Barriere Lake Solidarity

Barriere Lake Solidarity: Emergency Teach-In & Open Meeting

2009-11-05T14:51:00.004-05:00

Canada to unconstitutionally abolish Algonquin's customary government to avoid honouring agreements and recognizing legitimate leadership

On Friday, October 30, 2009, Indian Affairs Minister Chuck Strahl sent notice to the Algonquins of Barriere Lake that he will not recognize their legitimate leadership, but instead impose elections on the community in April, 2010 by invoking a section of the Indian Act that would abolish the customary method they use to select their leaders.

The attempt at assimilation would be a violation of Barriere Lake's constitutionally-protected Aboriginal right to their customary system of government.

Join us at Concordia's School of Community and Public Affairs this WEDNESDAY, November 11th at 6:30pm for an Emergency Teach-In about Section 74 and Open Meeting.

Snacks provided. For more info: barrierelakesolidarity@gmail.com

Medias release : Algonquins place bodies in front of logging machines: prevent logging until Quebec and Canada respect agreements and leadership

2009-09-01T16:14:00.000-04:00

For Immediate Release

September 1, 2009

Algonquins place bodies in front of logging machines: prevent logging until Quebec and Canada respect agreements and leadership

Kitiganik/Rapid Lake, Algonquin Territory /– This afternoon members of the Algonquins of Barriere Lake will peacefully block the machines of Abitibi-Bowater forestry workers, preventing logging in their territory until Quebec implements agreements covering forestry on Barriere Lake's lands, and the Quebec and Canadian government’s recognize the First Nation’s legitimate leadership.

“Our community has decided there will be no forestry activities or any new developments in our Trilateral Agreement Territory until the status of our leadership and the agreements we signed are resolved to our community's satisfaction,” says Jean Maurice Matchewan, Customary Chief of Barriere Lake. “The Quebec government has acted in bad faith, giving companies the go-ahead to log while they ignore their legal obligations, leaving us with no choice but to stop forestry operations until Quebec complies with the agreement. We have waited more than 3 years for Quebec to implement it."

Matchewan received no response to a letter he sent to Manager Paul Grondin of Abitibi-Bowater's Maniwaki mill on August 25, requesting that the company suspend logging operations until the governments follow through on their obligations.

“Our plan is to peacefully put our bodies in front of their machines until we get some results. We expect they may use the police, because we are used to such tactics. This is our territory and they can't push us off our lands," says Matchewan.

Canada and Quebec have refused to acknowledge the results of a June 24, 2009 leadership selection process that reselected Jean Maurice Matchewan as the legitimate Customary Chief of Barriere Lake. National Chief Shawn Atleo of the Assembly of First Nations, however, met with Chief Matchewan on August 19, to discuss the Trilateral agreement and other community concerns. The Algonquin Nation Secretariat, a Tribal Council representing three Algonquin communities including Barriere Lake, also recently reiterated their support for Chief Matchewan.

“Instead of acting honourably and cooperating with our Customary Council to implement these signed agreements, the federal and provincial governments have been working in unison to try and install a minority faction whom they can use to sign off on the cutting of our forest,” says Matchewan.

Barriere Lake wants Canada and Quebec to uphold signed agreements dating back to the 1991 Trilateral Agreement, a landmark sustainable development and resource co-management agreement praised by the United Nations and the Royal Commission on Aboriginal Peoples. Canada has been in breach of the agreement since 2001. Quebec signed a complementary Bilateral Agreement in 1998, but has stalled despite the 2006 recommendations of two former Quebec Cabinet Ministers, Quebec special representative John Ciaccia and Barriere Lake special representative Clifford Lincoln, that the agreement be implemented. The agreement is intended to allow logging to continue while protecting the Algonquin’s’ traditional way of life and giving them a $1.5 million share of the $100 million in resource revenue that comes out of their territory every year.

- 30 -

Media contacts:

Chief Jean Maurice Matchewan - 819-435- 2136

To arrange interviews in case the line is busy : 514-398-7432

Collectif de Solidarité Lac Barrière

Another Smoking Gun: Top Diplomat’s report to Minister laid out strategy for government subversion of Algonquin community

2009-08-28T13:03:00.001-04:00

More proof has emerged of Indian Affairs’ attempts to crush the small First Nation of Barriere Lake in north-western Quebec. Under court-order, the federal government has been forced to release a private report written for Indian Affairs Minister Chuck Strahl by an ex-top Diplomat in late 2007. The report lays out a wide-ranging set of schemes to undermine Barriere Lake’s Customary Chief and Council and ensure that the community’s Trilateral agreement never takes on life. It demonstrates what the community has known for a long time but which the Department of Indian Affairs has always publically denied: the federal government has refused to implement the Trilateral agrement because it fears it would throw into question their Comprehensive Claims process, which amounts to a modern-day land grab.

The analysis below lays out the full implications of the report.

Meanwhile, Indian Affairs continues to refuse to recognize the legitimate Customary Chief and Council of Barriere Lake, re-selected under their Customary Governance Code in June 2009. This has severly hampered the community's ability to advocate for their rights and see that the Trilateral agreement is implemented. Please take a few minutes to write the government to demand they recognize and start dealing with Barriere Lake’s legitimate leadership:

http://barrierelakesolidarity.blogspot.com/2009/07/action-alert.html

--Barriere Lake solidarity collective

Another Smoking Gun:

Top Diplomat’s report to Minister laid out strategy for government subversion of Algonquin community

By Martin Lukacs

A document recently released under court-order reveals a former prominent diplomat officially advised Indian Affairs Minister Chuck Strahl to undermine the elected leadership of the Algonquin community of Barriere Lake and quash their signed Trilateral agreement - a course of action then pursued by Strahl and the Department of Indian Affairs. The advice revolves around the threat that the agreement's implementation would pose to a key government policy controlling unsurrendered native lands.

The report to Strahl was prepared by Marc Perron, a representative for the Minister during an alternative dispute resolution process between the federal government and the small First Nation in the fall of 2007.

Before leaving retirement to take on special roles for Indian Affairs, Perron gained a reputation as a straight-talker during decades of service in high-level diplomatic positions with Foreign Affairs in Africa, the Middle East and Latin America. His bluntness even landed him in trouble in the mid-1990s, when he was forced to resign as ambassador to Mexico after accusing the country's government of widespread corruption. True to style, his report to Strahl is free of the bureaucratic obfuscation typical of Indian Affairs' officials, and thus offers a highly revealing profile of their mentality and mode of operation towards Barriere Lake.

Despite the report's variance with government pronouncements, the conclusions are not original but shaped and informed by extensive consultations with officials within Indian Affairs and the federal and provincial governments. Whether his report was actually followed by Indian Affairs or simply reinforced their existing plans, it is a vivid demonstration of the extreme and even illegal measures Indian Affairs is willing to consider to ensure that Indigenous communities do not strongly assert their rights.

Perron's recommendations to the Minister amount to a full arsenal of tactics of subversion: banish the possibility that the federal government will respect the landmark Trilateral agreement they withdrew from in 2001; fine-tune the government's comprehensive land claims policy used to extinguish native land rights, despite its violations of international and domestic law; sow internal divisions and foster opposition to the legitimate leadership within the community; cut off their professional consultation services; and strike a side deal with Quebec that ensures the provincial government doesn't implement their part of the Trilateral agreement.

Perron was unable to maintain the confidence of Barriere Lake during the alternative dispute resolution, mainly because he refused to give fair hearing to the community's concerns about the federal government's decision to renege on the Trilateral agreement. The 1991 pact, signed between Barriere Lake and Canada and Quebec, was intended to give the community a decision-making role in the management of their traditional territories and benefits from extensive resource extraction [1]. Perron stepped down soon after, but not before submitting a series of recommendations in a report exclusively to Minister Strahl on December 20, 2007. This document was only released to lawyers acting on behalf of the Elder's Council of Barriere Lake in the spring of 2009, under court-order.

Containing Barriere Lake's Defiance

In his report, Perron paints a picture of an irrational, suspicious and confrontational community, defaming their decades of peaceful political campaigning as "blackmail tactics used over the years to obtain concessions or funding from one government or another."

Framing his analysis, he describes Barriere Lake's approach to negotiations over rights to their traditional territories:

The former chief clearly indicated that the ABL [Algonquins of Barriere Lake] had no interest in comprehensive claims. They hoped to maintain Federal responsibility (and their obligations) and to obtain rights and co-management on the territory (including royalties)...

