had to explain their repeated decisions not to lay charges.

The B.C. Criminal Justice Branch disagreed, saying the principle of prosecutorial independence gives Crown lawyers constitutional protection against having to justify their decisions.

Davies rejected that argument and the courts backed him.

The British Columbia Court of Appeal ruled last July that the prosecutors must be publicly accountable because the inquiry into Paul's death was specifically asked to look at the role of the Criminal Justice Branch.

First Nations groups in British Columbia fought for years for inquiry into Paul's death, saying the public has a right to know why two officers involved with him before he died were never charged.

Last spring, Davies released a highly critical report of the circumstances surrounding Paul's death, saying he was a victim of indifference and callousness who died cold and alone.

Davies also lashed out at the Vancouver Police Department, saying a botched investigation by police investigating themselves was part of a flawed system that failed Paul.

FIRST NATIONS WORK TOGETHER TO STOP ENBRIDGE PIPELINE

2010-03-24T18:44:00.000-07:00

http://www.vancouversun.com/business/First+nations+band+together+Enbridge+pipeline/2716959/story.html

First nations "band" together to say no to Enbridge pipeline

Fiona Anderson, Vancouver Sun, March 23, 2010
The day chosen was significant, the 21st anniversary of the Exxon Valdez running aground in Alaska, spilling 40 million litres of crude oil into Prince William Sound and causing widespread damage.

B.C. First Nations announced their opposition to a proposed crude oil pipeline that would run across British Columbia - in Vancouver, March 23, 2010. Art Sterritt, exeuctive director of the Coastal First Nations, shows the pipeline from Alberta through B.C. (in orange line) (Photograph by: Bill Keay, PNG)

The risk of an oil tanker running aground as it travels through the pristine waters within our traditional territories, is too great, said Art Sterritt, executive director of Coastal First Nations, an alliance of native bands along British Columbia s north and central coast, including the Haida.

If we had a tanker accident on the coast of British Columbia it would literally wipe [out] all of our cultures, all of our salmon, all of our groundfish, Sterritt said. We cannot let that happen.

A five-year study released earlier this week by Raincoast Conservation Foundation concluded that whales, wolves, bears and birds would be devastated by an oil spill in the area.

The Coastal First Nations met with Enbridge almost a year ago to tell them they were opposed to the project.

B.C. First Nations announced their opposition to a proposed oil pipeline that would run across British Columbia - in Vancouver, March 23, 2010. Map contains route (in orange) of proposed pipe line through B.C. (Photograph by: Bill Keay, PNG)

At that time they told us and they said this at their [annual general meeting] as well that if all of the communities within this geographic region didn t support the pipeline they would stop the project, Sterritt said.

So the group met with the communities in the area to determine who supported the project and who didn t. What they found was that all of the communities were opposed to the pipeline.

From Vancouver Island up to Haida Gwaii, through the Interior to the territories of the Gitanyow and the Carrier Sekani and down again to Lillooet, all those nations and first nations have expressed their opposition to the Enbridge project, Sterritt said.

B.C. First Nations announced their opposition to a proposed oil pipeline that would run across British Columbia. (Photograph by: Bill Keay, PNG)

We all believe the Enbridge gateway pipeline project is a threat to the very existence of our culture and our way of life, he said.

The announcement accompanied a full-page advertisement in a national newspaper listing those opposed to the pipeline, including first nations, environmental organizations, businesses and individuals including David Suzuki and Margaret Atwood.

The Union of BC Indian Chiefs, which represents about 40 per cent of aboriginals throughout the province, passed its own resolution on Tuesday unanimously opposing the project. A representative from the Athabasca Chipewyan First Nation in Alberta spoke out against the project, and other Alberta natives attended to show their support. So too did environmentalist Vicky Husband, who has received both the Order of British Columbia and the Order of Canada.

Husband called the coming together of so many groups a historic moment for Canada.

The extent of a simulated oil spill is marked in dark grey (Photograph by: Courtesy, Raincoast Conservation Foundation)

Canada's conservation community is unanimous in its opposition to the pipeline and to any tanker traffic on our coast, Husband said.

And why are we here to shift dirty tarsands oil to China or to India? she asked. So we can expand more tarsands, so we can export more climate change and destroy more of our Earth? We have to change our course now.

The group is hoping by banding together they will persuade the provincial government to stop the project.

But while Premier Gordon Campbell told reporters in Victoria that the project would be reviewed, he noted the number of jobs that would be created if the project went ahead. According to its website, Enbridge estimates that 4,000 people would be needed to build the pipeline.

Whales, wolves, bears and birds would be devastated by an oil spill in the waters north of Vancouver Island and off Haida Gwaii, says an extensive new study. (Photograph by: Chris Darimont, Raincoast.org)

There's literally hundreds and hundreds of jobs that will be available to first nations people across the northern part of our province, Campbell said. I think our job is to try and find ways we can to get first nations people engaged with paycheques, building the kind of economic future that they need in a way that meets all of our environmental standards, which are the most rigorous anywhere in the world.

Enbridge has not yet submitted an application for environmental approval of the pipeline, though it said it expected to do so in the coming weeks. It then hopes to start construction in 2012 and have the project complete by 2015 or 2016.

Enbridge refused an interview this close to the filing of its application. But it did say in an e-mail that it welcomes and encourages public input on the project.

fionaanderson@vancouversun.com

with files from Jonathan Fowlie

© Copyright (c) The Vancouver Sun

8000 Drums 2010 Grandview Park Vancouver

2010-03-17T01:08:00.001-07:00

3rd Annual
8,000 Drums Ceremony
March 21, 2010
To be held at Grandview Park

Start Time: Sunday, March 21 at 1:00pm
End Time: Sunday, March 21 at 3:00pm
Where: Grandview Park
1200 Commercial Drive, East Vancouver

An Indigenous gathering where 8000 drums around the world come together
on this same day to share prayer and honor songs, from different nations, praying
for our people’s social, physical, emotional, mental and spiritual health.

Everyone is welcome to bring their drum & share a song
for this family friendly event!

• Smudge Ceremony
• Salish welcome
• Blessing of new drums
• Honor Songs, prayer songs.

For more info: Kat Norris, (604) 682-3269 Extension: 7718
or email: csiaction@gmail.com

Smudge Ceremony for Elder Warrior Harriet Nahanee for last day of Olympics

2010-02-28T01:03:00.000-08:00

Smudge Ceremony for Harriet Nahanee for the last day of the Olympics
Main & Hastings 4:00 pm
Vancouver, B.C.
Contact: Kat Norris (604) 682-3269 Extension: 7718

An honoring ceremony for Pedachat elder, Harriet Nahanee will take place Sunday, February 28, 2010. Harriet passed away as a result of complications from pneumonia after being arrested and spending times ina cold cell at the Surrey Pre-trial Centre.

She had been sentenced to provincial jail for contempt of court for defending Eagleridge Bluffs against the expansion of the Sea-to-Sky highway, which was being prepped for the Olympics.

She died at St. Paul’s Hospital in Vancouver on Feb. 24th, one month after her sentence.

Solicitor-General John Les denied any government responsibility in her death and to date there is no scheduled inquiry into her untimely death.

Frybread, soup and coffee will be handed out to the people on the street in the area of the DTES after the ceremony.

WIKIPEDIA:

Harriet Nahanee (born 1935 – February 24, 2007) was an Indigenous rights activist, residential school alumnus, and environmental activist. She was born in British Columbia, Canada. She comes from the Pacheedaht who are part of the Nuu-chah-nulth, Indigenous peoples from the Vancouver Island. As a child, Nahanee attended both Ahousaht Residential School and Alberni Residential School, and would later testify about the horrible treatment she received there. She married into the Sḵwxwú7mesh (Squamish).

Harriet was sentenced to two weeks in a provincial jail in January 2007 for criminal contempt of court for her part in the Sea-to-Sky Highway expansion protest at Eagleridge Bluffs.[1] She was then hospitalized with pneumonia a week after her release from the jail, at which time doctors discovered she had lung cancer. She died of pneumonia and complications at St. Paul’s Hospital in Vancouver on February 24, one month after her original sentencing.[1][2]

Nahanee had been weak from the flu and asthma in January, and it was widely suspected that Nahanee's condition worsened during her incarceration at the Surrey Pre-Trial Centre.[1] An independent public inquiry into her passing was called for in the Legislative Assembly of British Columbia on March 5. Solicitor-General John Les said the provincial government expressed regret for the passing but denied any government responsibility and refused opposition requests for an inquiry.[3]

*Thank you to the Aboriginal Front Door who heeded our call for a place to do what we can do make and hand out frybread & whatever foods we can come up with or gets donated on such short notice

*If you have photos of Harriet please poster size it.. & any signs in honor of her will be aweome. One of her grandsons Stuart Gonzales will say a few words on her behalf.

INDIGENOUS ACTION MOVEMENT Coast Salish Territory: SUPPORT FOR YAO WEI WU BEATEN BY VPD

2010-01-25T14:56:00.000-08:00

http://www.facebook.com/inbox/?tid=1194440235341#/group.php?gid=443318420227&ref=mf

SUPPORT FOR YAO WEI WU BEATEN BY VPD

2010-01-25T14:47:00.000-08:00

Melanie Petridis:
This is so sad and apalling. Why do humans behave so badly? Do we not know or understand that a Much Greater Power is looking down on us and sooner than later we are going to be made accountable for all that has been done. Life is a circle - what goes around comes around - and that holds true for all people!

Leslie Nelson:
When we stand like this as one voice we can affect the global image our community has. Police can act as racists against a minority however, our voices will expose them. Thank you Kat for aiding to raise our collective consciousness. Shame on you VPD for not taking action against the criminal police just to protect and disguise your less than perfect image.

Mark Green
This seems like another example of BC Police forces operating under the policy of shoot first, taser first or beat first and then ask questions later. I remember past days when citizens looked upon police officers positively but, more and more, people are beginning to see them as the enemy.

Dion Schley
the police are ther own legal gang now adays....so much for to sever and protect the people instead its more like beat and kill the people at there own discession

Vikram Jaswal
I feel a mix of both anger and sadness about this tragic instance of police brutality. It seems like BC police forces have absolutely no respect for common people and their basic human rights.
All my sympathies are with you, Mr. Wu. Hope you get well soon and launch a lawsuit against these goons.

Peter Lin
you know I think those police who went to the door should be punished by the laws, apologizing just don't cut it
Yesterday at 9:12pm · Comment · LikeUnlike · View Feedback (1)Hide Feedback (1) ·

Kristen Reifer
WHY On G-D'S EARTH could anyone do this to anyone?????? I am so sorry for you!! BLESSINGS

Dion Schley
I think this is aweful absoulutely dissapointed with vpds actions....Who do they think they are not finding the identity of a perp they are looking for b4 they beat someone so innocent wht a joke! All the power to you Yao hope you get well soon and those of the vpd get wht they deserve..."punishment for themselves for ...Yao an innocent man that they decide to punish them selves" Cant wait for the olymipcs to start... cant wait to see how much more the vpd will make asses of themselves and our country never mind the province and vancouver itself......best wishes to you Yao on a quick recovery

Raven Wells
Mr. Yao, Sorry is not enough to say for the atrocities that you have suffered...Mistaken Identity is NOT an acceptable reason at any time. If VPD or any police department, there is enough technology to identify someone PRIOR to even attempting arrest etc. So again there is no excuse for any of this senselessness. I ...am deeply saddened by your treatment and would like to say to you that I wish you only great things and greatness in your days to come. Judge not all by the actions of a few that are ignorant. By the way, you should not have to sue at all, they (the city) should stand up accept responsibilty and right out pay you AND your family without QUESTION! Heal my friend and keep us all posted on your recovery and the actions taken by the police and city to make fair justice and restitution for their crime!

Warren Chow:
Some of the action displayed by the VPD disgusts me. As a 17 year-old, I second guess of growing up in a city where the police make horrible mistakes like this. What makes me sick to my stomach even more is the fact that the VPD lied about what happened to the media saying that Yao was resistant at first to save their ...own asses. Best wishes to you and your family Yao through these hard times. -Warren

Laurie Rogers
Thanks Kat .. you would know more than me, but it is a fair question ... how many incidents have happened since Chu has been in charge? He was in charge when the incident happened with Frank wasn't he? or am I mistaken? But I feel really strongly about my statement above, because we've seen this more and more in the last few years.

