San Diego, Fri 8/29- Nuclear Weapons, Nuclear Waste: A Native American Perspective
Category: News and Politics

Matters Of Controversy

 a monthly series

Friday August 29, 7:30 pm

Nuclear Weapons, Nuclear Waste:

A Native American Perspective

Special Guests:

Ian Zabarte & Steven T. Newcomb

Mr. Ian Zabarte is the Secretary of State, of the Western Shoshone National Council, government of the Western Shoshone Nation.

For 25 years Mr. Zabarte has been an activist against nuclear weapons testing that has killed and injured family members and fellow Western Shoshone nationals. He has studied the problems of nuclear energy and the risks and hazards associated with storage of nuclear waste at the proposed repository at Yucca Mountain within Western Shoshone country. He is an advocate for the full exercise of the sovereignty by the Western Shoshone Nation and the free exercise and expression of liberty by the Western Shoshone people formally recognized and acknowledged by the 1863 Treaty of Ruby Valley.

Mr. Zabarte is a current board member of the Native Community Action Council that focuses on radiation health effects research on Native American Communities down-wind from the Nevada Test Site, the location for testing of nuclear weapons by the US; and is a former member of the board of the Nevada Desert Experience and Citizen Alert.

Zabarte works full time reviewing and commenting on US government proposals and documents with specific emphasis on nuclear waste.

 "My political activism grew out of my spiritual understandings of the earth as the living Mother, because the Goddess is injured wherever there is injustice, wanton cruelty, poverty, and pollution."  Monica Sjoo   

Mr. Steven T. Newcomb (Shawnee/Lenape) is the Indigenous Law Research Coordinator at Sycuan Education Department and Kumeyaay Community College on the Sycuan Indian Reservation. He is co-founder and co-director of the Indigenous Law Institute, a research fellow with the American Indian Policy and Media Initiative, and a columnist with the newspaper "Indian Country Today" since 2001.

Mr. Newcomb studied Rhetoric and Communication at the University of Oregon from 1975 to 1982. In 1993, New York University School of Law's "Review of Law and Social Change" published Mr. Newcomb's law review article, "The Evidence of Christian Nationalism in Federal Indian Law".

In November, 2004, Mr. Newcomb received a "Writer of the Year" Award from the Wordcraft Circle of Native Writer's and Storytellers, in the area of Journalism, for his Indian Country Today column, "Bush Let's Freedom Reign." In 2005, U.C.L.A. School of Law's "Indigenous Peoples' Journal of Law, Culture & Resistance" published Newcomb's article, "On the Rightful Political Heritage of Native Nations."

He is author of the book "Pagans in the Promised Land: Decoding the Doctrine of Christian Discovery". Newcomb has worked with the Western Shoshone nation since the mid-1990's. He is a resident of San Diego.

Mr. Newcomb will make a presentation on the failure of the Indian Claims Commission to file a final report in the Western Shoshone case. The lack of a final report means that the U.S. government never reached finality in the Western Shoshone case. The U.S. government cannot prove it has title to the Western Shoshone lands delineated in the 1863 Treaty of Ruby Valley. 

Location: First Unitarian Universalist Church of San Diego

4190 Front Street, Hillcrest, San Diego (opposite UCSD Medical Center)
Wheelchair Accessible

Parking: Church parking lot (limited) / Street parking (within 2 blocks)

Directions: From Washington Street (Hillcrest): North on 1st St., 3 blocks / Left on Arbor, 1 block. Church is on your left / UCSD Medical Center is on your right.

Cost: donation requested. (No one will be turned away for lack of funds.)

Presented by: Peace & Democracy Action Group of the First Unitarian Universalist Church

More Info:  858 459-4650

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Mexican village residents protest abuse & devastation by Canadian mining company Toronto 6/16
Category: News and Politics

¡Mexican mining battle comes to Toronto!

Meet the residents of the Mexican village of Cerro de San Pedro, who are in Toronto to peacefully protest human rights violations and environmental devastation by Canadian gold and silver mining corporations operating on their land.

