Mohawk Nation News

News and Articles by kahntineta, Mohawk Nation News Publisher

Mohawk Nation News

MCGILL U. URGED TO RESPECT INDIGENOUS HUMAN REMAINS

 

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PRESS RELEASE

 

____________For immediate publication______________

MNN. July 4, 2023,

Following the recent discovery of the scent of human remains by Historic Human Remains Detection Dogs (HHRDD) on the grounds of the old Royal Victoria Hospital in Montreal, the Kanien’kehá:ka Kahnistensera (Mohawk Mothers) appeal to McGill University and the Government of Quebec to apply the same precautions for protecting potential remains on other similar sites. “It is our understanding that several other institutions in Quebec may contain unmarked graves of our children, not only in Indian Residential Schools or hospitals, but also in former sanatoria, orphanages and correctional homes,” said Kwetiio, one of the Mohawk Mothers.

The Kanien’kehá:ka Kahnistensera have obtained the first injunction ever granted to self-represented Indigenous people on October 27th, 2022, halting excavation work for McGill’s “New Vic” Project in the former Royal Victoria Hospital to search for unmarked graves following the testimonies of survivors of the MK-Ultra psychiatric experiments on mind control. During the hearing, McGill University and the Société québécoise des infrastructures (SQI) had started excavating the very same area where the dogs now found human remains, declaring that nothing had been found by archaeologists and that the New Vic construction project could begin.

According to the Kanien’kehá:ka Kahnistensera, it is very likely that the human remains would have been destroyed by construction work if they did not intervene in court, despite lacking resources and legal assistance. “We should not have to go to court for this. Taxpayer money should not be spent on litigation against survivors and their family members who want to identify, protect and investigate the unmarked graves of victims of medical experiments”, says Mohawk Mother Kahentinetha, “they should collaborate from the onset to treat human remains with respect as responsible institutions would do”.

The human remains were independently detected by three separate HHRDD handled by Kim Cooper, of the Ottawa Valley Search and Rescue Dog Association, on June 9, 2023, following a lengthy court process which led to a Settlement Agreement being homologated by the Superior Court of Quebec on April 20, 2023. Kimberly Murray, the Independent Special Interlocutor for Missing Children and Unmarked Graves and Burials Sites associated with Indian Residential Schools, who intervened in the court proceedings, noted in her recently released Interim Report that “There is a need to expand the scope of research beyond Indian Residential School sites. … Current investigations are beginning to reveal how the systems and patterns of colonial violence that existed in the Indian Residential School system extended to [other] associated institutions. …

Understanding the full scope of the forced transfer of children from one institution to the next and the conditions that led to their deaths will require significant time, funding, research, and long-term commitment to finding the truth.” The Mohawk Mothers urge McGill University and the McGill University Health Center to pause excavation work and large-scale renovation plans for hospitals and medical research centers who may contain the graves of Indigenous and non-Indigenous children as test subjects in the past. This includes not only the grounds of the Royal Victoria Hospital and the Douglas Mental Health University Institute, but also its main campus in downtown Montreal, where Iroquoian Longhouses and gravesites were repeatedly discovered, including at the intersection of Peel and Sherbrooke streets in 2018.

On June 30th, 2023, the day following a court date where the HHRDD discovery was discussed, the Kanien’kehá:ka Kahnistensera were shocked to learn that McGill University had launched large-scale archaeological inventories next to the McLennan Library. McGill had not informed the Kahnistensera even though they had repeatedly expressed their vested interest in protecting the remains of their ancestors buried under the university in court. McGill University did not express whether Indigenous monitors and specialists in human burials were present at the archaeological site.

Regarding the more recent remains of medical experiments, the Mohawk Mothers are concerned that Quebec is not taking its responsibility regarding the widespread abuse of both Indigenous and non-Indigenous children such as the Duplessis Orphans in the past century. The Mohawk Mothers recently asked the Quebec government and the CIUSSS to halt the sale of the Hôpital de la Miséricorde, a former house for unwed mothers, to investigate the probability that it contains human remains; a meeting with the CIUSSS to discuss the demand will take place in Kahnawake on July 6th, 2023. “But we can’t run after the government all the time to make sure none of these sites where medical cruelty happened get desecrated or sold to get rid of them and the terrible evidence of the past they contain, says Kahentinetha.