Iris Garay
Why
Oh Why would the police just pull someone out their home without asking
questions? IT does not matter if it is mistaken identity, why would the
just do that?? I hope he sues! Too much power on this cops!

Mark Green
Even if it WAS the person they were looking for they are not suppose to assault a suspect. Mistaken identity is not a legitimate excuse for their behavior.

Melanie Lecoy:
Yeah definitely these ppl overlook these police actions..brush it aside..their trained to do what properly..where are the humanrights..how are they different to ours as a society..the olympics and you cant speak english watch out.. Nothing adds up..how are they so much more easier..avoiding the courts..just bring it..t...hey gotta be accountable.....excuse their actions cuz their COPS...

My Residential School Hearing is Tomorrow & I Should Be Sleeping

2009-12-10T02:33:00.001-08:00

I should be sleeping right now.. I have an appt with my lawyer first thing at 8:30..

My residential school hearing is tomorrow and also on Friday.. two days! TWO DAYS? For my own emotional safety, I chose the Chief Simon Baker room at the Vancouver Aboriginal Friendship Centre.

So .. I'm going through the IAP the new one. & well.. not much to say right now.. I'm feeling somewhat numb & I'm trying not to feel yet afraid to be empty.

Right now. I just .. I just... look forward to my story or my reality being acknowledged. There are so many things.. so many.. things throughout my life that I feel like I screwed up.. Was I a good parent? Friend? I know I was a good employee but could never stay in one job.. even the School Board at $21 an hour plus benefits.. or Providence Health Care.. and the more my boss and coworkers supported me.. the more my heart couldn't take it but later realized how much I was loved & I am forever grateful.

I feel like the many things that happened TO me, throughout life.. being victmized.. reflect on ME even tho I know that's not true.

& so many decisions I've made throughout my life.. or so many things I didn't do because of my experience at that school.

That school is what made me feel ugly.. little brown ugly kid. My "horse" hair.. ugly.. even tho girls used to love to comb it.

It's my big day tomorrow.. and I do dread it.. and look forward to getting it over with it at the same time as looking forward to the BIG RELEASE.. I feel I deserve.. yet.. I feel like I might die, because this is the BIG ONE for me..

Will I let go? Will I be freed? Freed of the prison that holds my lilttle spirit.. that clamps down on true joy.. that blocks the light of the sun from my heart & my soul..

and who do I tell? I'm taught not to tell, yet with every breath .. every day.. I yell to the world that I AM OKAY.. despite the assumptions that I am not worthy of love or kind attention.. or fine treatment.. & this thought comes from the little demon evil child .. spawn of the unworthy culture..

I am one who, 'CAN'T DO ANYTHING RIGHT!!??" I am one who, "WILL NEVER AMOUNT TO ANYTHING!" who's only redeeming qualities were, "She can fight the good fight when she needs to do it," and "she can keep the beat! Watch her, she can really dance that kathy." So I was signed up for the Irish jigging troup, but it meant that Father Lopsinger would be the one taking us.. so I 'got sick' a lot.

Is this why I truly love to dance?? It can't be! Yet, it might be. Oh... dance! Dancing is such a gift.. But I say it it is mine! It belongs to my heart, MY body.. MY soul, to the spirit of that little brown ugly kid.

Dance is what freed me .. when I did it .. i was left alone.. and looked at longingly by other girls who shuffled about.. and the nun, sister leonita clapped along with the song.. & I danced so hard the priest when he came along.. all he could do was watch.. Then I would look back at her, making her smile..& knew she would keep me safe from him...as long as I kept dancing.. & even through the smile.. her eyes were a glassy blue.. piercing and stabbing.. her hands, long bony hands .. punching down on the other in time with the beat of the song...

I'll come out of it okay.. I know it. I have plans for the next steps..of healing.. & I will work it for the betterment of myself, my grown sons, my grandchildren.. & hopefully others will see a difference too! For life is so short isn't it? It's too short to hold onto 'stuff' like we like to do. I am thankful for who I am.. for experiencing hell & that I kept going, holding on to my grandfather's words and kindness.
I'm thankful to that school & those people.. for it forced me to look at ME and it spurned me on to fight the good fight.. & it made me want to enjoy dancing for ME.. and I will be dancing until.. I will dance forever... <3

Frank Paul Gathering December 6 2009

2009-11-09T23:29:00.000-08:00

Frank Paul Memorial Gathering
Sunday December 6, 2009 from 12:00pm - 2:00pm
Vancouver, British Columbia V6A 2T7 Get Directions
Updated: November 8, 2009

The justice system failed Frank Paul, a Mi'kmaq man living in Vancouver who died in an alley after not being treated like a human being by the police.

Here are some of the conclusions contained in the Interim Report of The Davies Commission.
- Sgt. Sanderson wrongly refused Frank Paul access to the Jail's sobering cell, and Cst. Instant wrongly left him exposed to the elements, when he was incapable of caring for himself and where there was obvious risk to his health and safety. Sgt. Sanderson's explanations for refusing Frank Paul admission to the Jail are wholly unpersuasive and I reject them in their entirety.
The arresting officers were correct to conclude that Mr. Paul was severely intoxicated and unable to care for himself, and they were acting within existing departmental policy in referring him to the sobering cell of the Jail.

Frank Paul's condition at the Jail without question justified his admission to the sobering cell, and also justified an immediate assessment as to whether he also required medical assistance. He made no resistance and offered no objection to people caring for him, and he did not in any way cause or contribute to being left exposed to the elements in an alleyway on a winter's night. He was not left in circumstances similar to those in which he lived on the street-he was arrested under the cover from the rain afforded by an awning on the street front where he was found, but was left exposed to the wet and the rain in the alleyway.
It is not the case that the risks to his health and safety were the same where he was left as they were in his daily existence.

- The Aboriginal community quite understandably became concerned about the actions of the police officers involved, and became suspicious of the adequacy of the investigation. However, in my view, some of that community's more grave concerns can now be laid to rest. Specifically, Frank Paul did not die in the police wagon-the witness Patrick Lewis saw Frank Paul alive at least two hours after Cst. Instant left him in the laneway. I am also satisfied that neither ethnic discrimination nor overt hostility motivated Frank Paul's arrest, and that his Aboriginal status was not a factor in Sgt. Sanderson treating him with callous indifference.

(Bob Kennedy)

FOR THIS MEMORIAL, We will meet outside the First United Church.. and walk down to the alley way where Frank was brought in & out of. You are invited to bring a bag or box of fruit, juices, sandwiches, warm clothing, sleeping bags etc to hand out...

CONTACT for info, posters, to help out: (604)682-3269 EXTENSION: 7718

Dance Workshop with Kat

2009-10-12T21:14:00.000-07:00

SO YOU THINK YOU CAN'T DANCE?

October 29, 2009
Vancouver Aboriginal Friendship Centre
1607 East Hastings at Commercial
7:-9:00

If you want to learn how to move on the dance floor..
If you find yourself sitting on the sidelines..
If you want to learn funkier moves

Come join me October 29 for a fun, low impact workout..

Everyone welcome.. adults only

Workshop by donation

more info: (604) 682-3269 Extension: 7718

ARTICLE IN THE COURIER: just before school starts for our First Nations students, we get MARK HASIUK

2009-09-07T17:34:00.000-07:00

Monday » September 7 » 2009

Proposed curriculum changes paper over aboriginal wound
New agreement recommendations ignore limits of public education

Mark Hasiuk
Vancouver Courier

Wednesday, September 02, 2009

More than 50,000 students will head back to Vancouver public schools next week, including roughly 2,000 aboriginal students.

The aboriginal problem in Vancouver schools has been well documented.

Year after year, aboriginal students lag far behind their non-aboriginal classmates in reading, writing, arithmetic and other subjects.

In 2007/08 (the earliest statistical school year) only 39 per cent of aboriginal Grade 12 students graduated from high school compared to 71 per cent of non-aboriginal Grade 12 students. Due to a high dropout rate, important courses such as Mathematics 12 and Biology 12 are virtually devoid of aboriginal students.

To address these troubling statistics, last June the Vancouver School Board--in cooperation with the B.C. Ministry of Education and local aboriginal leaders--ratified the Aboriginal Education Enhancement Agreement.

Due to wrangling among First Nations bands and school district officials, the 26-page document took four years to complete. It's light on specifics, but the message is abundantly clear: Vancouver classrooms are dangerously bereft of aboriginal history and content.

The Musqueam Band Council wants schools to "promote the use of Musqueam history and culture in developing school programs."

Métis Nation British Columbia wants teachers to "promote Métis culture and history in all learning."

The Urban Native Youth Association says the "inclusion of the true history and strengths of First Nations people must be reflected in the curriculum."

And the United Native Nations Society wants to "ensure that all youth both native and non-native have an education that is far more relevant to the history of this continent."

Vision Vancouver school board chair Patti Bacchus calls the agreement a "historic and incredibly significant document."

And if the aforementioned demands are met, she's right.

When pressed on the issue, Bacchus admits the agreement will eventually change the curriculum. General courses at all grade levels, such as history and social studies, will include more aboriginal content.

More aboriginal content, so the theory goes, will interest aboriginal students and improve their classroom performance.

Bacchus points to an impromptu meeting with a handful of aboriginal students last spring. The students, she says, complained about "being in an environment, and being in courses, where's there's no recognition of their history."

But a closer look at Vancouver schools reveals the special status already granted to aboriginal culture.

The school district employs an aboriginal curriculum consultant to help teachers address aboriginal issues in the classroom. Fully staffed aboriginal "resource rooms" operate in many schools.

Two courses--B.C. First Nations Studies 12 and English 12 First Peoples--are dedicated to the aboriginal experience.

The district offers First Nations leadership training and cultural awareness workshops, and aboriginal language and culture programs operate at Britannia secondary, Templeton secondary and Van Tech.

Compared to other ethnic groups and demographics, the aboriginal student population is richly served.

Even Bacchus acknowledges the existing emphasis on aboriginal content in the classroom, noting her family's experience in Vancouver schools. "My kids have had a fair amount of aboriginal history," she says. "So there's some, but in other courses there would be a complete absence."

Right.

This agreement, and its supporters, assumes that the Vancouver school system has failed aboriginal students.

Nonsense.

Aboriginals struggle in school because they come from broken homes and poor single-parent households. Their community is crippled by alcoholism, drug addiction, chronic poverty and despair. It's Canada's central and shamefully unresolved tragedy.

But no change to public school curriculum--at the expense of existing content--will change the root causes of aboriginal struggles in Vancouver schools.

Contrary to Bacchus's claim, the Aboriginal Education Enhancement Agreement is "significant" in name only.

It's a mere Band-Aid on a festering wound of our shared history.

It's fanatically politically correct--designed to make public educators feel better about a huge problem with no easy solutions. It ignores the limits of public education and places aboriginal culture on a pedestal, above the multitude of other cultures represented in Vancouver's student body.

It kowtows to familiar gripes that have nothing to do with the poor aboriginal Grade 4 student who can't read or write.

mhasiuk@vancourier.com

www.markhasiuk.com

http://www2.canada.com/vancouvercourier/contactus.html

COMMENT IN THE GEORGIA STRAIGHT (ONLINE)
http://www.straight.com/article-162285/best-reason-stop-reading
Best Reason To Stop Reading...

The Courier, that is. The biweekly CanWest throwaway recently bade farewell to its editor, its publisher, and a left-leaning editorial-page columnist. If you thought that might indicate a change in direction for the paper, its promotion of Mark Hasiuk to opinion columnist and Allen Garr fill-in should confirm that. But do we really need an extreme-right ranter to balance the Vancouver journalistic landscape? In his short time as an opinion writer, Hasiuk has had a go at feminists, pro-choicers, gays, immigrants, breast-feeding moms, the drug-addicted and mentally ill poor, harm reduction, environmentalists, anti-Olympics protesters, and the B.C. Human Rights Tribunal, and has compared both a child-and-family-services agency and antismoking advocates to Nazis. Just about the only group he hasn't gone after is bigoted, religious white males. Hmm.

BC DAY INDIGENOUS GATHERING - BEFORE COLONIZATION. PRAYERS FOR LEONARD PELTIER

2009-07-29T12:20:00.000-07:00

hey all! We organized an outdoor event calling attention to the BC Day holiday.. restating that the Indigenous people are the true owners of this territory, this continent. We had a potluck picnic which was awesome! Good food was brought by a few which actually went a long way and fed a lot of people, most importantly, those who spend much of their time in the park and surrounding areas. We also were able to provide food for a group of people from Montreal who were hiking through.