Lecture with residents of Cerro de San Pedro and FAO

Monday June 16th, 2008 @ 7pm

Hart House

7 Hart House Circle

South Dining Room (2nd floor)

University of Toronto

(by subway: Museum Station, then walk south on University, west on Harbord, or St. George and walk south to Harbord)

In addition to hearing from residents of Cerro de San Pedro, you will also hear from representatives of Frente Amplio Opositor (FAO), the anti-mine movement located in Mexico and Montreal, formed to defend local campesino and indigenous peoples from environmental destruction (including water contamination through acid mine

leakage) perpetrated by Canadian-owned extraction industries.

60% of the mining corporations in the world are located in Canada, due to laws which allow companies operating abroad to willfully violate basic human rights and environmental standards.

For more information on this topic see

http://www.miningwatch.ca/

For more information on the struggle in Cerro de San Pedro, Mexico:

http://faomontreal.wordpress.com/ or http://cerrodesanpedro.org

Hosted by Students Against Climate Change; contact 647-342-7995.

In addition to the lecture, please attend the peaceful protest (details below):

********************************************

THE METALLICA RESOURCES ANNUAL GENERAL MEETING:

PICKET AND STREET THEATRE

Date: June 17th

Time: 10:00 am

Place: Sutton Place Hotel, 955 Bay St., Toronto, ON.

(http://www.toronto.suttonplace.com/).

** Bring banners, placards, noise-makers, instruments **

CALL FOR SUPPORT AND SOLIDARITY

The Frente Amplio Opositor (FAO), the anti-mine movement located in Mexico and Montreal, is urgently seeking organizers and solidarity activists to spread the word and support our mobilization in Toronto. We are looking for people who can help with outreach and mobilization, and who may be interested in organizing other events with the Mexican delegates. Please contact us at cerrodesanpedro@gmail.com for more information.

For photos of an anti-Metallica action in Montreal in 2007:

http://photos.cmaq.net/v/fao/

For more information on the struggle in Cerro de San Pedro, Mexico:

http://faomontreal.wordpress.com/ or http://cerrodesanpedro.org

To get in touch: cerrodesanpedro@gmail.com

--

Jamie Kneen

Communications & Outreach Coordinator           ofc.  (613) 569-3439

MiningWatch Canada                        cell: (613) 761-2273

250 City Centre Ave., Suite 508           fax:  (613) 569-5138

Ottawa, Ontario  K1R 6K7                  e-mail: jamie@miningwatch.ca

Canada                                          http://www.miningwatch.ca

Skype: jamiekneen

_______________________________________________

Alerts mailing list

Alerts@lists.miningwatch.ca

http://lists.miningwatch.ca/mailman/listinfo/alerts

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Navajo Challenge Nuclear Regulatory Commission In US Court of Appeals Over U Mining Permits
Category: News and Politics

Context (from ENDAUM = Eastern Navajo Dine Against Uranium Mining):


An exceptionally important case was argued this week in a U.S. Court of Appeals. In 2005 the Navajo Nation determined by legislative Act that there will be no more uranium mining on its lands and territories. In granting permits for such mining to proceed, an agency of the U.S. government is ignoring the self-determining act of the Navajo as a people, thus undermining their human rights.

The actions of the citizens of the Navajo Nation also support their rights to health, to water that is safe to drink, to air not polluted with radioactive emissions, and to their lands being left safe for grazing cattle, a source of their own means of subsistence. The International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, ratified by the United States in 1992, states clearly

  "All peoples have the right of self-determination" (Article 1, para 1) and "In no case may 
   a people be deprived of its own means of subsistence," (Article 1, para 2).

Respect for and protection of these rights is a legally-binding obligation of the U.S. government at all levels, federal, state, and local.

Church Rock-Crownpoint Uranium Mine Case

Clients: Eastern Navajo Dine Against Uranium Mining (ENDAUM) and Southwest Research and Information Center (SRIC)

Opponents: Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) and Hydro Resources, Inc.

Primary issue: Protection of Navajo communities from contamination by uranium of air and water supplies.

Background: The Law Center represents ENDAUM and SRIC in their fight against proposed in-situ leach (ISL) uranium mines in the Crownpoint and Church Rock areas.

If allowed to proceed, these mines would contaminate the sole source of drinking water of nearly 15,000 people -- almost all of whom are Navajo. The mines would also release radioactive emissions into air that already exceeds federal radiation standards due to unreclaimed Cold War-era uranium tailings.

