Mohawk Nation News

News and Articles by kahntineta, Mohawk Nation News Publisher

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Tag Archives: racism

QUEBEC STATE OF CHILD ABUSE

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REMARKS

MNN. May 15, 2024. This is about accountability. That is what reconciliation is about. We were given by creation the ability to protect ourselves, our people, the kanien’keha:ka, and all peoples and to love and care for our mother earth. Presently we are trying to find our missing and murdered children. We find that no public institution in Quebec has the mandate to be accountable for state abuse and genocide of children and people.

Our kaianerekpwa teaches us to hold ourselves accountable to our past traditions, our ways that foster dialogue and harmony to create balance and equality: the two row wampum, the dish with one spoon, the kaianerekowa (great peace). We first met the SAQ [Quebec Liquor Board] after writing them a letter in January 2024 about our concerns that the former cemetery on the property of the St. Jean de Dieu Hospital contained our ancestors who were patients there. We always seek to find all our children. Before the beginning of our relationship with the Europeans we held onto the spirit of loving and caring for our children. We find no one accountable for torturing and murdering them. They have benefitted from the genocide. This is a crime against humanity. 

The Duplessis orphans were mistreated and eliminated because of money. Only the corporation’s rights have been upheld, not that of the people. Our way is to hold ourselves to the truth. The Quebec government and its institutions like the SAQ [Quebec Liquor Board] have to be held accountable for their part in criminal actions to our people and to the orphans of all origins. What are we supposed to do when no corporate or religious institution seems to have the mandate to hold groups like the Sisters of Misericorde, the Quebec government and the SAQ accountable for the atrocities that were committed here and from which they are benefitting – the lobotomies, the pigsty cemetery, over which the first SAQ warehouse was built in 1975, transporting bodies in black plastic bags [we have seen the photos] of those bodies found by accident. The SAQ now inexplicably refuses to allow search dogs to survey the area to ensure that no burials or human remains will be destroyed or hidden. Refusing this recommendation from the leading national body of experts in searches for unmarked graves is immoral, unethical and inhuman., and pure evil.

The Quebec government made money changing the status of these children, most of whom were stolen from their families and designated as “mentally retarded”. What happened to us and to them is arguably one of the worst crimes against humanity that occurred in the Western world after the Second World War. The surviving Duplessis Orphans here are primarily witnesses to the horrors and atrocities they experienced which they tried to make public. They have been denied and betrayed every single time. I went to a funeral of three orphans. Hervé’s group doesn’t have enough money to put names on their gravestones. The orphans became family together and we are family with them. Many of them were Indigenous and had been hidden away as orphans, simply taken away, or sold for adoption if they were lucky, used for psychiatric experiments if they were not.

People’s power was taken away so they could not fight back or protect themselves. Our children and families were taken away to disempower us. The SAQ built its warehouse over the cemetery where more than 2000 people were buried. By refusing to let in search dogs who are capable of detecting the zones containing human remains, the SAQ is inferring that it will not account for the wrongs, even if it means infringing on human rights, breaking Federal and international law, and  breaching the ethical framework of a just society. Our ways are different, we respect everyone, we trust true dialogue and strive for understanding.

Yesterday, I asked to stop our meeting with the SAQ after they announced that the search dogs could not be used. The  voice of the orphans was ignored, as was their demand for search dogs to be used as recommended by the top experts in this country to make sure no grave will be desecrated or destroyed. It was very hurtful, insulting and abusive. In our ways we cannot speak with such dissonance. We must have a consensual discussion which is based on truth, peace and complete respect so we can arrive at a complete understanding. When sharp words and dealings happen, we must close the meeting and the parties must come back to the table when our minds agree to understand each other. If that mindset cannot be reached by state institutions like the SAQ, Quebec will have to reckon with the way their dead are being treated. This is very alarming.

SAQ obviously have never had a dog and they show their hatred by disallowing our blood hounds to go onto the land and be good dogs. As Red Foley sings about dogs:

When I was a ladAnd old Shep was a pupOver hills and meadows we’d strayJust a boy and his dogWe were both full of funWe grew up together that way
I remember the time at the old swimmin’ holeWhen I would have drowned beyond doubtBut old Shep was right thereTo the rescue he cameHe jumped in and then pulled me out
As the years fast did rollOld Shep, he grew oldHis eyes were fast growing dimAnd one day the doctor looked at me and said“I can do no more for him, Jim”
With hands that were tremblingI picked up my gunAnd aimed it at Shep’s faithful headI just couldn’t do it, I wanted to runI wish they would shoot me instead
He came to my side and looked up at meAnd laid his old head on my kneeI had struck the best friend a man ever hadI cried so I scarcely could see
Old Shep, he has gone where the good doggies goAnd no more with old Shep will I roamBut if dogs have a heaven there’s one thing I knowOld Shep has a wonderful home

 

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AIN’T NOTHING BUT A HOUND DOG!

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MNN. May 16, 2024. Duplessis Orphans and Mohawk Mothers: Details on stopping SAQ [Quebec Liquor Board] from starting their construction work on the former site of the former cemetary of St-Jean-de-Dieu “asylum” Tiohtià:ke /Montreal.

 Stab-in-the-back handshake.

SAYUMKI’YA’ASEH

On May 16, 2024, faced with the SAQ’s refusal to let the HHRDDs enter the site to ensure that no graves will be disturbed or destroyed, the Duplessis Orphans and Mohawk Mothers may have no choice but to seek to file the appropriate emergency legal applications, while being prepared to use mediation or negotiation before going to court if work is halted. On May 14, 2024, the Comité des Orphelins et Orphelines Institutionnalisé.es de Duplessis and the Kanien’keha:ka Kahnistensera (Mohawk Mothers) sent a formal notice to the Société des alcools du Québec (SAQ), demanding an immediate halt to all excavation work on the site of the former pauper’s cemetery of the St-Jean-de-Dieu psychiatric “asylum” in Montreal’s east end. This move follows the SAQ’s categorical refusal to employ historic human remains detection dogs (HHRDD) and other non-invasive techniques recommended by the Canadian Archaeological Association’s Working Group on Unmarked Graves (CAAWGUG), the country’s leading authority on the proper techniques for investigating these contexts.

“The SAQ has ignored our repeated calls to thoroughly investigate this tragic site where Duplessis orphans and Indigenous children suffered abuse and inhumane medical experimentation,” said Kahentinetha, speaking on behalf of the Mohawk Mothers. “Their remains could be buried in unmarked graves that the SAQ is preparing to disturb with no respect for their dignity.” Rejecting the use of HHRDDs, the provincial Crown corporation chose to go ahead with its proposed development project immediately, disregarding the expert’s recommendations and the demands of the impacted communities and survivors, the Duplessis Orphans and the Mohawk Mothers. “This is an insult to the memory of our lost brothers and sisters,” added Hervé Bertrand, representing the Duplessis Orphans. “The SAQ must be held accountable and demonstrate transparency by immediately suspending work until a proper investigation is carried out.”

This formal notice is a response to the SAQ’s neglect of basic human rights and its refusal to promote reconciliation and healing. The groups involved are urging the media to amplify their voices and hold the SAQ accountable on this critically important issue. GBM partner Frédéric Bérard will be representing the Duplessis Orphans. Faced with the SAQ’s refusal to let the HHRDDs enter the site to ensure that no graves will be disturbed and destroyed, the Duplessis Orphans and Mohawk Mothers may have no choice but to seek to file the appropriate emergency legal applications, while being prepared to use mediation or negotiation before going to court if work is halted.

For interviews, further information or access to supporting documents, please contact Philippe Blouin at 514-463-8835 or philippe.enver.blouin@gmail.com.

____________

BACKGROUND & TIMELINE: On January 9, 2024, the Duplessis Orphans and Mohawk Mothers wrote a letter to the SAQ stating that work planned for a new automated distribution center risked disturbing and destroying human remains from the former cemetery known as the “pigsty cemetery”, where more than 2,000 patients from the St-Jean-de-Dieu psychiatric asylum whose bodies were unclaimed had been buried between the years 1870 and 1958. The Duplessis Orphans and Mohawk Mothers requested the use of non-invasive technologies, and of qualified, independent experts and cultural monitors during any archaeological investigations, and that a discussion be opened with the goal of discussing an independent inquiry into the history of the people buried in the cemetery, and the potential atrocities that led to these deaths.