** A big part of this ceremony was to say prayers for the release and pardon of Leonard Peltier. Wayyy back after moving back from California, I became a part of the committee at 20 years old. I was there with everyone.. at the marches in Vancouver.. along the Burrard Street Bridge.. I made posters, helped write letters, made banners.. and sang..! I learned about women's roles.. duties.. and to follow the protocols..

We traveled throughout "BC" to spread the word or to listen to those with knowledge.. and our hearts were so SO big for justice for Leonard and we thought we could keep him here with our hearts. and then we were there when they took him away in the dark hours of the morning... waiting at the gate to say one last goodbye.. it was so cold and people..I can't even remember who they were.. brought hot steaming coffee and other snacks.. maybe frybread I can't remember.. oh and even McDonald's breakfast McMuffins.

Then we heard the helicopter engine on top of Okalla.. we all looked up and slowly it ascended and we knew they had leonard in there.. and we were just so shattered.. one final blow...we couldn't even let him hear our voices one more time before they took him away.. extradited..

During and after the fight to keep him here.. and after he was extradited, the movement lost many people, often mysteriously. I lost a man who adopted me as his daughter Rocky Duenas. He and Ramona especially helped me with a specific incident and I'll never forget them for that. He helped me to see that I was a strong woman, who could make her own decisions and not to be swayed or coerced into doing something I didn't want to do. I became my own woman after that and still am. I didn't want Rocky to leave as he was the only father I'd ever known who loved me unconditionally and listened to me.. and talking with me sharing his own thoughts about life. When he left I knew I'd miss him. Then we heard the rumors about an escape and that he was missing.. Many words flew around but I knew that he was only there to try to help Leonard. There wasn't anything I could do with my limited status as a 'supporter,' and not someone in the know about anything other than injustice was done to an American Indian Movement member.. one of my people.. and I would do my part to make some noise.

***and NOW? it's more than 30 years later and many of us have children born from that decade.. and I am now a grandma! and Leonard is still paying for the sins of the white man's justice system.. a justice system who is the bounty hunter for the government, the B.I.A. D.I.A. and for their multi-national business friends around the world.

and listening to Rocky still.. i have become the coordinator for the Indigenous Action Movement and we have made a difference here in 'canada.' we have done our part to ensure justice in the death of Frank Paul at the hands of the Vancouver City Police calling for an inquiry.. which finally did happen after a decade of making noise. We called for an inquiry into the death of young Kyle Tait and called for accountability. The family recieved justice in this case. We called for an end to media bias in the incident with Bruce Allen and CFOX - he was only suspended for two shows .. but the media blitz surrounding him and his racist bias made enough noise to ensure that this would not happen again without aforethought..

hychka Rocky.. hychka Leonard..hychka Frank Paul and Kyle Tait for your enduring spirits that keep us going..
****************

**we will do it again tomorrow Thursday.. just a peaceful gathering to have another potluck picnic, people will bring their spoken word, drums.. etc.. We will again have a circle and hopefully we'll be able to talk about the update for Leonard's parole hearing and talk about how we can help.

8,000 Drums Ceremony Vancouver 2009

2009-02-23T13:49:00.000-08:00

8000 Drums Ceremony Vancouver
Saturday March 21, 2009 from 2:00pm - 4:00pm
Victory Square
250 W Pender St.
Vancouver, British Columbia Get Directions
Saturday, March 21, 2009
2:00pm - 4:00pm
Victory Square, Vancouver
East Hastings and Cambie Street
Vancouver, BC
Email: powwowlistings@gmail.com

Description
** EVENTS ALSO IN - Kamloops, Oliver, BC; Kelowna; Prince George, Victoria, Toronto, Campbell River, T'slalah, Splatsin, Darcy, Winnipeg; Mikmaq Territory, Montreal, Cyprus, Texas. Main Event: Mayan Territory.

March 20 - 21, 2009
1254 Toms Creek Road, Linden, Tennessee
Zip - 37096/ Leon or Janet 931-593-2986 or email: redhearts@tds.net
_________________________________________________________________

♥ *** Organize in YOUR area! ♥

It doesn't take much.. just pick a spot to meet and invite people to bring their drums.. and after a prayer or a smudge:

1) Sing a prayer song, honor song for our people, our earth and environment, our children
2) or, if there's just a few of ya, each person can share a prayer and a song
3) or, on your own? Just say a prayer and then drum with a prayer in your heart
4) At pow wows, organizers can pick a time for all drums to come together.

You can use sweetgrass, sage, juniper, tobacco, cedar, water, incense, light a candle.. it's your choice♥
____________________________________________________________
Many of us will attend the smudge ceremony before heading over to set up for 8,000 Drums ♥
____________________________________________________________

We'll join indigenous nations around the world in calling for justice - for healing- you can also do one for your area there too! It's open to everyone... every organization.. every band/tribe/first nation, school, native housing complex, friendship centre, street, house, park, community centre, pow wow,
_________________________________________________________________

According to a sacred prophecy Otomi elders, the day when the sounds of 8,000 Sacred Drums join together is the beginning of the healing of Mother Earth.

It is time to unify ourselves to rediscover the seeds of the Four Directions - to reactivate cosmic energy, heal historical wounds. It's time to respect life, liberty and the dignity of Our Peoples.

The first ceremony was held March 21, 2004 in Temoaya, Mexico. Drum circles joined around the world on the Spring Equinox. This will continue each year until 2012.
___________________________________________________

**Confirmed Drummers to share songs thus far:
*Traditional Mothers and Grandmothers
*Noel Abraham
*Dan Wallace
___________________________________________________

** Thank you's to:
- Darryl and Linda Brass Midewin Elders.
- Bruce Robinson
- Ken Dennis
For conducting ceremonies last year here in Van.

18th Annual February 14 Women's March 2009

2009-02-17T11:55:00.000-08:00

the march was a blast and the biggest march ever!

2008 FRANK PAUL MEMORIAL.. JUSTICE HAS NOT BEEN SERVED

2008-11-26T17:59:00.000-08:00

"We haven't forgotten that justice has NOT been served," (Kat Norris, Coast Salish)

The Anniversary Date of the Death of Frank Paul is coming up on December 6, 2008.

Our people are in a state of emergency. The residential school affect is alive and well and our children are still paying for the sins of the government and the church.

Let's bring awareness to this reality that this never happen again.. that our people will continue with the healing that is at hand. It's time to make change.. it's time to help to create that change by being a part of the solution..

Frank Paul has brought us together, many times over the years. We are educating ourselves as to what we CAN do.. because we can, because we are learning to use our voice. More importantly, we are becoming an example to our people, our youth..and our future children and our grandchildren. We value ourselves as a nation of people. We say no more violence or killing our people on OUR HOME AND NATIVE LAND..

**FRANK PAUL WOULD HAVE BEEN 57 YEARS OLD**

****************************

Saturday December 6, 2008
Memorial Ceremony for Frank Paul
and others who have died while either in
police custody or were killed by police or RCMP.

Start Time and Location: 2:00 pm Oppenheimer Park.

STOPS:
-First United Church where Frank would sometimes sleep..
to lay down cedar boughs.

- The corner grocer where Frank was last picked up...

-Last stop: 312 Police Station: we will sing a prayer song for Frank and the spirits of all men who died while in police custody.. and for our youth and men of today that this never happen to them or anyone else.. and that the support for justice grows.

Kat Norris

http://www.firstnationsdrum.com/2008/january/frankpaul.html

http://www.turtleisland.org/discussion/viewtopic.php?p=9423#9423

FROM CAMERON WARDS WEBSITE:
Attorney General appeals ruling in Frank Paul case
July 23, 2008

The Criminal Justice Branch is appealing a ruling by the Supreme Court of British Columbia upholding the decision of the Commissioner of the Frank Paul Inquiry that found that prosecutors and former prosecutors do not enjoy immunity from explaining why no charges were laid in connection with the death of Frank Paul.

Mr. Paul, a 48 year old homeless Aboriginal man, died of hypothermia in December 1998 after a Vancouver police officer left him in an isolated commercial alleyway. No coroner's inquest was held, no charges were laid, and BC politicians refused to yield to public pressure to hold an inquiry into the matter until last year, when a public inquiry was finally initiated. Although the inquiry was mandated to consider the response of the Criminal Justice Branch to Mr. Paul's death, the Branch refused to deliver documents or make its prosecutors available for questioning. No date has been set for the appeal.

http://www.prisonjustice.ca/politics/in_memory_of.html

JURY DELIBERATIONS RE: KYLE TAIT

2008-09-17T10:48:00.000-07:00

Get officers off street, Tait jury urges
Constable fatally shot teen while under investigation

Mary Frances Hill
Vancouver Sun

Saturday, September 06, 2008
http://www.canada.com/vancouversun/news/westcoastnews/story.html?id=6ca8881b-e804-460a-a30b-7184b9fcd3c8

Officers under investigation for excessive use of force should be reassigned or suspended, the inquest jury into the death of Kyle Tait recommended Friday.

If such a measure had been in place, New Westminster Police Const. Todd Sweet would not have been on the street on the night of Aug. 23, 2005, when he shot and killed 16-year-old Tait.

Two months earlier, in June 2005, in a moment of anger and frustration, Sweet had kicked a prone, handcuffed suspect, Anthony White, in the head after a police pursuit.

After fellow officers filed an anonymous complaint, Sweet came under investigation but was not reassigned.

"The most significant recommendation the jury made was that when an officer is under investigation for assault causing bodily harm as Const. Sweet was, that officer should be immediately reassigned," said Cameron Ward, the Tait family's lawyer.

The jury said officers should be reassigned or suspended if they are being investigated for the use of lethal force, or for causing grievous bodily harm.

"The Tait family strongly feels that if that happened, if Const. Sweet had been reassigned, Kyle would be alive today," Ward said.

Sweet was convicted in February 2007 of assault causing bodily harm for the White incident.

The inquest jury also recommended all police officers should be required to attend stress- and anger-management workshops.

As well, the five-person jury -- two women and three men -- said all police officers in B.C. should get annual sight, hearing and physical exams, and that patrol cars should be equipped with dashboard cameras.

The jury ruled the incident a homicide, a designation that assigns no blame other than confirming a death was caused by human action or inaction.

"I was so relieved that the verdict came out like that," said Noel Tait, Kyle's mother.

For Sweet, the story is far from over.

Ward said there will be a civil suit. And the New Westminster Police Service has confirmed Sweet is under investigation under the Police Act. If he is found in violation of the act, he could be dismissed from the force.

The investigation will be overseen by police complaint commissioner Dirk Ryneveld.

Tait, 16, was shot and killed following a police pursuit through Burnaby and New Westminster. He was a front-seat passenger in a stolen SUV driven by Ian Campbell, then 18, when Campbell sped through a police roadblock at the Pattullo Bridge.

The pursuit ended on a quiet residential street in Burnaby, where Sweet blocked in the SUV with his police vehicle.

Sweet and police witnesses testified that Campbell began to ram the patrol car with the SUV, trapping Sweet's partner inside.

Sweet said he shot three times into the vehicle because he feared for his partner's life.

Two shots hit Campbell's hand and the third hit Tait, killing him within minutes.

Sweet's partner and the remaining three passengers in the SUV were not hurt.

Via video feed from Pacific Institution in Matsqui, Campbell testified he was not ramming Sweet's vehicle but trying to accelerate and reverse to dislodge the SUV from a tight spot between the police car and parked vehicles on the street.

mfhill@vancouversun.com

- - -

Online

See a photo gallery related to this story at vancouversun.com/galler

BEFORE COLONIZATION DAY AUGUST 4, 2008

2008-07-05T20:46:00.000-07:00

THE INDIGENOUS ACTION MOVEMENT is organizing an event for holiday Monday, August 4, 2008. 2:00-4:00 pm

You are cordially invited to a Before Colonization Educational event.. enjoy drumming, singing, speakers, frybread and refreshments.

It begins at 2:00 pm on the Georgia side of Stanley Park.. get off at the last bus stop before Lost Lagoon on Georgia.. we'll meet you there.

updates soon!

SEAFAIR POW WOW!