According to the Kahnistensera, the same type of agreement and investigation that resulted from the Royal Victoria Hospital Court Case should be followed in all other similar sites. In particular, the institutions that should be investigated and protected can be found in both the list of sites that Indigenous people requested to be included in the settlement process for Residential Schools, and that were not accepted because they were not schools operated by the Federal government, and in lists of orphanages, psychiatric wards and institutions attended by Duplessis Orphans (see attached documents). Approximately 200 institutions may be concerned. According to anthropologist Philippe Blouin, who accompanies the Mohawk Mothers in court, there was widespread abuse of children in Quebec until the late 1960’s, and strong connections between the treatment of Indigenous children and Duplessis Orphans must be investigated to help survivors find closure while it is still time.

Mohawk Mothers kindly remind you to keep your promises.

The Government of Canada should also follow suit with hospitals under Federal custody in Quebec, including the Parc Savard Indian Hospital and the veterans’ hospitals in Sainte-Anne-de-Bellevue and on Queen May Road in Montreal. Finally, the Kahnistensera insist that respecting human remains is an issue of public interest and that proper capacity funding must be provided to Indigenous investigators seeking to protect burial sites. The Kanien’kehá:ka Kahnistensera (Mohawk Mothers) is a Kahnawake-based group that helps Indigenous women accomplish their traditional cultural duty as caretakers of the land, to protect all life, including their children and ancestors. They have been engaged in a legal challenge with promoters of the New Vic project to stall future excavation of the former Royal Victoria Hospital site until a proper archaeological investigation is conducted, using the traditional protocols of the Kaianere’kó:wa (Great Peace). https://www.mohawkmothers.ca/ Contact for press: kahnistensera@riseup.net Kahnawake, P.O. Box 991

Mohawk Robbie Robertson of the Band could have been writing about the perils of Mount Royal:

When I get off of this mountainYou know where I wanna go?Straight down the Mississippi RiverTo the Gulf of MexicoTo Lake Charles, LouisianaLittle Bessie, girl that I once knewAnd she told me just to come on byIf there’s anything she could do
Up on Cripple Creek, she sends meIf I spring a leak, she mends meI don’t have to speak, she defends meA drunkard’s dream if I ever did see one . . . .
The Band "Up On Cripple Creek" on The Ed Sullivan Show

Kahnistensera Press Release July 4 2023

List institutions – 1

List institutions – 2

List institutions – 3

For updates see MohawkMothers.ca  Court Correspondent Thahoketoteh@Ntk.com

Box 911, kahnawake quebec canada J0L 1B0   kahentinetha2@protonmail.com

For updates, see MohawkMothers.ca

EVERY DOG MUST HAVE HIS DAY

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MNN. June 30, 2023. 

It was revealed in Montreal court on June 29 2023 that three well trained cadaver dogs identified the older of human remains at the Hersey Building of the Royal Victoria Hospital of McGill University. Last October the province of Quebec and McGill University insisted that “there were no signs of remains”. On June 9, 2023, the historic human remains detection dog team executed techniques under the “Settlement Agreement” and found remains.  

The reason the kahnistensera Mohawk Mothers went into this colonial court system using their own traditional way was to make the defendants accountable to their own laws and actions. Judge Moore made an order to find the remains of the children buried on the grounds of McGill university before building the mass Mount Royal renovation. The problem is the defendants disregarded the kahnisteneras and survivor warning that the site contained human remains. and started building their project violating the respect for human remains.  The rule of law does not seem to be for everybody in Canada.. Their own corporations, provincial governments and institutions can pick and chose when to follow the rule of law. The autocracy does whatever they want without consequences, while others are expected to follow them. Our concern is for our children and our sacred land. and accountability. Their remains could be buried anywhere on Mount Royal. Our children want to continue their final journey and not to continue to be violated. On June 30, 2023 the defendants of the Royal Vic Project advertised in the media that they [representing the perpetrators of the crimes] are going to carry out the investigations to which all parties agreed would be indigenous led. The kahnistenser have not been informed about this and wonder why.