A question we could ask: why bother negotiating a land claims agreement when we can obtain benefits (at least partially) through a partial accord like a trilateral agreement? Other First Nations would be justified in questioning this matter. And it's the current overall comprehensive lands claims and self-government negotiations which could be questioned. [emphasis mine]

Indian Affairs, in their public pronouncements and media messaging, have always stuck to a set script: they pulled out of the Trilateral agreement because it cost too much money and had not produced tangible results. Perron reveals the real reason: Barriere Lake's success in forging a viable alternative to Comprehensive Lands Claims negotiations, offering a model for other First Nations to follow, could jeopardize the government's agenda.

Such open defiance of one of the pillars of Canadian government policy would be reason enough to warrant active subversion of the community. In negotiating the Trilateral agreement, Barriere Lake's precise intent was to avoid the Comprehensive Land Claims process, the Canadian government's modern-day land grab. It is an imposed, one-size-fits-all negotiating process for First Nations who have never signed away their title in historical treaties. A pre-condition for entering the process is that the First Nation surrender their rights to their traditional territories; they are then allowed to negotiate the terms of surrender, receiving small parcels of their land, some access to natural resources, and small monetary sums. Several bodies at the United Nations have regularly condemned this policy of "extinguishment," which violates international law and also illegally ignores rulings of the Supreme Court of Canada, such as the historic 1997 decision of Delgamuukw that recognized the existence of the Aboriginal title of First Nations. But the Canadian and provincial governments have poured billions into the process to secure agreements known as modern-day treaties, extinguishing Indigenous rights to traditional territories and securing legal "certainty" for government and corporate investment and economic development.

While the successful implementation of the Trilateral agreement wouldn't single-handedly upend the Comprehensive Claims process, Perron notes accurately that it could initiate a domino effect among other First Nations negotiating over their unsurrendered Title. The stakes are highest in British Columbia, where most lands are not covered by treaty. This passage reveals that Perron and Indian Affairs are keenly aware that if other First Nations believed it were possible to break the negotiating mould pressed on them, the cost for the federal and provincial governments - in political control and money - would be steep.

Knowing they couldn't change the Comprehensive Claims policy on their own, the Barriere Lake Algonquins negotiated a kind of interim (in Perron's words, "partial") agreement that would allow them to make gains in economic self-sufficiency and control over their lands while forestalling the government's drive for the extinguishment of their land rights. The Trilateral amounts to a consultation and accommodation plan that grants them a decision-making role over their traditional territories, requiring federal and provincial recognition of an area of resource co-management over 10,000 square kilometers and a share of the revenue from the extensive resource extraction on their lands. Hydro, forestry, recreational hunting and tourism take out $100 million annually, while the community has never received a cent. Complimentary agreements signed with the federal and provincial government would also entail expansion of their reserve, connection to the hydro-grid with a transition fund to help community members pay for the added hydro expenses (though the reserve sits on a reservoir that flooded their land decades ago, it is still off the hydro-grid), and infrastructure developments in the community, which lacks a high-school, community centre, and suffers massive housing shortages.

Quashing the "Mythical treaty"

But within the report's same page, Perron derides the belief that the Trilateral even amounts to an "agreement," denies the existence of the benefits he has just described, and recommends quashing the agreement in no uncertain terms:

This agreement does not constitute a treaty or an accord other than a partial financial agreement. INAC did well by withdrawing from this program which provided meager tangible results for the community...

I RECOMMEND that, under no circumstances, should INAC accept a re-involvement in the trilateral agreement but more importantly, that at no time should they agree to a specific reference, in a financial agreement, to this mythical "treaty" which essentially served to feed the illusions of the population and comfort its promoters in their ideology.

The leadership of the ABL and their councilors will continue to want to breathe life into this unbelievable illusion. It's their basic right. What I state here is that under no circumstances should INAC or any other Federal instances contribute to perpetuate this utopia.

The "illusions" of Barriere Lake's leadership, however, are in line with the conclusions reached by respected Quebec Superior Court Judge Rejean Paul, the only jurist to offer a legal opinion about the Trilateral in a political arena. Judge Paul mediated between the Quebec government, logging companies and Barriere Lake in 1992, when Quebec was allowing the companies to ignore their consultation obligations under the Trilateral agreement. In his mediation report, Judge Paul concluded that the Trilateral, if tested in court, might be accorded the status of a "treaty," and at the very least was a "solemn agreement" binding on the signatory parties. On top of that, when the Canadian government signed the agreement they recognized their "fiduciary obligations," the legally enforceable duty to act in the best interests of First Nations. Despite written pledges from a former Indian Affairs' Minister to continue the funding because of delays caused by the provincial and federal governments, Minister Robert Nault unilaterally pulled out of the agreement in 2001, leaving the government's fiduciary obligations to Barriere Lake unfulfilled. But the passion with which Perron dismisses the notion that the Trilateral agreement is a binding agreement may of course have more to do with political expediency than questions of legality. It is a striking admission of the government's desire to prevent the viability of any agreement that breaks free from their negotiating dictates, and allows a First Nation to regain some control over their traditional territory and benefits from their own wealth without extinguishing their land rights.

Instead of promoting respect for a binding agreement, Perron proposes re-jigging the Comprehensive Claims policy to secure the federal government's objective of extinguishment:

I RECOMMEND, in the long term, that INAC's policy on access to comprehensive land claims and self-government for the Algonquins be reviewed.

In the 80's, many Algonquin communities expressed their desire to be involved in a comprehensive claim. Three communities, Barriere Lake, Timiskaming and Wolf Lake opposed such a process....

Several Algonquin spokespersons have long since been ready to undertake negotiations and expressed much frustration for being kept out of the loop since a small group of ideologists and doctrinarians prefer confrontation to dialogue, theory to development.

It is time, it seems, for the department to relax its regulations and provide, for those communities who wish, the opportunity to get involved in a process that will allow them to attain, for some of them, their full potential. There already exists examples where these regulations have been adapted, specifically involving the Innu. We could hope that results and successes in other communities would inspire the same for the ABL.

Because Aboriginal title is held at the Nation rather than band level, Indian Affairs has preferred to negotiate comprehensive claims with entire Nations of native communities. But Barriere Lake's "small group of ideologists," holding fast to principles of basic justice and domestic and international law, are clearly an obstacle. They've prevented other Algonquin communities from reaching their "full potential" - that is, abandoning their rights. In situations like these, where the government has been unable to secure everyone's participation, just as in their negotiations with the Dene and Innu Nations, they've opted for the more selective approach advised by Perron. This allows them to pick off First Nations, community by community, securing the extinguishment of title by those means.

Carrots and Sticks: Undermining the Customary Council

Apart from retooling the Comprehensive Claims policy, Perron proposes short-changing the community with some investments in social programs and services and minor infrastructure development, as an alternative to fulfilling their obligations under the Trilateral agreement:

I RECOMMEND that we invest in the individual, in education and training programs for teens and adults, young mothers (caretakers), disease prevention, the fight against drugs and safety and assistance for the Elders. There are some excellent programs that are well targeted which must be expanded.

He also recommends the expansion of their reserve, connection to the Hydro-Grid (but without the transition assistance fund), and the construction of housing and a new school.

Having laid out an acceptable investment plan to Indian Affairs, Perron focuses his analysis on Barriere Lake's traditional leadership, which has maintained a strong negotiating position since signing the Trilateral agreement almost twenty years ago, refusing to accept anything less than its full implementation:

...my analysis of the past twenty years shows, without a doubt, that the community leadership is at the heart of the problems. I conclude that there is little or no possibility of remedying the situation unless there is a complete change in leadership. Such a change must come from within the community and not from governmental agencies or institutions.

With the necessity of a leadership change in mind, Perron lays out a plan to use the above investment projects as a ploy to undermine Barriere Lake's Chief and Council and their determined negotiating stance:

The worthwhile projects must be presented to the population so that they have the opportunity to appreciate them without the presence of the consultants who are like distorted mirrors and undermine the real development of the community. Of course, the projects cannot be carried out without the Band Council's approval but repeated refusals of reasonable projects could eventually bring about the necessary changes by the community itself. There is no other way. The changes must come from within the community. Certain individuals to whom I spoke to advised me to recommend guardianship or trusteeship of the community. I don't believe that this is possible and it would only perpetuate the condescension of the ABL who have already suffered enough from the ideology that contributes to their isolation and introversion. [emphasis Perron's]

Perron is advising that the government foster community opposition to the Council by extracting refusals for "reasonable projects" - that is, projects that fall well short of the signed undertakings and legal obligations of the federal government as part of the Trilateral agreement. Knowing the leadership will reject these projects, the government will be able to stoke community frustration with the lack of any development and thus build enough internal pressure to bring about "necessary changes" - a cowed Chief and Council willing to relent on the Trilateral's implementation, or a new leadership content to focus on minor community investments. Perron's idea about "guardianship" or "trusteeship" far exceeds the statutory powers of the federal government, but it offers a taste of the extreme and arbitrary powers he believes Indian Affairs is willing to exercise.