2008-06-30T19:17:00.000-07:00

23rd Annual Seafair Indian Days POW WOW!
July 18-19-20, 2008
Daybreak Star Indian Cultural Center
Discovery Park ~ Seattle, Washington

The United Indians of All Tribes Foundation holds this annual celebration on the beautiful grounds of Discovery Park, Seattle, Washington. The Pow Wow averages 400 - 600 dancers in full regalia, 25 drum groups, and 10,000 spectators which come to celebrate the richness of the Native American culture.

In addition to the dancers, more than 60 vendors showcasing a wide array of Native American arts and crafts which include jewelry, carvings, intricate beadwork, artwork, tapes, CD's, and T-shirts.

The Pow Wow includes:

TRADITIONAL SINGING
DANCE CONTESTS
DRUM CONTEST
ARTS AND CRAFTS
FOOD BOOTHS
SALMON BAKE and FRY BREAD
CROWNING OF 2008 SEAFAIR POW WOW PRINCESS

Hours:

Friday -- 4pm to 10pm (Grand Entry 7pm)
Saturday -- 10am to 10pm (Grand Entry 1pm + 7pm)
Sunday -- 10am to 10pm (Grand Entry 1pm)

Camping will be available as space allows. No fires or cooking stoves are permitted. Minimal showers, potable water and portapotties are on site. Tents and tipis are allowed, but bring your own tipi poles.

Download the Vendor Application AND Guidelines. For Vendor information, call 206-285-4425.
Volunteer at the Pow Wow by sending an email to volunteer (at) unitedindians (dot) org or call J.J. at 206-829-2220. Download a volunteer application.
For general information or questions, call (206) 285-4425 or email, Pow Wow Co-Chair, Pam Nason.
Click here for directions to Daybreak Star Cultural Center
To purchase advertising space in the Pow Wow program, click here.

NAISA 2008 CALL FOR SUBMISSIONS: RE:; RADIO ART, ELECTROACOUSTIC MUSIC.. ..

2008-06-30T19:12:00.000-07:00

From: New Adventures in Sound Art
Date: Fri, 27 Jun 2008 00:05:29 -0400
Subject: [ncra] NAISA 2008 Call for submissions

NAISA 2008 Call for Submissions on the theme
Ecology: Water, Air, Sound
Categories: Radio Art, Electroacoustic Music, Videomusic and
Installation Art
September 30, 2008 Deadline
www.naisa.ca

New Adventures in Sound Art invites artists of all ages and
nationalities to submit works on the theme Ecology: Water, Air, Sound
for consideration in 2009 future programming for the annual Deep
Wireless, Sound Travels, and SOUNDplay festivals, produced by New
Adventures in Sound Art in Toronto, Canada. Artists may submit works
in one or all of the following four categories: 1) Radio Art, 2)
Electroacoustic Music, 3) Videomusic and 4) Installation Art (Note:
please send separate submission forms for each entry).

Individual interpretations or variations on the theme are encouraged:
Ecology: Water, Air, Sound, but should be realized with sound as the
primary component.

All submitted works must respond in some way to the theme Ecology:
Water, Air, Sound in order to be considered for 2008 NAISA programming.

1) Radio Art (for Deep Wireless)

The Radio Art category is for works conceived for radio or that use
radio and other wireless technology in their creation and that play
with the medium. Works submitted to this category must be less than
60 minutes in duration. Special consideration will be given to 1
minute radio art pieces for broadcast as well as 1 page proposals for
collaboration on translocal broadcast performances.

Pieces will be selected for broadcast within Canada and on several
international radio stations in May 2008 as part of the Deep Wireless
festival of radio and transmission art.

Both Canadian and International radio art submissions will be
considered for inclusion in the following:

-The Deep Wireless 6 radio art compilation CD
-The Radio Art Interventions (1 minute pieces played guerilla-style
on radio stations during the Deep Wireless festival)
-The Radio Art Salon - a listening gallery of radio art works
exhibited for the month of May.

A small number of Canadian artists will be chosen from the
submissions to be part of the Deep Wireless/CBC's Outfront
Commissioning Programme in 2009.

2) Electroacoustic Music (for Sound Travels)

The Electroacoustic Music category is for multi-channel and stereo
works less than 20 minutes in duration and conceived for concert
performance or presentation in the Sound Travels festival of sound
art on Toronto Island. Preferred formats for performance presentation
include 5.1, octaphonic and 12 channel formats in both acousmatic
(tape), live and mixed formats. Please indicate in the notes the
intended format of presentation and any required instrumentation or
specialized equipment.

3) Videomusic (for SOUNDplay)

The Videomusic category is for works that explores non-narrative
abstraction with equal emphasis on sound and image. Submitted works
will be considered for video screenings with either stereo or multi-
channel playback. Submitted works will be considered for screenings
in either a performance venue or a small-size gallery alongside other
works selected from this call for submissions.

4) Installation Art (for Deep Wireless, Sound Travels or SOUNDplay)

Installation proposals of previously realized works for site-specific
and gallery installations with no fixed duration will be considered
for presentation as part of Deep Wireless, Sound Travels or
SOUNDplay. Site-specific works can be for indoor or outdoor
locations. Works can use multichannel or single channel playback and
may incorporate any number of media, but must feature original sound
as a primary element. Please attach a list of the necessary equipment
required to mount the installation and which of these items can be
supplied by the artist. Submissions should include audio, video or
audio-video documentation of previously realized versions of the work.

Submission Guidelines

Please submit a completed application form (in digital format if
possible) along with the proposed works on CD or DVD.

For multichannel works, please include a stereo reduction for
reference purposes only. For video works, please include a DVD copy
for reference only. Screening masters will be requested later if the
work is to be programmed. For installation works, please attach a
list of required equipment with indications of equipment that can be
supplied by the artist.

Materials not submitted with a self-addressed stamped envelope will
remain in the archives of New Adventures in Sound Art and will not be
returned. Please don't send original copies.

Submissions must be postmarked no later than September 30, 2008 and
mailed to: New Adventures in Sound Art, 103 Beaconsfield Ave., main
floor, Toronto, ON M6J 3J3.

Submission Entry Form (attach extra pages if needed)

1) Name of creator/s: ______________________________________

2) Address of creator/s: _____________________________________

City, Province, Postal Code: _________________________________

3) Phone number of creator/s: (____) __________________________

4) E-mail of creator/s: ___________________________________

5) Category of Submission (check one only per work): _____ Radio Art
______ Electroacoustic Sound art ______ Videomusic _____ Installation
Art.

6) Title of piece: _______________________________________________

7) Duration: _____ minutes ______ seconds

8) Names of other artists or contributors:
_____________________________________________________

_____________________________________________________

9) Year of completion: ______

10) Relevance of the work to the theme Ecology: Water, Air, Sound:
_____________________________________________________________

_____________________________________________________________

11) Equipment used to create the piece:

_____________________________________________________________

_____________________________________________________________

_____________________________________________________________

12) Do you fully own the copyright to your piece: _____ yes ______ no

13) If not please give us any additional personnel or organizations
that we should contact in order to get permission to broadcast or
publish the work on CD:

_____________________________________________________________

_____________________________________________________________

_____________________________________________________________

14) Programme note for the piece (50 words):

_____________________________________________________________

_____________________________________________________________

_____________________________________________________________

_____________________________________________________________

_____________________________________________________________

15) Biography of the artist (50 words):

_____________________________________________________________

_____________________________________________________________

_____________________________________________________________

_____________________________________________________________

_____________________________________________________________

16) Format that you are mailing: _____ CD ______ DVD

17) Should you be chosen as one of the artists to participate in the
Deep Wireless Commissioning Programme, you will be asked to create a
new piece for radio broadcast and performance. Are you available to
participate between the months of January and March 2009? _____ Yes
______ No

18) Although this is an international call for submissions, the Deep
Wireless/CBC's Outfront Commissioning programme is restricted to
Canadians or Landed immigrants. Are you a Canadian or Landed
Immigrant?_____ Yes ______ No

19) New Adventures in Sound Art produces a bi-weekly community radio
show called Deep Wireless on CKLN-FM. Would you like your submitted
audio work(s) to be broadcast on this or other programs on CKLN-FM?
_____ Yes ______ No

Submissions must be postmarked no later than September 30, 2009 and
mailed to:

New Adventures in Sound Art, 103 Beaconsfield Ave, Toronto, ON M6J 3J3

Contact: Nadene Theriault-Copeland or Kate Miller at 416-516-7413, or
naisa@naisa.ca .

Nadene Thériault-Copeland
Managing Director
New Adventures in Sound Art

http://www.naisa.ca

STOP CONCORD PACIFIC "DISCOVERY" OF THE DTES!

2008-06-30T19:08:00.000-07:00

This a critical moment and this action requires your support -

"A-wake": A Procession to
STOP CONCORD PACIFIC'S "DISCOVERY" OF THE DTES

<><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><>
Saturday July 5th
Meet at 2 pm
Pigeon Park (Hastings and Carrall)
EVERYONE WELCOME! COME OUT!
<><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><>

58 West Hastings is the site of a new condominium development by Concord
Pacific. They are “discovering and developing” the DTES just like
colonizers. New luxury condos will replace low-income housing and more
poor people will be displaced and homeless.

There are over 1500 market housing units planned for the DTES in the
years leading upto the 2010 Olympics, while around 1000 units of
low-income housing have been lost in the DTES due to closures, rent
increases, and slow conversions including for tourist use. According to
the City’s own reports, market housing is currently being built at a rate
of 3 units to every 1 unit of social housing in the DTES.

We demand no displacement, no evictions, and a moratorium on condo
development. Condo construction means community destruction.

Organized by an ad-hoc group of DTES residents along with Carnegie
Community Action Project, Vancour Area Network of Drug Users, DTES Women
Center Power of Women Project, Streams of Justice, Pivot Legal Society,
DTES Neighbourhood House, Citywide Housing Coalition, and others.

For information contact us at CCAP through wpedersen@look.ca or call DEWC
at 778 885 0040. Visit http://www.streamsofjustice.org for updates.

* BACKGROUND ON THE RECENT CAMPAIGN AGAINST CONCORD PACIFIC *

- Concord Pacific project in Downtown Eastside takes a beating
http://communities.canada.com/vancouversun/blogs/citystates/archive/2008/06/24/concord-pacific-project-in-downtown-eastside-takes-a-beating.aspx

- Professor of Urban Studies speech at Concord Development Permit
Hearing
http://ccapvancouver.wordpress.com/2008/06/25/dpb-hearing-for-58-west-hastings-elvins-speech/

- Downtown condo plan draws opposition
http://www.ctvbc.ctv.ca/servlet/an/local/CTVNews/20080624/

BC's forgotten Sinixt Nation reoccupies its homeland. A tale of tenacity and joyous rebirth.

2008-06-30T19:06:00.000-07:00

BC's forgotten Sinixt Nation reoccupies its homeland. A tale of tenacity and joyous rebirth.
TheTyee.ca - http://thetyee.ca/News/2008/06/30/BackFromExtinction/?utm_source=mondayheadlines&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=300608#

By Rex Weyler
Published: June 30, 2008

Bob Campbell clutches his granddaughter at a public thanksgiving feast near Vallican, B.C., and asks: "Do I look extinct?"

Campbell is a headman of B.C.'s allegedly exterminated Aboriginal nation, the Sinixt, known as the "Mother Tribe," from the upper Columbia River, the region we now call the West Kootenays. The original name of both the land and people, Sinixt, means "place of the bull trout."

"I was born in a concentration camp," Campbell says. "Miners had hunted us down like animals, settlers destroyed our villages, loggers shoved us off our land, and dams decimated the salmon. Our ancestors were sent to an armed fort at Colville, now in the state of Washington. We were trapped south of the border, not allowed to return. In 1956, the government of Canada declared us extinct, but look: I'm not dead yet, and we're back."

Mother nation

Sinixt villages once lined the banks of the Kootenay, Slocan and Columbia rivers. Hunti ng parties camped along creeks descending from the Monashee and Selkirk mountains. The people enjoyed a bounty of caribou, sturgeon, salmon, and the once-plentiful bull trout. Each summer, Sinixt families travelled 100 kms south along the Columbia River in white pine bark canoes to their fishing camp at Ilthkoyape -- Kettle Falls, Washington -- where they gathered red sockeye in dip net baskets with the Skoyelpi, their southern neighbours. A designated "salmon chief" shared the catch among villages throughout the region.