Stonewall Jackson, the great predictor, sees what’s coming when he sings about “Waterloo”: 

Waterloo WaterlooWhere will you meet your Waterloo?Every puppy has his dayEverybody has to payEverybody has to meet his Waterloo
Now old AdamWas the first in historyWith an appleHe was tempted and deceivedJust for spiteThe devil made him take a biteAnd that’s where old AdamMet his Waterloo
Waterloo Waterloo . . . 
Little General Napoleon of FranceTried to conquer the worldBut lost his pantsMet defeatKnown as Bonaparte’s RetreatAnd that’s when NapoleonMet his Waterloo

READ THE MEDIA COVERAGE OF COURT HEARING 6/29/23:

In English

https://montreal.ctvnews.ca/search-dogs-find-evidence-of-human-remains-at-site-of-montreal-s-old-royal-victoria-hospital-1.6462031

https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/montreal/royal-vic-bodies-evidence-found-dogs-search-1.6892583

https://globalnews.ca/video/9802905/search-dogs-detect-evidence-of-human-remains-near-montreals-old-royal-victoria-hospital/

https://www.aptnnews.ca/national-news/cadaver-dogs-sniff-out-potential-human-remains-near-old-royal-victoria-hospital-site/

In French

https://journalmetro.com/actualites/3112781/il-y-a-vraiment-des-restes-humains-surement-autochtones-en-plein-coeur-de-montreal/

https://ici.radio-canada.ca/espaces-autochtones/1992382/meres-mohawks-cour-superieure-fouille-mcgill

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MNN Court Correspondent thahoketoteh@ntk.com 

kahentinetha2@protonmail.mohawknationnews.com 

box 991, kahnawake Que. Canada J0L 1B0

NEW/OLD BAND COUNCIL HUSTLE

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MNN. June 27,  2023.

Here’s how it goes. A band council entity is set up. They offer to help their people. Somebody or a community group get some monies to “benefit the community”, but the band council or its nominee own all the assets from it and can tell us what we can or cannot do. The band council and its entities use our funds to ingratiate,  enrich themselves, get into conflict of interest situations and possible fraud.

Remember, the band councils are corporate agents of Canada that were set up on Oct. 25, 1924 to help Canada take and control our land and resources.

                            Said the onkwehonweh to the canadien!

For example, an incorporated community association [the band council] invites a so called non-profit society in to build a community hall for the people. In the end it benefits mostly them and Canada, not the people.

The meeting is held at a band council building. The main host is a guy who works for the band council, who is directly involved with the process. Canada and the provinces have millions of dollars in program funds they offer to support projects they deem will ‘benefit’ the community!  

As a part of the band council corporate apparatus, the  nominee employee helps push the grant application forward. He gets their documents together and registers them to be a not-for-profit society in order to receive the funds.

The host suggests they build a structure that would cost $500,000. There will be taxes for each household because this incorporated association is no longer indigenous. 

The mentor asks for $300,000 for the logs; $800,000 for the lock up; then another $200,000 for the construction of the building, then transportation and putting it together on the site, plus expenses to hook up the water, electricity, and sewage. If they do not get the initial grant, then the costs for the project somehow rise to $1.5. to $2 million which has to be borrowed by the villagers.  In most cases most of these enterprises are not needed.

When the mentor, on behalf of the association gets the grant, he owns and leases it to the society for $1 a year. The purpose is not to benefit the community as mostly they never see the money. 

 Public funds are being used to enrich the corporate non-native band council entity. Out of the $1.5 million or more granted or loaned, the building costs $500,000 and who knows where the rest goes.

The band council cannot be part of any community since they are a foreign for-profit crown corporation.  The employee/mentor dupes the people. 

The conflict of interest is because the band council employee cannot have anything from this grant application process for himself.  It was his idea and he has been working with his ‘band council superiors’ to push this project  through.

The Supreme Court [Beverly McLachlan] unanimously ruled that the tsilhqot’in does have a claim of 750 sq. Km [680 sq. mi.] of land. This decision is a precedent for all turtle island.

The colonial Supreme Court held that aboriginal title constitutes a beneficial interest in the land, the underlying control of which is retained by the Crown. Why? We are caretakers of turtle island. Indigenous people are sovereign and have all duties and  responsibilities to decide everything. Also, to proactively use and manage the land, including its natural resources. But the foreign entity, the Crown, gave themselves the right to override aboriginal title in the so called “public interest”!!

This scam is practiced on every native until all our land is completely taken from us. Everything the intruders do is void as no land can be conveyed. A foreign for-profit private crown corporation does not have any right to deal with the “general public”, including band councils. A private company can only deal with their own employees, property and dependants. “Public” funds are used to enrich themselves by requisitioning this legitimate native property without using their own assets to do it. In fact, the funds could be coming from our “Indian Trust Funds”.