Indian Affairs seems to have acted on much of Perron's advice. In March 2008, Indian Affairs decided to oust Barriere Lake's Customary Chief and Council, recognizing individuals from a minority faction who claimed to follow the community's customary leadership selection process. As another secret government document revealed, Indian Affairs recognized that this scenario offered "improved collaboration of the new council with INAC," a "new council less dogmatized," and a "new environment more favourable to the development of the community" - language that clearly echoes Perron's analysis and prescriptions [2]. Since the ousting, the government-backed Chief's activities have practically matched the program of action advocated by Perron: a focus on increased government programs and services and housing repairs, while leaving the Trilateral agreement to flounder.

To further undermine the leadership, Perron recommends that the government "terminate the funding for consultation services and be firm and coherent in relationship with present leadership." Consultation services allow Barriere Lake's leadership to receive professional advice about government policies, and are offered by the Algonquin Nation Secretariat, a Tribal Council representing Barriere Lake along with Timiskaming and Wolf Lake. Simply cutting the funding for consultation services would have been blatantly illegal. But this objective was partially achieved by other means. In April 2008, the government-backed Chief pulled out of the Algonquin Nation Secretariat, which gave Indian Affairs the opportunity to drastically cut their funding, effectively rolling back consultation services.

This has occurred just as the six other Algonquin communities represented by the Algonquin Anishinabeg Nation Tribal Council (AANTC) are preparing to negotiate under the Comprehensive Land Claims process. At the same time, the Atikamekw Nation now want to discuss the territorial overlap they have with Barriere Lake with the two Algonquin Tribal Councils, though not with Barriere Lake, allowing Indian Affairs to bypass the community's legitimate leadership entirely.

Hand in Hand with the Province: Sabotaging the Agreements

Perron's recommended strategy for subverting Barriere Lake is completed by his suggestions for federal collaboration with the provincial government:

I also RECOMMEND that a high level consultation process between INAC and the Quebec Native Affairs be organized as soon as possible. To be discussed at the meeting would be not only the current situation in Rapid Lake, but a medium and long term strategy in regards to the ABL.

Indian Affairs seems again to have followed Perron's advice. As access-to-information requests revealed, Indian Affairs conducted a meeting with officials from Quebec Native Affairs (Secrétariat aux affaires autochtone) and the Quebec police (Surete du Quebec) in late February, 2008, though the subjects discussed remain unknown. When Barriere Lake community members refused to accept the legitimacy of the Indian Affairs-backed Chief after his recognition in early March 2008, and blockaded the reserve's access road to prevent his entry into the community, the provincial government sent riot squads and police officers to forcibly impose his authority on the reserve.

During the policing operation in Barriere Lake, Indian Affairs conducted daily conference calls with the Ministry of Public Security and Quebec Native Affairs. The provincial government was later willing to spend $200,000 to forcefully break up two peaceful blockades set up by community members on the highway outside their reserve in the fall of 2008, and to assign extra police officers to monitor Barriere Lake.

The provincial government's willingness to do the police work for the federal government can probably be explained by their unwillingness to implement their part of the Trilateral agreement and a complimentary Bilateral agreement they signed in 1998. But Perron's analysis indicates that the federal government feared Quebec's compliance, and had reason to actively deter it:

The Provincial government must soon respond to the recommendations (7) jointly presented in June 2006 by Mr. Ciaccia, special government representative and Mr. Lincoln, the representative for the ABL. Submitted in 2006, the government still has not responded on its content. A few recommendations pose serious problems to the Federal authorities:

· Concerns regarding the trilateral agreement

· Recognizing a main territory for the Algonquins

· Acknowledging overlapping with other communities

· Expansion of the reserve becomes a land base. [emphasis mine]

Since 2006, Quebec has stalled on implementing the recommendations issued by the above representatives - those of major concern being the recognition of co-management rights to 10,000 square kilometres and $1.5 million a year in resource-revenue sharing. Such requirements pose a threat to the federal government's ambition to complete comprehensive land claims agreements, as previously discussed. In addition, Quebec should be slated within the framework of the Trilateral agreement to oversee the community's connection to the hydro-grid, along with the creation of a transition fund, the expansion of the reserve, and housing construction - developments that would all require federal co-operation in their implementation, because of overlapping jurisdictions and responsibilities. Perron highlights Indian Affairs' fear that if Quebec discovered the political will to comply with the agreement, it might demand that the federal government cooperate in the implementation of their own side of the deal. Perron's next recommendations suggest a tactic to avert this possibility:

Other recommendations will require INAC's cooperation and support. In fact, housing programs already exist within INAC but must be carried out through future programs which, for the Federal's part, should not be part of the trilateral agreement or new MOMI. To avoid confusion, I RECOMMEND a high level consultation process to arrive at a mutually acceptable strategy and, if possible, establish a Federal-Provincial working group charged with the expansion of the reserve, bringing in electricity and building homes, according to the responsibilities of each government. It's only after this stage that the leadership and community should be consulted.[emphasis Perrons's]

Perron is advocating that the federal government initiate a high level consultation process with the province not to jointly implement the signed agreements, but to steer the province away from its obligations so as to "avoid confusion" - that is, to keep the federal government's hands clean of the Trilateral agreement. A "mutually acceptable strategy" would be based on reserve expansion and infrastructure investments explicitly outside the framework of the Trilateral agreement. Once it has succeeded in this regard, Perron recommends the governments deign to consult with the community, casting contempt on the idea that Barriere Lake is an equal partner in an agreement with the two levels of government.

It is unclear whether such a secret high-level consultation process was actually initiated after Perron issued his recommendations, but the federal and provincial government's actions over the last two years certainly seem to confirm as much. Quebec has continued to refuse to implement the Trilateral and Bilateral agreement, and has intimately cooperated with Indian Affairs in criminalizing community members in a transparent attempt to cripple their ability to assert pressure on the governments.

No matter to what degree Perron's recommendations were actually formally adopted by the federal government, his report is a chilling indication of the lengths to which Indian Affairs will go to crush a native community fighting for their basic rights.

Notes

[1] Perron received his mandate to enter into discussions with Barriere Lake after community members caused the government some embarrassment by camping out in large numbers on Parliament Hill in the summer of 2007, the day before the National Aboriginal Day of Action and a few days before Canada Day celebrations. At the time, Barriere Lake had launched a legal challenge of Indian Affairs' 2006 decision to strip the community of control over their financial affairs, handing them over to an outside consultant who had ignored the community's input and mismanaged their funds. This third-party management system had been imposed on the community on the basis of a deficit that Barriere Lake's lawyers argued would be non-existent if the federal government had simply honoured and implemented a series of agreements signed over the last two decades.

The Deputy Minister of Indian Affairs Michael Wernick met with community representatives outside the parliament, agreeing to suspend the court case and enter into a process with a special ministerial representative, who would issue recommendations for government action.

From the start of discussions, however, it was clear Marc Perron intended to serve the government's agenda. Then the community discovered that Perron was also negotiating a Comprehensive Claim with the Attikamek Nation in northern Quebec, on behalf of the federal government. This raised obvious concerns about conflict-of-interest: the Attikamek have claimed territory that overlaps with Barriere Lake's documented areas of historical land-use, and Barriere Lake has always refused to enter the process that Perron was negotiating under with the Attikamek.

[2] Martin Lukacs, "Minister's Memo Exposes Motives for Removing Algonquin Chief," Dominion Paper, March 27, 2009 http://www.dominionpaper.ca/articles/2560

* Action Alert *

2009-07-13T16:23:00.005-04:00

Please take FIVE MINUTES to demand that the Algonquins of Barriere Lake have their legitimate leadership recognized!

SENT AN MESSAGE BY CLICKING HERE :
http://barrierelakesolidarity.blogspot.com/2007/10/blog-post.html

The Algonquins of Barriere Lake held a leadership selection ceremony on June 24, 2009 on their traditional territory. The community selected a new Customary Chief and Council, confirming their confidence in long-time Customary Chief Jean Maurice Matchewan.

Since March 2008, the Department of Indian Affairs has refused to recognize the legitimate Customary Chief and Council of the Algonquins of Barriere Lake. This has been just the latest government tactic to undermine Barriere Lake’s historic Trilateral agreement – a land management plan covering 10,000 square kilometers of their traditional territories – that the Customary Chief and Council have been fighting to have implemented since its signing in 1991. For the last year and half, the Department of Indian Affairs has recognized a Chief and Council who were not, according to Barriere Lake’s Elder’s Council, selected according to the community’s Customary Governance Code, Mitchikanibikok Anishnabe Onakinakewin, and who are only supported by a minority community faction.

