environment

Open Letter Regarding Land Disputes and Legal Empowerment Presentation

We are an Indigenous Peoples of Canada with a documented historical record well capable of meeting the requirements of a fact-finding process as is determined necessary for the purpose of reconciling sovereignty assertions made by the "Crown". However, because of systemic gaps regarding Indigenous issues, we have long been denied equitable opportunity to address our outstanding land claim disputes, unable to rely on the domestic policy structures of the existing Canadian State.

I would like to thank the panelists for this relevant and timely discussion as it pertains directly to the numerous issues that we as an Indigenous Peoples have been attempting to resolve, but according to the existing avenues, have absolutely no effective recourse. We are in dire need of legal empowerment.

Of particular interests to us are those rights associated with Independent Land Title and Rights Registration, as we, as part of the Algonquin Nation, have never legally ceded or surrendered any title or associated jurisdiction.

As a traditional Indigenous Peoples in North America we are severely disadvantaged since reliance on any of the domestic policy currently available automatically acquiesces our potentially over-riding Aboriginal and international rights and places us in an assumed position of compliance with unresolved British Crown assertions, and is then further assumed to be our agreement to the continuing encroachments associated with adverse possession. Our history directly challenges the assertions of the existing “Crown of Canada” void of Indigenous Peoples appropriate recognition.

The Dialogue Denied Us

The leadership of the Kichesipirini Algonquin First Nation continue final edits on document that raises serious questions concerning chronic public exposures to dangerous environmental contaminants and that such ongoing deliberate exposure is directly associated with ongoing government and industry refusal to recognize Kichesipirini as a verifiable historical Algonquin nation, and our continued assertions of the legal and moral right to exercise our inherent and inalienable traditional governance role.

The Kichesipirini Algonquin First Nation became very concerned about possible hidden agendas associated with the blatant refusal to address Kichesipirini assertions in connection with land claim negotiations. Of particular concern is the reliance on flawed "negotiations" as a means to circumvent the law to resolve Aboriginal claims consistent with the legal requirements of purposeful fact-finding processes and adherence to historical truth as is required with litigated land claims.

Such circumventions of the legal process denied Kichesipirini their rightful role as protectors and responsible government.

Kichesipirini community members suspected that the many irregularities, especially the allocating of public monies and certain inflated responsibilities and jurisdictions regarding the Algonquin Nations particular relationship with the Manhattan Project and nuclear industry to Aboriginal communities that did not possess such authority, to be indicative of a systemic refusal to genuinely inform the public about the issues, thereby blocking all chances to actual accountability and examination of the facts, and that such demographic manipulations were probably indicative of some larger issues.

Residents of Guelph, ON, have been occupying the proposed site of the Hanlon Creek Busines Park. The site is also home to Guelph's Old Growth Forest, and endangers local wetlands and the Jefferson Salamander, on Ontario's official threatened species list.

The occupation began on Monday, July 27th. They were notified that they would be evicted as of July 30th at 4pm, but the time came and went and protestors are still there.

More information is available on their blog at http://hcbpoccupation.wordpress.com, or contact them for interviews or more information at +15198206280, +15198206239 or hcbpoccupatio[at]gmail[dot]com. They are also inviting supporters to the site to lend a hand - a map with directions can be found on their website.

Photo by Sal Jefferson