from the April 28th Coalition
-March 31, 2012
At 2 PM on Saturday, April 28, 2012 the Six Nations [Haudenosaunee] people of the Grand River territory and their allies will be holding a walk and rally for “Peace, Respect and Friendship.” The main focus of the event is to remind the Canadian people and the Canadian government that Six Nations land rights and treaties need to be respected.
Whether native or non-native, all of us residing within Canada are treaty people. We have both a moral and a legal imperative to uphold the nation-to-nation agreements made on our behalf by the British Crown and Canadian government with indigenous peoples. It was treaties such as the Two-Row Wampum which gave us as non-indigenous people the right to settle in what is now called Canada, and as the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms affirms, these treaties are still in force and they must be honored and upheld.
The fundamental source of the conflicts in Caledonia arises from the failure of the Canadian government at both the provincial and federal levels to honor the agreements the Crown has made with Six Nations. We believe that the only way to truly have peace, respect and friendship with our Six Nations allies and neighbours is for the Canadian government and the British Crown to redress these historic injustices.
Six years after the land reclamation began at the former Douglas Creek Estates, the time has come to stand together and respect the words of our ancestors, to call for our treaties with Six Nations people to be honored, and to bring together our communities and allies to celebrate the principles of Peace, Friendship and Respect under the agreements that our peoples made together – the Two-Row Wampum, the Silver Covenant Chain, and the Haldimand Proclamation of 1784.
At 2pm on April 28th, 2012, we will be gathering at Edinburgh Square, a Haudenosaunee park across from the Caledonia Fairgrounds in the Township of Caledonia and then we will peacefully walk down Argyle St. to the site known as Kanonhstaton. At the site there will be a potluck, live music, games, activities and discussions to which all people – from Six Nations, Caledonia, and all other communities – are invited to attend.
In solidarity,
The non-Native members of April 28th Coalition
For more information or to endorse this event: email:kanonhstaton@gmail.com | to arrange rides:transportation.kanonstaton@gmail.com | Website:www.april28coalition.wordpress.com | Twitter: @kanonhstaton |
Facebook: Kanonhstaton Six Nations | Youtube.com/kanonhstaton
Solidarity with Six Nations 