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[OPIRG-EVENTS] IPPERWASH NEWS - January 2002 (Ottawa meeting Jan. 11, 2:30pm)




From: Ann Pohl [mailto:annpohl@interlog.com]
Sent: Thursday, January 03, 2002 9:41 AM
To: (Recipient list suppressed)
Subject: IPPERWASH NEWS - January 2002


YES FOLKS! More than six years after the horrible events at Ipperwash
Park (Aazhoodena -- territory of the Stoney Point People) on September
6, 1995, justice remains elusive. With all the money on the side of
those who abused their powers to wreak injustice, none of us can be
surprised at this reality.

By the same token, we can't "afford" to give up the fight for respect
and human rights. Every one of us knows -- no matter our skin colour or
spiritual/ethnic affiliations -- that the rights of all of us are in
jeopardy when an unarmed person, who is simply defending his People's
human rights, can be shot in cold blood.

Those of us who are not Indigenous can't "afford" to give up our support
for the rights of the First Peoples of this land. We have two worlds in
this land -- the marginalized Aboriginal "world", which places 63rd on
the UN's Human Development Index, and the dominant Canadian "world",
which ranks among the top three nations on the planet according to this
same Index. As long as we have these two worlds butting up against each
other within Canada, there will be peace because there is no justice.
Indigenous Peoples will continue to strengthen their campaigns,
celebrating more than 500 years of resistance and survival with rebirth,
regrowth and reassertion of rights. Canadians must stand side-by-side
with them.

None of us can allow the officials who encouraged, supported, planned
and carried out the terrible human rights violations that happened on
September 6, 1995 to "get away with it"... even if it is almost 6 and
1/2 years since that night. We must never forget. We must never stop
sifting through papers, talking about what happened, building public
awareness about the long-standing violations of the rights of the Stoney
Point People (and so many other Aboriginal Peoples across Canada),
putting pressure on politicians and officials to be accountable for what
has happened to and at Stoney Point. We must keeping searching in dark
and creepy places for light and truth.

Here's what you can do right now:

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Attend a Meeting in Ottawa to Plan a
Commemoration of Dudley George's Birthday

There will be an organizing meeting on January 11th at 2:30 on the
Carleton Campus. We will have this meeting in 303 Dunton Tower. The
major focus of this meeting is to discuss the events on March 17th,
2002. On this day we will have Sam George as well as other guest
speakers talk about Aboriginal issues, such as land claim issues, treaty
rights and other issues pertaining to self-determination. The main
objective of this event is to look at the injustices that the Stoney
Point Aboriginals have suffered and let the public know that these
issues are happening all over Canada. Funding for this event will also
need to be discussed in this meeting. I hope to see someone from your
coalition there!
Sheila Grantham, Carleton University Human Rights Group
grantham@sympatico.ca


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Send a Donation to the Ipperwash Justice Fund

This will help cover the costs of putting Mike Harris et al on trial to
find out EXACTLY what role they did play in provoking that police riot
and killing Dudley George. The "Justice for Ipperwash Fund" can be found
c/o Murray Klippenstein, 3rd Floor, 160 John Street, Toronto, Ontario
M5V 2E5. Murray's phone number is 416-598-0288.


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Mark YOUR Calendar for March 1st:
A Fun and Invigorating Event at
Convocation Hall, University of Toronto

The Toronto regional group of the Elementary Teachers Federation is
planning a BIG, exciting, social/cultural/fund-raising rally to build
awareness of Ipperwash and   related issues. Save this date. It will be
the Toronto's social event of the season! More details to come soon.


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Lobby the Tory Leadership Candidates

Ask them if they will support a Public inquiry into Ipperwash. Let us
know what they say and we'll share the news through this list. Try and
get it in writing if possible. This is very important work for those who
are up to the task -- so please take this suggestion seriously!!


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Support Federal NDP Efforts to Raise Issue in Ottawa

In early December, the NDP's Aboriginal Affairs critic, Pat Martin,
raised the following motion in the federal parliament.

"That this House urge the government to call a full public inquiry into
the death of Dudley George, fatally shot on September 6, 1995, at
Ipperwash Park, during a land claims dispute related to the land, treaty
and cultural rights of the Stoney Point aboriginal people."

Of course, nothing came of it in the parliamentary process. Ottawa has
also got a lot to hide in regards to their  complicity with the events
at Ipperwash -- especially going back over the past century but also the
Sept 6th terror.  However, keep in mind that the federal NDP has now
taken this issue up so we can keep that link open and hopefully
collaborate on further strategies in the future. This is the motion Pat
Martin put to the House:


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This message sent out by Ann Pohl on behalf of
Turtle Island Support Group. If you don't want to get these
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