To have their legitimate leadership recognized and to continue the fight for the Trilateral agreement, the Algonquins of Barriere Lake held a leadership selection ceremony at the end of June, but the ball is now in the federal government's court. The Department of Indian Affairs should recognize the results and enter into relations with Matchewan and his Council, but they have shown that they do not want to deal with an assertive leadership pushing for respect for their customary government and land rights.

The community needs supporters to put pressure on Indian Affairs to recognize and abide by the results of Barriere Lake's leadership selection.

DEMDAND THAT THE FEDERAL GOVERNMENT RESPECT THE CUSTOMARY GOVERNMENT OF FIRST NATIONS:

SENT AN MESSAGE BY CLICKING HERE :
http://barrierelakesolidarity.blogspot.com/2007/10/blog-post.html

For additional information on the June 2009 leadership selection, click here.

Housing Conditions

2009-07-07T14:25:00.000-04:00

2009-06-08T22:25:00.002-04:00

Beats for Barriere Lake
rhythms for Algonquin resistance

=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-

THURSDAY JUNE 11th 20h00
tickets: $10-12, sliding scale
Petit Café Campus
57, rue Prince-Arthur est
Montréal, Québec
=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-

A night of solidarity for the ongoing struggle of the Algonquins of Barriere Lake, featuring groundbreaking native artists from Quebec.
The concert takes place on June 11th, the one-year anniversary of Prime Minister Stephen Harper's apology for the residential schools system – an apology that many survivors in Barriere Lake believe will take on real meaning only when the government ensures just relations with Indigenous peoples.

((performances from))

* Samian: celebrated Algonquin hip-hop artist with members of Nomadic Massive and Sola y las Lolas

Samian is a celebrated Algonquin hip-hop artist who is the first to perform in French and Algonquin within the Quebec musical universe.

Born in the community of Pikogan in Abitibi-Temiscamingue, Samian Samuel Tremblay, speaks of youth tales, particularly that of the plight and struggle of First Nations.

((opening acts))

* CerAmony: Cree eclectic musical duo

CerAmony hail from the James Bay Region, have played live from
the CBC's True North Concert series, and the Canadian Aboriginal Awards

in both 2003 and 2004. They have strong roots in their indigenous spiritual beliefs,
and the band is socially and politically driven. http://www.myspace.com/ceramony

* Cheri Maracle, Mohawk singer/songwriter from Six Nations

with Marc Nadjiwan, Ojibway singer/songwriter

Cheri Maracle has been performing across Canada and abroad for over a decade. Maracle is inspired by her Mohawk/Irish culture and nomadic upbringing across Canada. Her debut cd, Closer to Home, was nominated for Best New Artist & Best Songwriter at the Aboriginal People's Choice Music

Awards, in Winnipeg Manitoba in 2007, and for Best Female Artist at the Canadian Aboriginal Music Awards.
http://www.myspace.com/cherimaracle

Ojibway singer/songwriter, Marc Nadjiwan, has released multiple albums, including Brother(1995),nominated for a Native American Music Award, and Awake (2002) which was nominated for a Canadian Aboriginal Music Award as well as a Native American Music Award.

http://www.myspace.com/nadjiwan

* screening of Blockade on the 117, by filmmaker Martha Stiegman

co-presented by: Barriere Lake Solidarity, CKUT radio, Production
Multi-Monde, Tadamon! Montreal and the National Campus and Community

Radio Conference (NCRC)

* information:
email: barrierelakesolidarity@gmail.com

phone: 514.398.7432

Minister's Memo Exposes Motives for Removing Algonquin Chief

2009-04-03T14:20:00.000-04:00

Minister's Memo Exposes Motives for Removing Algonquin Chief
INAC expected collaboration with new Chief but feared legal repercussions and perception of government sponsorship

by Martin Lukacs

The Dominion - http://www.dominionpaper.ca

MONTREAL–A secret document obtained by The Dominion reveals Indian and Northern Affairs Canada (INAC) decided to replace the leadership of Barriere Lake First Nation, which officials considered "dogmatized," with a chief and council offering “improved collaboration."

The memo sent to Indian Affairs Minister Chuck Strahl recommends recognizing leadership claimant Casey Ratt in place of Chief Benjamin Nottaway, but predicts such a move will lead to community violence, erection of barricades, legal challenges and "media pressure" based on the "perception of a council sponsored by INAC.”

Strahl signed off on the memo on March 3, 2008. In an April letter to the Ottawa Citizen he maintains that INAC was following the wishes of the community and was not "backing one group over another."

Ratt's ascent to power in the northern Quebec Algonquin community of 450 has been fiercely contested by Nottaway's supporters, who allege INAC ousted an assertive leadership and empowered a group that violated customary leadership protocols.

The Barriere Lake Algonquins select their leadership not by ballot, but by a strict Customary Governance Code that involves the nomination of candidates by elders and their approval in community assemblies. As Strahl states in his public letter, INAC's "role is to simply acknowledge the outcome and register the results."

But the Elder's Council in Barriere Lake quickly launched a judicial review of Strahl's move, arguing INAC went beyond their legal bounds in deciding who should be in power. In April, INAC motioned to dismiss the Elder's case, maintaining INAC did not make a “decision” reviewable by the courts.
A minor is arrested in early March 2008, for refusing to allow INAC-recognized Chief Casey Ratt into the reserve. Photo: Marylynn Poucachiche

The February 18 memo demonstrates that decisions were in fact made. Instead of carefully assessing whether a leadership selection conducted by Ratt's supporters in late January 2008 accorded with the Customary Governance Code, it focuses on the benefits and drawbacks of three possible INAC responses: recognizing Ratt, maintaining relations with Nottaway, or withdrawing recognition for Nottaway and mediating or imposing an electoral system on the community.

According to the memo, keeping ties with Nottaway would entail "continuity of tensed [sic] relations between INAC and the Band Council, considering its claims." For nearly two decades, Nottaway's supporters have been locked in a battle with INAC and Quebec over the implementation of a landmark Trilateral agreement that would give the First Nation say over resource use on 10,000 square kilometres of their traditional territory.

Despite Nottaway's council's "claim to its legitimacy," the memo expresses preference for a band council headed by Casey Ratt, detailing "positive impacts" that include “improved collaboration of the new council with INAC,” a “new council less dogmatized," and a "new environment more favourable to the development of the community" and a "healing process."

A 2006 attempt by Ratt’s supporters to select a chief and council was dismissed after mediation in 2007 by Quebec Superior Court Judge Réjean Paul, who called the group a “small minority” whose selection process “did not follow the Customary Governance Code." Over that year INAC withdrew recognition from Nottaway's customary predecessor, Chief Jean-Maurice Matchewan, until Judge Paul issued the report affirming his legitimacy.

The secret memo acknowledges Judge Paul’s "approach" and admits INAC "does not have all the information" regarding Ratt's recent selection, but states an independent observer "partly related the process' compliance with custom requirements."

When INAC cited this local court worker's report in a March 10 letter notifying Nottaway he was no longer Chief, officials refused to release it to the community. The Elder Council's lawyers obtained it through court months later and discovered that the observer had in fact stated he "couldn’t guarantee” Ratt had followed the Customary Governance Code.

The memo also dismisses taking advantage of the "shaky situation" in the community to impose an Indian Act election system, because its "major impacts" would require further analysis. Inside observers say such a move, which would unilaterally discard the community's customary selection by a Minister's order, could risk being deemed unconstitutional.

Strahl has come under fire recently after documents leaked to the Globe & Mail revealed that INAC secretly plans to revive the Liberals' First Nations Governance Act, which includes challenging "flawed" or "outdated" customary selections of First Nation leaders.

The memo mentions the possibility of “barricades” and suggests informing the Quebec police to "ensure the supervision of the community in the days following the announcement of the new Council." Community members tried to bar Ratt from returning to the reserve in March, dragging trees along the reserve's access road. Ratt required escort by police, who arrested a dozen people and maintained a heavy presence in the community for two weeks, preventing Nottaway's council from accessing any administrative buildings.

While these earlier incidents received little attention, Barriere Lake acquired a higher profile after Nottaway's supporters blockaded a major Quebec highway in October and November 2008, rallying to the demand that INAC implement the Trilateral Agreement and appoint an observer to witness and respect the outcome of a new leadership selection. Nottaway was arrested and jailed for two months in the winter for his participation, arousing condemnation of the Conservative government from Green Party leader Elizabeth May, the NDP, and major unions.

Ratt issued a press release after the blockades stating the former council "focused too much of their attention on the trilateral agreement" and that it was time the "First Nation moves forward." INAC pulled out of the agreement in 2001.