This case is of national importance for several reasons:

1) This is the first time that any community has ever challenged NRC approval of a nuclear source materials operation. For that reason, and because of the NRC's bias in favor of industry, a victory for our clients would set a major precedent. This is of exceptional significance because mining of this type has never been sited so close to public drinking water supplies, nor have any of the ISL mine sites in the U.S. ever been reclaimed to premining quality.

2) This case is important for Native Americans nationally. It is a test of the ability of a Native American community, traditionally among the least politically powerful communities in our society, to protect itself against a company's efforts to profit at the expense of those resources, and against a federal agency that favors exploitation of those resources.

3) The case is a critical test for Navajos because of the history of death and destruction caused by uranium mining in Navajo country. These are communities already devastated by uranium mining in the 1950s and 1960s, and the health impacts of this proposed mining would be devastation twice over for these communities.

ENDAUM is the first community group ever to fight the Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) on a nuclear source materials permit. This fight is becoming even more significant, as the price of uranium has increased significantly during the past seven years, rising to $72/lb. from $7/lb. in 2000. Subsequently, the State of New Mexico has seen a dramatic rise in the number of exploratory permits requested by mining companies during the past year, with a dozen applications currently under review.

Hydro Resources, Inc. has four proposed minesites in the Church Rock-Crownpoint region. In 2006, the NRC validated the license for all four sites; in February 2007, we filed a lawsuit against the NRC to overturn the license. We argue that the NRC has violated the Atomic Energy Act, the National Environmental Policy Act, and its own regulations when it issued decisions on numerous issues. We are appealing the following points:

Hydro Resources failed to prove that it will protect groundwater from contamination by uranium and other heavy metals.

The company failed to ensure the health of residents near the mines would be protected from damaging radioactive air emissions.

Hydro Resources' proposed financial bond for the site is inadequate to ensure that the site(s) would be cleaned up in the event that the company is unable to undertake reclamation of the land and/or water impacted by the mining.

In June 2007, the Navajo Nation submitted a friend of the court brief on our behalf in this case. Oral arguments are scheduled to be held in the U.S. Tenth Circuit Court of Appeals in Denver, CO, on May 12th at 1pm.

[ISL mining entails injecting a solution of bicarbonate and water into an aquifer, where it strips uranium out of the rock strata within that aquifer. The "pregnant solution" of uranium-rich water is then pumped to the surface, where the mining company extracts as much uranium as is profitable. Water is then reinjected into the aquifer, or placed into evaporation pits.]
__________________________



Environment News Service

http://www.ens-newswire.com/ens/apr2008/2008-04-19-02.asp


Navajo Challenge Uranium Mining Permit on Tribal Lands


SANTA FE, New Mexico, April 19, 2008 (ENS) - For the first time in history, the Nuclear Regulatory Commission, NRC, will be challenged in federal appeals court for its approval of a source materials license for an in situ leach uranium mine.


The Navajo communities of Crownpoint and Church Rock, New Mexico will fight the Nuclear Regulatory Commission and the permitted company, Hydro Resources, Inc., demanding that they stay off Navajo lands in New Mexico.


Hydro Resources, Inc. is a subsidiary of the publicly-traded corporation Uranium Resources, based in Dallas. The company has established a partnership with Itochu Corporation, one of Japan's largest corporations, to evaluate and develop the Church Rock site.


On behalf of the two communities, the New Mexico Environmental Law Center will present oral arguments on May 12 to a panel of judges of the U.S. Tenth Circuit Court of Appeals in Denver asking that the NRC decision to allow the uranium mining be set aside.


"The importance of our hearing on May 12 cannot be overstated," says Eric Jantz, New Mexico Environmental Law Center attorney who will be arguing the case. "We are talking about the land, water, air and health of two whole communities. There are people on this land grazing their cattle and hauling their daily drinking water."


The communities' case is being presented with the assistance of the community group Eastern Navajo Dine against Uranium Mining, or ENDAUM, and the Southwest Research and Information Center.