The band councils work dilligently for Canada. 

Sections 35/52 of the Constitution Act of Canada 1982 and its band councils do not exist according to our way. Original people are caretakers and sovereigns of all turtle island for all future generations. The Crown has no claim on anything.

This is a new way to genocide us by “reconciliation ” with Canada through forced citizenship without physical slaughter as they did in the past.

Rumormillnews 224893 CGI’S empyyreal:CRD in Sook BC, Canada engaged in money laundering, unjust enrichment and fraud with proof. Sat. 24-Jun2023H

Lester Flatt and Earl Scruggs had an insight into the goings on of Indian reservations in Canada in the “The Ballad of Jed Clampett”: 

Come and listen to a story ’bout a man named JedPoor mountaineer barely kept his family fedThen one day he was shooting for some food,And up through the ground come a bubbling crude(Oil that is, black gold, Texas tea)
Well the first thing you know old Jed’s a millionaireKin folk said Jed move away from thereSaid California is the place you oughta beSo they loaded up the truck and they moved to Beverly(Hills that is, swimming pools, movie stars). . .  .

 MNN Court Correspondent thahoketoteh@ntk.com 

Box 991, kahnawake, que. canada MNN kahentinetha2@protonmail.com 

INTERIM REPORT: MISSING CHILDREN & UNMARKED BURIALS

 

 

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MNN. June 18, 2023. Kimberly Murray BA, LL.B, IPC

“I am honoured to have been entrusted with being the Special Interlocutor… to support the work of Survivors and Indigenous communities to protect, locate, identify, repatriate, and commemorate the children who died while being forced to attend Indian Residential Schools”. 

Kimberly Murray BA, LL.B, IPC

She was appointed for two years as Independent Special Interlocutor for Missing Children and Unmarked Graves and Burial Sites associated with Indian Residential Schools. She is a member of the Kahnesatake Mohawk Nation.

THIS IS THE PODCAST of Ms. Murray presenting the Interim Report, “Sacred Responsibiility: Searching for the Missing Children & Unmarked Burials”.

Interim report on the search for missing children and unmarked burials | APTN News

THIS IS THE REPORT:

Part 6 of the report begins to lay the foundation for a new Reparations Framework to address the gaps and barriers within Canada’s current legal system, which is ill-equipped to provide accountability and justice for Indigenous Peoples in the face of genocide, colonial violence, and mass human rights violations. It defines an Indigenous-led process and explains why such a process is essential to the search and recovery of the missing children and unmarked burials. It concludes by outlining ten elements of reparations that will form the basis of the Final Report. Summaries are included throughout to illustrate the barriers communities are facing, as well as emerging Indigenous-led practices that have been applied to advance search and recovery work in accordance with Indigenous law and protocols. 

https://osi-bis.ca/wp-content/uploads/2023/06/OSI_InterimReport_June-2023_WEB.pdf

Helen Reddy knows the energy of someone like Kimberly Murray:

I am woman, hear me roarIn numbers too big to ignoreAnd I know too much to go back an’ pretend‘Cause I’ve heard it all beforeAnd I’ve been down there on the floorAnd no one’s ever gonna keep me down again
Yes, I am wiseBut it’s wisdom born of painYes, I’ve paid the priceBut look how much I’ve gainedIf I have to, I can do anythingI am strong (strong)I am invincible (invincible)I am woman
Helen Reddy -  I Am Woman (Official 4K Video)
MNN Court Correspondent thahohketoteh@ntx.com 
Mohawk Nation News kahentinetha2@protonmail.com
Box 991 kahnawake quebec J0L 1B0

 

 

INDIGENOUS PEOPLE DEMAND MORITORIUM ON QUEBEC LOGGING

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MNN. June 21, 2023. 

Indigenous guardians of the ancestral territories of the Innu, Atikamekw and Mohawk are demanding a moratorium on logging in Quebec.

A banner in the middle of a forest road on which one can read: “Guardians of the territory on the lookout”.

This coalition is made up of the Innu collective Mashk Assi, which defends the unceded territory of Nitassinan; the Ekoni Aci movement, which brings together defenders of the Atikamekw territory of Manawan and Wemotaci; and the Kanien’kehà:ka Kahnistensera, better known as the Mohawk Mothers.

