Shawn Brant’s bail review – Aug 10, 2007

This is a last minute reminder of Shawn Brant’s Bail Review in Napanee tomorrow, Friday Aug 10.

A broad show of support is important and we hope you can attend.

Please forward, encouraging the attendance of your networks.

Free rides from Kingston to Napanee;
Meet at 8:50 am Friday, Aug 10,
91 Princess St, Sleepless Goat Cafe.
Depart 9:00 am
Return around lunch/early afternoon.

BAIL REVIEW
Friday, August 10th, 2007 at 10am
Superior Court of Justice Courthouse
97 Thomas Street East, Napanee

 

Article: Ont. Mohawks plan blockade for Friday

Ont. Mohawks plan blockade for Friday

Monday, June 25, 2007

CBC News

Travellers in the Montreal-Toronto-Ottawa corridor may have to adjust their Canada Day weekend plans after a native group said it will go ahead with a road or rail barricade on Friday, likely between Belleville and Kingston.

Spokesman Shawn Brant confirmed Monday that protesters from the Tyendinaga Mohawk reserve near Deseronto, Ont., plan to set up a blockade of either Highway 401 or the national rail line, close to the town on Lake Ontario’s Bay of Quinte, or will block access to Deseronto itself.

‘This is the power we have’
The move will be part of the Assembly of First Nations’ National Day of Action on June 29 to draw attention to aboriginal poverty and unresolved land claims, Brant said.

He added that the day is important for indigenous people.

“We’re gonna be able to say to the government, ‘This is the power that we have,’ ” said Brant, whose group has occupied a quarry near Deseronto since March to protest an unresolved land claim.

Brant is also among those named in a lawsuit launched by Canadian National Railway over a blockade held in April over the same issue.

The Tyendinaga Mohawk band council is negotiating with the federal government over about 400 hectares of privately held land that Mohawks say they never surrendered. Brant’s group says the talks are moving too slowly.

Phil Fontaine, the national chief of the Assembly of First Nations, has said the National Day of Action is meant to reach out to Canadians, not to cause major disruptions.

Manitoba chief called off blockade
In May, Chief Terrance Nelson of Manitoba’s Roseau River First Nation threatened to block a CN line running through his community on the June day of action. He called off the protest last Tuesday after Indian Affairs Minister Jim Prentice decided to add 30 hectares of new land to the Roseau River band’s territory.

Brant called the government’s move at Roseau River a last-minute ploy and said he thinks it was done to “destabilize June 29 as a day of action.”

He was also critical of Nelson’s decision to call off his blockade.

“To say that 70 acres was enough to sell out the day and sell out the people is an indignity to everyone who’s been standing in these positions from the beginning,” he said.

 

National Day of Action – June 29, 2007

National Day of Action – June 29, 2007

Date: Friday, June 29th.

 

Location: On and near the railroad tracks at the VIA rail station on Counter Street, Kingston, ON.

The Kingston Mohawk Support Network (KMSN) plans to hold demonstrations on and near railroad tracks in Kingston.

We will be calling upon our government to respect its historical agreements with First Nations, and to begin to conduct itself peaceably, justly and honourably in its dealings with all First Nations and peoples.

We have chosen the train tracks as the location for this event to demonstrate our solidarity with the numerous road and railway blockades that are being planned by First Nations communities across Canada as part of this National Day of Action.

A big part of celebrating the National Day of Action will be educating the non-native public as they cross the tracks, but equally important is showing the government and First Nations that First Nations are not alone in their fight for justice and the land they were promised.

We encourage the participation of as many people as possible, in as many ways as possible. Some people may choose set up lawn chairs and “relax on the tracks,” while others may choose to stand by the side of the road and pass out pamphlets and refreshments to motorists (where roads cross the tracks), and still others may play music, chat with passers-by, or play Frisbee on the grass.

We hope to foster a positive and celebratory tone to the protest, with music, street theatre, dancing, and free food.

We invite natives and non-natives alike to join us on June 29th, as we call for an end to Canadian colonialism and apartheid, and for the recognition of First Nations’ sovereignty.

For more information, please contact: mohawksupport@riseup.net

 

KMSN event on local news CKWS

Click here to see original site.

NewsWatch Regional News

Tyendenaga [sic.] Picket

May, 24 2007 – 7:50 PM

A STRANGE PROTEST IN DOWNTOWN KINGSTON THIS AFTERNOON.
ABOUT A DOZEN SUPPORTERS OF THE BAY OF QUINTE MOHAWKS ASKED PEOPLE TO SIGN THEIR NAMES IN BLOOD — DEMANDING SWIFT ACTION TO RESOLVE THE ONGOING LAND CLAIM DISPUTE NEAR DESERONTO.
NEWSWATCH’S LIZ COOK REPORTS.
THE LAND CLAIM DISPUTE NEAR DESERONTO SPILLED ONTO THE STREETS OF DOWNTOWN KINGSTON…. AND THAT’S NOT ALL

protester on mic:
“the ontario government wants to solve the dispute on the mohawk tyendinaga territory, buy bring in the opp tactical squad. this is totally unnecessary, peaceful resolution is possible.
by bring in the guns, the government is saying one thing, they want blood so lets give them ours.” A MESSAGE THE “KINGSTON MOHAWK SUPPORT NETWORK” WAS ASKING PEOPLE WALKING ON PRINCESS STREET TO SUPPORT —- BY SIGNING THEIR NAME IN BLOOD.

jeff welsh:
“so what we are doing is symbolically offering ours instead and we are saying if the province wants blood, than take ours, so we are getting people walking by on the street, whoa re interested in settling it peacefully to give a signature and symbolic spot of blood.”