The letter of January 9, 2024 reminded the SAQ that, after the Sisters of Providence had exhumed more than 2,000 bodies from this cemetery for unclaimed patient’s bodies in 1967, additional remains had been accidentally found in 1975, during the construction of the SAQ’s first warehouse, showing that the first exhumation had been incomplete. In 1975, these bodies were exhumed by a construction company and moved in plastic bags to a mass grave at Repos St-François d’Assise, without the presence of an archaeologist or forensic expert. In testimony to the Superior Court, Sister Marie-Paule Lévaque admitted that she did not know the exact extent of the cemetery. Then, in 1999, the Journal de Montréal reported another accidental discovery of human remains in a zone quite far from the “pigstry cemetery,” during a new SAQ warehouse expansion project led by SAQ president Gaétan Frigon and then Parti Québécois minister François Legault. The SAQ has been unable to locate or provide a report or any information whatsoever about the bones found in 1999.

Between February and May 2024, a total of eight (8) meetings took place between the SAQ, the Mohawk Mothers and the Duplessis Orphans. The latter two groups learned in April that on the very day of their first meeting, February 23, 2024, the SAQ had privately hired Arkéos Inc. to submit an archaeological permit application to the Ministère de la Culture et des Communications (MCC), without consulting the Duplessis Orphans or the Mohawk Mothers. The inventory application submitted by the SAQ and its contractor avoided the requests of the Orphans and Mohawk Mothers for the use of non-invasive technologies specifically designed to detect human remains, such as georadar and Historic Human Remains Detection Dogs (HHRDD) – trained to detect historic human bones at depths of several metres – which are most appropriate when there is a potential for the discovery, disturbance and destruction of human remains.

The Arkéos inventory was not specifically designed to identify and preserve unmarked graves or burials, but rather to identify the remains of material heritage such as buildings, roads and artifacts. Its sampling approach, which suggested that the failure to find complete remains in four (4) trenches dug in certain areas of the site eliminated any possibility of human remains elsewhere, was insufficient to reassure survivors whose loved ones were buried in this cemetery as a result of mistreatment, which included lobotomies.

The Orphans have been calling since 2002 for the exhumation of the bodies buried in the “pigsty cemetery”, the heart of which lies beneath the current SAQ warehouse, to find the evidence of medical experiments and atrocities committed against children. Following the SAQ’s unilateral decision, the Duplessis Mothers and Orphans wrote to the MCC to make additional submissions to ensure that the archaeological permit would take into account the need to use non-invasive techniques to exclude or confirm the presence of human remains on the entire site, but their message was ignored by the Ministry.

Anxious to accommodate the work schedule, the Duplessis Orphans and Mohawk Mothers made a compromise at a meeting held on April 2, 2024, agreeing to work with the contractor selected by the SAQ for an archaeological inventory on the condition that SAQ request and respect the recommendations of independent experts specifically experienced in the use of non-invasive methods and in the search for unmarked graves. At this meeting, all parties agreed to involve Canada’s leading authority on the search for unmarked graves at residential school and on hospital grounds, the Canadian Archaeological Association’s Working Group on Unmarked Graves (CAAWGUG). In an e-mail dated April 4, 2024, the SAQ altered the verbal agreement to request and respect the CAAWGUG recommendations instead to a commitment to hold an information session with the CAAWGUG. As a result of this change of heart, the Duplessis Orphans and Mohawk Mothers had to cancel a traditional condolence ceremony to authorize and inaugurate Arkéos’ research according to Indigenous spiritual protocol.

On April 10, the SAQ finally agreed in writing to suspend work until the CAAWGUG had made its recommendations, and the condolence ceremony was held on April 16, 2024, followed by Arkéos’ inventory. Holding this ceremony was conditional on the involvement of CAAWGUG and a commitment that an independent investigation would be carried out in line with best practices determined by the experts specializing in archaeological investigations at sites potentially containing anonymous burials.

Representatives of CAAWGUG attended a meeting with all parties on May 8, 2024. At this meeting, the SAQ’s contractor, Arkéos, presented a preliminary report “liberating the site” from archaeological restrictions and not recommending any additional measures on site, not including the presence of archaeologists and cultural monitors during the construction work to identify human remains which might be discovered accidentally. It is important to note that the SAQ and Arkéos made this decision despite the fact that only just over half of the bones excavated at the site could be visually identified as being of animal origin, and that no laboratory tests were planned for bone fragments that could not be visually identified.

At the May 8, 2024 meeting, CAAWGUG representatives were finally able to obtain from the SAQ some of the documentation needed to make recommendations appropriate for the site’s context, and indicated that they would be able to provide their recommendations in less than seven (7) days to accommodate the SAQ’s concerns about their project timeline.

On May 9, 2024, reneging on its commitment to wait for the CAAWGUG report, the SAQ announced in a press release that the archaeological investigation was complete, that no human remains had been positively identified on the site, and that work would resume during the week of May 13, 2024. The CAAWGUG shared its official recommendations around the same time as the SAQ’s May 9 press release. In these recommendations, the CAAWGUG called for the use of HHRDD throughout the site and on the excavated bones to detect any human remains, as well as the presence of monitors during all excavation work.

On May 14, 2024, the SAQ held a meeting with the Duplessis Orphans and Mohawk Mothers to announce that they had decided that the CAAWGUG recommendations would not be followed, that HHRDD would not be used on the site, and that construction would resume immediately without further action. In a press release dated May 15, 2024, the SAQ demonstrated an appalling lack of understanding of the work of the CAAWGUG, which it confused with the broader organization that is the Canadian Association of Archaeologists (CAA), stating that “the CAA is not a professional order, but an association that brings together archaeologists, amateur archaeologists and members of the general public.” This misinformation is extremely worrying coming from a provincial Crown-corporation that acknowledges it has “neither the expertise nor the authority to determine the process of archaeological investigation or analysis of recovered artifacts.” Unlike the CAA, the CAAWGUG brings together fifteen (15) professional archaeologists and scholars selected specifically for their expertise in the search for unmarked graves and burials in humanitarian contexts, such as residential schools. Far from a group of “amateur archaeologists”, the CAAWGUG was recently awarded the 2024 Governor General’s Award for Innovation, which noted that the group “continues to lead the nation with guidance, training, support and assistance for communities conducting searches for children who disappeared from residential schools.”

In its May 15, 2024 press release, the SAQ states, without further explanation, that “regarding the use of HHRDDs, we have referred the matter to the relevant authorities for evaluation. Their conclusions stipulate that this type of method is not appropriate for our site.” Without naming said “competent authorities”, this unjustified rejection of the use of HHRDDs is incomprehensible to the Orphans, the Mohawk Mothers and the survivors of the atrocities that took place at St-Jean-de-Dieu.

While the Arkéos inventory concluded that no human remains were found on the entire site based on samples limited to four (4) trenches, a report published by the U.S. Department of Defense established that HHRDD dogs can effectively differentiate human remains from animal bones (p. 94), even at a depth of 2 metres (p. 44). According to a recent study (Grebenkemper et al 2021, p. 235), HHRDDs have only a 0.06% probability of false positives when two dogs identify a target in the same location. The CAAWGUG, Canada’s leading authority on the subject, considers the use of HHRDD to be appropriate, if not essential, on the entire site and on the excavated bones, with a thorough understanding of the soil composition, as evidenced by the fact that the CAAWGUG does not recommend the use of georadar in its report given its potential ineffectiveness on the site’s clayey soils.

The Duplessis Orphans and Mohawk Mothers are taken aback by the SAQ’s refusal to allow HHRDDs to visit the site to ensure that burials and human remains are identified and protected before work begins. Above all, they are shocked that the SAQ would publicly disseminate misinformation. Once construction work resumes without any supervision – which may already be the case, as the Duplessis Orphans and Mohawk Mothers have not been informed of the work schedule – nothing will be in place to protect the graves, which risk being disturbed, damaged and destroyed forever. Their request to implement, as initially promised, the recommendations that the CAAWGUG specifically identified as critical to identifying any unmarked graves or burials prior to the work is a very basic demand.

Faced with the SAQ’s refusal to let the HHRDDs enter the site to ensure that no graves will be disturbed and destroyed, the Duplessis Orphans and Mohawk Mothers may have no choice but to seek to file the appropriate emergency legal applications, while being prepared to use mediation or negotiation before going to court if work is halted.