PHOTO: COURTESY OF MASHK ASSI COLLECTIVE

Due to the “ecological disaster caused by the forest fires”, a coalition of traditionalist Innu, Atikamekw and Mohawk indigenous peoples demands a moratorium on logging and mining activities north of the St. Lawrence River by the end of 2023.

Activists with banners block a logging road.

Innu and Atikamekw activists block logging roads to oppose logging on their unceded ancestral territory.

PHOTO: COURTESY OF MASHK ASSI COLLECTIVE

These First Nations activists recall that the millions of hectares burned affect not only the habitat of wildlife that is crucial to their culture, but also the health of many Aboriginal communities.

With what is happening concerning the quality of the air which is unbreathable in several places, we think that it is really important to put a brake at the moment , specified Michael Paul of the Mashk Assi collective.

In addition to the moratorium, the Aboriginal people who present themselves as holders of ancestral title to their respective territories are asking for an inquiry into the causes of the forest fires.

“  The government, through its mismanagement of the forest, has created this situation of extreme danger for which it is responsible. By prioritizing profitability, the government has created monoculture coniferous forests that turn into veritable powder kegs in dry and hot weather, at the risk of public health.  »

— A quote from  Excerpt from the letter from the Mashk Assi collective, the Ekoni Aci movement and the Mohawk Mothers

This forest management is based on cutting potential, industrial development and immediate profit. The priority place of the forest industry in forest management is too great and has created a situation of unprecedented danger. We must act immediately to break this impasse , continue the Aboriginal traditionalists.

The Chibougamau forest fire, seen from the air.

The Chibougamau forest fire (File photo)

PHOTO: COURTESY

The coalition also calls for an independent environmental impact study to be carried out in collaboration with the United Nations Special Rapporteur and that it be chaired by the indigenous guardians of the territory. We are the custodians of ancestral knowledge that has allowed the boreal forest to survive until today. We know every corner of our territory and the families of animals with whom we share it. As recognized by a UN report, Indigenous peoples are by far the best guardians of the natural territory and the environment, everywhere on the planet , supports the coalition.

The blockage maintained in the Laurentides wildlife reserve

Three weeks ago, before the forest fires broke out and restrictions came into effect, Indigenous people from the Mashk Assi collective forced the closure of several logging sites located in the Laurentides wildlife reserve. They denounce the destruction of the forests south of Lake Kénogami.

This blockage is still in effect on Nitassinan. In particular, a permanent camp has been set up at kilometer 216 of Route 175 to monitor the comings and goings in the forest.

These Innu, who do not benefit from the support of the Mashteuiatsh band council , sent eviction notices to the forestry companies present on their ancestral territory. 

Since May 29, indigenous activists have been regularly patrolling Nitassinan to ensure that there are no loggings.

We are ready to go to court if it is not respected , mentioned the committed artist Michael Paul.

A native camp in the forest.

Innus have set up a permanent camp along the logging road located at kilometer 216 of the Laurentides wildlife reserve.

Mike Paul Kuekuatsheu - Ashinetau - vidéoclip officiel

 

PHOTO: COURTESY OF MASHK ASSI COLLECTIVE

The Lignarex Group, which qualifies this file as delicate , is one of the manufacturers who complied by withdrawing their forestry machinery from certain construction sites. From the outset, the leaders of Lignarex said they were ready to negotiate with the Innus .

The collective has also authorized the logging company to recover the trees already felled to avoid wasting wood.

Innu artist Michael Paul Kuekuarsheu sings of the resistance of his people:

With information from Gabrielle Morissette

 

 

Mike Paul Kuekuatsheu - Ashinetau - vidéoclip officiel

ROCKING MOHAWK MOTHERS

 

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MNN. June 4, 2023. On April 6, 2023, The final day of mediation began at 9.15 a.m.. This photo was taken at the end around 11:15 that night. 

Lawyers, judge and kahnistensera Mohawk Mothers stood together for this photo of completion of the mediation at the Montreal Court. 

For details of the Settlement Agreement, April 6, 2023 – See court documents filed as CANADA PROVINCE OF QUEBEC, DISTRICT OF MONTREAL. No. 500-17-120468-221. Superior Court [Civil Division]. Between Plaintiffs kahnistensers; Defendents SQI, RVH, MUHC, McGill U., Montreal, AG Canada & AG Quebec; and 3rd Party Intervenors – Unmarked Graves & Burial Sites associated with Indian Residential Schools. 

