Interview with Everett Giles regarding the Edwards Landfill

Everett Giles, former Saint Lawrence Resin Plant worker, discusses his concerns regarding the Saint Lawrence Resin Plant and Edwards Landfill.

Rally in Solidarity with Six Nations Land Rights! November 7, 2009

Rally at 1 PM, Victoria Park, (Corner of George St. and Darling St., Brantford). Potluck dinner and social to follow at 5PM at the reclaimed Kanata Village site.

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

Speakers include:

Aaron Detlor (Lawyer for the Haudenosaunee Development Institute)

Alex Hundert (AW@L Kitchener-Waterloo)

Bev Crawford (Haudenosaunee Hoskanigetah)

Bill Squires (Mohawk Workers)

Chris Harris (Black Action Defense Committee, Toronto)

Dawn Martin-Hill (Dept. of Indigenous Studies, McMaster)

Jan Watson (Co-founder of Community Friends in Caledonia, CAW 555)

Janie Jamieson (Former spokesperson for the DCE Reclamation)

Sharon Sanchez (Women’s Coordinating Committee Chile-Canada)

Jim Windle (Brantford TRUE)

Missy Elliott (Young Onkwehonwe United)

Niki Thorne (Hamilton Practical Solidarity)

Phil Monture (Six Nations Land Claim Expert)

Ruby and Floyd Monture (Six Nations Land Defenders)

Steve Watson (CAW Educational Department)

Tim Reynolds (Brantford TRUE)

Tom Keefer (CUPE 3903 First Nations Solidarity Working Group)

Vince Gilchrist (Haudenosaunee Hoskanigetah)

(Note: Group affiliation in the brackets is for informational purposes only and does not necessarily indicate that the speaker is speaking on behalf of their group).

Brantford, Ontario has become “ground zero” in the struggle over Indigenous rights in Ontario. Most of the city is under landclaim, but instead of halting development until the status of the disputed land can be negotiated, Brantford city council is carrying out an aggressive policy of encouraging the criminalization of Six Nations land defenders. Since 2006, when protests in nearby Caledonia erupted, over 60 people from Six Nations have faced more than 160 criminal charges as they have tried to peacefully stop illegal developments from taking place on their lands.

It is time for allies and supporters of Six Nations to stand up and bring pressure to bear on our governments and institutions in order to demand that they respect and honor the treaties and agreements we have made with Indigenous nations. The Six Nations Solidarity Network — a group made up of non-native activists from communities in and beside the Haldimand tract, is calling all supporters of Six Nations land rights to join us in a peaceful protest on Saturday, Nov 7th 2009, at 1pm in Brantford’s Victoria Park (corner of Market St. and Darling St.).

The demonstration will march through Brantford and stop at a variety
of sites including:

* City Hall (where local politicians have criminalized Six Nations land rights through injunctions and arrests)

*MPP Dave Levac’s Office

* Harmony Square (where Six Nations land is being expropriated to make room for the new YMCA)

* Indian Affairs Office

* Brant’s Crossing (on the unceded Nathan Gage tract)

* Erie Ave at Birkett Lane (on the Eagles Nest tract and where Six Nations land defenders have most recently been charged).

At each of these stops, the demonstration will be addressed by a speakers about the pressing issues relating to each stop.

The demonstration will conclude with a potluck and social which will  begin at 5:00pm at the reclaimed Kanata Village Museum. The space is being made available by the Mohawk Workers. Bring food to share!

Buses and carpooling to Brantford are being organized from Paris, Guelph, Caledonia, Oshwegen, Kitchener-Waterloo, Hamilton, Toronto and other nearby cities and towns. To endorse the demonstration or get in touch with the organizers, please  email 6nsolnet@gmail.com or visit 6nsolidarity.wordpress.com for more information.

This event is endorsed by Brantford TRUE, CUPE 3903 FNSWG, AW@L, CAIA York, Upping the Anti, Women’s Coordinating Committee Chile-Canada, and is being organized by the Six Nations Solidarity Network which includes local environmental activists and activists from a variety of union locals including the CAW, CUPE and Steelworkers.

Healing Our Mother Earth with Strategies on Landfills: Environmental Summit Nov 5-6 on Six Nations

A summit is to be held November 5-6 on Six Nations of the Grand River Reserve. Liaisons from First Nations Communities across Ontario have been invited, as have liaisons from municipalities along the Grand River, to participate in dialogue and formulating strategies for mutual environmental concerns.

The summit is open to observers, though participation is limited to invited liaisons.

One specific goal of the summit is to come together to identify contaminated landfill sites across southern Ontario.   More broadly, the objectives of the summit are as follows:

1) To increase awareness among municipalities and groups about landfill issues.

2) To identify ways to work together to advance this issue, e.g., coalition

3) To identify legislative responses to landfill issues, including consideration of the creation of a Grand River Waterkeeper

4) To identify ways to get rid of garbage without the use of landfills.