*Comité des orphelins et orphelines institutionalisées de Duplessis, 135 rue Therrien Ste-Anne-des-Plaines (Québec) J5N 3B7 *h1bertrand@videotron.ca *Kanien’keha:ka Kahnistensera B.P. 991 Kahnawake (Mohawk Territory) J0L 1B0 kahnistensera@riseup.net

MEDIA CONTACT Philippe Blouin 514-463-8835 philippe.enver.blouin@gmail.com

Vintage Canadian legend and hippie chick, Joanie Mitchell, has the perfect lyrics in “Dog Eat Dog”:

It’s dog eat dog, I’m just waking upThe dove is in the dungeonAnd the white washed hawks pedal hate and call it loveDog Eat DogHoly hope in the hands ofSnakebite evangelists and racketeersAnd big wig financiers
Dog eat dogOn prime time crime the victim begsMoney is the road to justiceAnd power walks it on crooked legsPrimetime, CrimeHoly hope in the hands ofSnakebite evangelists and racketeersAnd big wig financiers
Where the wealth’s displayedThieves and sycophants paradeAnd where it’s madeThe slaves will be takenSome are treated wellIn these games of buy and sellAnd some like poor beastAre burdened down to breaking
Dog eat dogIt’s dog eat dog, ain’t it Flim Flam manDog eat dog, you can lie, cheat, skim, scamBeat’em any way you canDog eat DogYou’ll do well in this land ofSnakebite evangelists and racketeersYou could get to beA big wig financier
Land of snap decisionsLand of short attention spansNothing is savoredLong enough to really understandIn every culture in declineThe watchful ones among the slavesKnow all that is genuine will beScorned and conned and cast away
Dog eat dogPeople looking, seeing nothingDog eat dogPeople listening, hearing nothingDog eat dogPeople lusting, loving nothingDog eat dogPeople stroking, touching nothingDog eat dogKnowing nothingDog eat dog
Dog Eat Dog

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MNN: PALEFACE PRIVILEGE

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mnnlogo1PALEFACE PRIVILEGE 

MNN. Feb. 16/13. Fundamentalist whites think they are always right. Prime Minister Harper cruelly and coldly told Indigenous women victims of horrific assault and sexual abuse crimes by the RCMP to go to their rapists to file reports. This is a disrespectful white privilege remark to fuel racism.

Corporation of Canada logo!

Corporation of Canada motto.

 

When we walk into a store at the same time as a white person, the security guard follows us and leaves them alone to shop.

When a white persons tries to get into a school, applies for a job, or hunts for an apartment, they get it because they are white and don’t look threatening. The person dishing out the privilege is usually white. White privilege also means scores of second rate white people slide through the system because their ignorance and flaws are overlooked. This has obviously lead to mediocrity of brains and talent in high places. 

Backroom planning

Re: 2007 AFN-RCMP collaboration.

Whites benefit from living in a world they designed, mostly run by white people that has been built on our land. They always say they did not personally take the land, but continue to benefit from its possession and fruits. To do this they inflict systemic racism and lawlessness on the land owners. 

We always point out white privilege. No one listens to us unless a white person says it in mainstream media.  Otherwise the masses do not believe it. Historically, on MSM 4 bad stories for every good one on Indigenous to fuel racism. 

Here are some of the white insights into the issue: white privilege can’t be changed. They say affirmative action has made being white a disadvantage! It’s natural. White privilege is a good thing because white Europeans have civilized the world. Whites are inherently superior. Any white who says differently is a weakling and a traitor.    

Integrational whites are often paternalistic and condescending of Indigenous people. They want to keep the peace, avoid confrontation and maintain control. They want to keep the status quo, to continue the systemic racism. 

They’re adamant about keeping their white privilege. They are concerned about any of the settlers who are starting to stand against the genocide.   

White privilege is not merit. It is unearned. When we Indigenous seek a job, an apartment or a position in school and we are turned down, it’s because we are Indigenous. Unqualified whites will generally be put ahead of us on most lists.

hear that?

Kemosabe! When smoke come over big mountain 3 times, I will return.

As Procol Harum sang: “And so it was that later, as the miller told his tale, that her face, at first just ghostly, turned a whiter shade of pale”. Whiter Shade of Pale

 

 

MNN Mohawk Nation News kahentinetha2@yahoo.com  For more news, books, workshops, to donate and sign up for MNN newsletters, go to www.mohawknationnews.com  More stories at MNN Archives.  Address:  Box 991, Kahnawake [Quebec, Canada] J0L 1B0

 

 

 

 

 

  

TURN ON THE TV – to see what those crazy white people are up to?

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TURN ON THE TV – to see what those crazy white people are up to?  

 

MNN.  MAR. 19, 2012.  Our visitors are constantly depicting themselves as murdering and killing each other to set things as they want without compromise.  They plan and scheme the murders and atrocities.  They say “Sorry” for what they’ve done to us while violating us until they think they’ve got us. 

 

Shadows and voices are in their minds.  They fear opening up their perverse minds for others to see, while showing their hand anyway. 

 

They look for ghosts which are themselves.  Their invented ideology is based on who they are and where they come from [from who knows where!]. 

 

They create their history and write ours to conform to their fables. What is their Achilles heel?  The truth.  That is why it’s burn, burn, burn.  Out of the ashes rewrite history.  Get rid of the evidence, quick! 

 

They walk alone because they are alone, to avoid being found out.   

 

They must fight and win against those who disagree with them, right or wrong.  Their brain is constructed so they cannot compromise or see the other’s view, but pretend to do so.   

 

They see us as different and want to hurt us.  For our protection we’re usually not alone.  Mohawks always go with three to corroborate what we see or hear or give different insights.

 

Guilt over what they’ve done is in their minds.  They know they violated our psyche, our being and our lives.  Many of their stories are based on sexual violations or stealing something or someone he or she thought was theirs. 

 

Our visitors who committed and benefitted from the wrongs are suffering because the cover-up is based on half truths and lies, which they celebrate.

 

When we die, we return to our mother, the earth.

 

When our visitors die, they are consecrated to our ground and send their souls to heaven above where they came from.  Their atrocities are not buried.   Ghosts remain forever.  A wrong goes on and on in their descendents.  Is that why they are not having children to pass their evil guilt onto?  It won’t be over until they go.  That’s why they’re going.

 

If it’s not on tv, they don’t believe it.  Dire Straits said it in Money for Nothing:  “Now look at them yo-yos, that’s the way you do it.  You play the guitar on the MTV.  That ain’t working, that’s the way you do it. Money for nothing and chicks for free.”     

 

MNN Mohawk Nation News Kahentinetha2@yahoo.com  For more news, books, to donate to maintain the website [PayPal] and to sign up for MNN newsletters go to www.mohawknationnews.com  More stories at MNN Categories “COLONIALISM/ART/CULTURE”.  Address:  Box 991, Kahnawake [Quebec, Canada] J0L 1B0

 

 

DID YOU VISIT YOUR RELATIVES TODAY?

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27.11.2008 20:16:49
DID YOU VISIT YOUR RELATIVES TODAY?

IS THIS PALESTINE OR SOON-TO-BE-ONGWEHONWE COMMUNITIES?

MNN. Nov. 25, 2008. It’s called “warehousing of surplus humanity”. All humans are equal. No one can decide that we are surplus. The object is to remove the target people from existence. This is real, folks!

First, the territory of the targets is occupied. Their communities, work, education, finances and colonial apparatus are controlled by the outside forces. The agenda is carried out by the bureaucrats and military. They are trained in oppression using non-lethal weaponry to stay within the bounds of the UN human rights conventions.

A fascist state needs an uneducated non-resisting people. To achieve this, lots of interference in every day life, schooling and economy are priorities. The youth are specially interfered with. Places of work, schools or commerce are not set up within the communities forcing them to work or attend school or shop outside.

The target group is usually isolated from anybody who could help them. They are demonized. There is a media blackout so that the perpetrators can “warehouse” other victims later on who will be unprepared and unable to defend themselves.

Eventually walls are put up around the targets with checkpoints everywhere. Food and essentials are stopped from going in and out. Electricity is turned off. Water is undrinkable. The bus breaks down. Detours are set up everywhere forcing them to spend hours to carry on their normal lives. “Flying [mobile] check points” are set up everywhere on a permanent or temporary basis. They can arrive and stay for minutes or hours at any place anytime. Anybody can be arrested for going to meetings to discuss their plight.

The situation gets worse. Blockages of the community become more often and more severe. Sometimes nothing goes in or out. Electricity is cut off more often so that raw sewage flows in the streets. Houses can’t be heated. Refrigerated food goes bad.

To instill fear schools, institutions, hospitals and even homes are threatened or burnt down or trashed. Teachers, workers and service providers stop giving services “to protest the blockades” or “dangers” they are forced to work in. Papers, books and communications are kept out or controlled. No one gets trained to be a doctor or professional which are necessities in such communities. 90% have no job. It comes to a point where some families can only send one child to school or out to work. Each family is allowed one member to have a job.