Words from our wise elder, Red-X, whose eyes are black cavernous void leading directly into the 5th dimension. He surveyed the current state of the kaianerekowa from his silver eagle and said that the gariwiio pimple is about to burst. He said, “What will be is what creation means”. He advised that what we all need is love, and then flew to the west where the sun never sleeps and disappeared into his celestial portal.  

Jeannie C. Riley sings about some experiences in some places of higher learning:

I wanna tell you all a story ’boutA Harper Valley widowed wifeWho had a teenage daughterWho attended Harper Valley Junior HighWell, her daughter came home one afternoonAnd didn’t even stop to playAnd she said, “mom, I got a note here from the Harper Valley PTA”
Well, the note said, “Mrs. JohnsonYou’re wearin’ your dresses way too highIt’s reported you’ve been drinkingAnd a-running ’round with men and goin’ wildAnd we don’t believe you oughta be a-bringin’ upYour little girl this way”And it was signed by the SecretaryHarper Valley PTA. . . . [Harper Valley PTA]

 

mohawknationnews.com 

contact box 991, kahnawake [quebec canada] J0L 1B0  kahentinetha2@protonmail,com

INNU & GUARDIANS OF NITASSINAN EVICT LOGGERS

 

 

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MNN. Sat. June 3, 2023. The traditional Innu people evict logging companies from their territory and cancel modern treaty in the making.

The traditional guardians of the Nitassinan, the unceded territory of the Innu people whose 570 000 km2 are bigger than the territory of France, have sent two cease and desist letters to halt the current invasion of their land and attempts to extinguish their inherent rights. Here are the two letters for your attention.

From: Collectif Mashk Assi* 1 Guardians of Nitassinan, Innu ancestral territory collectifmashkassi@hotmail.com

RE: Notice of eviction from Innu territories and cessation of logging

To: Scierie Girard. 5872 route des Bouleaux, Shipshaw (Québec) G7P 1E3 Forestier Luc Goulet et fils. 440 rue du Coteau-Marcil, Albanel (Québec) G8M 3R3 Scierie Martel. 3000 route du Lac Est, Alma (Québec) G8B 5V2 Groupe Forestra. 4910 boulevard Talbot, Laterrière (Québec) G7N 1A3 Coop Fernand Boileau, Groupe Lignarex and other chains. 445 route 381, Fernand-et-Boilleau (Québec) G0V 1H0. Scierie du Lac-Saint-Jean inc. 41 route Saint-André, Métabetchouan-Lac-à-la-Croix (Québec) G8G 1X2. Produit Forestier Résolu. 200 rue de Quen, Dolbeau-Mistassini (Québec), G8L 5M8.

BY REGISTERED MAIL

We hereby inform you that all your employees and subcontractors must immediately evacuate Nitassinan, a sovereign and unceded territory of the Innu people, by order of the guardians of the territory. Your company is operating illegally on our territory, without having consulted the territory’s guardian families, whose authority over Nitassinan is protected by the Canadian Constitution, international law and the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples. Only these families have the right to authorize a company to operate on the traditional territory of the Innu people. Agreements with Band Councils imposed by the federal government are null and void, as their jurisdiction is limited to reserve territory, as recognized by Canadian courts.

INNU GUARDIANS OF THE LAND

The custodians of the traditional territory of the Innu people have never ceded their ancestral rights, either by treaty or by conquest. The guardian families of Nitassinan ask you to cease all forestry activities and to leave our territory immediately. Your presence on Nitassinan constitutes a violation of innu tipenitamun, Innu sovereignty over the 571,000 km2 of Nitassinan, and uetshit takuaimatishun, the implementation of self-determination by the Innu people themselves.

Please also note that we are acting in solidarity and alliance with our Atikamekw brothers and sisters who are fighting to protect their ancestral forests in Nitaskinan. Please be advised that failure to comply with this eviction order will render you liable to prosecution for the violation of our human and ancestral rights. We consider the denial of our sovereignty and the ransacking of our territory to be a continuation of the genocide of indigenous peoples recognized by the Canadian government and Pope Francis I. By destroying our forests, you are destroying our environment and violating our right to bequeath our territory, our identity and our ancestral way of life to future generations. We ask you to stop the colonization of our territory, the destruction of the flora and fauna that make up our environment and the genocide of our people. We ask you to make a genuine gesture of reconciliation with the Innu people by respecting this eviction order in a peaceful manner.

