The Spirit of All Nations.
TYENDINAGA – The Soldier On Afghanistan Relay team began their walk, run, and wheel from the Canadian Armed Forces Base in Trenton and are set to continue on to the Parliament Buildings in Ottawa with a brief stopover in Tyendinaga. The relay began May 4th and they are expected in Ottawa on the National Day of Honour, May 9th, to give the baton to the Prime Minister of Canada.
BRANTFORD – Our event is family oriented and the incredible BBQ put on by the Sherwood Restaurant & Catering and live entertainment by Black Mink,Dylan Balicki, Geoff Hackborn and Logan Staats are both great ways to encourage community participation, show our appreciation to thevolunteers and bring fun to the event.
SIX NATIONS – Randy Reid, Director of Community Initiatives for the Ministry of Aboriginal Affairs was met with skepticism on Monday after he attended a Committee of the Whole Meeting at Band Council and proposed an idea for Kanonstaton (the former Douglas Creek Estates).
Spring cleanup at the Kanonhstaton reclamation site near Caledonia happened last Saturday with people coming and going throughout the day. Several dozen black plastic bags of litter were collected and hauled away the next day. “It was great,” said organizer Cam Staats. “People came and had a good time.”
NEW CREDIT – Makayla Sault, daughter of Pastors Ken and Sonya Sault has taken a very brave and bold move to assert herself. The 11 year old, who was diagnosed with an aggressive form of leukaemia in January, has asked her parents to stop chemotherapy treatments and instead give her Ongwehowe Onǫhgwatri:yo: (traditional medicines)
Just about everyone has heard about the recent “largest tobacco bust” in North American history. There is nary a media source that is reporting all the elements of this raid right. Some have spoken of 400 armed officers of different jurisdictions coming together to carry out coordinated raids on Onhkwehonh:we territories. Other reports spoke of mafia connections to an organized native crime syndicate with the implication being that hundreds of Native peoples were arrested in these raids. Still other reports spoke to the gathering of firearms in the hundreds and a substantial accumulation of marijuana plants along with 3,4, 5, no, wait for it! 6 trailer loads of raw tobacco leaf. So what is the fuss about and why the amazingly disparate descriptions of what actually took place in the Kahnawake and Akwesasne territories?
SIX NATIONS – Amidst rumours, doubts and misunderstandings regarding John Kearns’ garbage disintegration unit at the Six Nations landfill, a Six Nations woman who has intimate knowledge of the both the unit and the process speaks out in defense of the technology.
Two anti-incinerator activists: Ella Haley who is a Professor in Environmental Studies at Athabasca University and Liz Benneian who is Manager of Partnership Programs for Oakvillegreen Conservation Association cleared their agendas last Friday to spend the day at Six Nations in an attempt to inform the community of the hazards of waste incinerators like the one on at the Six Nations Landfill Site. (Photo by Jen Mt. Pleasant)
Organizers Nicole Lebrasseur, Charlotte Jacobs and Donna Powless are inviting those from Six Nations and New Credit to come to Ottawa, this Saturday, May 10th. The bus trip to Ottawa is for a family oriented March and Picnic Rally, being billed as the “Defend our Climate, Defend our Communities Rally” and will be leaving the Iroquois Village Plaza in downtown Ohsweken, Saturday morning at 6 am. It will arrive in Ottawa for 1 pm, leave Ottawa at 8 pm, and arrive home at about 2 am. The Rally is intended to bring attention to a wide range of issues facing Onkwehon:we people across Canada, and to call for a system of direct democracy, where the people actually get to set the agenda. To reserve a seat on the bus, contact Jackie House at 905-869-0778, or Charlotte Jacobs at 905-765-3715. Bring your own food. (Photo by Jim Windle)
Last week, the community of Six Nations had a rare chance to learn about the various wampum belts in a teaching done outside the Longhouse. Among interested community members were a few Confederacy Chiefs, Sub-Chiefs, Faithkeeprs and Clan Mothers. These wampum belts were made between the Haudenosaunee and various European settlers.
WAHTA MOHAWK TERRITORY – Members of the Wahta Men’s Fire alongside community members and elders initiated a protest in front of the Administration Office on the morning of Tuesday May 6th, 2014 to voice their displeasure with the decisions of the recently elected Council. As a result, there is no access to the Wahta Mohawk Administration Office and it has been shut down indefinitely.
BEAUSOLIEL FIRST NATION/CHRISTIAN ISLAND – The skeletal remains found in an isolated area on the Beausoleil First Nation on Christian Island could possibly be that of an Owen Sound man who has been missing since November 2013 when his small airplane crashed into Georgian Bay near Wasaga Beach.
MNN. May 3, 2014. On May 2nd Sean Atleo courageously stepped down as head of the Assembly of First Nations to return to the natural direction we call “tion-heh-kwen”.
Shawn Atleo has resigned as national chief of the Assembly of First Nations after chiefs across the country opposed his support for the federal Conservative government’s efforts to revamp education on reserves.
The Mohawk radio personality believes that the police raids around Montreal, earlier yesterday, are more about public relations than targeting criminal organizations. He says that by criminalizing the trade and manufacturing of tobacco, the Canadian government is violating Mohawks’ rights to develop their own economies.