Navajo Larry King, a member of ENDAUM, is an appellant in this case. Once a uranium miner, King is now a subsistance rancher. He may lose his land if the mining permits stand. (Photo by Ossy Werner courtesy NMELC)


ENDAUM is the first community group ever to fight the Nuclear Regulatory Commission on a source materials permit for an in situ leach uranium mine.


The fight is growing in importance as the price of uranium has increased during the past seven years, rising from $7 per pound to $68 per pound. As a result, there has been steep rise in the number of exploratory permits requested by mining companies during the past year for lands in New Mexico, with a dozen applications currently under review.


Hydro Resources, Inc. has proposed four mines - two in Church Rock, where there has been considerable previous uranium mining, and two in Crownpoint, where little mining has taken place and air and water are still pure.


Despite a Navajo Nation ban on uranium mining on Navajo land imposed April 19, 2005, the NRC approved the license for all four sites in May 2006.


An NRC Atomic Licensing Board panel ruled that radiation levels from operations at the company's Crownpoint Uranium Project in New Mexico would be a small fraction of the regulatory limits and would not be harmful to public health and safety.

Uranium Resources President Paul Willmott said at the time that modern in situ leach uranium recovery technology "represents an acceptable and safe alternative to traditional mining methods historically used to recover uranium in New Mexico."


The New Mexico Environmental Law Center filed a lawsuit in 2007 against the NRC to overturn the license.


The attorneys for the Navajo argue that the NRC violated the Atomic Energy Act, the National Environmental Policy Act, and its own regulations when it issued decisions on numerous issues.


They argue that Hydro Resources has failed to prove that it will protect groundwater from contamination by uranium and other toxic heavy metals.


They say the company has failed to ensure that the health of residents near the mines would be protected from damaging radioactive air emissions.


Finally, the attorneys for the Navajo communities argue that Hydro Resources' proposed financial bond is inadequate to ensure that the sites would be cleaned up in the event that the company is unable to undertake reclamation of the land and/or water impacted by the mining.


In situ leach mining technology does not create tailings as conventional uranium mining does, but it contaminates groundwater.


Jantz says, "The claim that in situ leach, ISL, mining is environmentally benign is ridiculous. The process involves intentionally contaminating an aquifer in order to recover the uranium. There has never been an instance where a commercial ISL operation has restored groundwater to its pre-mining condition."


"In some cases, where the water quality was already bad enough to be undrinkable, this might not be an issue," said Jantz. "However, in New Mexico, where the only proposed ISL mining is to take place in aquifers that are already used as drinking water aquifers, this is a real problem."



The home of Wilamina Yazzie in the Church Rock area is adjacent to one of the proposed mining projects. In the background is a structure left by previous uranium mining. (Photo by Ossy Werner courtesy NMELC)


The Navajo Nation is situated on a geologic formation rich in radioactive ores including uranium. Beginning in the 1940's, widespread mining and milling of uranium ore for national defense and energy purposes on the Navajo Nation led to a legacy of abandoned uranium mines.

Mine operators extracted nearly four million tons of uranium ore from 1944 to 1986 under lease agreements with the Navajo Nation. As a result, uranium mining has left the Navajo Nation with a legacy of over 500 abandoned uranium mines, four inactive uranium milling sites, a former dump site, contaminated groundwater, structures that may contain elevated levels of radiation, and environmental and public health concerns.


"Some Navajo residents may have elevated health risks due to the dispersion of radiation and heavy metal contamination in soil and water," says the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, EPA, noting, "Ingestion of contaminated water has been identified as the exposure pathway of greatest concern."


The EPA has sampled 226 water sources in the vicinity of radiation sources for uranium and other contaminants, of which 38 water sources were found to pose elevated health risks for radionuclides. This spring, the EPA will sample 70 additional unregulated water sources possibly used for human consumption.


Last November, the EPA evacuated the half dozen Navajo families who live in the Red Water Pond Road area, saying radiation levels were so high that people should not be living there.


The EPA scraped the top eight inches of soil off the land and sent it to a hazardous waste disposal site. These families are living in their homes again, because the EPA has said the area is now safe, but the families are still concerned about their health, says Jantz.


