As the feather falls, my heart falls. The pain and sorrow of Algonquin Grandmother Louise Wawatie and her brother Joseph, in a video of them just released from prison, radiates off the screen. They were imprisoned for 8 days, and the Land they stood up for has been logged in the meantime.
While I suppose it is fitting they were released on International Day for the Rights of Indigenous Peoples, the fact they were arrested at all and held for so long is proof Canada has a long way to go when it comes to respecting Indigenous Rights.
Louise and Joseph were arrested on charges of mischief and breaking an injunction forbidding them from protesting the clear-cut logging by Resolute Forestry Products near Lac Poigan. They both refused conditions of bail, asserting their sovereign rights over their unceded territory where Resolute continues to clear-cut. The sister and brother were held in Maniwaki, Quebec, until this morning when they appeared in court and were released. The video of Joseph explaining the conditions of his release means he can’t even go home, and of Louise dropping the feathers, were shot outside the courthouse.
Louise’s brother, Jacob (Mowegan) Wawatie explains that “the meaning of the feathers falling is: Who is going to stand up for the collective nation that walks upon Mother Earth? This Grandmother is calling to all Nations to stand for the future generations. It is for the world of the future and may the youth of this world voice their own destiny.”
While our hearts sink to see Elders treated with disrespect, and to see beautiful Land destroyed, this is a call to action, not to wallow in despair. The feathers must be picked up, and we must fly together to a future where we live in harmony with the rest of Creation, a future where we can each flourish.
Will you answer this call and stand up for future generations? One small but important step: share the video and Louise’s message, far and wide.
Keep Shining,
Julie
Note: see this post for more background, and a video illustrating why they sought to protect this Land.
I have no access to my computer in the bush here. But I think it is the time to call for mass-democratic discussion on the morality of mass armed struggle in Canada right now. Terminal Warriors can compose a hypothetical kamikasi front line.
Warriors in pain from injuries can form s second line. If all Warriors practice Squad One as the .canadian Military trains Special
Services for, would we have a good chance of major successes for the living peopke we leave behind? Maybe.
Thanks for keeping us informed of this Canadian injustice against the sovereign rights of the Algonquin nation as an Algonquin nation and not an Algonquin band council Indian Act puppet government of Canada.
The problem/question I ask myself when I see things like this happen is “when will the colonialism end?” The masses want to believe that UN declarations, Charter Rights, and T&R Commissions are examples of our state moving past it’s colonial roots towards a mutually respectful partnerships between nations, but this is obviously a myth.
The reality is that colonialism is still alive and well. What’s worse now, however, is that it has morphed to an even stronger and more destructive force. No longer is the colonizer a blatent racist and bigot who preaches it’s values through blatently ignorant legislations like the White Paper or the Indian Act…no, instead he is a silent killer, a passive aggressor, a subtle beast who cloaks a veil of ignorance over society to uphold and perpetuate a tyranny of the majority.
It is up to the women, children, and youth of this generation to stand up for the rights this state ironically professes and curtails at the same time. Slavery needs to stop, judicial support of indignity needs to stop, and minds, hearts, and spirits to open and govern a new way of thinking and doing.
Our Elders, and most importantly our Mother need help- we are the answer.
In Love & Struggle
all my relations
iman
Thank you Julie for this excellent article and call to action. Here is a petition that everyone can sign to demand the the cutting in Poigan be stopped:
http://www.avaaz.org/en/petition/STOP_THE_LOGGING_IN_POIGAN_1/?cDfQqdb