Please inform all your employees and sub-contractors to leave our territory immediately. We ask that you take your personal belongings, equipment and vehicles and leave our territory in a timely and peaceful manner. As of May 30, it will no longer be possible for you to access our territory, except to remove your equipment, and you will be liable to prosecution. Please act accordingly.

From: Collectif Mashk Assi Guardians of Nitassinan, Innu ancestral territory collectifmashkassi@hotmail.com

SUBJECT: Formal notice to cease negotiations of the Petapan Treaty and other treaties

To: Attorney General of Canada Department of Justice Canada Litigation Branch 50 O’Connor Street 5th Floor – Room 531 Ottawa, Ontario K1A 0H8

Attorney General of Quebec Bernard, Roy (Justice – Quebec) 1 Notre-Dame Street East, Suite 8.00 Montreal, Quebec H2Y 1B6 BY

REGISTERED MAIL

We ask the Attorney General of Canada to inform his administrative bodies known as the Band Councils of Mashteuiatsh, Essipit and Nutashkuan to cease speaking and undertaking negotiations on behalf of the Innu people. These Band Councils have no jurisdiction over the traditional Ilnuash territory of Nitassinan, other than that granted by the Canadian government on reserves through the imposition of the Indian Act, which Aboriginal Services Minister Marc Miller acknowledges is racist in nature.

The Band Councils of Mashteuiatsh, Essipit and Nutashkuan in no way represent the Innu people, whose legitimate authority resides in the guardian families of the territory, of which the Mashk Assi collective is a spokesperson. We also ask the representatives of Canada, Quebec and the Band Councils to cease any media disinformation campaign giving the public the impression that the traditional Innu people would be involved in any way whatsoever in the negotiation of modern treaties, including the Petapan Treaty and any agreements resulting from Bill C-15. The Petapan Treaty is negotiated behind closed doors by lawyers representing various levels of colonial governments, and has never been seen or consulted by the members of our communities and the guardian families of Nitassinan who preserve the Innu aitun, our ancestral way of life and sovereign title to our territory.

The territory’s guardian families have repeatedly informed you that negotiations concerning our title and ancestral rights must cease. In a letter submitted in 2005 to Canadian Prime Minister Paul Martin, the Ukauimau aimu coalition, “words of mothers”, made up of over 270 members from different communities, denounced the lack of transparency and consultation in the process of illegally ceding ancestral territory, as well as “the usurpation of the identity of the Pekuakamiulnuatsh originally from Nitassinan and the various administrative, legislative, legal abuses, etc.., on the territory of the Nehlulnu descendants” by the federal administrative authorities of the Band Councils.

The descendants of the original Ilnuash people have repeated the same message several times since, including in a letter dated March 30, 2023, which stated that Territory Chiefs, Territory Guardians and Kukum (grandmother) circles have the obligation to protect ancestral territory. In Innu law, the land is inalienable and constitutes a legacy for future generations that must be protected and respected. In this sense, and under Innu law, these negotiations are illegitimate and illegal. The Hereditary Chiefs therefore call for an immediate halt to the process of global territorial negotiations. We hereby give you formal notice to immediately cease and suspend the negotiation of the Petapan Treaty and any other treaty, law or agreement in principle modifying our collective and individual ancestral rights, including the action plan for the implementation of Bill C-15 on the implementation of the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples (UNDRIP), under pain of legal proceedings.

The Mashk Assi collective and the territory’s guardian families are implementing the obligation, under Innu law, to protect Tshikauinu Assi, Mother Earth. It is part of the collective and individual legal obligations of the territory guardian families, the Kukum circle, and the territory chiefs, to protect Assi. As guardian families of Nitassinan, holding sovereign title to the unceded territory of the Innu people, we remind you that any treaty negotiation without our participation and free and informed consent is a violation of our fundamental rights protected by international law, the Constitution of Canada and the UNDRIP.

You are hereby informed that any decision taken without the consent of the Nitassinan custodial families concerning our territory, sovereignty and rights is null and void. Any negotiation aimed at extinguishing, suspending or modifying in any way our aboriginal rights without our free and informed consent will be considered a violation of our human rights and will be prosecuted in Canada and before international tribunals. We ask that the United Nations Special Rapporteur be immediately notified of the current denial of our very existence as a sovereign Innu people, through both “modern treaties” and the granting of logging permits on our territory without our consent. We see this denial of our existence as a continuation of the colonial genocide of indigenous people who are preserving their way, their right and their ancestral territories.