A STRANGE WAY TO COLLECT SIGNATURES — BUT A WAY THIS GROUP HOPES WILL CONVINCE THE PROVINCE TO FIND A “PEACEFUL” RESOLUTION TO THE 2-MONTH =-LONG DESERONTO QUARRY OCCUPATION.

jeff welsh:
“we know there has been an opp tactical team set up in a hotel close by for some time now. which means the province is still considering settling this with violence.”

REGIONAL OPP WON’T COMMENT ON THOSE CLAIMS.
BUT MOHAWK SUPPORTERS SAY THE PROVINCE NEEDS TO MEET NATIVE DEMANDS — AND TAKE AWAY THE QUARRY’S OPERATING LICENSE.

jeff welsh:
“we know for a fact if an opp tactical squad goes into the blockade situation there is very possibility that some will get killed, a civilian protester or an officer, and we don’t want to see that happen.”

protester on mic:
((“help us avert blood shed at tyendinaga. donate just one drop of blood or a smear of red ink beside your name. lets send a message to the provincial government.”))

THIS MAN WAS WALKING PAST THE PROTEST AND STOPPED TO SIGN HIS NAME, WITH HIS BLOOD.

clip….

THE SIGNATURES WERE DELIVERED TO MPP JOHN GERRETSEN’S OFFICE — BUT HE WASN’T THERE TO TAKE THEM.

matt:
“we left them there. i don’t know whether it’s mohawk or police blood they would rather see but on the fields there, but either is necessary.”

LIZ COOK, CKWS NEWSWATCH, KINGSTON.

 

No Bloodshed at Tyendinaga. Take our blood instead.

 

Action: No Bloodshed at Tyendinaga. Take our blood instead.

Date:  Thursday, May 24, 2007

Time: 12:00 pm

Location:  Office of John Gerretsen (MPP), La Salle Mews, Princess Street, Kingston, ON

 

The Kingston Mohawk Support Network (KMSN) is hosting an action in support of the peaceful resolution of the Tyendinaga Mohawk’s land claim. Bring your friends, family, co-workers and housemates.

 

The Ontario government is trying to solve a standoff on Mohawk land with the OPP tactical unit instead of following its own laws. When peacefulresolution is so easy, when Mohawk demands are so reasonable and yet they are ignored for so long, there is only one conclusion. The province of Ontario wants blood.

 

The Kingston Mohawk Support Network will try to satisfy Ontario’s bloodlust and encourage peaceful resolution by collecting drops of blood from passers-by and presenting it peacefully to John Gerretsen, MPP for Kingston and the Islands.

For more information please view the KMSN press release here or contact KMSN Media Spokesperson: Jeff Welsh, cell 613-888-6416 Jeff will be available on-site Thursday.

 

Press Release: KMSN wants gravel pit’s operations stopped, land claim settled

Kingston Mohawk Support Network Press Release

Action: Noon, Thursday, May 24, 2007. John Gerretsen, MPP’s office, La Salle Mews, Princess St., Kingston

 

 

No Bloodshed at Tyendinaga.

 

Take our blood instead.

The Ontario government is trying to solve a standoff on Mohawk land with the OPP tactical unit instead of following its own laws. When peaceful resolution is so easy, when Mohawk demands are so reasonable and yet they are ignored for so long, there is only one conclusion. The province of Ontario wants blood.

The Kingston Mohawk Support Network will try to satisfy Ontario’s bloodlust and encourage peaceful resolution by collecting drops of blood from passers-by and presenting it peacefully to John Gerretsen, MPP for Kingston and the Islands.

“Nobody benefits if someone gets hurt at Tyendinaga. We can’t tell if Ontario would rather see dead police officers or dead Mohawks, but neither is necessary. If they want blood on their hands, they can have ours instead and resolve the blockade peacefully,” says Matt Silburn, organizer with the KMSN. “This is an easy problem to solve. Ontario needs to follow its own laws and act honourably and justly by revoking the permit to the gravel quarry.”

The OPP tactical unit has been in a hotel in Napanee for two months. They were deployed at Tyendinaga during the rail blockade of April 20, 2007.

The Mohawks have said from the start of the quarry blockade that they would go home if the quarry permit was revoked. Despite violations of the Mining Act by the aggregate company, which dumped toxic waste into the quarry and which is leaching into the groundwater, the Ontario Ministry of Natural Resources refuses to act.

“Any bodies that fall will be laid at the feet of the Ontario government. This is an entirely avoidable conflict,” said Silburn.

 

KMSN Media Spokesperson: Jeff Welsh, cell 613-888-6416 (Jeff will be available on-site at the event.)

 

Celebrating Cultures of Resistance – KMSN Benefit Concert

Benefit concert with Infotourist, DJ Haircut, DJ Grand Funk, S-Cape Artist, and others, to support the Kingston Mohawk Support Network and Kingston Crimethink.

Date: April 26, 2007

Time:  Doors open at 8pm

Location: Time to Laugh Comedy Club (394 Princess St.)

Tickets: $5 All Ages

There will also be speakers and booths representing local grassroots organizations, and the night will also mark the launch of a new local infoshop, Miasma, which will be distributing literature, media, and merchandise to raise money for local grassroots projects.

Presented by Kingston Crimethink, the Kingston Mohawk Support Network, CFRC and the Society of Graduate and Professional Students.

 

Tyendinaga Quarry – April 5th Protest

Thursday April 5th, 2007, 9:00 a.m.

Location: La Salle Mews, Princess and Bagot Streets, Kingston, Ontario.

A multi-faceted approach to pressure provincial government to revoke the quarry license on Mohawk land.

Our demands:

• Hold Canadian governments accountable.
• Close the quarry while the land claim is negotiated.