"The Sinixt were the mother tribe of the Pacific Northwest Salish," says Sharon Montgomery at the Kakusp and District Museum. Their language parallels the Okanagan, Sushwap, Skoyelpi (Colville), and Spokane dialects. "As the mother nation," says Bob Campbell, "we often settled disputes among the bands."

Before his death in 1934, Sinixt headman James Bernard described their abundant homeland: "We had camas, huckleberries, bitter root.... When I walked out under the stars, the air was filled with the perfume of wild flowers. In those days, the Indians were happy."

Those days took a dramatic turn in the spring of 1811, when surveyor David Thompson, mapping the region for the North West Company fur traders, arrived at the central Sinixt village, kp'itl'els, at the confluence of the Kootenay and Columbia rivers, north of modern Castlegar. "You white men," Bernard says, "you came here... on a little piece of bark, with a few sticks tied together. You found us that day in plenty; you had nothi ng. You did not bring your wealth with you." Settlers and prospectors swarmed up the Columbia seeking pelts and minerals.

Dispossessed

"The first disruption of our people," says Bob Campbell, "came from disease. The early smallpox epidemics may have been accidental, but then Hudson Bay traders brought diseased blankets and our people died from typhoid and tuberculosis. Pure and simple, it was genocide. The trading companies paid a bounty for indigenous people's scalps and genitals."

After prospectors discovered gold in the Columbia in 1855, some 10,000 miners pushed north into British Columbia and clashed with native communities in the Fraser and Columbia basins. Miners burned villages and hunted "hostile" natives. In a typical case, miner Sam Hill shot and killed Sinixt villager Cultus Jim at Galena in 1894. A local court acquitted Hill on grounds of self-defence.

Ore smelters required wood for fuel and construction, and sawmills flourished along the rivers. The large mill at Edgewood cleared the forests on both sides of Lower Arrow Lake and then moved south to the Sinixt heartland near Castlegar, denuding the forest there. The revered white pines disappeared from the landscape.

At the turn of the century, Sinixt siblings Alex and Marianne Christian fought for a homeland in their village of kp'itl'els, but a royal commission denied their claim, and in 1911 Marianne was found naked and dead in a snow bank. Alex claimed she had been raped and murdered, but a town coroner concluded she had died from "exposure." Alex's grandson, Lawney Reyes, an artist in Seattle, wrote a history of his family, White Grizzly Bear's Legacy: Learning to be Indian.

Most of the surviving Sinixt fled south to Kettle Falls, but were confined to the armed camp at Fort Colville. After a Canada/U.S. boundary survey established the 49th parallel border, the U.S. forced the Sinixt into the artificial "Colville Confederated Tribes" camp. Thereafter, they were trapped in the U.S. and not allowed to return to Canada.

In 1902, B.C. identified 20 surviving Sinixt as status Indians and allotted them a desolate rocky bluff at Oatscott at the north end of Lower Arrow Lake, far from the centre of their homeland. Since the Sinixt seasonally migrated along the river, they rarely visited the inhospitable allotment. In 1956, the last survivor on the government roll passed away. When researchers found no one at the reserve site, the government declared the Sinixt nation "extinct."

In that same year, 1956, Canada began an engineering study to establish sites for hydroelectric dams on the Columbia.

Monument to prosperity

As the mining communities and smelters on both sides of the border depleted local timber, they required a new power source: electricity. "James Dawson surveyed the Sinixt homeland in 1884 for the government of Canada," says Marilyn James, a Sinixt Aboriginal advisor at Selkirk College. "Not for treaty purposes, but because they saw something valuable, the Columbia River, a hydrological resource20they wanted to possess."

Likewise, the U.S. surveyed the lower Columbia, and in 1936, the Bonneville Dam east of Portland inundated 35 Aboriginal fishing sites. The dam installed a fish ladder that was "successful enough," according to Oral Bullard in Crisis on the Columbia, "to lull the public into a sense of security."

Further up the river, the massive Grand Coulee Dam, completed in 1941, made no such concession to appearances. The dam flooded 250 kms of the Columbia, destroyed the Kettle Falls fishing site, inundated 20,000 hectares of forest and Aboriginal homeland, permanently blocked salmon migration, and eliminated 2,000 kms of spawning grounds. Thereafter, salmon disappeared in the upper Columbia basin.

The massive dam powered aluminum smelters and a plutonium production reactor at Hanford, Washington, critical to the nuclear bombs that destroyed Hiroshima and Nagasaki. After the war, in 1947, the U.S. Bureau of Reclamation called the Grand Coulee Dam "a monument to prosperity" created from "a barren wasteland."

In B.C., 15 dams were built in the Sinixt homeland. In 1954, Kaiser Aluminum proposed a dam on Arrow Lake. The Keenlayside dam flooded 140 Sinixt archaeological sites. The Cominco smelter at Trail built a dam on the Kootenay River near the ancient Sinixt village of kp'itl'els. The zinc and lead smelter has since dumped over 13 million tonnes of toxic slag, including mercury, into the Columbia River.

In 1968, B.C. Hydro commissioned a totem pole in Edgewood, beside the f looded Arrow Lake, to commemorate the "extinct race," the Sinixt. "Two problems with that," explains headman Bob Campbell. "One, the Sinixt never made totem poles, and two, we're not extinct."

Baby Agnice

In 1987, highway construction at Vallican in the Slocan Valley uncovered artifacts, graves and Sinixt pit houses. The government made no attempt to contact Sinixt descendants, but sent the skeletal remains to museums.

In 1989, elder Eva Adolph Orr -- one of the last surviving Sinixt born in freedom but trapped in the U.S. -- asked her son Bob Campbell and others to return and protect their sacred burial sites. Eva Orr slipped back into Canada and supervised the repatriation and reburial of 61 skeletal remains near Vallican on the Slocan River. The Sinixt employ a unique burial ritual, with the deceased sitting upright, facing the rising sun, that distinguishes their gravesites and confirms their claim on the land.

"It is our responsibility," says Marilyn James, "because we are the descendants of those people. It is our responsibility to bring our ancestors home, rebury them, and protect their resting places. The Sinixt are the only nation in B.C. declared extinct, even though in 1995, Minister of Indian Affairs Ron Irwin admitted this was only a designation 'for the purpose of the Indian Act. It does not mean that the Sinixt ceased to exist.' Well, if we did not cease to exist, we're not extinct."

Orr and the grandmothers selected Robert Watt as caretaker of the ancient Vallican village, but Canada deemed Watt a "foreign national" and deported him. In 1991, he launched a legal claim for the right to enter and remain in Canada, based on his Aboriginal right to live in his territory as described in Section 35 of the Canadian Constitution. His lawyer David Aaron explains that Watt, Campbell and other Sinixt "are not considered Status Indians under the Canadian Indian Act, since they are not descendents of the 20 people recorded by the government on the [1902 Oatscott] reserve. But even so, they possess Aboriginal rights, including cross-border rights."

A British Columbia court upheld the immigration decision, but a federal appeal court reversed the decision. However, the court claimed it did not have enough information to make a decision regarding his rights, and remitted the case back to Canada Immigration, who rescinded the previous order and then relaunched the process by deporting Watts again. Watts has appealed his second deportation and charged the Crown with bad faith conduct for putting him through the circular loop. Aaron believes Watt can win his case and "this will open the door for the Sinixt to reclaim their Aboriginal land rights."

Meanwhile, the Sinixt are making an Aboriginal title claim to occupy their homeland and be consulted prior any environmental disturbance. In 2000, white protestors and other bands joined the Sinixt as they blocked a Slocan Forest Products road and clear-cutting operation along Trozzo Creek.

Birth and renewal

Every autumn20now for 20 years, the Sinixt have hosted a public feast on their territory. During the 2005 thanksgiving banquet, Bob Campbell's daughter Lola gave birth to Agnice Sophia Campbell -- Eva Orr's great-granddaughter -- on Sinixt land.

"This is the first Sinixt baby to be born in our territory in almost 100 years," Campbell explains. "This is big. Agnice has a Canadian birth certificate. After all the destruction, the land still survives. The Sinixt people still survive. Even the devastated bull trout survives in its last stronghold on the Slocan River."

"Indian status," says Campbell, "is a statutory scheme of the Indian Act, which has been repeatedly found unconstitutional. These discriminatory laws are not what determine Aboriginal rights. We -- our lives, our history, our people, our children -- we determine our Aboriginal rights. I wasn't an Elder when the decision was made to bring our people out of co-called 'extinction,' but now I am the Elder. When I'm gone my daughters will continue on and when they are gone their children will continue on. The Sinixt are back."

Related Tyee stories:

* 'We Weren't Supposed to Survive'
Seeking reconciliation with BC's First Nations. First in a series.

* In Search of an Aboriginal Future
Author Marie Wadden on suicides, solutions, Harper's apology and more.

* No Place for the Word 'Squaw'
To change=2 0BC's racist place names, start here

-----------------------------------------
Have a Wonderful Day, Vern Bolton

When the Governments and Churches tortured and forced you to live in pain, and shame for twenty years, these same people expect you to pick a career and be successful in time, but, how can you get people to accept the living pain within, as you are always living in torture and pain, and shame, that you can not function, as you are living in fear and no one believes the scars within, never believing you are still living the torture and pain and shame.

From the torture and pain we have learned to cover the years of torture and pain with Not knowing or understanding the facts of torture and pain, we live with guilt and shame Never realizing we live in guilt and shame from the years of torture and pain We now have learned to cover the torture and pain with guilt and shame

From the torture and p ain we live in guilt and shame
Never looking nor understanding that we cover the past
Torture and pain with guilt and shame
Never seeing we live life with unknown desires
From the torture and pain
We cover our guilt and shame with untold desires from the torture and pain.

Boycott Israeli Apartheid

2008-06-30T19:05:00.000-07:00

boycottapartheid@gmail.com" to biac.announcem.
show details Jun 29 (20 hours ago)

JNF FUNDRAISER DISRUPTED BY LOCAL PALESTINE SOLIDARITY ACTIVISTS

On Sunday June 14th, the Jewish National Fund held their annual fundraising
banquet in Vancouver at the Four Seasons Hotel. The JNF is one of the primary
organizations responsible for the historic and ongoing colonization of
Palestinian lands for the development of Jewish-only settlement. This has
resulted in the displacement of hundreds of thousands of Palestinians, and
contributed to the apartheid system in Israel. Despite its racist history and
policies, the JNF is granted status as a charity in Canada, enabling it to
raise millions of dollars through tax-deductible donations, including annual
fundraising dinners held across Canada.

At this year's 'Negev Dinner', two local activists succeeded in entering the
Park Ballroom of the Four Seasons Hotel where the event was held, disrupting
the sold-out dinner by passing out information on the role of the JNF in
Israeli apartheid and images from Israeli incursions into the Gaza Strip. Soon
after hotel security was alerted, three security personnel acting on behalf of
the Jewish Federation of Vancouver grabbed a woman who had proceeded into the
centre of the event, placing leaflets on the dinner plates of guests throughout
the ballroom. Security personnel forcibly restrained her and tore the leaflets
from her hands, as a fourth person who was later identified as Jewish
Federation security approached and proceeded to yank on a fist-full of her
hair. While attempting to defend herself, she was removed from the hall and
soon arrested by hotel security. After being handcuffed and escorted to the
hotel lobby, she was notified that the Vancouver Police were on their way as
she was going to be charged with assault.

The other activist, who had not yet been identified by security, remained
close-by to monitor and document the situation while attempting to avoid a more
brutal targeting as a Palestinian man.

While awaiting the arrival of police, the woman who had been arrested at this
point managed to wrestle out of one of the handcuffs and escape from the hotel.
She was chased down across the street by security from both Four Seasons and
the Jewish Federation of Vancouver, who rearrested her and brutally dragged her
back to the hotel.

Upon arrival, the Vancouver Police notified her that she was being charged with
assault, and began collecting testimony from the woman who had allegedly been
assaulted, as well as from all other security personnel involved. Numerous
threats were made by one of the VPD officers, who stated that she was being
charged with "hate crimes" for distributing materials "targeting the Jewish
community", and that he would ensure that she "would never set foot on an
airplane again".

After police completed their initial investigation, she was ultimately released
without charge based on the assurance that she would not return to the JNF
event.