Because of the system of checkpoints and walls, workers and students have to leave home and live near schools or their place of work to avoid 4 hours a day of travel which normally takes 20 minutes.

The targets are constantly reminded they are being watched. The police or special army units walk into their homes, at 2:00 am, without knocking, ask for ID and then take them to the police station. They study the personality of the targets and look for collaborators or spies to work with them. They take unflattering pictures after the interrogation or torture so the targets look like criminals.

Nighttime is the worst time. The targets are kept awake. They could be taken away at any moment. Soldiers come inside, point guns and start beating anyone in their sight. They yell, “Give me your ID”. People are forced outside without shoes or proper clothing. Hundreds of their community members are on their knees in the streets, sometimes until 3 am. Names are called out by the police on speakers. Some are taken away and interrogated for 5 hours and asked if they saw anyone throw stones or speak badly of them. This excuse is usually bogus.

There are 7 to 8 hour waits at the checkpoints. Students or workers can only go home once every 6 to 7 months to visit their family. They have to sneak there and sometimes have to hide out all night. They can’t use the main roads and are forced to go into the woods or mountains. All of these atrocities are video taped by the oppressors with cameras everywhere. These are for study, training, propaganda and their own perverted pleasure.

The students or workers have to leave 2 hours before class or work to go 5 minutes away. Everybody is fingerprinted at the checkpoints. All their bags are checked. Their iris is scanned and their biometric identification with all manner of information and misinformation is scanned.

Curfews are set up throughout the communities and towns. Mobile military checkpoints are put on tanks and jeeps with snipers watching over them. Communities, schools or institutions are closed down at will. The strategy is to make sure students cannot study or people cannot work, meet or move around. If they object, the children, women and men can be “detained” or beaten or even shot.

The main gates have high security electronic doors. There are “blind” checkpoints where military jeeps suddenly appear and demand IDs. People are forced to wait for minutes or hours. No one can complain during this examination. The police or military can invade the community or shoot and throw tear gas at anytime if they perceive a security threat. Anyone can be jailed. Young men are in put in prisons. Beautiful young girls are forced to take off all their clothes and crawl on their hands and knees through the checkpoints. They are made to eat food that is forbidden by their culture or they are allergic to.

Palestinians say this is how they are being treated by the Israelis. Canadian police and military are being sent to Israel for training on “crowd control”. Many of these fascist tactics were used on us during the 1990 Mohawk Oka Crisis. 5,000 Canadian soldiers surrounded three of our communities [Kanehsatake, Kahnawake and Akwesasne] behind razor wire and fully armed troops. It was because we opposed the desecration of our burial and ceremonial sites. We were surrounded by walls of police, soldiers, armaments and checkpoints for 78 days. We had to wait for hours to get through them while suffering specially designed humiliation from the soldiers and police.

Canadian soldiers went into Mohawk homes purportedly looking of weapons. They smashed everything and even s–t on the floors. Many of us were arrested for no reason or for “political activities”, which is called “administrative detention”.

Canada is no goody-goody! Canada collected much secret “information” about us. They refuse to disclose it because their misconceptions and misinterpretations could be challenged. Prime Minister Stephen Harper wants to change the laws so that the youth as young as 14 years old can be sent to adult prisons! This looks like it’s aimed at our Ongwehonwe youth.

How can such cruel conditions be created by members of a well-educated nation whose ancestors were subject to unspeakable abuse? Canada is bringing back these practices that originally came from here. The South Africans learned “apartheid” from Canada. Laws and policies were passed here to mistreat and demoralize us and cut down our population. The colonial strategy included genocide, the pass system and mental and moral abuse. Hitler praised Canada and the U.S. for their thoroughness in getting rid of the “Indian problem”. He copied the reservation and residential school systems for his concentration camps. Like Canada he tried to instill hopeless, to break down our spirit and to kill us off. It will never work. We will always be here on our land.

Karakwine & MNN Staff Mohawk Nation News www.mohawknationnews.com
katenies20@yahoo.com kahentinetha2@yahoo.com

Note: Your financial help is needed and appreciated. Please send your donations to PayPal atwww.mohawknationnews.com, or by check or money order to “MNN Mohawk Nation News”, Box 991, Kahnawake [Quebec, Canada] J0L 1B0. Nia:wen thank you very much.

Go to MNN “Canada” category for more stories; New MNN Books Available now! Purchase t-shirts, mugs and more at our CafePressStore http://www.cafepress.com/mohawknews; Subscribe to MNN for breaking news updates http://.mohawknationnews.com/news/subscription.php; Sign Women Title Holders petition! http://www.ipetitions.com/petition/Iroquois

THE OTTAWA PLANNERS. Public Safety [Danger]: Minister Peter “Pumpkin-Eater-and-Trough-Licker” Van Loan; Suzanne “Hurts-to-be-Herself” Hurtubise DM 613- 991-2895; Myles “Away-from-Reality” Kirvan ADM 613- 990-2633, 613-949-0322; Chantal “Dirty-Fingers-in-Every-Pie” Bernier ADM Community Safety [Endangerment] and Partnerships (613) 993-4325; Scott “ODB” Broughton Sr ADM Emergency [Mis]Management and National [In]Security (613) 991-2820; Lynda “Useless-Forked-Tongued-Drone” Clairmont ADM, same as “ODB” (613) 990-4976; Daniel “Pepsi-and-May-West” Lavoie DG Communications (613) 990-2743; Elisabeth “Botox-from-Head-to-Toe” Nadeau ADM, Corporate Theft (613) 990-2615; Kristina “Fingers-Getting-Itchier-and-Itchier-to-push-the-Trigger” Namiesniowski ADM Strategic Policy (613) 949-6435; Eva “Nosey-Nit-Picker” Plunkett Inspector Field “General” of CSIS (613) 949-0675; Richard “Diarrhea-Mouth” Wex ADM Policing, Law Enforcement & Interoperability (613) 990-2703. The biggest safety risk for us Ongwehonwe is this ADM cabal of agents;
Health Canada, partners with the US through the Canada-US Joint Radiological Response Plan, under the Federal Nuclear Emergency Plan, Foreign Affairs & International Trade Minister Lawrence “Chinese-Food-Glutton-at-Taxpyers-Expense” Cannon 613-992-5516 Fax 613-992-6802 Cannon.L@parl.gc.ca.

 

“HOLD ON! INDIGENOUS PEOPLES!”. IT’S GONNA BE A ROUGH RIDE.”

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THE INTERNATIONAL ROBBERY OF OUR TERRITORIES & RESOURCES CONTINUE FOR NOW!

MNN. Sept. 25, 2008. Who would have thought that artificial economies and their worthless paper currencies, based on theft of Indigenous resources, would come tumbling down? Greed and oppression can’t go on forever. These foreigners have been wheeling and dealing with goods stolen from us. Remember, they came here with nothing! Every inch of Onowaregeh, Turtle Island, they stand on is unsurrendered Indigenous territory. We are the caretakers. We will never give it up.

These colonial money grubbers never treated us right. They killed, hurt and weakened us and then took advantage of us. It looks like payback time. Nature is getting even. The natural order has to be restored. The people have to face up to what they’ve done or allowed to be done. The rape and pillaging of our mother earth has to stop. She has to be cared for.

Yes, it looks like we Indigenous will have to hang onto our hats and ride out the storm. We are still the trustees of everything over, on and beneath the land. We still have our lives. We still have our families. We still have the future generations to look out for. These rapacious thieves did not take care of mother earth as we did. They plundered her for instant pleasure and then moved on without thinking of the future. The colonists think they have to “conquer” nature and its caretakers, us. What are they afraid of?

The European throngs swarmed to our territory for deceptive ends. The so-called “conquest” of the “ New World ” was a European concoction. These pirates embezzled the “ownership” our property and forced people into slavery to work for them for next to nothing. Onowaregeh was occupied and ruined by a class of white European men who set up an individualistic capitalist exploitation system. Even when they charged over here for the “gold rush”, they had no concept of leaving anything for the future generations, or even of sharing with anybody.

The few elite made products with our resources, sold it and set up banking and monetary systems that were backed by the gun. Their highest ideals were racism, individualism, greed, grabbing other people’s property and accumulating more wealth than they needed. The driving feature is that the white race is superior and could enslave and kill Indigenous people. The lower order “settlers” were infected as well. They have a similar mentality of exploitation and victimization. Anyone who came here could grab our land and make a homestead. Today settler society is divided between the “parasites” and those who worked for them.

