On July 23, 1990, the Aboriginal Rights Support Group of the Committee Against Racism in Calgary organized a "Rally in Support of the Mohawks". About 300 demonstrators came out to hear speakers from all walks of life offer their views on the situation in Kanesatake and Kahnawake. Neither rain nor high winds could dampen the spirits of the crowd while speaker after speaker condemned the Federal government for its inactions and the abrogation of its constitutional responsibilities. The speakers also offered encouragement for the Mohawks and urged the crowd to make themselves heard by writing letters the Prime Minister of Canada, their local Members of Parliament, the Opposition parties, as well as local and national newspapers. Retyped for your continued information is the text of a resolution passed unanimously at the gathering, a list of the speakers, and the transcript of 'Commentary", a national feature of CBC radio. ************************************************************************ To the Prime Minister of Canada: We, the participants of gathering in Calgary, Alberta, on July 23, 1990, in Support of the Mohawk People, - Condemn the Federal Government of Canada for abrogating its fiduciary responsibility towards the First Nations of this country. Regarding the situation of the Kanesatake Mohawk of Oka, we assert the following: - that the First Nations have the inherent right to exercise their jurisdiction over their traditional lands. - that we support a peaceful negotiated settlement of all issues in dispute. - that we support the call for the appointment of a United Nations Commission to investigate the violations of civil, human, and political rights. we demand the following: - that all military forces and police must withdraw from Oka. - that the Prime Minister immediately reconvene Parliament to deal with this national crisis. - that the Prime Minister participate in talks to end the crisis. - that there be no reprisals, prosecutions, or legal proceedings against the Mohawks as a result of this dispute. we encourage: - other countries to condemn Canada for its neglect of Native people and its disregard for their inherent Aboriginal rights . and we encourage: - other countries to impose economic sanctions if this government fails to act promptly and honourably towards the First Nations. We support the chiefs of Canada's First Nations who are taking appropriate and necessary steps in their respective territories in support of their brothers and sisters in Mohawk Territory. * * * * * Adopted by acclamation by over 300 native and non-native participants in Calgary, Alberta, on July 23, 1990 cc: Mohawk Nation Assembly of First Nations Jean Chretien, Leader, Liberal Party Audrey McLaughlin, Leader, New Democratic Party ************************************************************************ Speakers: Church Organisations Elaine Bishop, Canadian Friends Service Committee (Quakers), and Chairperson of the Aboriginal Rights Coalition, Eleanor Ness, Lutheran Church of Canada Carolyn Bouey - Shank, Alberta & Northwest Conference, Church in Society, United Church of Canada Politicians Bob Hawkesworth, Member of the Legislative Assembly, New Democrats Ross Harvey, Member of Parliament, New Democratic Party Karen Gainer, Liberal Party Native Organisations Peter Manywounds, speaking on behalf of Roy Whitney, Chief of the Sarcee Indian Nation and Vice President for Treaty 7 of the Indian Association of Alberta Regina Crowchild, President, Indian Association of Alberta Doug Vivier, Metis Association of Alberta Lawrence Courtoreille, Vice Chief of the Assembly of First Nations for Alberta Ka tsi tsia Ro roks, Mohawk from Akwesasne Other Raymond Familusi, Committee Against Racism Nomagugu Ngajima, African National Congress Tony Hall, Prof. of Native American Studies, Canadian Alliance in Solidarity with the Native Peoples Myra Miller, Oxfam Canda Susan Keeley, Calgary Labour Council ************************************************************************ Transcript of Commentary, a part of the "Calgary Eye - Opener", July 24, 1990 Maureen Pendergast: ... The standoff between Quebec police and Mohawk warriors at Oka is the most dramatic in a long series of clashes over landclaims. Many Indian leaders across Canada say the legal and political system has repeatedly failed them. Tony Hall is a specialist in Native American Studies. He says, the Federal Government has abdicated its duty to protect the interest of Indians. Tony Hall: We were just beginning to recover from the drama of Elijah Harper's effective blockade of the Meech Lake accord through the Manitoba legislature. Then a flood of images began to beam across the airwaves that