In August 2007, the EPA completed a study identifying 520 abandoned uranium mines. In March, the EPA published a Five Year Action Plan to address the abandoned uranium mines and related issues. Costs of dealing with these problems have been $193 million in the 10 years from 1997 through 2007, according to this action plan and exact costs of the five year plan were not given.


Going forward, the Northeast Church Rock Mine located near Gallup, New Mexico is the highest priority cleanup on EPA's abandoned uranium mine ranking list. The EPA will determine the soil remedy in 2008 and the agency says it plans to require the mining company, United Nuclear Corporation, to perform a comprehensive Superfund removal action for cleanup of soils on the site.


Copyright Environment News Service (ENS) 2008. All rights reserved.

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Jailed Algonquin Leader, Bob Lovelace, Uranium Protester, Begins Hunger Strike
Category: News and Politics

May 15, 2008 – For Immediate Release

Jailed Algonquin Leader Begins Hunger Strike

Second Algonquin Chief Going to Jail - McGuinty Government Does Nothing

On February 15, 2008 Ardoch Algonquin First Nation (AAFN) Spokesperson Robert Lovelace was sentenced in the Ontario Superior Court of Justice in Kingston to 6 months in maximum security, plus crippling fines, for peacefully protesting uranium mining in the Ardoch homeland.   Chief Paula Sherman was fined $15,000 and given until today to pay the fine, failing which she will be jailed. 

On March 17, a Superior Court judge in Thunder Bay sentenced six leaders of the Kitchenuhmaykoosib Inninuwug (KI) to six months after they were found in contempt of court in dispute which is virtually identical to that of the Ardoch Algonquins.

The jailing of respected, law-abiding community leaders has had a devastating impact on our communities, particularly on the families of those incarcerated.  The indifference shown by the McGuinty government towards the rights of First Nation communities and the imposition of long jail terms and crippling fines in the name of "the rule of law" has further eroded respect for both the legal system and the government of Ontario in the eyes of First Nations people in this province.

The cases of the KI Six and Robert Lovelace are strikingly similar.  In both cases Ontario gave approvals to mining companies to conduct aggressive mineral exploration on land claimed by First Nations as their own.  In both cases this approval was given without any consultation with affected communities, forcing the First Nations to take action to end the illegal exploration when the government refused to act.  In both cases the mining company sought and obtained court injunctions to end the peaceful protests of the First Nations, while lawyers representing Ontario supported the mining industry's legal manoeuvres at every stage. 

For the first month of Bob Lovelace's incarceration, the government of Ontario said nothing, remaining indifferent to this travesty.  Since the jailing of the KI Six, and public outcry which followed, the Minister of Aboriginal Affairs, Michael Bryant, has told the media that he has "bent over backwards" to try to resolve the disputes which led to the incarceration of seven First Nations leaders from our two communities.  He also claims that he wishes to see the incarcerated communities leaders freed from jail.

We want to set the record straight.

In fact, there has been no response from Minister Bryant to any of our proposals for peacefully resolving the dispute.  Minister Bryant's staff also has not responded to several calls and emails seeking a response to our proposals.  To put it bluntly, Michael Bryant is a liar.

Bob Lovelace is now entering his fourth month in jail while the KI Six are about to begin their third month of incarceration.  They are prisoners of conscience, jailed by the government of Ontario to send a message that the interests of the mining industry will trump Aboriginal rights and the environment of Ontario.

Lovelace, who turned 60 in jail, announced that he will begin a hunger strike tomorrow to press the government to respond to Ardoch's request for good faith negotiations.  "I do not want my children and grandchildren to have to go through what we are going through" he said.  "Starting tomorrow I will consume only water in the hopes that our cry for justice will be heard by Mr. McGuinty and Mr. Bryant."

Chief Paula Sherman said: "I will soon be going to jail because I cannot and will not pay this unjust fine.  I am a single mother with three dependents whose only crime is the defense of our land. Like  Bob Lovelace and the KI 6, I would rather go to jail than take food out of my children's mouths or let our land be destroyed ."

Acting Co-Chief Mireille Lapointe added "We are sickened by the hypocrisy of the McGuinty government.  While honest, conscientious community leaders languish in their jails for peacefully protecting our land from uranium mining, all these politicians care about is their public image.  They are lying when they say they are trying to resolve these disputes.  They have done nothing at all and continue to show total indifference.  They do not even respond to our letters, calls and emails asking for negotiations, meanwhile claiming they care about us and our land".