Despite the swift response of security, the action succeeded in disrupting the
$100/plate dinner that had brought together many of Vancouver's most
influential Zionist supporters, reminding them of the growing movement in
support of the continued resistance of the Palestinian people to Israeli
occupation and apartheid. The JNF will continue to be challenged for their role
as a central institution of Israeli apartheid, and their ability to fundraise
internationally for the expropriation of Palestinians land under the guise of
"charity".

For more information, contact the Boycott Israeli Apartheid Campaign at
boycottapartheid@gmail.com

ANTI CHRISTOPHER COLUMBUS EDUCATIONAL RALLY JUNE 6, 2008

2008-06-04T18:59:00.000-07:00

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Anti-Columbus Rally- Britannia Shipyard 5180 Westwater Drive Richmond 5:30 pm

Contact: Kat Norris (604) 682-3269 Extension: 7718
Indigenous Action Movement

Today’s Date: June 3, 2008
CELEBRATING THE LEGACY OF CHRISTOPHER COLUMBUS IS CELEBRATING THE ON-GOING CAMPAIGN OF GENOCIDE AGAINST INDIGENOUS PEOPLE
The Indigenous Action Movement and supporters will hand out educational pamphlets at the Britannia Shipyards in Richmond where the replica of the Christopher Columbus ship the Nina is docked until June 15, 2008.
The Indigenous Viewpoint:
Honoring Christopher Columbus is like honoring Hitler in terms of his utter disregard for the human rights and dignity of a people because of their race, namely the Indigenous people of Haiti, Hispaniola in the Caribbean, people of South Africa. His exploits lead to the forced colonization and genocide of the original inhabitants of the Americas. The Columbus influenced "indian removal policy" was used to force our people away from their lands, using war tactics such as starvation, biological warfare, burning down of villages and savagery such as murder, rape, mutilation, despite the fact that European leaders acknowledged that our natural rights were to have been respected.
It is said that Columbus saved Indigenous people from having to survive the wilderness and lives of war, yet the lives of our people were no different than the early ancestors of land all across the hemisphere. We survived off the earth and our land and its resources remained intact and unharmed. Technology and modern advances have only destroyed this earth and OUR country.
Our reality as Indigenous people in respect to our survival and struggle for justice for the past 500 years is cause for commemoration. We have survived premeditated genocide, colonization, murder, rape and pillaging. We have suffered deliberate loss of our resources, language, roles, of the right to represent our people. The advent of the imposed reservation system caused our men the loss of the right to feed and provide for our own people.
In occupied Canada, in British Columbia, the celebration of the past 150 years of imperialism, calls for a transformation of thought as the First Nations people demand the true history to be acknowledged at all levels, in government, education, within society. Occupied British Columbia is committed to a New Relationship and states that the Treaty Process is founded upon respect, reconciliation and recognition of Aboriginal title while providing promises through these treaties which threatens to do exactly the opposite as we will lose our lands, titles and rights.
New school texts need not perpetuate the ideologies of racist colonialist thought that glorifies a man whose exploits included the onset of the atrocities of the slave trade, slave labor, sexually related disease, and the decimation of indigenous people.
Loewen, in his book, “Lies My Teacher Told Me,” http://www.uvm.edu/~jloewen/ calls Columbus a racist, murderer, “ who forced Native people into slavery as laborers, scouts, sex slaves and dog food for his men.
The Indigenous Action Movement and supporters will will hand out educational fact sheets.
“As Indigenous people we reject the historical misconceptions that exalt a slave trader, a murderer who is not worthy of exaltation. It's time society wakes up to our reality and not buy into the doctored spin that allowed such a legacy that gave birth to the death of millions of Indigenous people." Kat Norris, Indigenous Action Movement

Promo For Tourists Re: Replica Nina
http://vancouver.kijiji.ca/c-events-Step-Onboard-the-Nina-W0QQAdIdZ50506707

What Children Learn About Columbus:
http://events.askacop.org/columbusday.html

2004 http://www.survival-international.org/news/144

RALLY AGAINST COLUMBUS SHIPS DOCKING IN RICHMOND, B.C.

2008-06-02T14:32:00.000-07:00

It's important to represesent our people from this land, at this flagrant lack of respect in terms of celebrating 500 then 150 years imperialism, colonization and genocide of our people, the levels of ethnocentricsm. The Columbus influenced "indian removal policy" was used to force our people away from their lands.. the 'Trail of Tears'.. effectively clearing our peoples from their lands for whites, using war tactics such as starvation, biological warfare, burning down of villages and savagery such as murder, rape, mutilation.
In 1493, slavery policies and extermination of 5 million other Indigenous people of the Caribbean. Within three years, five million died cruel deaths.

from COLUMBUS LOG:

"They ... brought us parrots and balls of cotton and spears and many other things, which they exchanged for the glass beads and hawks' bells. They willingly traded everything they owned... . They were well-built, with good bodies and handsome features.... They do not bear arms, and do not know them, for I showed them a sword, they took it by the edge and cut themselves out of ignorance. They have no iron. Their spears are made of cane... . They would make fine servants.... With fifty men we could subjugate them all and make them do whatever we want. "

ARRIVING IN THE INDIES:

"As soon as I arrived in the Indies, on the first Island which I found, I took some of the natives by force in order that they might learn and might give me information of whatever there is in these parts" (GOLD)

Definitely, we will gather the people together on the first day-Friday, June 6, 2008 at 5:30 pm for a peaceful but definite demonstration- a reminder that we haven't forgotten
kat norris

indigenous action movement
ttp://vancouver.kijiji.ca/c-events-Step-Onboard-the-Nina- http://www.iearn.org/hgp/aeti/aeti-1997/native-americans.html

FRANK PAUL INQUIRY RALLY APRIL 2ND 12 NOON

2008-03-30T16:54:00.000-07:00

Wednesday, April 2, 2008

Federal Court Building 701 West Georgia

701 West Georgia Street Vancouver
Vancouver, British Columbia V5L 1W5

The Frank Paul Inquiry resumes April 2nd 2008 with lawyer Dana Urban's testimony.

Please attend the hearing to show your support for Frank's cousin Peggy Clement who is flying in from Micmaq territory to support the testimony of Mr. Urban.

The Indigenous Action Movement is organizing a support rally and smudge ceremony to begin at 12:30 pm but you are invited to attend the hearing as well.

Hearing Information

NEW Location:
Courtroom #701 - 701 West Georgia Street
Vancouver, B.C. (VIEW MAP)

HEARING TIMES:

The following schedule is subject to change:
Morning: 9:30AM - 12:30PM
Afternoon: 2:00PM - 4:00PM

Duration:
The hearings of the Frank Paul Inquiry are expected to last until May, 2008.

For more information contact the I.A.M. at (604) 682-3269, Extension: 7718. You can email Kat at csiaction@gmail.com

FOR Media contact:
Trevor Pancoust
(604) 646-3567

Homepage
http://www.indigenousaction.com

CORONERS INQUEST INTO THE DEATH OF KYLE TAIT

2008-03-04T19:41:00.000-08:00

Message from June Clearsky who has been helping the family "Kat, we were hoping that you would do what you do and gather the people. Noel needs a good network of people there!"

***From Noel Tait- Kyle's Mom***

WHY NOEL NEEDS YOUR SUPPORT

"My son Kyle was gunned down and shot at almost point blank range by a “sharp shooter” named Todd Sweet in the early morning of August 23, 2005.
Kyle Tait, of the Gitxsan Nation was in a stolen car yes, but he made one last wrong choice in his life and will never get to redeem himself in society. Gone is a man who had potential to become a good upstanding citizen of this country and his nation. He was on his way to living a good life and had plans of graduating from high school, he had some good plans and took one last wrong choice. So, here I am the only voice Kyle my son, has left. He will never get to tell others about the bad choices that he made.

So, I am appealing to all you to come forward and to stand with me. I need your support, help me be the voice for someone who longer has a voice.

Come on all you people who have children, all you people who have had people missing, all you people who have had someone pass into the spirit world at the hands of the police.

Let us show them who we are and how we stand together, this is not right.

In the name of my son who has no voice, Kyle Tait, please come and stand beside me as this inquiry goes on, I need my own people at my side at this time! "

R.I.P. KYLE
December 14, 1988 – August 23, 2005

Sincerely,
Noel Tait

with help from June Clearsky and
supported by the INDIGENOUS ACTION MOVEMENT Coast Salish Territory
http://www.facebook.com/event.php?eid=22318935709

CORONERS INQUEST TIME AND PLACE
Date: Monday, March 10, 2008
Time: 9:00am - 4:00pm
Location: Metro Tower Ii- Coroners Courtroom
Street: 20th floor - 4720 Kingsway
City/Town: Burnaby, BC

you can check out www.indigenousaction.com for updates or call 24 hr line: (604) 682-3269, Extension: 7718

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
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8000 Drums Vancouver 10:00 am March 21 2008

2008-02-29T19:03:00.000-08:00

8,000 DRUMS GATHERING VANCOUVER
10:00 AM March 21, 2008
VANCOUVER PUBLIC LIBRARY
350 West Georgia Street

Inviting all Indigenous groups and supporters to join us for a fun and fulfilling morning to let go of our work our activism for a few hours to join indigenous nations around the world.. to come together as one in a healing event. For your information: 1) http://mkane.gnn.tv/blogs/12960/Ruby_Gibson_and_the_8_000_Sacred_Drum_Ceremony 2) http://www.indigenousuniversity.org/sacred_drums.htm 3) http://www.facebook.com/event.php?eid=10777502124 Excerpt: "According to a Sacred Prophecy by Otomi Elder Sages, the day when the sounds of 8,000 Sacred Drums join together is the beginning of the healing of Mother Earth.

It is time to unify ourselves to rediscover the seeds of the Four Directions - to reactivate cosmic energy, heal historical wounds. It's time to respect life, liberty and the dignity of Our Peoples.

The first great ceremony was held March 21, 2004 in Temoaya, Mexico. Drum circles joined around the world on the Spring Equinox. This will continue each year until 2012.

Sacred Principles:

Seal and heal the wounded vertices of Mother Earth.
Identify and activate the Indigenous energy centers at sacred places, this is our duty.
Plant and strengthen consciousness of love and respect for our Mother Earth. This is everyone's work.

The Indigenous ancestral recommendation to create and practice our cullture of Peace and Life is fundamental.

Recognition of the use of the energy and healing are the properties of our sacred instruments." International Indigenous University

Groups, organizations, individuals who would like to join in this event, please reply to csiaction@gmail.com Bring your drums! 10:00 am PST (12:00 Central.)

VANCOUVER ART GALLERY

350 West Georgia Street

Begins with prayers and smudge ceremony.

Event info/speakers tba

Over The Edge
Ruby Gibson and the 8,000 Sacred Drum Ceremony
B12960 /
Mon, 13 Feb 2006 21:15:34/

Environment
This is the story of how I discovered the 8,000 Sacred Drum Ceremony through Ruby Gibson and Dabadi Thaayrohyadi. It also includes an excerpt from Ruby Gibson’s upcoming book, Khonmadi, The Heartbeat of Mother Earth, that details her path on a personal spiritual journey destined to have a profound impact on humanity. – MK
***

I first learned of the 8,000 Sacred Drum Ceremony in July of last year while engineering a sound healing conference at a church near the Sirius Eco-Village in Shutesbury, Massachusetts, hosted by the New England Sound Healing Research Institute (NESHRI.org). While there I had the privilege of meeting Dabadi Thaayrohyadi, Spiritual Chief and Guardian of the Otomi wisdom and founder of the IIU, and author Ruby Gibson, Thaayrohyadi’s travel companion. They are the main organizers for the 8,000 Sacred Drum Ceremony.

At the conference there were multiple workshops incorporating sound and ceremony for both physical and spiritual healing. Workshops led by Thaayrohyadi and Gibson were phenomenal experiences for all involved. I was lucky to participate in one of them where fifty people joined hands and danced around a sweltering hot church with no air conditioning. The women chanted in unison and the men responded back. Thaayrohyadi and Gibson pounded drums that seemed to summon the sweat from our pours. When the ceremony was completed we sat in a circle and described what the experience was like for each of us as Thaayrohyadi paid close attention.