Developers have been putting up our unceded territories as collateral on the stock exchanges to raise billions of dollars from the public. This is fraud. The U.S. economic system is based on stolen Indigenous goods, lands and resources to prop up its ailing dollar. Countries worldwide accepted the U.S. dollar as the international currency. Now they have to work together to keep this whole fake economic engine going. If they bring it down it will bring chaos to them.

Their economic fantasy is that they think they can endlessly put value in the circulatory process they’ve created. They steal everything, create nothing and sell it to each other. The U.S. and Canadian production bases have been totally eroded. The reality is that you can’t consume what you don’t produce. The colonial entities have to take what they need through force, like oil from the Middle East. The dollar has to be back with armed force to steal other people’s resources.

It’s all inter-connected. The corporations sell ‘air’ at inflated prices, paid for with worthless paper money based on “faith”. Wall Street is based on greed, investing money and watching markets here and there. The U.S. government looks desperate. They fear their delusional bubble will burst. The oligarchs have made an exit plan to run away with suitcases of money. When the Russian Czar’s regime went down in the early 1900s, people fled with cash that was later worthless. The Wall Street oligarchs have an army to cover their tracks.

Despite the propaganda, the people are going to be alright. It can always get worse. The deprivation can go to a deep dark end. We need to resist their dire threats of medieval retrogression to torture chambers, burnings, hanging, drawing and quartering and impaling. It doesn’t have to happen.

Now the U.S. government is going to take money from the taxpayers and give it to the bankers who caused the problems in the first place. When the people go to the bank to borrow money they will be told, “There’s no money. We had to give it to our banker friends.” The U.S. visible and invisible government is trying to control all the land and housing.

Instead of charging them with criminal acts of treason and conspiracy, the buy-out is going to the company heads. The drafter of the buy-out is U.S. Secretary of the Treasury, Henry Paulsen, who worked for Goldman and Sachs on Wall Street for 35 years. According to the package, once he gets the money, he is not accountable. He is beyond all courts and legislation. This is a reversion to the “divine right of kings”. They want total control over society, a “coup d’etat”.

The “wrecking ball” scenario is based on fear, intimidation and blackmail.

The 3rd Infantry Division of the 1st Brigade Combat Team is being brought back to the U.S. from Iraq in case there’s a public “fall out”. John McCain suspended his election campaign. Next the constitution will be suspended. The election could be pulled. There will be no discussion or debate. An immediate decision on the package is being forced to serve the needs of the oligarchic ruling elite.

The U.S. is the leading imperialist. Presently with outsourcing, unemployment, housing foreclosures and economic and social problems the base for consumption is getting narrow. The industrial base is shrinking. Its main production is military weapons, armaments and surveillance equipment. Scientific and technological research is aimed at creating more lethal weapons to kill innocent unarmed people.

The second seller is high end luxury goods to a narrow elite market. The basic necessities of the majority is neglected more and more. The economy is being hallowed out through impoverishment and ruination of people. Other states are still tied to the U.S. monster. They are making new arrangements to separate themselves from this world crisis.

The public is crying out for major change to end the colonial racist greedy system. They have to look at Indigenous culture and harmonize their society with ours to survive. They need to renew all their arrangements with us to live, think and govern themselves so that the parasites are pushed aside. Sacrifices are necessary or humanity will destroy itself.

There is another world, a world of resistance. Our fate rests in our own humble hands. Indigenous people have survived. We kept our philosophy, our notions of governance, our duties to mother earth and our way of life which was terribly damaged. We have been able to resuscitate it and bring it back to a healthy life. We all have our strengths. We have an enormous evolved consciousness. People are beginning to see through this fraud.

Do U.S. President George Bush, Republican candidate John McCain and Democratic candidate Barack Obama want to really re-arrange the economy and society on a new basis? Do they want to dig up the roots of the colonial past and harmonize relations with the Indigenous people and mother earth?

Throughout, the colonists and their banker backers thought they could just ride rough shod over us while they devastated the planet. We are still here because we always resisted.

Karakwine & MNN Staff, Mohawk Nation News www.mohawknationnews.com Katenies20@yahoo.com

Note: Current border challenges cost money. Your financial help is needed. Please send donations to PayPal at www.mohawknationnews.com, or by check or money order to “MNN Mohawk Nation News”, Box 991, Kahnawake [Quebec, Canada] J0L 1B0. Nia:wen thank you very much.

Posted by MNN Mohawk Nation News www.mohawknationnews.com

Go to MNN “Border” category for more stories; New MNN Books Available now! Purchase t-shirts, mugs and more at our CafePressStore http://www.cafepress.com/mohawknews; Subscribe to MNN for breaking news updates http://.mohawknationnews.com/news/subscription.php; Sign Women Title Holders petition! http://www.ipetitions.com/petition/Iroquois

poster: katenies

 

Oppose CN’s racism and colonialism;

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Re: !! Tuesday/mardi (12h): Oppose CN’s racism and colonialism; Liberez le prisonnier politique Mohawk Shawn Brant! (Montreal)[français ci-dessous]

At the August 12, 2007 People’s Global Action (PGA) Consulta to plan actions against the upcoming meeting of Bush/Harper/Calderon and the Security and Prosperity Partnership (SPP), the following resolution was passed unanimously:

“We call for the immediate release of Mohawk political prisoner Shawn Brant, without condition; we also re-iterate our support for the self-determination and sovereignty of the Mohawks of Tyendinaga.”

Tangibly, in Montreal, a picket will be held against CN RAIL this Tuesday, August 14 at NOON, at the Central Train Station (more details below). The picket will be denounce CN’s racist lawsuits against Mohawk protesters, including Shawn Brant. We will publicly stand for Shawn Brant’s immediate release from prison.

http://nooneisillegal-montreal.blogspot.com/2007/08/august-14-picket-and-demo-against-cn.html
—

— Support indigenous struggles for sovereignty, dignity and self-determination on Turtle Island …

— Oppose CN Rail’s racism and colonialism …

— Protest Bush, Harper, Calderon and the “Security and Prosperity Partnership” (SPP)

::::::::::::::::::::
TUESDAY, AUGUST 14th, NOON
Picket and Demonstration
Montreal Central Train Station
metro Bonaventure
(enter via the metro,
or via the street at 895 de la Gauchetière West,
between University and Mansfield)
::::::::::::::::::::

** Meet at the large departures/arrivals sign in the main lobby of the train station. Bring your banners, placards, flags and other symbols of dissent. **

— We demand that CN Rail drop their racist lawsuits against Mohawk activists at Tyendinaga;
— We stand in support and solidarity with indigenous struggles for sovereignty and self-determination all over Turtle Island;
— We denounce CN Rail’s role in the corporate North American
Competitiveness Council and the Security and Prosperity Partnership (SPP).

“When justice fails, block the rails!”

CN Rail is a multi-billion dollar company, headquartered in Montreal, whose tracks and installations occupy native lands from ocean-to-ocean.

CN Rail is currently pursuing multi-million dollar lawsuits against Mohawk activists from the community of Tyendinaga who are actively involved in the defense of their land.

The Mohawks of Tyendinaga are demanding the return of the Culberston Tract, which was stolen from them in 1832. Recently a portion of the land was reclaimed, with the Tyendinaga community demanding that the Ontario government revoke the license legitimizing a private quarry operation that is literally removing land from the Culberston Tract. For more info, consult:http://ocap.ca/firstnations/tyendinaga/culbertson

CN is threatening more lawsuits against other indigenous communities and activists who block CN rail lines.

CN Rail and their executives are targeting indigenous community organizers who have effectively brought the issue of native sovereignty to the forefront. In the context of unsettled land claims, and the fact that their tracks sit on appropriated native territory, CN Rail’s actions are colonial and racist.

While CN uses the courts to attack native activists, their CEO — E. Hunter Harrison – is a member of the North American Competitiveness Council, a key promoter of the recently formed “Security and Prosperity Partnership” (SPP) between Canada, the United States and Mexico. The SPP continues the imposition of the neo-liberal North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA), combined with paranoid “Homeland Security” policies.

The SPP is an attack on all working and oppressed peoples, especially the indigenous peoples of “North America”. The SPP leaders – George Bush, Stephen Harper and Felipe Calderon — will be meeting later this summer, from August 20-21, in Montebello, Quebec (just 90 minutes from Montreal).