Ardoch and KI remain committed to resolving these disputes peacefully, through negotiations which lead to responsible, cooperative land use planning.  We call on all citizens of Ontario to support the unconditional release of our leaders and negotiators by joining us at Queen's Park on May 26 at the Gathering of Mother Earth's Protectors.

For more information contact Paula Sherman: (613) 329-3707

Or Chris Reid, lawyer: (416) 629-3117

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Ontario Mining Article- Free Bob Lovelace and the KI 6!

Ontario Mining Article- Free Bob Lovelace and the KI 6!

9:59 PM - 0 Comments - 0 Kudos - Add Comment

British Columbia Shuts the Door on Uranium Projects
Category: News and Politics

Thanks to NoNuke.org

B.C. shuts door on uranium projects

by Wendy Stueck
The Globe and Mail
April 25, 2008

VANCOUVER -- British Columbia has slapped an official moratorium on
uranium exploration and development in the province, reinforcing a
long-standing informal ban on the nuclear fuel and dashing the hopes
of companies that hoped to take advantage of soaring prices for the
commodity.

The ban, announced yesterday, makes B.C. a no-go zone for uranium and
confirms a moratorium put in place in 1980 by a previous government
responding to anti-nuclear sentiment in the province.

That moratorium lapsed in 1987 but subsequent governments did not
move to update it, as companies focused their exploration campaigns
on other metals and because there was a widespread view that uranium
production would be unpopular in the province.

That changed in recent years, as uranium prices more than doubled and
climate change concerns put emissions-free, uranium-fed nuclear power
plants in the spotlight.

Several companies, including Vancouver-based Boss Power Inc., dusted
off uranium projects that had been explored decades ago with an eye to
bringing them into production.

The government's decision comes as a surprise and contradicts
assurances Boss had received that it would be able to take its project
to public hearings, Boss spokesman Rupert Allan said yesterday.

"We did not know this was coming," Mr. Allan said, saying the decision
makes the company's Blizzard deposit worthless. The company had
described it as containing up to $1-billion worth of uranium.

There is no uranium mining in B.C. Uranium exploration is under way in
other provinces, but the only producing mines in Canada are in
Saskatchewan.

http://www.theglobeandmail.com/

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Serpent River First Nation Leaders Say "No" to Uranium Exploration
Category: News and Politics

Thanks to Jamie Kneen, Mining Watch Canada for this!

http://www.newswire.ca/en/releases/archive/April2008/30/c3251.html

Serpent River First Nation Leaders say "No" to Uranium Exploration

SERPENT RIVER FIRST NATION, ON, April 30 /CNW/ - It has come to the point where Serpent River First Nation leaders insist they want decisive action from the Ontario government on a list of matters pertaining to development in their traditional territory including the exploration of minerals, especially uranium.

Elected Chief of Serpent River First Nation, Isadore Day, Wiindawtegowinini says he's concerned that private sector proponents for development are moving faster than government responses to consultation requirements for First Nations. "It poses real challenges between industry and First Nations when government moves slower in First Nation negotiations than it does when pushing through proponent approvals for expropriation of Crown lands" Day says. He goes on to say "what's worse is that Consultation and Accommodation requirements are not even in the form of mutually agreed policy between the Crown and the First Nations, and yet government is approving land expropriation in favor of development in traditional lands"

Uranium exploration and potential development is a serious matter that the community has recently established a strong formal position on. "We have experienced a number of tragic incidents with respect to uranium mining impacts in our community's history" says Day, "and we are determined not to allow any of that damage to be inflicted upon our people or our lands ever again." The community realizes that the short term gain and the economic benefit is suspect of being "not worth the impact."

Chief Day stated that he realizes that there will have to be discussions regarding changes to the Ontario Mining Act but for now the community has said that it is opposed to any uranium or any mineral exploration. This position has been supported by a strongly worded band council resolution carried by consensus in a community meeting to that effect. He says that in recent weeks and months, the First Nation has been in direct dialogue with the Ontario Ministry of Northern Development and Mines to begin discussions on how to work through a framework that details the legal requirements of consultation in the exploration phase. All other mining potential matters are considered non-starters at this time for the Serpent River First Nation.