The secret memo was released by the Ministry of Justice on March 13, almost a year after a request filed by lawyers for the Elder's Council was initially denied because INAC maintained they had not made a “decision” about leadership.

Withholding the document, INAC won a dismissal of the Elder's Council judicial review in August but then lost an appeal before a federal court in January. The Judge concluded that a reviewable "decision" had been made and emphasized that the legal status of the Ratt Council remained uncertain, despite recognition from Strahl. After another request for documents, a privacy commissioner green-lighted the memo's release. The court case over leadership will proceed this summer.

Martin Lukacs is a writer and activist, and a member of the Barriere Lake solidarity collective in Montreal.

Native Rights Under Lock & Key

2009-01-12T12:03:00.004-05:00

Demonstrators rallied in Ottawa at Indian Affairs and in Montreal at Premier Jean Charest's office to denounce the jailing of Barriere Lake's Customary Chief, Benjamin Nottaway and Quebec and Canada's refusal to honour signed agreements with the Algonquins of Barriere Lake.

In Ottawa (Jan 7, 2009)

Elizabeth May, leader of the Green Party

In Montreal, audio from speeches (Jan 8, 2009)

Luc Tailleur, Public Service Alliance of Canada (7 mins)

Sonny Papatie, youth community member jailed for peaceful protest alongside Chief Nottaway (2 mins)

Martin Lukacs, Barriere Lake Solidarity member (2 mins)

For media coverage of the event, click here!

Rally for Algonquin Chief Jailed for Asserting Land Rights: Elizabeth May, NDP, Major Unions, Chiefs Call on Canadian government to Honour Landmark Ag

2009-01-07T16:38:00.006-05:00

Ottawa, January 7, 2009/ - A broad network of political parties, unions, human rights and Indigenous groups will rally today to support the Algonquins of Barriere Lake, demanding that the Government of Canada respect a landmark agreement and Barriere Lake's right to decide who serves as their Customary Chief and Council.

The groups will hold a rally on January 7 at noon in front of the Headquarters of Indian and Northern Affairs Canada, in support of Customary Chief Benjamin Nottaway, jailed for two months for joining community members while they peacefully asserted land rights to Barriere Lake's traditional territories in Western Quebec. Community spokespeople will then travel to Montreal for a demonstration on Thursday in front of Premier Jean Charest's office.

"The Algonquin of Barriere Lake have shown extraordinary patience in the face of governmental interference and foot-dragging," said Elizabeth May, Leader of the Green Party. "It is a scandal that Chief Nottaway spent Christmas in jail for peaceful civil disobedience to demand governments live up to their responsibilities, with barely a murmur of notice from the media and with stony silence from our government."

Barriere Lake wants Canada to uphold signed agreements, dating back to the 1991 Trilateral Agreement, a groundbreaking sustainable development and resource co-management agreement praised by the United Nations and the Royal Commission on Aboriginal Peoples. Canada pulled out of the binding agreement in 2001.

"Barriere Lake is one of the most impoverished communities in Canada. Indian Affairs has meddled in this community, undermined land negotiations and walked away on signed agreements," said NDP Parliamentarian Charlie Angus. "It's time the government showed some leadership and helped this community on the path to healing."

The Government of Canada stopped recognizing Acting Customary Chief Benjamin Nottaway on March 10, 2008, and caused great leadership uncertainty by recognizing individuals whom Barriere Lake's Elder's Council says did not follow their Customary Governance Code, which the community uses to select their leadership. Community members have demanded that the federal government appoint an observer to witness and abide by the results of a new leadership selection, but the government of Canada has to date refused. When families from the community peacefully protested on a highway outside their reserve in October and November, the government of Canada remained silent while the Quebec government sent in riot police, which tear-gassed people of all ages and made numerous arrests.

"This is another example of the federal and provincial governments collaborating with each other to criminalize a Chief who has demanded that both orders of government honour signed agreements regarding co-management of land and resource revenue sharing," said Grand Chief Norman Young of the Algonquin Nation Secretariat, Barriere Lake's Tribal Council, which continues to recognize and work with Benjamin Nottaway and his Council.

On Tuesday, the Federal Court of Appeal contradicted the arguments of lawyers for the Department Indian Affairs, ruling in favour of the Barriere Lake's Elder's Council, who will now proceed with their motion to review Indian Affairs' decision to stop recognizing Acting Chief Nottaway. The Court decision casts doubt on the legitimacy of Canada's recognition of the "Ratt Council" and gives weight to the Elder's Council position that Indian Affairs violated their Customary Governance Code.

"The federal government has caused enough suffering in our community. It is time that they respect our leadership customs and negotiate the implementation of agreements that will secure our future," said Marlynn Poucachiche, a community spokesperson and mother of five who was targeted for arrest by the Quebec police after participating in the peaceful blockade.

"We believe the roadblocks erected on highways that pass through First Nations' traditional territories will come down when government roadblocks to self-determination, self-government and land entitlements are eliminated," said National Vice-President Patty Ducharme of the Public Service Alliance of Canada.

- 30 -

Events:

Rally at Indian and Northern Affairs Canada, GATINEAU
WEDNESDAY, January 7th, 2008, NOON
Corner of Wellington & Montcalm

Rally in front of Jean Charest's office, Montreal THURSDAY, January 8, 2008, NOON corner of McGill College & Sherbrooke

For further information:

For interviews contact: Marylynn Poucachiche, Barriere Lake spokesperson: 613 - 265-6739; Elizabeth May, Green Party Leader:(c) 613-614-4916; Charlie Angus, NDP parliamentarian; Algonquin Nation Secretariat Grand Chief Norman Young, (819) 627-6869; PSAC National Vice-President Patty Ducharme: (613) 329-3706; CUPW National President Denis Lemelin, 613-236-7230 ex 7900;
Contact for Montreal rally: Courtney Kirkby: 514-893-8283; Luc Tailleur, National aboriginal equal opportunities committee representative for PSAC, 514-917-8946

2009-01-04T20:56:00.006-05:00

Video: Blockade on the 117 (2008, 12 mins)

Oct 6 2008: The community peacefully blockades highway 117, three hours north of Ottawa. Their demands: that Canada and Quebec honour signed agreements and respect their traditional government.

Action Alert

2008-12-25T01:06:00.002-05:00

NATIVE RIGHTS UNDER LOCK & KEY: Rallies to support the Algonquins of Barriere Lake and jailed Customary Chief Benjamin Nottaway

OTTAWA
=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=
WEDNESDAY, January 7th, 2008, NOON
WHERE: Indian and Northern Affairs Canada
Corner of Wellington and Montcalm in GATINEAU
MARCH to the Gatineau Detention Centre, 75 Rue St. Francois
Click HERE FOR A MAP
=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=

MONTREAL
=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=

THURSDAY, January 8, 2008, NOON
In front of Jean Charest's office
corner of McGill College & Sherbrooke
=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=

* Bring banners, signs, placards, noise-makers...
**Hot chocolate and snacks will be served at both rallies.

For more information, click here

Send a letter to Acting Chief Benjamin Nottaway

2008-12-21T13:31:00.002-05:00

Acting Chief Benjamin Nottaway is being held in jail for 45 days, not counting 2 weeks in pre-trial detention, for peacefully protesting on highway 117 in attempts to have Barriere Lake's signed agreements honoured and for the Canadian government to respect Barriere Lake's Customary Governance.

This is part of a larger and disturbing trend in Canada, where indigenous leadership are being jailed for standing up for their constitutionally-recognized Aboriginal rights. In Ontario, both KI6 and Bob Lovelace were jailed for peaceful protest for several months. A decision that was overturned in the court of appeal.

To send Benjamin a letter of support:

Benjamin Nottaway
Hull Detention Centre
P-6, D-3
75 Rue St. Francois
Hull, Quebec J9A 1B4

Blockade leader says he's a 'political prisoner'

2008-12-16T16:28:00.000-05:00

JOE FRIESEN
GLOBE AND MAIL
December 15, 2008
http://www.theglobeandmail.com/servlet/story/LAC.20081215.NATIVES15/TPStory/National

Speaking from a jail cell, deposed native leader Benjamin Nottaway says he is a political prisoner, targeted for his outspoken opposition to the
governments of Canada and Quebec.

He is the latest casualty of a power struggle that has included
allegations of a political coup, fire bombings and several interventions
by riot police.

It reads like a tale ripped from the headlines of a war-torn dictatorship.
Instead, it's the story of the Algonquins of Barriere Lake, a Quebec
community of 450 people three hours north of Ottawa.