Join us on August 14 in Montreal, as we build towards the protests against Bush, Harper and Calderon in Montebello on August 20 (info: www.psp-spp.com )

Organized and endorsed by: Block the Empire-Montreal (BLEM), Liberterre, No One Is Illegal-Montreal, La Rue Brique, Solidarity Across Borders, Tadamon! Montreal, La Pointe Libertaire and others (to add your group endorsement, please contact noii-montreal@resist.ca)

-> Text of the flyer passed out at the picket against CN on July 1,
2007 in Montreal:
http://nooneisillegal-montreal.blogspot.com/2007/07/flyer-text-why-we-are-protesting.html

-> “About the SPP” Background: http://www.psp-spp.com/?q=en/aboutthespp

INFO: 514-848-7583, noii-montreal@resist.ca

::::::::::
::::::::::

Le 12 août dernier, lors de la Consulta du réseau de l’Action mondiale des peuples (AMP) en vue de planifier les actions contre le Sommet de Bush, Harper, Calderon et du Partenariat pour la sécurité et laprospérité (PSP), nous avons adopté à l’unanimité la résolution suivante :

«Nous exigeons la libération immédiate et inconditionelle du prisonnier politique Mohawk Shawn Brant; en ce sens, nous voulons également réitérer notre soutien à l’autodétermination et aux luttes pour la souveraineté des Mohawks de Tyendinaga.»

À Montréal, une ligne de piquetage contre la compagnie CN sera organisée, et aura lieu ce mardi le 14 août à MIDI, à la Gare centrale (plus de détails ci-dessous). Cette action dénoncera les poursuites racistes du CN à l’endroit des militants Mohawks, dont Shawn Brant. Nous appuyons publiquement la libération immédiate de Shawn Brant.
—

http://nooneisillegal-montreal.blogspot.com/2007/08/14-aot-manifestation-contre-cn-et-le.html

— Appuyez les luttes autochtones pour la souveraineté, la dignité et l’autodétermination sur l’Île de la Tortue

— Dénoncez l’attitude raciste et colonialiste du CN

— Manifestons contre Bush, Harper, Calderon et le « Partenariat pour la sécurité et la prospérité (PSP) »

::::::::::::::::::::
Le MARDI 14 août, midi
Manifestation
Gare centrale de Montréal
Métro Bonaventure
(Entrez par le métro, ou par l’entrée du 895 de la Gauchetière ouest, entre les rues University et Mansfield)
::::::::::::::::::::

** Point de rendez-vous à l’enseigne Départs/Arrivées, dans le hall principal de la gare. Apportez vos bannières, pancartes, drapeaux et autres symboles de protestation. **

— Nous demandons que le CN abandonne ses poursuites en justice contre les militants Mohawks de Tyendinaga;
— Nous sommes en solidarité et appuyons sans condition les luttes des peuples autochtones pour leur souveraineté et leur autodétermination, partout sur l’Île de la Tortue;
— Nous dénonçons le rôle du CN dans le Conseil nord-américain pour la prospérité et le Partenariat nord-américain pour la sécurité et la prospérité.

« Quand le CN attaque, on bloque la track! »

Le CN est une société privée multi milliardaire, dont le siège social se trouve à Montréal et dont les rails et installations occupent illégitimement les territoires des autochtones, d’un océan à l’autre.

Le CN poursuit actuellement en justice (pour plusieurs millions de dollars) plusieurs activistes Mohawks de la communauté Tyendinaga (Ontario) qui sont activement impliqués dans la défense de leur territoire. Les Mohawks de Tyendinaga revendiquent le territoire de Culberson Tract, qui leur a été volé en 1832. Récemment, une partie des terres a été reprise et la communauté de Tyendinaga exige que le gouvernement ontarien révoque le permis légitimant l’exploitation d’une carrière privée qui enlève, littéralement, la terre du Culberson Tract. Pour plus de renseignements, visitez :http://ocap.ca/firstnations/tyendinaga/culbertson

Le CN menace d’engager d’autres poursuites contre des communautés et militant-e-s autochtones qui choisissent de bloquer les chemins de fer.

Le CN et ses cadres ciblent les organisateurs communautaires autochtones qui ont remis à l’ordre du jour l’enjeu des revendications territoriales non résolues et la souveraineté des peuples autochtones. Dans le contexte des revendications territoriales non résolues, et considérant que leurs chemins de fer se trouvent sur des territoires arrachés aux peuples autochtones, les actions en justice du CN sont profondément racistes et colonialistes.

Alors que le CN utilise le système de justice pour attaquer les activistes autochtones, le PDG de la compagnie, E. Hunter Harrison, est membre du Conseil nord-américain de la compétitivité, un acteur clé du nouvellement formé Partenariat nord-américain pour la sécurité et la prospérité (PSP), entre le Canada, les Etats-Unis et le Mexique. Le PSP poursuit le programme néolibéral imposé par l’Accord de libre échange nord américain (ALENA), mais y rajoute des politiques de « sécurité nationale ».

Le PSP est une attaque portée contre les travailleurs et les travailleuses et toutes les classes opprimées de l’Amérique du Nord. Les leaders du PSP – George Bush, Stephen Harper et Felipe Calderón – se rencontreront cet été, les 20 et 21 août prochain, au Château Montebello (Outaouais, Qc.), à 90 minutes de Montréal.

Joignez-vous à nous le 14 août à Montréal, alors que nous poursuivons nos actions contre Bush, Harper, Calderon et le PSP à Montebello, le 20 août prochain (info: www.psp-spp.com )

Cette action est organisée et endossée par : Bloquez l’Empire! –
Montréal (BLEM), Solidarité sans frontières, Liberterre, Personne n’est illégal-Montréal, Tadamon! Montréal, La Pointe Libertaire, La Rue Brique, et autres (pour associer le nom de votre groupe à la liste des endossements, veuillez écrire à noii-montreal@resist.ca )

-> Texte du tract distribué à la manifestation du 1er juillet à Montréal :
http://nooneisillegal-montreal.blogspot.com/2007/07/texte-du-tracte-pourquoi-nous.html

-> À propos du PSP: un autre point de vue: http://www.psp-spp.com/?q=fr/node/35

INFO: 514-848-7583, noii-montreal@resist.ca

Posted by MNN Mohawk Nation News

poster: katenies

 

BEARS ARE MOUNTING THE SILVER EAGLE TO MEET THE CONDOR

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BEARS ARE MOUNTING THE SILVER EAGLE TO MEET THE CONDOR

 

MOHAWKS TO ATTEND INTERNATIONAL CONGRESS OF INDIGENOUS PEOPLE IN VENEZUELA

MNN. Aug. 5, 2007. The Indigenous people and President Hugo Chavez are bringing together 40 Indigenous nations of Venezuela from August 7 to 9, 2007.

The Mohawk delegation is made up of two women, Kahentinetha, an elder and Karenhahes, Bear Clan Mother.

This congress is setting up a broad international movement of indigenous people to reject colonial oppression. During the 20th century, the European states that generated the colonial movement began to understand that they would destroy each other if they kept up the land and resources grab and the ensuing killing of Indigenous peoples. Colonialism was declared illegal. Canada continued to define a “person” as any individual other than an Indian until 1951. Canada still does not respect our sovereignty and presumes that their colonial law is the only law north of the 49th parallel. The U.S. usurps the Indigenous lands, resources and jurisdiction south of the 49th parallel.

Canada refuses to sign the Declaration of Indigenous rights at the United Nations, even though that declaration is a profoundly colonial instrument. International law recognizes that no state can absorb another without the free and fully informed consent of the people concerned in a free vote. The Indigenous peoples and nations never agreed to become part of Canada. Canada is addicted to old destructive models of social and economic relations and medieval ruling class credos. It thinks that social order is based on command and obedience, not agreement between equals, and that there can’t be wealth without poverty. Such nonsense.

The meeting in Venezuela will take place in Mapiricure, an indigenous community in the south. On August 9th President Hugo Chavez will be presented with the Indigenous Feather known as the “Penacho” and a headdress. This will be followed by a ceremony invoking the powers of the natural world. On that day 11 land titles will be turned over to the Indigenous Communal Councils by President Chavez.

The shamen carrying out the ceremony will be joined by shamen from Argentina, Brazil, Bolivia, Nicaraugua, Mexico, Panama and the U.S.

Here is a draft of the words that the Mohawk delegation will be delivering to the International Congress of Indigenous People “in Defence of the Planet”, outlining a new paradigm for human existence.

“Nia:wen for your invitation to witness this historic event. From our women, we bring greetings to the women of your country.

From the “Rotiyaner” who are the men of our nation, we bring greetings from our men to your men.