We therefore remind you, for the last time under threat of legal action, that all negotiations undertaken without our consent concerning our territory and ancestral rights must cease immediately. The guardian families of Nitassinan, who have never ceded their ancestral rights, either by treaty or by conquest, urge you to immediately cease all actions that may infringe on their collective and individual rights, and on the integrity of their unceded territory. Please act accordingly.

Recorded live 

As Frank Zappa, friend of the Innu, said:

“Dreamed I was an eskimoFrozen wind began to blowUnder my boots and around my toesThe frost that bit the ground below
It was a hundred degrees below zero…
And my mama criedAnd my mama criedNanook, a-no-noNanook, a-no-noDon’t be a naughty eskimo
Save your money, don’t go to the showWell I turned around and I said oh, oh ohWell I turned around and I said oh, oh ohWell I turned around and I said ho, hoAnd the northern lights commenced to glow

And she said, with a tear in her eyeWatch out where the huskies go,And don’t you eat that yellow snowWatch out where the huskies go,And don’t you eat that yellow snow”

 

COME TO AKWESASNE KANONSESNE PRESS CONFERENCE WED. NOON May 31/23

 

 

Please post and distribute.

 

Inviting all allies to come stand in solidarity to protect the inherent rights of our children in a gathering and press conference scheduled for NOON on Wednesday May 31, 2023 at Kanienkehaka Kaianerekowa Kanonsesne, located at 560 SR 37 Akwesasne, NY 13655.

For questions or more information, please call

(518) 521-0741 or email kanonsesneh@gmail.com

See attached letters.

 

OUR BEAUTIFUL MOTHER ‘A’NONWAREKE’ [TURTLE ISLAND]

See message below and attached documents for basis:

May 22, 2023

Akwesasne

Kanehsatake

Kahnawake

Oshweken

Tyendinaga

Wahta

THE MESSAGE: The people of Kanienkeh have inhabited Anonwa’re:ke since time immemorial and have adhered to Kaienerekowa consistently. The Kanienkehaka have never relinquished, traded, bartered, sold, or compromised their title and responsibilities to the land and all the natural resources including air and water. The Kahnistensera execute their responsibilities as stewards of the land and consistently commit to protecting the integrity of it for the children to come.

As such, the Kanienkehaka remind our families, our territories, and those who reside upon our mother that this land was, is, or never will be up for adoption, sale, transfer or dismantlement.

If there is an individual, organization, committee, corporation or government that is in negotiations for lands on A’nonwareke, this is an illegitimate conduct. Individuals who claim to represent Kanienkehaka in any manner that is in contrary to our constitution have placed themselves outside of Teiotiokwenhakstha (see wampum #58).

Teiotiokwenhakstha is consistently enacted to maintain harmony with the natural world.

Let it be known that ANY land claims or land negotiations will NOT be recognized and are unacceptable by the Kanienkehaka.

 

As Robbie Robertson and Sadie Buck remind us: q=youtube+robbie+robertson+unity+stomp+dance&rlz=1C5CHFA_enCA724CA724&oq=youtube+robbie+robertson+unity+stomp+dance&gs_lcrp=EgZjaHJvbWUyBggAEEUYOTIGCAEQRRhA0gEJMjE5MzZqMGo3qAIAsAIA&sourceid=chrome&ie=UTF-8#fpstate=ive&vld=cid:3ced18ff,vid:bedkyBvAjPo

In circles we gatherMoonlight fires are kindledSending it backWe just make it go back
Beating hearts, beating heartsCome as one, come as oneThis is Indian countryThis is Indian country
Together we danceAll the first nationsThere’s no chanceWe ever gonna give up, no
Beating hearts, beating heartsCome as one, come as oneThis is Indian countryThis is Indian country
Intertribal
Going home, going homeTo a nation, six nationsTo all the faces I did not know
Beating hearts, beating heartsCome as one, come as oneThis is Indian countryThis is Indian country 
Ongwehonwe
Box 991, kahnawake [que. canada] J0L1B0

FOR MORE BACKGROUND INFO:

https://mail.proton.me/u/1/inbox/0hp0B_cBeTEaAwFdK5D0-KwU2lgr6AtqoQC_t0S_6AcIKYB5VmwMTIGBHX7gC2TWFm7kaRQSiPX_dh7hE7VgIA==