Finding Truth Within

Ruby Gibson met Dabadi Thaayrohyadi at The Gathering: An Alliance of Elders, Healers and Wisdomkeepers in Big Bear, California, in September of 2004. In an article titled Original Wisdom, which will be published in her upcoming book Khonmadi, The Heartbeat of Mother Earth, Gibson describes her experience of meeting Thaayrohyadi and other indigenous spiritual leaders. She also describes her discovery of an ancient word that has spiritual significance to indigenous cultures throughout the world.

A Sacred Mayan Prophecy states that, “A time will come when the Eagle of the North shall meet with the Condor of the South. At this time, all the tribes will join together and form a Gathering of Elders. In these Gatherings the Elders will share their traditions and medicines with each other. When the elders have gathered, they will disburse to share this ancient knowledge and wisdom with all of humanity.”
Standing there in Big Bear, CA that afternoon, dry pine needles crunching under my sandals, a faint breeze easing the heat of the sun, staring into the many faces of destiny, I knew that this prophecy had come to pass.
Recognizing my place within the greater plan, I had prepared a mock up of the concept of my book for the presenter in order to familiarize them with my ideas. Seated in the dining hall later that afternoon with a group of elders, I excitedly shared my concept for the book, appropriately entitled Khonmadi: The Heartbeat of Mother Earth.
One man in particular took interest. Thaayrohyadi, the Great Dabadi or Spiritual Chief and Guardian of the Otomi wisdom from Temoaya, Mexico, immediately corrected the spelling of the word Khonmadi. He told me, “The word is spelled Jamadi (pronounced Khamadi) in my language. It is a word of my ancestors, the Atlantean/Lemurian people, which means Cosmic Mother.”
Staring at him in disbelief, I asked with great respect, “You know this word? You use this word?
His eyes shined astutely as he replied in broken English that was saturated with his accent, “It is the word we use in our prayers as you would use the words Amen, Namaste, O’Mitakuye Oyas’in, or All my Relations. Sometimes we gather in caves and pray to our sacred Earth Mother in this way.”
Without thinking, I jumped out of my chair and threw my arms around him, hugging him like a long-lost friend. I was simply astounded. Jitterbugs circled round my head and butterflies filled my belly. Something akin to Deja Vu was happening, as a deep memory began to awaken in me.
Our deepest and first memory is of the heartbeat, the sacred pulse of life that reverberates through us all. When we are pregnant, the child is carried under our heart. The maternal heart is the source of her children’s life. The heartbeat of our mother earth is the basic rhythm of the universe, the lifeblood that feeds us and that bonds us. Whether four legged or two legged, swimmer, flyer or crawler, we all have the mystic dance of life going on inside our bodies.
The heartbeat creates the fundamental tempo for music, poetry, song and dance. So vital was the idea of the heartbeat in Oriental religions that the very center of the universe was placed “within the heart” by Tantric sages. The sages said, “Sound (nada) represents the State of Power. It is experienced by the yogi when he plunges into himself. It is made manifest in the heartbeat. And since the microcosm is finally identical with the macrocosm, when the yogi hears this Sound of Power, he is listening to the heartbeat of the absolute.”
I began to share my dream with a few of the elders that were present there and we all laughed at the synchronicity of life. Kajangu Kykosa, a wisdom teacher and poet from the Bashi people, and a professor at Southwestern University in Austin, Texas, was very interested in the vision and encouraged me to share it with all the elders. My dream was beginning to breathe, and for a moment I had the most profound feeling that I belonged. Not simply as an inhabitant of the earth, but to a larger collective weave of spiritual family that I had yearned for my entire life. Instantly I knew who I was, not as ego, but as the piece of the cosmic puzzle that I represented.
The following day, as I was speaking with the interpreter for the Bushmen of the Kalahari from Africa, the puzzle became even more astonishing. I learned that the clan name for this particular group of Bushmen was the #Khomani clan (# representing the clicking sound in their tongue that precedes the word). Khomani San literally translated in their language means “Born with vision”, and the interpreter explained that they chant this word in caves to bring vision to their people.
Wow! Grace enveloped me as I stared in awe at these humble people who, making their inaugural visit to the US, came across continents with the gentle ways of their spirit and the rumbling, thick blood of their ancestors, preserving the instinctive memories and traditional stories that led us to this day. What grand choreographer coordinated this moment that allowed us to meet so unexpectedly on common ground? I bent to the grass and kissed the earth; I reached to the sky and proclaimed my gratitude. My dream was not only breathing now, but was hollering and stretching as a newborn that feels the first fire of life in its lungs.
…
Again I shared my dream and the brilliant smiles of the Bushmen came alive. The translator explained that the Elder of the group told her, “that having Khomani in my dream represented my ancestors coming to tell me that I will bridge together many traditions. Being led in a dream in this way makes the vision strong.”
This process of elucidation continued on for many days. I sat in utter reverence as I interviewed and shared my dream. I learned that I had stumbled upon a word – or a sound – that had cross cultural meaning and symbology. Shared by many indigenous tribes around the world (who otherwise had no documented contact when the sound originated in their native tongues), this word seemed to serve as a link to a memory that binds us as one. Chanting this cosmic sound, just as in my dream, serves a higher purpose of accessing original wisdom. – Ruby Gibson

GUATEMAL'S NEW PRESIDENT TO OPEN ARMY FILES PROBING WAR CRIMES

2008-02-28T14:27:00.000-08:00

Guatemala to open army files to probe war crimes Mon Feb 25, 8:51 PM ET

Guatemala's new President Alvaro Colom said on Monday he will open army files for the first time to make public details of massacres and torture by soldiers during the country's 36-year civil war.

"We are going to make all of the army's archives public so we can know the truth, to start building on a foundation of truth and justice," said Colom, who beat a right-wing former general to take office in January.

Almost a quarter of a million people were killed or disappeared during the 1960-1996 conflict between leftist guerrillas and the government. Over 80 percent of the murders were committed by the army, according to a United Nations-backed truth commission.

The commission, which compiled thousands of interviews with victims after the 1996 peace accords, named no officials, in part because the army files were not open to the public.

Colom's uncle, Manuel Colom Argueta, a leftist politician with presidential ambitions, was killed by the army in 1979 in a well-coordinated ambush.

Rights groups say the new army files will help solve war crimes when matched with information in the police archive discovered in June 2005, as police collaborated with the army.

Colom said all the information from the military will be turned over to the human rights ombudsman, also in charge of cleaning and categorizing the thousands of police documents left molding in an old warehouse behind a dump for rusted cars.

The massive paper trail gives hope to family members who are looking for answers about their long-disappeared relatives.

Eighty-year-old Emilia Garcia hopes the army files will contain clues about her son Fernando Garcia, a union leader shot by police in 1984, taken to a military hospital and never heard from again.

"We have been waiting 24 years for the state to give us some answers. All I want is to find my son's remains, he is not a lost dog," she said.

(Reporting by Herbert Hernandez and Brendan Kolbay, editing by Philip Barbara

INDIGENOUS PEOPLE FIGHT FOR THEIR LAND (GUATEMALA)

2008-02-28T13:33:00.000-08:00

Police officers held hostage in Guatemala

Frustrated Indigenous people took 30 government agents hostage, threatens to kill them to bring to light the illegal take over of their land by government and global entities.

Indigenous people demand detained farm leader be released, takes officers to remote village.

Indigenous people took 30 police officers hostage in Guatemala and threatened to kill them unless authorities release a farm leader who was detained last week

The people surrounded the police station, disarmed the agents and transported them by boat to their village in Maya Creek.

The people demand that the government free Ramiro Choc, who was arrested on charges of so-called illegal land invasion, robbery and illegally holding people against their will by means of taking over land misappropriated by government and held ransom by means of turning them into nature reserves.

N.O.I.I. INVITES YOU! THE STRUGGLES AGAINST RACISM ARE NOT OVER

2008-02-28T13:21:00.000-08:00

STRUGGLES AGAINST RACISM ARE NOT OVER!

*** March 1st: An evening of film, speakers, spoken word, and more ***

Award winning film CONTINUOUS JOURNEY; opening talk by critically acclaimed writer and activist LEE MARACLE; spoken word and poetry from inspiring community members SADHU BINNING, RITA WONG, and RAUL GATICA...

A leadup event to the Community March on March 21, International Day for the Elimination of Racism

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SATURDAY MARCH 1
FOOD SERVED @ 4:30 PM
Multipurpose Room (2nd floor), Bonsor Community Centre
6550 Bonsor Avenue (1 block east of Metrotown Skytrain Station)

Pay what you can. Wheel chair accessible. Childcare provided on-site, please call 604-220-0451 to confirm. Bus tickets available.
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* To mark the 100 YEAR ANNIVERSARY of the racist and exclusionary Continuous Journey Rule passed in 1908 we are screening the highly acclaimed and award-winning film “Continuous Journey”.

The Kamagata Maru entered the port of Vancouver in 1914. On board were 376 immigrants, who for two months, lived like prisoners, threatened by famine and disease as the ship was refused permission to land with scores of people, media, and government calling for “White Canada Forever.” The incident marks a dark chapter in Canada’s immigration history and contributed to the growing anti-colonial sentiment in India. The film, which required eight years of research, is solidly documented, packed with archival material, and resonates powerfully with contemporary events.

* Talk by LEE MARACLE: Lee is of Salish and Cree ancestry, and a member of the Stó:lô Nation. She is a gifted orator and the author of critically acclaimed "Ravensong", "I am Woman", "Bobbi Lee-Indian Rebel", "Daughters are Forever" and the poetry collection "Bentbox". She has been an active member of the Red Power Movement and Liberation Support Movement and her writings reflect her efforts against racism, sexism, and white cultural and colonial domination.

* Poetry by SADHU BINNING (Punjabi, English). Sadhu is at the forefront of Punjabi/English diasporic writing with dozens of poetry collections, books of fiction, and plays. He edited a literary monthly Watno Dur; co-edited a quarterly Watan; and is a a founding member of Vancouver Sath, a theatre collective. Nearly all his poems reflect on the legacy of the Komagatamaru and other struggles of Indian immigrants agaist racism and labour exploitation such as the farmworkers in BC.

* Poetry by RITA WONG. Rita is the author of monkeypuzzle and forage. Her poems have appeared in anthologies such as Ribsauce: a CD/Anthology of Words by Women, The Common Sky: Canadian Writers Against the War, and Shift and Switch: New Canadian Poetry, and more. Her work investigates the intersections between decolonization, social justice, gender, racialization, labour, migration, and contemporary poetics. She was a founding member of Direct Action Against Refugee Exploitation (DARE).

* Poetry by RAUL GATICA (Spanish, English). Raul is a member in exile of the Consejo Indigena Popular de Oaxaca Ricardo Flores Magon (CIPO-RFM), an indigenous community organization in Oaxaca, Mexico. His struggles embody those of indigenous self-determination, against neoliberalism affecting people of the Global South, and of a refugee to North America.

CONTACT noii-van@resist.ca or call 778 885 0040 .

The International Indigenous University Presents The Ceremony of 8,000 Sacred Drums

2008-02-28T13:13:00.001-08:00

8,000 DRUMS on March 21 at noon / central time.
Hi. I was contacted by my friend Gilles Novaks who is a Montagnais Indian from Montreal. He is a Medicine Man and a Healer. He asked me to get as many Tribal people to participate in a worldwide ceremony called
the "8,000 Drums". He was contacted by two Huron Clan Grandmothers from Canada and they asked him to help spread the word to all Indians everywhere. It will take place on March 21, 2008 at 12:00 noon MEXICO TIME!! /central time.
All you need to do is play a drum either alone, or with a group or have the whole Tribe participate. The purpose is to fulfill the OTOMI PROPHECY. The Otomi's are Mayan Olmec and Toltec descendants. The
drums will be played so that the Creator will hear us and grant our wishes as we pray for help in the Healing Process of our Mother Earth. ...
[P]eople are destroying Her and our Mother Earth needs our prayers. Thank you.
Ewo-wox-co-dah-wa.