From our elders, those who are the grandmothers and grandfathers, we bring our greetings to you who are the grandmothers and grandfathers of this nation.

From the fathers and mothers of our nation we bring greetings to you who are the mothers and fathers to your nation.

From our young people we bring greetings to your young people of this nation.

From the children of our nation we bring greetings to the children of your nation.

From those who still crawl upon the earth and those who are still on the cradle board, we bring greetings to your children who crawl on the earth and those who are on the cradle board.

From those faces of our future who are still beneath the earth, we bring the greetings to those of your people whose faces are yet beneath the earth.

Now that we have said this, we may begin.

We would like to have had a larger delegation here to day. Due to our struggle to preserve our sovereignty we are oppressed and ignored on our own homeland we call Onowarekeh, also known also as “Turtle Island”. The foreign colonial governments of Canada and the United States limit our movements on our own land. They fail to teach their people about our existence, our philosophy, our laws.

Mr. Chavez, thank you for giving our people an opportunity to establish relations between our governments under our philosophy known as the “Kaianereh’ko:wa”, the Great Law of Peace. We are not under the colonial laws. We continue to adhere to our laws and traditions. We continue to ensure a future for our people as the Kanion’ke:haka/Mohawk.

We are the eyes and ears that will witness this event. This is the beginning of a message to other nations to work towards bringing people back together to form an alliance. We wish to develop a sane and healthy way of life that assures that all people are decently cared for.

We need to renew the solemn blood covenants that have bound all Indigenous Peoples of South America and Onowarekeh, our name for Turtle Island, for thousands of years. We are one blood. When one family member is oppressed the other must aid their covenant partners. Everyone is there to uplift each other. No one goes without.

Our perception is that the material world is to be shared and distributed equally. Our ancestors knew that when a hunter went into the woods and brought back a deer, the entire community shared in that bounty. This is common to all Indigenous peoples of the world. Those who have fallen away from these simple concepts and now practice colonialism must be brought back into the human family and saved from themselves.

We present you with a copy of the Great Law, our constitution, in both Mohawk and English, our Confederacy flag, the Unity flag and several books about us that will be of interest to you.

We, the Onkwehonweh [the original people], are the guardians of Onowarekeh. Recently South America was visited by the President of the United States and the Prime Minister of Canada. They both avoided Venezuela because they can’t understand what’s happening here and it frightens them. These are emotionally disturbed people. They don’t know how to exist on a level of equality with their fellow human beings.

They do not represent us or even the people of their countries. They follow habits of thought that have been proven to be ineffective and destructive to the continuation of human life on earth. They represent foreigners who have usurped our resources and deny us any rights to our ancestral heritage.

Our words as the true representatives are binding on Turtle Island. We have always been here. We belong to the land on which we were formed. Mr. Chavez is here with the true owners of the lands of Onowarekeh and South America. What we say between us is binding.

Under natural law and international law everyone has a right to our own government, nationality and land.

As elders of our nation, we are dedicated to work in the best interests of our people. Each of us has power in our lives. We have a duty to spread the Kaianerehkowa throughout the world. The white roots from the Tree of Peace go in the four directions. Those who wish to find shelter may trace its roots to the source. My nation and Six Nations Iroquois Confederacy are in need of this alliance at this time.

Mr. Chavez holds the same political positions as the Mohawk Nation. We are here to help fan the flames so that the fire grows larger to make a place for all humans to share its warmth and benefits.

No one needs anyone’s permission to promote alliances, unification of our peoples and to spread the peace as prescribed in the Kaianereh’ko:wa. We refuse to live under a dictatorship.

An opportunity came to us to come here. We seized it. Last September some of our people went to New York City, which is on Iroquois land, to hear Mr. Chavez speak. He was inspiring. They told us that they agreed with every word he said.

Our message of peace came to us from our ancestors, Dekanawida and Jigosaseh. They told our people to bring everyone into a covenant of peace, to link arms with all the other peoples of the world. We are continuing the work of our ancestors to bring the message of peace to you today.

South America has the same colonial past as Onowarekeh, Turtle Island. We have occupied our territories since time immemorial. This land is who we are. It is our identity. Mr. Chavez is one of us. His roots go deep into the soil, the jungles, the mountains and fields of Venezuela. From the earth he gets sustenance, vitality and ability to help his people. The people feel safe. His first instinct is to protect the Indigenous people and the visitors who are here.

Venezuela is a beautiful wealthy part of the world. Your resources are now being skillfully used to enhance the best interests of the land and the people who live upon it. You are tapping into the wellspring of ancestral memories that are hidden in the minds of every person living here.

Now all other Indigenous people are seeing that it is possible to take our lives under our own control, not be dominated by foreign forces and to do good.

We feel secure with the Venezuelans. You are competent and sure of who you are. Initially the multinational corporations felt intimidated by the turn of events. They are finding they can work with the original people in the best interests of all. Everyone is benefiting. The only way to achieve harmony and prosperity among us is to bring all our talents and innate abilities together.

Mr. Chavez has found a way to bring this out in all of his people. He represents the forces of a people who are on the move. He has offered a new paradigm. He is showing Indigenous peoples and others that we can take over our own lives and run our own affairs. We can do it so that no one feels intimidated or threatened. It is becoming the natural way to do things.

Dekanawaida and Jigosaseh, the man and woman who helped develop the Great Law of Peace, understood this. They realized that the strength of the Confederation was based on no nation dominating the others. Each, no matter how large or small, had a right to exist and remain who they are.

There was no stifling of the innate abilities of the Onondagas, Senecas, Oneidas, Cayugas, Mohawks or Tuscaroras. Larger nations did not overpower the smaller ones. We were equal. Diverse peoples were brought together to work in harmony for the benefit of everyone. No one could assert themselves over others.

This is the reason why the indigenous government in Venezuela is successful. Mr. Chavez has tapped into the same knowledge that exists in all Indigenous people. The renaissance in Venezuela is going to spread all over the world.

People always feel threatened by a new paradigm. We can expect many attacks from the colonial powers. We do not use guns but they point theirs at us. They don’t know what else to do. The young, the poor and even the middle class in the colonized countries are all suffering from the same insecurity and dislocation that has been imposed on us. They will join us once they understand.

If everyone doesn’t relearn how to look after the earth and each other, there will be nothing left for anyone to eat; no clean water to drink; and no clean air to breathe. The colonial commercial exploitation of the environment has been taken to such extremes that human life itself is in peril. We can work together to clean up the mess we have created as human beings and make the earth healthy again.

The greedy grasping power hungry people who are trying to gain control over all of humanity have lost touch with reality. Just when they think that they have achieved their goal of absolute control and domination, the pyramid of delusion will collapse beneath their feet. Life itself will be gone.

Nobody wants to suffer the consequences of a collapse of this order. Venezuela has a model that is working. People are free and work together to develop everyone to their full potential in whatever area of life they have chosen.

When somebody wants to go from one place to another through forests, jungles, swamps, deserts or mountains, somebody always goes ahead and cuts the trail. The others follow the steps of those who went ahead. They all get to their destination safely. It takes a courageous visionary to see far ahead the dangers that are prowling around. Hugo Chavez is a trailblazer in the realm of the world’s progressives. He helps whole groups of people move forward together. He is setting in motion an act that others will follow.

We have a chance to see how this model is working to its fullest potential so that the good life and good health is shared by all equally. We feel gratified and honored that we are taking part in the dedication of the land to the original people. We need more people like Hugo Chavez all over the world. We hope for the continued good health of Mr. Chavez, who cares to lead in troubled times. Artificial ways will dissolve themselves because they are not real. Humanity must go back to the natural relationships. We salute you, Venezuela, for showing the world how your humanitarian goals are being achieved and are inspiring others to achieve”.

Kahentinetha Horn
MNN Mohawk Nation News

Send your comments on this movement to be presented to the Venezuelans and the Indigenous people who are attending his event at congresoindigena@gmail.com, Kahentinetha2@yahoo.com and katenies20@yahoo.com

poster: katenies

 

“I hear the train a coming”

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“THE ONLY GOOD INDIAN IS A JAILED INDIAN”.
PRIVATIZATION OF INDIANS AND PRISONS

MNN. Oct. 19, 2006. Howard Saper, the Ombudsman for Inmates, just came out with a report on the state of Indigenous prisoners. He said the incarceration rate for Indigenous people was nine times higher than for the Canadian population, even though we are 1.5 per cent of the population. The numbers are even worse for Indigenous women. One in three inmates in federally-run women’s prisons was Indigenous. Half are in maximum security institutions. One reason is because there was “routine over classification” of native prisoners. At least we’re higher class in something, eh!

