{"id":15041,"date":"2023-08-04T20:55:21","date_gmt":"2023-08-05T01:55:21","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/mohawknationnews.com\/blog\/?p=15041"},"modified":"2023-08-04T20:55:21","modified_gmt":"2023-08-05T01:55:21","slug":"press-release-nitassinan-guardians-demand-end-to-logging","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/mohawknationnews.com\/blog\/2023\/08\/04\/press-release-nitassinan-guardians-demand-end-to-logging\/","title":{"rendered":"PRESS RELEASE. NITASSINAN GUARDIANS DEMAND END TO LOGGING"},"content":{"rendered":"

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PRESS RELEASE. Please post & distribute.<\/strong><\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n

MNN. 3 Aug. 2023. Blockade north of Dolbeau-Mistassini: Nitassinan native guardians demand end to logging operations on unceded indigenous lands. Press release – for immediate publication – [Mashteuiatsh, July 31, 2023]\"\"<\/a> <\/strong><\/p>\n

On July 31, 2023\u00a0 the Collectif Mashk Assi, whose mission is to protect the Nitassinan, sent a formal notice by registered mail to the R\u00e9solu Company, reiterating the opposition of the Innu guardian families to any logging on their territory. The guardians notified the company they would be patrolling the area, which is 40 km north of Dolbeau-Mistassini, to enforce the self-determination of their ancestral sovereignty and ensure that no unlogged trees were cut for profit. On the morning of July 31, 2023 a blockade was set up in the area to monitor the application of Innu law and compliance with their formal notice. <\/strong><\/p>\n

The Collectif Mashk Assi reiterates that failure to respect the Nitassinan guardian families against all industrial activities on their ancestral territory will result in legal action based on their inherent right to practice Innu Aitun, the traditional Ilnuash way of life, as protected by “international law, the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples and section 35 of the Constitution of Canada, 1982.” The formal notice filed on July 31, 2023 is a final warning, following the eviction notice for seven forestry companies, including R\u00e9solu, filed on May 29, 2023. <\/strong><\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>Since the filing of this eviction notice, the worst forest fires in the history of Nitassinan have ravaged the traditional territory of the Innu people, threatening the flora and fauna on which their identity and ancestral way of life are based. On June 18, 2023, the Collectif Mashk Assi, together with the Atikamekw movement Ekoni Aci and the Mohawk group Kanien’keha:ka Kahnistensera, signed a request for a moratorium on logging in the Nitassinan to allow the forest to regenerate and limit the spread of fires. The Collectif Mashk Assi considers that the Quebec government’s unilateral management of the forest for commercial purposes, without consulting the territory’s aboriginal custodians, is entirely responsible for the forest fires that have posed unprecedented risks to the health and safety of the entire northeastern continent of turtle island. The blockade set up in Dolbeau-Mistassini on July 31, 2023 is also intended to put an end to mining prospecting by First Phosphate, which intends to take the resources of Nitassinan without the approval of the Innu territory’s guardian families. <\/strong><\/p>\n

Finally, the Collectif Mashk Assi reiterates that no treaty or agreement in principle affecting the ancestral rights of the Ilnuash people can be negotiated without the agreement of the Nitassinan guardian families who hold ancestral title to these lands. In particular, it rejects outright the Petapan Treaty, which is currently being negotiated behind closed doors by representatives of various levels of government, including federal agents known as Band Councils. On June 2 a formal notice to cease negotiations of the Petapan Treaty was also sent by registered mail to all parties involved.\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n

Bruce Coburn asks “If a tree falls in the forest, does anybody hear?”<\/strong><\/p>\n

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Rain forest<\/strong><\/em>
Mist and mystery<\/strong><\/em>
Teeming green<\/strong><\/em>
Green brain facing labotomy<\/strong><\/em>
Climate control centre for the world<\/strong><\/em>
Ancient cord of coexistence<\/strong><\/em>
Hacked by parasitic greedhead scam<\/strong><\/em>
From Sarawak to Amazonas<\/strong><\/em>
Costa Rica to mangy B.C. hills<\/strong><\/em>
Cortege rhythm of falling timber<\/strong><\/em><\/div>\n
What kind of currency grows in these new deserts<\/strong><\/em>
These brand new flood plains?<\/strong><\/em><\/div>\n
If a tree falls in the forest, does anybody hear?<\/strong><\/em>
If a tree falls in the forest, does anybody hear?<\/strong><\/em><\/div>\n
Anybody hear the forest fall?<\/strong><\/em><\/div>\n
Cut and move on<\/strong><\/em>
Cut and move on<\/strong><\/em>
Take out trees<\/strong><\/em>
Take out wildlife at a rate of species every single day<\/strong><\/em>
Take out people who’ve lived with this for 100, 000 years<\/strong><\/em>
Inject a billion burgers worth of beef<\/strong><\/em>
Grain eaters methane dispensers<\/strong><\/em><\/div>\n
Through thinning o-zone<\/strong><\/em>
Waves fall on wrinkled earth<\/strong><\/em>
Gravity, light, ancient refuse of stars<\/strong><\/em>
Speak of a drowning<\/strong><\/em>
But this, this is something other<\/strong><\/em>
Busy monster eats dark holes in the spirit world<\/strong><\/em>
Where wild things have to go<\/strong><\/em>
To disappear<\/strong><\/em>
Forever<\/strong><\/em><\/div>\n
If a tree falls in the forest, does anybody hear?<\/strong><\/em>
If a tree falls in the forest, does anybody hear?<\/strong><\/em><\/div>\n
Anybody hear the forest fall?<\/strong><\/em><\/div>\n
If a tree falls in the forest, does anybody hear?<\/strong><\/em>
If a tree falls in the forest, does anybody hear?<\/strong><\/em><\/div>\n
Anybody hear the forest fall?<\/strong><\/em><\/div>\n
If a tree falls in the forest<\/strong><\/em><\/div>\n
If a tree falls in the forest<\/strong><\/em><\/div>\n
If a tree falls in the forest<\/strong><\/em><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n
Source:\u00a0Musixmatch<\/a><\/span><\/strong><\/em><\/div>\n
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Songwriters: Bruce Cockburn<\/strong><\/em><\/div>\n<\/div>\n
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