The International Indigenous University
presents
The Ceremony of 8,000 Sacred Drums
March 21, 2006
Otomi Ceremonial Center
Temoaya, Mexico
According to a Sacred Prophecy revealed at the Otomi Ceremonial Center by the Otomi Elder Sages as a Vision of our Venerable Ancestors, the day when the sounds of 8,000 Sacred Drums join together will be the beginning of the healing of Mother Earth, of all the species and the human family in order to be able to live together on the road to Sacred Peace.
It is time to unify ourselves and rediscover all the seeds of the Four
Directions in order to reactivate cosmic energy, heal historical wounds and heal Mother Earth by respecting life, liberty and the dignity of our Peoples. The first great ceremony was held March 21, 2004 in Temoaya, Mexico and there will be drum circles joined around the world on the Spring Equinox continuing every year until 2012.
Sacred Principles:
· Sealing and healing the wounded vertices of Mother Earth is urgent.
· Identifying and activating the Indigenous energy centers at sacred places is our duty.
· Planting and strengthening consciousness of love and respect for our Mother Earth is everyone's work.
· The Indigenous ancestral recommendation to create and practice the Grand Culture of Peace and Life is fundamental.
· Recognition of the use of the energy and healing properties of our sacred instruments is a principle goal of our Indigenous Mission.

SKIRT MOUNTAIN CONDO DEVELOPER SUES BEAR MOUNTAIN

2008-02-28T11:54:00.001-08:00

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Skirt Mountain condo developer sues Bear Mountain

LANGFORD, BC -- Victoria resident Ben Isitt has obtained a Statement of Claim filed on February 20, 2008 in the Vancouver Court Registry against the Bear Mountain Master Parternship (BMMP), LGB9 and Len Barrie, CEO of Bear Mountain. The applicant, QMP Developments Inc. ("Quigg at Bear Mountain"), is a holding company associated with Vancouver developer Robert Quigg, who Langford mayor Stew Young described as "'the' developer in Canada right now" in a May 2007 interview. Quigg had planned to build 1000 luxury condominium units on Skirt Mountain, valued at $1.4 billion.

In the lawsuit against Bear Mountain, Quigg's company QMP alleges that Len Barrie made false and negligent representations including "that a new Bear Mountain interchange was being built by BMMP to connect to the Island highway, and that construction would be complete on the interchange by the end of 2008."

The lawsuit alleges that BMMP and LGB9 breached contracts signed on 7 July 2006 and 1 June 2007, by taking "steps to develop the Skirt Lands and the Skirt Parcels, including clearing the lands...without consulting with QBM or obtaining QBM's first approval." QBM had "sole and exclusive options to purchase" these lands (near the Skirt Mountain summit), the suit claims, however in mid-February BMMP began logging the area. BMMP and LGB9 were also late in transferring eight hectares of nearby lands to Quigg ("The Crusher Lands"/Goudy Lands) and failed to provide Quigg with "full access to BMMP's list of real estate purchasers, potential client data base, and other relevant marketing information." The lawsuit alleges that Len Barrie "has wrongfully interfered and intentionally taken steps to cause a breach of the Agreements."

Finally, the suit alleges that Len Barrie made "pre-contractual representations" to Quigg "that the units that had been sold on the Bear Mountain Lands to date were sold at prices which were overstated by Barrie."

Quigg requests a court injunction restraining LGB9, BMMP, and Len Barrie "from taking further steps to alter the physical condition of the Skirt Lands, to further subdivide the Skirt Lands, or to dispose of or otherwise encumber the Skirt Lands, in whole or in part, without prior consultation with and approval by the Plaintiffs." Quigg also claims damages from LGB9 and BMMP for breach of contract and claims damages from Len Barrie for "inducing breach of the Agreements and misrepresentation."

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For further information contact:

Ben Isitt, 250-382-8494

FREE ARTS, CULTURAL AND PERSONAL DEVELOPMENT CLASSES

2008-02-28T11:48:00.000-08:00

Spirits Rising Memorial Society

All Classes & Workshops are Free for our Community
Materials and Lunch Provided - Donations Accepted

Art & Culture Weekends
from 10am to 3pm
March 1st & 2nd: Make your own Hand Drum
March 8th & 9th: Learn Basic Carving
March 15th & 16th: Make your own Regalia
March 29th & 30th: Complete works in progress

CESO ‘Aboriginal Women for Tomorrow’ Workshops
from 10am to 3pm
Monday, March 3rd & Tuesday, March 4th - Workshop 1: Building Personal Skills
Monday, March 10th & Tuesday, March 11th - Workshop 2: Communication Skills
Monday, March 17th - Workshop 3: How to Start Your Own Business
Tuesday, March 25th - Workshop 4: Governance and Skills Development for Boards
Monday, March 31st - Workshop 5: Budgeting/Financial Management

Please contact: Tom McCallum – Program Coordinator
whitestandingbuffalo@yahoo.com

Spirits Rising Memorial Society #200 - 2019 Dundas Street, Vancouver BC V5L 1J5
Telephone: 778 329 6037 Website: www.spiritsrisingsociety.com
CRA Registered Charity Number: 84783 7762 RR0001

FRANK PAUL INQUIRY UPDATE - Frank Paul cousin Peggy Clement in town for Inquiry Feb 18, 2008

2008-02-11T18:19:00.000-08:00

FEBRUARY 18, 2008: PEGGY CLEMENT Frank's cousin is attending the court proceedings the week of Feb 18, 2008. If you can, please try to attend during this week as a show of support for the family.

A dinner has been suggested so I think a potluck dinner for her and the lawyers would be cool. Would you like to bring a dish? The date decided upon is February 19, 2008 at the Friendship Centre during Pow Wow Night. From 6:00-8:00. We can have an honor song and a round dance for the family.

2) MAY FRANK PAUL RALLY: I'll be organizing for the middle of May. Henry Augustine who knew Frank, potentially other family members such as Frank's son, may travel here at that time. Your ideas, donations and help re: fundraisers? csiaction@gmail.com

17th ANNUAL WOMEN'S MEMORIAL MARCH

2008-02-09T14:06:00.000-08:00

MEDIA ADVISORY February 2, 2008
For immediate release

“Their Spirits Live Within Us”

Diverse Ethnic Communities Rally Around Missing and Murdered Women

One of the longest running marches against violence against women in Vancouver, the Annual Women’s Memorial March began 17 years ago after the brutal murder of a Coast Salish woman left area members in shock, spurring women in the DTES community to take action against violence towards at-risk women and young girls.

The 2008 17th Annual Women’s Memorial March Valentines Day, February 14, 2008 will unite members of Indigenous and South Asian communities to draw attention to the issue of violence against women. Led by women, the marchers include supporters, community, friends and family members of missing and murdered women. The large procession will converge at Main and Hastings moving through the DTES stopping at sites where women have died. At each spot there will be a traditional First Nations honoring and prayer ceremony and a laying of a red or yellow rose in remembrance.

39 women remain missing from the Downtown Eastside and violence and murder continue to target South Asian women.

“These women will never be forgotten but remembered, honoured and loved. They were: Mothers, Daughters, Sisters, Aunties, Grandmothers, and Friends Violence has now touched our most vulnerable citizens, small female children who should be protected are being murdered. How can this happen. Violence against women in our communities is unacceptable!” Marlene George, Advocate and long time planning committee member.

February 14th events will be held Toronto and Edmonton to mark unity in action against violence

ITINERARY 17TH ANNUAL WOMEN=S MEMORIAL MARCH
Thursday February 14, 2008

12:00 PM Family members speak in remembrance of their daughters: Carnegie Centre Theatre
1:00 PM March begins with a circle at Main & Hastings
2:00 PM Community activists speak outside the Vancouver Police Station
2:45 PM Healing Circle at Oppenheimer Park Memorial Pole, Candles of Remembrance
3:00 PM Feast at the Japanese Language School 475 Alexander St.

We ask that media interested in attending the event please arrive at Carnegie Centre by 11:15 am.
Media Protocol will be available in the library.

For more information please contact: Marlene at (604) 665-3005 or Carol Martin at (604) 681-8480 x 233

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CARAVAN STAGE COMPANY SEARCHING FOR INUIT SINGER ACTOR

2008-01-30T13:17:00.000-08:00

CARAVAN CASTING CALL

Please direct replies to:

email: caravanstage@yahoo.com

and see below for more contact information

THE CARAVAN STAGE COMPANY IS SEARCHING FOR A SINGER ACTOR TO PLAY AN INUIT CHARACTER IN AN ORIGINAL SHOW ABOUT GLOBAL WARMING. THE CARAVAN IS CURRENTLY BASED IN GREECE AND THE ENGAGEMENT IS FROM THE 5th OF APRIL TO THE 22nd OF SEPTMEBER.

THE CARAVAN, founded in 1970, is a Canadian non profit experimental theatre company. The Caravan tours and performs on it's own Tall Sailing Ship called the Amara Zee, a fully equipped touring theatre facility, complete with it's own light, sound and flying systems, and living accomodations for all the actors and technicians.

THE CARAVAN performs original dance-circus-theatre, with music, songs, poetry, aerial acrobatics and video imagery, directly on the decks and in the rigging of our Tall Sailing Ship. The shows are unique and original encompassing text, character, story, poetry, music, song, dance, aerial arts and special effects.

The Caravan shows embody the themes and issues relating to the contemporary ethos of environmental degradation, gender and social conflicts, annihilation of cultural diversity, tolerance & mythology, and the impoverishment of people, species, and spirit.

THE CARAVAN 2008 SHOW IS TITLED "UTOPIAN FLOES" which deals with the theme of Cultural Change and Global Warming. You can see some pictures of the 2007 version of UTOPIAN FLOES on our website. UTOPIAN FLOES is a surreal piece set in the future when the Earth has boiled down to a few survivors...one from China, one from the Artic, one from Iraq, and one from the Marshall Islands. The work is very visual, physical, and almost fully sung accompanied with a live five piece band performing on the ship. The band consists of a electric piano, electric harp, electric cello, electric bass, and a percussionist.

You can see photos & video on the Caravan Website:

http://www.caravanstage.org

Please send CV's and Headshots to:

email: caravanstage@yahoo.com

For further information and details contact:
Vancouver: Elia Kirby at 604 215 1544 or cell: 604 250 9315
Toronto: Marion deVries at 416 536 6354
Toronto: Rose at 416 706 5260
Montreal: Janet Warrington at 514 357 5101

Thank you. Paul Kirby and Adriana Kelder

Directors of the Caravan Stage Company

FRANK PAUL INQUIRY WALK FOR JUSTICE FEBRUARY 06, 2007

2008-01-29T16:16:00.000-08:00

For Immediate ReleaseFRANK PAUL INQUIRY JUSTICE WALKFEBRUARY 6, 2008 - CALL TO ACTIONVancouver, BC, – January 28, 2008 – A peaceful candlelight rally is slated for February 06, 2008 to lend support for those who are working towards truth in Frank Paul's case. Led by the Indigenous Action Movement, the walk is supported by grassroots organizations, individuals, Downtown Eastside advocates such as the Highway of Tears Advocacy, Anti-Poverty Committee, Vancouver Status of Women. “We support the call for justice, truth and dignity that no human being should ever be treated as Frank Paul was treated on that fateful night of December 5, 1998.” People of all backgrounds are welcome.The route and destination will be revealed at the Art Gallery. It is undetermined how long traffic will be disrupted. The call has gone out throughout the First Nations network. Organizers expect up to 1000 people of all nations to converge for the event.Prayers will be offered for all who died under suspicious circumstances and their families.

With the family’s permission- prayers will be offered for Deward Ponte the Filipino teen who was killed January 27, 2008.“We do not stand against anyone, but we are standing up for justice,” says Kat Norris of the INDIGENOUS ACTION MOVEMENT Coast Salish Territory.The group will start congregating at 5:30 in front of the Vancouver Art Gallery, north lawn by the fountain. Opening prayers and smudging ceremony at 6:00 pm.For further information, contact:Kat Norris: Spokesperson (604) 253-1020 csiaction@gmail.comMobile: Daren Demoule 778-836-2748 daren_demeule@hotmail.comwww.indigenousactionmovement.com

Article 2 Draft Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples: *Indigenous individuals and peoples are free and equal to all other individuals and peoples in dignity and rights, and have the right to be free from any kind of adverse discrimination, in particular that based on their indigenous origin or identity.

*Rufus Prince, an elder of the Long Plain First Nation said: “There is one last point I want to raise, and that deals with the repercussions which are going to happen, and I think that was mentioned here this morning as a result of this Commission of Inquiry. You exposed a lot of injustices. You have lifted up the rock and the worms are scurrying for cover. But as soon as this Commission is over and all the spotlights and flash bulbs are over, the rogues will come out from the dark and be twice as bad, determined to put the system of injustice back into full swing.” Response to the: Report of the Aboriginal Justice Inquiry of Manitoba