Mr. Nottaway, imprisoned for 45 days for leading a highway blockade, says that although he misses his children, he is being treated with respect in jail, where fellow inmates refer to him deferentially as the "chief." But
the question of who actually is the chief of Barriere Lake is far from
clear.

Mr. Nottaway alleges that he was deposed by an ambitious group of plotters led by Casey Ratt, who launched what Nottaway supporters call an "administrative coup d'état" this year and installed themselves as the
band government.

He calls Mr. Ratt a "puppet" and a "government agent," propped up by
officials in Ottawa and Quebec City who see him as a soft touch when it
comes to defending aboriginal land title and resource rights.

Mr. Ratt laughs at these suggestions, and says there is no leadership
crisis in Barriere Lake, save for the grumblings of those who have lost
their grip on power and have enlisted non-native activists to push their
case in the news media.

He says he came to power in January after a three-month leadership review, which he launched because he was upset that Mr. Nottaway's group had closed the band school, a move he perceived as motivated by their own political aims.

"It's no good for our kids to use them as political pawns," Mr. Ratt says.
"A lot of people didn't agree with those tactics."

After Mr. Ratt was declared chief, his opponents said he had hijacked the
traditional selection process and tried to push him off the reserve. His
house burned down in suspicious circumstances, he says, as did the band
office.

"But I'm still in the community," he says. "It's a steady struggle."

Barriere Lake does not elect leaders according to the one-member, one-vote system set out in the Indian Act, but instead uses a selection system led by a council of elders. The federal government says it has no role in adjudicating that system, but has acknowledged the election of Mr. Ratt's group and says it will conduct business with his council.

After several escalating protests against Mr. Ratt's government, the
Nottaway group blockaded Highway 117 twice in recent months. In October,
riot police were sent in by the provincial police force and were accused
of using violent tactics to disperse the protesters. In November, Mr.
Nottaway and four other prominent political opponents of Mr. Ratt were
arrested by riot police for staging another highway blockade, which they
called a tactic of last resort. They were asking the federal government to
appoint an independent observer to oversee a new leadership selection.

"When I was in court my lawyer told me, 'The Crown wants you to suffer,
they want you to feel the pain.' They asked for 12 months, but I got 45
days," Mr. Nottaway says. "I'm a political prisoner, and they know that.
It's all politically motivated."

The people of Barriere Lake have never signed a treaty with Canada, and
they say they have never received a fair share, or had a say, in the
resource revenue extracted from their traditional territory, which they
estimate at $100-million a year. For its part, the community suffers
crippling unemployment and is not connected to the power grid, so it runs
on diesel generators.

Mr. Ratt says he wants to put the power struggle behind him and work
toward finding both short- and long-term solutions for his community.

Mr. Nottaway says he can't allow the band to be led by a chief he
considers illegitimate. His goal is to see a 1991 trilateral agreement on
resource management honoured by the province and the federal government.

"The government imposed a minority faction on our community," he says.
"That's not what we want and we're never going to accept it. Even though
I'm in here, we're not going to stop fighting."

Quebec judge imprisons Algonquin Chief for two months for peaceful protest: Crown asks for one year to send "clear message" to impoverished community

2008-12-12T13:22:00.000-05:00

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Wednesday, December 10, 2008

Quebec judge imprisons Algonquin Chief for two months for peaceful protest: Crown asks for one year to send "clear message" to impoverished community

Kitiganik/Rapid Lake, Algonquin Territory / - On Thursday December 4th a Quebec judge sentenced Barriere Lake Acting Chief Benjamin Nottaway to forty-five days in jail, in addition to fifteen already served in pre-trial detention, for participating in peaceful blockades intended to draw attention to violations of Barriere Lake's rights by the Canadian and Quebec governments.

Barriere Lake has been demanding that Canada and Quebec honour signed agreements and that Canada appoint an observer to witness and respect the outcome of a new leadership selection in accordance with Barriere Lake's Customary Governance Code.

"It's shameful that the government of Quebec would rather throw me in jail than fulfill their legal obligations by implementing signed agreements," said Acting Chief Nottaway, a father of six who passed his twenty-eighth birthday in jail last Thursday. "Meanwhile, the Government of Canada continues to interfere in our internal affairs while trying to wash its hands of responsibility for this situation."

Nottaway was charged with three counts of mischief and breach of conditions stemming from March blockades on Barriere Lake's access road and a November blockade on highway 117 outside the community's reserve in Northern Quebec. Another blockade in October was violently dismantled by Quebec riot police, who used tear-gas on a crowd that included Elders, youth, and children. More than 40 members of the community of 450 have been charged for these actions.

"Quebec has now joined the company of Ontario, which put the leaders of Kitchenuhmaykoosib Inninuwug (KI) First Nation and Ardoch Algonquin First Nation behind bars for peaceful protest. It seems like the provinces' preferred method for dealing with our rights is to use the police and the courts to punish us until we forget about them," said Marylynn Poucachiche, a community spokesperson who was arrested during the November blockade.

Crown Attorney France Deschamps asked Judge Jules Barriere for a sentence of 12 months, saying a "clear message" was required "to make sure Nottaway has no desire to do this again, and to discourage the group – because his supporters are waiting to hear what happens here." Judge Barriere noted that the Crown's request was "partly illegal," as 6 months is the maximum possible sentence for summary convictions. But he agreed with Deschamps that a prison sentence was necessary, saying it was "important to pass a clear message to the community."

"The only message the Canadian and Quebec governments are sending is that they are willing to criminalize our community and split apart our families in order to avoid implementing precedent-setting agreements and respecting our leadership customs," added Nottaway.

Barriere Lake wants Canada and Quebec to uphold signed agreements, dating back to the 1991 Trilateral Agreement, a landmark sustainable development and resource co-management agreement praised by the United Nations and the Royal Commission on Aboriginal Peoples. Canada has been in breach of the agreement since 2001. Quebec signed a complementary Bilateral agreement in 1998, but has stalled despite the 2006 recommendations of two former Quebec Cabinet Ministers, Quebec special representative John Ciaccia and Barriere Lake special representative Clifford Lincoln, that the agreement be implemented.

On March 10th, 2008, the Canadian government rescinded recognition of Acting Chief Benjamin Nottaway and his Council and recognized individuals from a minority faction whom the Barriere Lake Elder's Council says were not selected in accordance with their Customary Governance Code. On March 2nd and 3rd, community members had set up blockades on their access road to prevent members of this minority faction from entering the reservation, anticipating the Canadian government would try to illegally interfere in Barriere Lake's internal customary governance for the third time in 12 years.

In 2007, Quebec Superior Court Judge Rejean Paul issued a report that concluded that the current faction recognized by the federal government was a "small minority" that "didn't respect the Customary Governance Code" in an alleged leadership selection in 2006 [1]. The federal government recognized this minority faction after they conducted another alleged leadership selection in January 2008, even though an observer's report the government relied on stated there was no "guarantee" that the Customary Governance Code was respected [2].

The Algonquin Nation Secretariat, the Tribal Council representing three Algonquin communities including Barriere Lake, continues to recognize and work with Customary Chief Benjamin Nottaway and his Council.

-30-

Media Contacts:

Norman Matchewan, Barriere Lake spokesperson: 819 – 435 – 2171

Marylynn Poucachiche, Barriere Lake spokesperson: 819 - 435 - 2113

Notes

[1] http://web.resist.ca/~barrierelakesolidarity/resources/Rapport_du_Juge_Paul-versionANGLAISEcomplete.doc, pg 26-27

[2] http://web.resist.ca/~barrierelakesolidarity/resources/Riel_Translation_Letter_2.doc , pg 2

MEDIA ADVISORY: CHIEFS OF ONTARIO EXPRESS DISAPROVAL OF QUEBEC IMPRISONMENT OF BARRIERE LAKE LEADER

2008-12-12T13:14:00.001-05:00

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:

THURSDAY, DECEMBER 11, 2008

CHIEFS OF ONTARIO EXPRESS DISAPROVAL OF QUEBEC IMPRISONMENT OF BARRIERE LAKE LEADER

OTTAWA— Earlier this fall Ontario Regional Chief Angus Toulouse, on behalf of First Nations in Ontario, communicated by letter to Premier Jean Charest and Prime Minister Stephen Harper that the use of force against peaceful civil protestors was contrary to the goal of reconciliation between First Nations peoples and federal and provincial governments. In addition, at a gathering of the Chiefs in Assembly in November, First Nations leadership again expressed their concern regarding the use of force against the same protestors.

On the same day that the Supreme Court of Canada dismissed an appeal of a decision earlier this year by the Ontario Court of Appeal concerning the ordered release of aboriginal leaders from jail for their actions in asserting their rights, it was reported that a First Nation leader from Barrier Lake was sentenced to a 45 day jail term for his actions for asserting the rights of his people.