Directly in the Serpent River First Nation traditional territory there is a list of other developments ranging from cottage lot development, quarry projects, forestry, existing and proposed hydro projects and other competing interests to access crown lands. Day says that the Ontario government has been anticipating working with Serpent River First Nation on consultation and accommodation with respect to some of these projects but goes on to caution that, "all of these issues are not the same. It will take a much more consistent effort by Ontario to reach meaningful resolve on their duty to consult than what we have seen in recent years since the Haida, Taku and Mikisew decisions. There's a province and nation-wide pressure-cooker type situation ready to implode in First Nation-Government relations with regard to unresolved traditional lands and treaty entitlement disputes, so I think most would agree; its time for action!"

Day says that at best, interim regulatory changes might help but urges Ontario and Canada to get their act together on legislative change that respects and legitimizes Anishnabek Law.

In his final comments, Chief Day said that "Anishnabek Leaders are now becoming more adamant that the implementation of Treaties is going to be the steam to get these issues to the next level." Ending the discussion, Day says that the Robinson Huron Treaty of 1850 requires a formal approach based on collective rights and efforts by First Nation communities. He calls on government and industry to a table where it won't be just one First Nation having to deal with issues alone; unity among First Nations in the Robinson Huron Treaty is being considered more than ever before.

For further information: Chief Isadore Day, Wiindawtegowinini, Serpent River First Nation, PO Box, 14, 48 Village Road, Ontario - P0P 1B0, Iday.srfn@ontera.net

--

Jamie Kneen

Communications & Outreach Coordinator           ofc.  (613) 569-3439

MiningWatch Canada                        cell: (613) 761-2273

250 City Centre Ave., Suite 508           fax:  (613) 569-5138

Ottawa, Ontario  K1R 6K7                  e-mail: jamie@miningwatch.ca

Canada                                          http://www.miningwatch.ca

Skype: jamiekneen

6:58 AM - 0 Comments - 0 Kudos - Add Comment

From Earthworks-Tell the Ontario Government to Release Jailed Indigenous Leaders!
Category: News and Politics

From Earthworks-

Citizens shouldn't be jailed for protecting their community from mining companies

Tell the Ontario government to release jailed indigenous leaders

Dear Donald,

As you read this message, seven First Nation leaders sit in jail for peacefully protesting mining activities on their traditional lands in the boreal forests of Ontario, Canada.

Please send a letter to the Premier of Ontario urging the immediate release of these community leaders.

Jailed for protecting their community
For peacefully asserting their rights and preventing mining company officials access to their lands, these Kitchenuhmaykoosib Inninuwug (KI) leaders, - known as the KI Six -- were sentenced to six months in prison. The KI Six were sentenced just weeks after Ardoch Algonquin First Nation spokesperson Robert Lovelace began serving a six-month sentence for similar charges.

The 1,200 strong KI community of hunters, fishers, and trappers is opposed to mining activities on their traditional lands in Northern Ontario., Canadian company Platinex Inc. believes their lands contain one of the world's largest platinum deposits.

TAKE ACTION!
Please write to the premier of Ontario today and demand the immediate release of these political prisoners. The government needs to see an overwhelming outpouring of public support.

Your voice can help convince Ontario that this heavy-handed approach is unacceptable-and that the free, prior and informed consent of local communities is an essential pre-requisite to mining.

Thank you,
Scott, Payal and Alan, EARTHWORKS

INSTRUCTIONS:

• Go to the action page here.
• Read the sample letter and modify if you can. Personalized letter text and/or subject headers will increase the impact of your letter.
• Clicking "Send My Message" will send your letter via email to the Premier of Ontario, Dalton McGuinty.

1:43 PM - 0 Comments - 0 Kudos - Add Comment

Thursday, April 17, 2008

Toxic chemicals are threatening farm worker children. Help the UFW tell the EPA to ban them. Category: News and Politics From UFW Toxic chemicals are threatening farm worker children. We need your help. http://www.ufwaction.org/campaign/toxics?source=myspace Toxic chemicals are threatening farm worker children. We need your help.