So their family, community, friends and elders are robbed of their presence. They are sent more often into segregation and don’t get rehabilitative treatment so they can be released. Parole is not even a consideration.

Any lawyer will tell you that when someone looks native, they are more likely to be found guilty. Does that mean we have to powder our faces white when we go out in public?

Public Safety Minister Stockwell Day rejected the report and said, “There is no evidence of systemic discrimination against native offenders in the prison system”. Is he telling us that he went to visit a jail one time and they didn’t complain to him? To him they all seem to be happy, like they never had it so good. A major problem with our people is that we don’t lie. We’re basically hospitable, honest and don’t B.S. our way out of the system. We have a hard time conning anybody. We even tell the truth on ourselves. We are apt to accept responsibility if we did a wrong. We are taken advantage of over what they think is our “character flaw”. Most of our people who go to jail are involved in bar fights and actions related to alcohol.

Prime Minister Stephen Harper is introducing the “three strikes you’re out” and “you’re-going-to-jail-for-the-rest-of-your-life” legislation aimed at increasing the prison population. He says he wants to protect the “Canadian” way of life. Isn’t the Canadian way of life to be fair? Or is this a take on the old genocidal proclamations allowing British subjects in Nova Scotia to kill all Indian men, women, children and even babies? Let’s not forget that the first prisons were built in Prince Albert right after they hung Louis Riel for defending democracy. As far as we’re concerned it’s the same, old same old.

“If you do a serious crime, you’re going to do serious time”, Harper declared. He’s aiming at “violent offenders” like the Indigenous people. They want to go after spontaneous instinctive behavior which is done without premeditation. They are usually ashamed and do their time without complaint.

How about all those corrupt politicians? What about white collar criminals who steal millions and get away with it? Generally speaking it is considered worse if someone plans a crime. Slimy politicians, liars and deceivers who rob people of millions of dollars are not the targets of Harper’s law, even though they do more harm to society. What about contractors who skim on public works like overpasses that kill innocent people? A violent offense usually takes place between two individuals. In such cases the cops can easily set them up for two more charges and have them put away forever. What a weapon in the hands of the cops!

Imagine “super jails” run for profit by private companies eager to cash in on Harper’s plans to get tougher on crime.

Stockwell Day has made private security companies jump for joy. They are gloating over the “jackpot” they are going to hit by putting our people in jail. They just have to ask, “What’s your band number?” to get the payment from Indian Affairs. Harper is trying to convince Canadians that private prisons are cheaper so he can call on his private sector friends to build and operate them. This is part of the U.S. pro-privatization ideology adopted by the Conservative government. He will try wherever he can to turn over a growing range of public services to private operators, most of whom are his friends and backers.

It will be a for-profit business paid for by the tax payers. It looks like Indian Affairs can easily transfer $50,000 to $60,000 a head to these private prisons. Jailing Indians is big business. It’s a “cash cow” for the provinces which can get huge transfer payments from the federal government for every Indigenous inmate. They don’t get nothin’ for non-native inmates. That’s why it’s real attractive to keep us in jail.

At the same time the Conservative government has announced that Indian communities are going to be privatized. They want our communities to be run by corporations and trust companies for which the bottom line is profit. Band councils are now, for the most part, corporations which are being taken over by auditing firms such as PriceWaterhouse.

We’ve been giving the federal and provincial governments and corporations a hard time over theft of our lands and resources. They want to control us. They’ve figured out a way. They are going to privatize us and let the multinational corporations move in for a feast. We won’t know what’s going on with our money or anything. Corporations, of course, will want to cut costs so they can make a bigger profit. So our standard of living will go down, as if this is possible. If we don’t pay our mortgage or our taxes, the corporation will be able to seize our land and possessions.

Strange as it may seem, Canadians have never thought of registering mortgages against Newfoundland or British Columbia. So why do they think they can do this with with our land? The bluff and hypocrisy supporting this scheme is transparent. It’s meant to dispossess us.

It’s called the “Indian business”. In Kanehsatake PriceWaterhouse took over from James Gabriel who deliberately mismanaged the funds and affairs of the community. Every program and service was cut back. There was a lot “streamlining” or skimming off the top so there would be more for the corporation. $34 million is basically unaccounted for so far. Hey, Canada, did you ever wonder why your taxes are so high!

Trust companies will make money on privatizing our communities. The government will put up $50,000 a head and blow up the population figures to feed the corporate gluttons. They will do this in the jail system too. They want big jails full of Indians. We will be marketed on the stock exchange for the public to invest in our jails and our corporate controlled communities. The politicians will offer patronage plums to their friends to be trustees over Indigenous communities and jails. Why do they need to victimize us? Why don’t they just write checks to their friends? Do they think Canadians and Americans are so dumb they don’t know what’s going on?

The more they can cause mismanagement of band councils and criminalizing of Indians, the more justification there is for taking over Indigenous communities and putting us in jail. According to their business plan, warehousing Indians is a growth industry!

The United States corporations want to bring this system in. Is that the reason for that big agreement between Canada, the U.S. and Mexico called “deep integration?” They’re streamlining everything economically under a central control of 130 CEO’s who will make all the decisions for Harper, Bush and Fox.

In all of this, they are violating international law. Our incarcerated Indigenous inmates are not even citizens of Canada or the United States. They are from their own nations. They come under their own laws. This is like Guantanamo Bay!

Let’s think of how much the trustees of the Six Nations of Grand River Corporation would get under such privatization – $1.1 billion per year. Just think of the salaries for the CEO’s! Of course, there might not be anything left for the people. But, hey, since when did we count?

Kahentinetha Horn
MNN Mohawk Nation News

poster: Thahoketoteh

 

Mexican standoff

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The following appeal is from one of our readers in the South. They are in the same struggle as us. Please lend them your support.Greetings Friends:I am contacting interested friends to ask your help in bringing an increased national and international eye to the critical situation in Oaxaca, where the
potential for an imminent violent blow-up is very high.

The good news from Oaxaca is that the people are standing firm against the formal announcement this morning from President Fox and Abascal, the Secretary of the Interior, that troops will be sent into Oaxaca, pending “approval” from Fox, which
locals feels is a given. There is rumor that one plane has arrived.

The people are barricading the city today and are planning their defense. The general strike planned for Thursday and Friday, is still scheduled- this will be a complete shut down of the city, all business, universities, and offices closed.

This is a pronouncement from Oaxaca, Mexico where the teacher’s strike has become a united people’s movement for basic human rights:

Pronouncement

The National Indigenous Congress CNI) “recognizes, salutes and is part of the movement of sisters and brothers of the 16 Indigenous Communities of Oaxaca. The un-postponable renouncement of Ulises Ruiz would put an end to impositions; it would result in respect and recognition of the autonomy and free determination of our Oaxacan Indigneous Communities and to the cancellation of the mega-privatization projects in the south of Mexico”.

In the Declaration of Cheran, the CNI demands the immediate liberation of Indigenous political prisoners of San Salvador Atenco and Oaxaca,
who “continue experiencing a repugnant show of “governability”, in our country. They cannot continue being political prisoners at the imposition
of neoliberal projects on our lands and territories”.

This information if translated from The Jornada out of Mexico City; Ulises Ruiz is no longer recognized by the people as the governor of the state of Oaxaca, and cannot freely walk the streets, much less govern. AMF

Some ideas: spread the word throughout the global Indigenous support networks, call radio and TV stations, newspapers and magazines, request an update on Oaxaca, and tell them what is happening; contact churches, Amnesty International, Human Rights Watch; post flyers about the situation, contact Democracy Now, the only national news program with any regular information on Oaxaca, for their schedule of reports
on Oaxaca and post it as well as send it to interested people by internet; use the internet to spread the word; contact congress people, please include us in your prayers.

4000 teachers continue the walk they started last thursday from Oaxaca to Mexico City to bring yet more attention to the crisis, though Oaxaca currently dominates Mexican news. Its more than curious that we hear nothing in this in the U.S. Nor
anything about the fact that Mexico currently has two president-elects as a result of the recent fraudulent election, Andres Manuel Lopez Obredor, who has the support of the people, and Felipe Calderon, elected through Choice Point, the same company that managed Florida during the last presidential election in the U.S.

There is plenty of current information available to those who read spanish through the La Jornada, Oaxacos Citricos; and less in English from John Ross, Narco News, even some headlines through Google.

Gracias, thank you.

Un abrazote,

Ann Miller Frances
blancanegro@earthlink.net

poster: Thahoketoteh