"All Ontarians know that the use of force and imprisonment against First Nations people involved in the assertion of constitutional rights situations is unacceptable," says Regional Chief Angus Toulouse. "We have learned this through the Ipperwash Inquiry and its recommendations and through the court proceedings involving aboriginal leadership in Ontario. The Ontario government learned this and it appears the federal and Quebec governments must also learn this."

Regional Chief Toulouse is calling on the government of Quebec to initiate proceedings leading to the release of jailed Barriere Lake leader Benjamin Nottaway. "All governments in Canada must understand that when First Nations communities assert their rights they are acting in accordance with the Rule of Law and the application of violence and imprisonment against people trying to assert their constitutional rights is contrary to the Rule of Law," says Ontario Regional Chief Angus Toulouse.

The Chiefs in Ontario, comprising the 133 First Nations in Ontario, is a political forum and secretariat for collective decision-making, action and advocacy.

-30-

For more information, please contact:

Harmony Rice
Communications
Chiefs of Ontario

1-877-517-6527
416-576-9718
harmony@coo.org

2008-12-09T11:16:00.000-05:00

Marylynn Poucachiche takes on Assistant Regional Director of Indian Affairs, Pierre Nepton, on Radio Canada International's The Link (Dec 8 2008). The interview starts half way through the file and lasts for 10 minutes.
Click here to listen.

Green Party supports Mitchikanibikok Inik

2008-11-24T10:11:00.001-05:00

Green Party of Canada is calling for an investigation into the infringement of the rights of the Mitchikanibikok Inik, also known as the Algonquin of Barriere Lake, particularly their right to peaceful assembly.

2008-11-22T11:05:00.002-05:00

Release: SQ riot squad arrest 5 Algonquins, including Acting Chief Benjamin Nottaway

2008-11-19T19:00:00.001-05:00

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Wednesday, November 19, 2008

SQ riot squad arrest 5 Algonquins, including Acting Chief Benjamin Nottaway

Kitiganik/Rapid Lake, Algonquin Territory / - SQ officers and a Riot Squad arrested five Barriere Lake Algonquins, including a targeted arrest of Acting Chief Benjamin Nottaway, after forcing community members off highway 117, during their fourth in a series of blockades over a period of seven hours.

"Chief Nottaway sent a letter to Premier Charest on Monday requesting that the government resolve political issues through negotiations rather than police violence," said community spokesperson Norman Matchewan."Blockades are a tactic of last resort. For two decades now all we've asked is that Quebec and Canada honour signed agreements but they prefer to play with our lives."

As the community was pushed off the highway for the last time at 2:30 pm, riot police broke out of formation to chase and arrest Acting Chief Nottaway. His was the second targeted arrest of the day. Community youth spokesperson Marylynn Poucachiche, mother of five and organizer of the community school, was arrested at one of the morning blockades after being reassured by police that no arrests would be made since protesters had agreed to leave peacefully.

One community member was pushed to the ground and kicked by several SQ officers before being arrested.

"The police dragged him with his head on the ground all the way to the police car," said one community member.

Another woman from the community fell while being pushed back onto the access road leading to the Barriere Lake reserve, and hit her head. She was subsequently arrested.

-30-

Media Contacts:

Norman Matchewan, Barriere Lake spokesperson: 819 – 435 – 2171, 514 - 831 - 6902

Marylynn Poucachiche, Barriere Lake spokesperson: 514 - 893 - 8283, 819 - 860 - 3860

Norman Young, Grand Chief of the Algonquin Nation Secretariat: 819 - 627 - 6869

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Wednesday, November 19, 2008

Kitiganik/Rapid Lake, Algonquin Territory / - The Barriere Lake Algonquins have blocked highway 117 by gathering in the middle of the road, after Quebec police dismantled their log blockades earlier in the day, and have now been put on notice that the Riot Police will arrive momentarily.

Community spokesperson Marylynn Poucachiche has been arrested for obstruction and mischief and is currently detained.

-30-

Media Contacts:

Norman Matchewan, Barriere Lake spokesperson: 819 – 435 – 2171, 514 - 831 - 6902,

Marylynn Poucachiche, Barriere Lake spokesperson:514 - 893 - 8283, 819 - 860 - 3860

Norman Young, Grand Chief of the Algonquin Nation Secretariat: 819 - 627 - 6869

7AM - Algonquins BLOCKADE HWY 117 for a second time

2008-11-18T23:33:00.001-05:00

Brief description: After exhausting all political avenues, the Algonquins of Barriere Lake and many non-native supporters have just blockaded highway 117 for a second time. Last time the community, including Elders, youth and children, were met with a brutal police response. Riot cops used tear gas and pain compliance, instead of negotiators. The police response has drawn criticism from international human rights groups, the Chiefs of Ontario, and the Christian Peacemaker Team. [ http://blip.tv/file/1391794 ]

They will maintain the peaceful blockade until both the Canadian and Quebec governments honour their signed agreements that would allow co-management of their traditional territory and resource revenue sharing, and until Canada respects their leadership customs by appointing an observer to witness a leadership selection in accordance with their Customary Governance Code, and in good faith recognize the outcome.

*On this page you will find: a link to photos of the action, quotes, media contacts, background resources, and the press release

Up-to-date photos of the blockade are available HERE

Quotes from Barriere Lake Algonquin Spokespeople:

Norman Matchewan, community youth spokesperson: "Instead of doing the dirty work of the federal government, Quebec should implement its agreements and immediately lobby the federal government to deal fairly with our community. Charest's brutal treatment of our community shows his government has absolutely no respect for the rights of Indigenous peoples, which should be an urgent matter of debate during the provincial election."

Marylynn Poucachiche, community spokesperson: "The federal government pretends this is simply an internal issue, but we can only resolve the situation if the federal government appoints an observer to witness a new leadership selection that is truly in accordance with our Customary Governance Code, promises to respect the outcome, and then stops interfering in our internal affairs."

Michel Thusky, community spokesperson: "To avoid their obligations, the federal government has deliberately violated our leadership customs by ousting our Customary Chief and Council. In what amounts to a coup d'etat, they are recognizing a Chief and Council rejected by a community majority. The Quebec government is cooperating with the federal government too because they are using the leadership issue as an excuse to bury the 1991 and 1998 Agreements they signed with our First Nation."

Media Contacts:

Norman Matchewan, a community teacher and part-time police officer who was racially slurred two weeks ago by the assistant of Conservative Minister Lawrence Cannon, the representative in Barriere Lake's riding of Pontiac: 819.435.2171 or 514.831.6902 (c)

Marylynn Poucaciche, community educator and youth representative for Barriere Lake on the Algonquin Tribal Council: 819.860.3860 (c) or 514.893.8283 (c)

Norman Young, Grand Chief of the Algonquin Nation Secretariat: 819.627.6869

Barriere Lake Algonquins' Demands

Resources:

Laurier Riel Report, part I - Riel witnessed the alleged leadership selection, whose result was recognized by Indian Affairs on March 10, 2008

Laurier Riel Report, part II

Federal MP, Lawrence Cannon's Message to the Community in Le Droit (22 September 2008)

Norman Matchewan's Response to Lawrence Cannon in Le Droit (26 September 2008)

Trilateral Agreement - discussed in the Royal Commission on Aboriginal Peoples (RCAP)

2007 leadership report by Quebec Superior Court Rhejean Paul

Legal challenge of Federal Government's deposition of Barriere Lake's Customary Chief and Council

Assembly of First Nations briefing note - January 2008

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

PRESS ADVISORY: Algonquins peacefully blockade highway 117 second time: demand Quebec and Canada respect agreements and Canada stop propping up illegitimate leadership

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Wednesday, November 19, 2008

Barriere Lake Algonquins peacefully blockade highway 117 in Northern Quebec a second time: despite fears of more police violence, community wants Quebec and Canada to respect agreements and Canada to end interference in leadership selection

Kitiganik/Rapid Lake, Algonquin Territory / - This morning at 7:30am, Barriere Lake community members of all ages and their supporters once again peacefully blockaded highway 117 outside their reserve, demanding that Quebec and Canada send in negotiators rather than resort to police violence. During the Algonquin's first blockade on October 6^th, 2008, Quebec police used tear gas and "pain compliance" techniques against a peaceful crowd that included Elders, youth, and children, arrested nine people, and hospitalized a Customary Councillor after hitting him in the chest with a tear-gas canister, drawing criticism from international human rights groups, the Chiefs of Ontario, and the Christian Peacemakers Team. [ http://blip.tv/file/1391794 ]

The Algonquins promise to maintain the blockade until Canada and Quebec commit in writing to honour their agreements and Canada appoints an observer to witness and respect the outcome of a new leadership selection in Barriere Lake in accordance with their Customary Governance Code.