seemed more characteristic of Lebanon or South Africa than of Canada. Of all the electronic icons captured from the confrontations at Oka and the Mercier Bridge, the most chilling depict the nightly effigy-burning of Indians. What a graphic display of Prime Minister Brian Mulroney's failure to deliver on his promise of "national reconciliation"! The begrudging reluctance of his government to intervene in this blossoming crisis is indicative of a far deeper failure at the root of virtually all the festering controversies surrounding Aboriginal land claims throughout Canada. In our constitution it is the NATIONAL government that holds exclusive powers to legislate for Indians and lands reserved for the Indians. Imperial authorities built this feature into the structure of Confederation as a means to protect the Aboriginal interest in Canada from the acquisitive grasp of provincial interests. These architects of Confederation correctly predicted that in asserting ownership and control over natural resources, provincial governments would almost certainly disregard older Crown traditions of respect for Aboriginal and treaty rights. The Federal government in Ottawa was to provide the protective shield for Indian lands against the inroads of developers working through provincial and municipal authorities. The current crisis can be seen as a symptom of a prolonged failure on the part of the national government to fulfil its constitutional obligation to protect Aboriginal lands. Whether we are talking about a golf course in Oka, or major hydroelectric works in northern Quebec or northern Manitoba, or polluting pulp and paper mills in Alberta, or logging in B.C. or Ontario, all of these developments -and many others like them - are proceeding under the auspices of provincial governments. And most of this activity is going ahead with stunning disregard for Aboriginal claims or for the environmental or social devastation that this kind of exploitative development often presents for Aboriginal societies. The betrayal of Aboriginal people in the Meech Lake negotiations was the most telling symbol of Brian Mulroney's eagerness to trade away Aboriginal interests to secure provincial support for his policies. The prime minister's willingness to sacrifice legal obligation on the altar of political expediency, then, is forcing Aboriginal people to take direct responsibility for the protection of their lands - lands they need to sustain their posterity and their distinct cultures into the future. The emerging prominence of the Mohawk warriors, therefore, is but one expression of a hardening Aboriginal resolve not to lose more turf because of the Mulroney government's failure to meet its constitutional responsibilities. Who is the most influential law breaker behind the confrontations at Kanesatake and Kahnewake? Could it be the man on vacation at Herrington Lake who once declared with such bluster that the Constitution of Canada isn't worth the paper it's written on? For Commentary, this is Tony Hall in Lethbridge. Maureen Pendergast: Tony Hall teaches Native Studies at the University of Lethbridge. ************************************************************************ If you want to support the Mohawks Nation in their struggle write to the Prime Minister of Canada, with copies to the Mohawks, the Opposition, your local political representative. Letters from all over the world are convincing arguments for politicians to do SOMETHING! And if the letters come from both inside and outside of Canada it is much harder for the politicians and the bureaucracy to hush things up and do something STUPID like send in the army instead of negotiating a peaceful settlement. Prime Minister Brian Mulroney Government of Canada Ottawa, CANADA K1A 0H4 The Hon. Jean Chretien Leader of the Official Opposition House of Commons Ottawa, ONT K1A 0H4 The Hon. Audrey McLaughlin Leader of the New Democratic Party House of Commons Ottawa, ONT K1A 0H4 Ms. E. Blondin Liberal Indian Affairs Critic House of Commons Ottawa, ONT K1A 0H4 Mr. Robert Skelly NDP Indian Affairs Critic House of Commons Ottawa, ONT K1A 0H4 You Local Member of Parliament House of Commons Ottawa, ONT K1A 0H4 NO POSTAGE NECESSARY FOR ALL OF THE ABOVE IF MAILED IN CANADA!!! Mr. Georges Erasmus President, Assembly of First Nations 47 Clarence Street, Suite 300 Ottawa, ONT K1N 9K1 Mohawk Nation of Kanesatake c/o Mohawk Council of Kahnawake P.O. Box 720 Kahnawake, Quebec, J0L 1B0 ************************************************************************ For more information contact web:car by e-mail or in writing Aboriginal Rights Support Group Committee Against Racism P.O. Box 3085, Station B Calgary, Alberta T2M 4L6