CPTnet
July 11,2003
ASUBPEECHOSEEWAGONG UPDATE: June 15-July 4, 2003
June 16
Matt Schaaf, Jessica Phillips and Erin Kindy evaluated
CPT's presence in Asubpeeschoseewagong with community
members. People said they felt safer because of CPT's
presence and affirmed CPT staying for three more
months. Logging blockades are only the beginning of
band members' plans as they move off of the
fourteen-square mile reserve onto their traditional
land, risking more confrontation with government
authorities and logging contractors.
June 20-29
A CPT delegation comprising members from Canada and
the United States joined the team. The delegation
began at the Slant Lake blockade, and included a time
of worship in the middle of a clear-cut. Three
members of Knox United Church in Kenora joined the
group for the weekend.
As people from the timber industry town of Kenora and
residents of Grassy Narrows get to know each other,
the town folks have learned that the blockades are
just a small part of the reclaiming of traditional
territory. Asubpeeschoseewagong blockaders learn that
they have sympathetic neighbours in Kenora.
June 23
On Treaty Day, employees of the Canadian Ministry of
Indian and
Northern Affairs (INAC) came to the reserve. Though
the Minister refuses
to discuss Treaty rights with the blockade organizers,
the government
"honours" their version of the Treaty by holding to
its literal terms, handing out five dollars, twine
and bullets to each band member. The government
employees did not appreciate the presence of a Toronto
Star reporter who was there to document the event.
June 23-26
Community young people hosted a Youth Environmental
Gathering attended by other First Nation youth and
supporters, including some from as far away as
Arizona. Forty to fifty people attended workshops on
Treaty rights and sovereignty issues, and participated
in traditional drum making, hunting and sweatlodge
ceremonies. The Gathering ended with a three-day Pow
Wow.
June 25
The Youth Environmental Gathering mounted an overnight
blockade at Deer Lake and Segise Roads. Forty
supporters and a few community members stayed awake
all night to prevent loggers from accessing the
traditional land. Roberta Keesick of Grassy Narrows
emphasized to reporters over satellite telephone that
the blockades are protecting their traditions and that
Anishinaabe people will make their own choices about
how their land is used.
June 26
As the delegates prepared to return to
Asubpeeschoseewagong after
the blockade, the rental van's transmission refused to
work. Team vehicles frequently break down due to very
rough gravel logging roads. The team began to look
seriously at buying a 4x4 truck in order to accompany
safely community members in remote areas. (CPT seeks
donations toward this expense. Please send donations
marked "Asubpeeschoseewagong 4x4" to CPT's United
States or Canada offices.)
June 27
The team and delegation hung a banner, "The Treaty is
Forever. Let's Protect it. Christian Peacemaker
Teams" from trees along the Jones Road leading into
Kenora. A nearby sign posted by the Ministry of
Natural Resources (MNR) read "The Forests are our
Future. Let's Protect It. Be Careful with Fire."
The MNR licenses pulp and paper giant
Abitibi-Consolidated to clear-cut the Whiskey Jack
Forest. The Ontario Provincial Police arrived as the
team photographed the banner in place, but left soon
afterwards without questioning the banner.
June 29
On the way to church in Kenora, the team and
delegation found one of
the trees that had held the banner chain-sawed to the
ground and the banner itself slashed in half.
Grassy Narrows construction crews built an additional
three large tipis,
numerous sleeping sheds, and a Pow Wow ground area at
the Slant Lake
Blockade in preparation for the Youth Environmental
Gathering and Pow
Wow. Residents have insisted they will keep on
building on their traditional land without asking for
government permits.
Team members from June 15 - July 4 were: Bob Carleston
(Denver, CO); Erin
Kindy (Tiskilwa, IL); Jessica Phillips (Encinal, TX);
Matt Schaaf (Winnipeg, MB); Jerry Stein (Nazareth,
TX). and Jason Brack (Ft. Collins, CO). Delegation
participants were: Tim Spring (Winnipeg, MB), Derrick
Martens (Winnipeg, MB) , Eric Kurtz (Elkart, IN), Judy
Gilbert (Toronto, ON), Scott Diehl (IO), Eric
Matheson and Cheryl Kinney Matheson (Kenora ON)
and Charles Blackburn (Kenora, ON).
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