"Instead of doing the dirty work of the federal government, Quebec should implement its agreements and immediately lobby the federal government to deal fairly with our community," said Norman Matchewan, a community spokesperson on-site at the blockade. "Charest's brutal treatment of our community shows his government has absolutely no respect for the rights of Indigenous peoples, which should be an urgent matter of debate during the provincial election."

Barriere Lake wants Canada and Quebec to uphold signed agreements, dating back to the 1991 Trilateral Agreement, a landmark sustainable development and resource co-management agreement praised by the United Nations and the Royal Commission on Aboriginal Peoples. Canada has been in breach of the agreement since 2001. Quebec signed a complementary Bilateral agreement in 1998, but has stalled since two former Quebec Cabinet Ministers, Quebec special representative John Ciaccia and Barriere Lake special representative Clifford Lincoln, made recommendations for the agreement's implementation in 2006.

"To avoid their obligations, the federal government has deliberately violated our leadership customs by ousting our Customary Chief and Council," said Matchewan. "In what amounts to a coup d'etat, they are recognizing a Chief and Council rejected by a community majority. The Quebec government is cooperating with the federal government because they are using the leadership issue as an excuse to bury the 1991 and 1998 Agreements they signed with our First Nation."

In November 2007 the legitimate leadership of Barriere Lake had issued a ban on new forestry operations in the Trilateral Territory until Quebec implemented their agreements, but the province and forestry companies have used the leadership change as an opportunity to cut new logging roads [in preparation for logging operations] without permission from the legitimate Barriere Lake representatives.

On March 10th, 2008, for the third time in 12 years, the Government of Canada interfered in Barriere Lake's internal customary governance. They rescinded recognition of the Customary Chief and Council and recognized individuals whom the Barriere Lake Elder's Council says were not selected in accordance with their Customary Governance Code.

"The federal government pretends this is simply an internal issue," says Marylynn Poucachiche, another Barriere Lake spokesperson on-site. "But we can only resolve the situation if the federal government appoints an observer to witness a new leadership selection that is truly in accordance with our Customary Governance Code, promises to respect the outcome, and then stops interfering in our internal affairs."

In 2007, Quebec Superior Court Judge Rejean Paul issued a report that concluded that the current faction recognized by the federal government was a "small minority" that "didn't respect the Customary Governance Code" in an alleged leadership selection in 2006 [2]. The federal government recognized this minority faction after they conducted another alleged leadership selection in January 2008, even though an observer's report the government relied on stated there was no "guarantee" that the Customary Governance Code was respected [3].

The Algonquin Nation Secretariat, the Tribal Council representing three Algonquin communities including Barriere Lake, continues to recognize and work with Customary Chief Benjamin Nottaway and his Council.

In Montreal at noon, supporters of Barriere Lake will rally in front of the office of Premier Jean Charest's at the southeast corner of McGill College and Sherbrooke.

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Media Contacts:

Norman Matchewan, Barriere Lake spokesperson: 819 – 435 – 2171 or 514 - 831 - 6902

Marylynn Poucachiche, Barriere Lake spokesperson: 819 - 860 - 3860 or 514 - 893 - 8283

Norman Young, Grand Chief of the Algonquin Nation Secretariat: 819 - 627 - 6869

DEMONSTRATION IN SOLIDARITY WITH BARRIERE LAKE A CALL FOR SOLIDARITY AND SUPPORT!

2008-11-18T02:28:00.000-05:00

**************************************
WEDNESDAY, NOV 19, 2008, NOON
In front of Jean Charest's office
corner of McGill College & Sherbrooke
************************************
* bring banners, signs, placards, noise-makers...

Join Barriere Lake Solidarity in a demonstration to call on Premier Charest to STOP using riot police, tear gas and pain compliance and START honouring signed agreements with Barriere Lake Algonquins.

In early October, as a method of last resort, families from the Algonquin community of Barriere Lake blockaded highway 117 in northern Quebec, demanding that the Federal and Quebec governments uphold the agreements they signed with the community, and stop imposing illegitimate leadership on the community in order to avoid their responsibilities.

Norman Matchewan, community youth spokesperson says, "Both the federal and provincial governments have treated us with contempt, refusing to respect the agreements they've signed with us. We've exhausted all our political options, but they've ignored or dismissed our community, leaving us with no choice but to peacefully blockade the highway to force the government to deal fairly with us."

Instead of sending in negotiators, honouring signed agreements and sending an observer for their leadership re-selection, dozens of riot cops overran the families who were peacefully demonstrating. Riot cops surrounded the area, and launched tear gas canisters, one of which hit a disabled community member in the chest. Nine people, including an elder, a pregnant woman, and two minors, were arrested. Eight demonstrators remained locked down to concrete-filled barrels, but police used "pain compliance"--roughly, torture--to force them to let go, and be arrested.

There have been many outcries against the actions taken by Charest's government. Angus Toulouse, Ontario Regional Chief, in a letter to Charest on October 10th wrote, "the leadership of the First Nations of Ontario are very concerned regarding the approach taken by the SQ against the ABL…Resorting to aggressive police action is clearly regrettable and further does not address the root causes of this situation." Several European human rights organizations recently supported Barriere Lake's demands and condemned police actions taken against the community.

Barriere Lake's List of Demands:

1. That the Government of Canada agree to respect the outcome of a new leadership re-selection process, with outside observers, recognize the resulting Customary Chief and Council, and cease all interference in the internal governance of Barriere Lake.

2. That the Government of Canada agree to the immediate incorporation of an Algonquin language and culture program into the primary school curriculum.

3. That the Government of Canada honour signed agreements with Barriere Lake, including the Trilateral, the Memorandum of Mutual Intent, and the Special Provisions, all of which it has illegally terminated.

4. That the Government of Canada revoke Third Party Management, which was imposed unjustly on Barriere Lake.

5. That the Province of Quebec honour signed agreements with Barriere Lake, including the 1991 Trilateral and 1998 Bilateral agreements, and adopt for implementation the Lincoln-Ciaccia joint recommendations, including $1.5 million in resource-revenue sharing.

6. That the Government of Canada and the Province of Quebec initiate a judicial inquiry into the Quebec Regional Office of the Department of Indian Affairs' treatment of Barriere Lake and other First Nations who may request to be included.

7. That the Government of Quebec, in consultation with First Nations, conduct a review of the recommendations of the Ontario Ipperwash Commission for guidance towards improving Quebec-First Nation relations and the SQ's procedures during policing of First Nation communities.

Upcoming Events!

2008-11-14T17:43:00.001-05:00

Taking Back the Airwaves: Support Community Radio!

*WHEN: Saturday, November 29th
*WHERE: Centre for Media Alternatives - 2033 St. Laurent
*COST: $5-10 or bring a RADIO

7pm - Film Screening: A Little Bit of So Much Truth (93 minutes, 2006)

9pm - Dance Party: featuring DJ Aaron Maiden & DJ Medja

Click HERE for more info.

DEFENDERS OF THE LAND GATHERING

2008-11-12T11:19:00.000-05:00

For Immediate Release: November 12, 2008

MEDIA ADVISORY

WINNIPEG— Spokespeople from Indigenous communities involved in land struggles across Canada will issue a national challenge to Prime Minister Stephen Harper and the Conservative government's policies when Harper attends the Conservative Convention in Winnipeg this week, delivering a letter to Harper on Thursday at 6pm, and following up with a press conference on Friday at the Winnipeg Convention Centre.

Indigenous organizers, leaders and membership will be meeting in Winnipeg for the Defenders of the Land Gathering from November 12-14th, 2008 to share strategies and solutions for achieving land rights and self-determination.

The Defenders of the Land Gathering will feature special presentations by members from the Algonquins of Barriere Lake, Six Nations, Athabasca Chipewyan First Nation, Ardoch Algonquin First Nation, Kitchenuhmaykoosib Inninuwug, Secwepemc First Nation, while many others will be in attendance.

The Defenders of the Land Gathering will focus on several key principles including recognition and respect for Inherent, Aboriginal and Treaty rights; opposition to arbitrary, one-sided federal and provincial legislation, policies and practices that negatively affect Indigenous Peoples; stopping the environmental degradation of Indigenous lands; a fair and just interpretation of section 35 of Canada's constitution, including the elimination of the racist, outdated concepts of the Doctrine of Discovery and Terra Nullius; and the application of the Articles of the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples in Canada.

The Press Conference will be held:
Date: Friday November 14, 2008
Location: Winnipeg Convention Centre
Time: TBA

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For more information, please contact:
Courtney Kirkby 514.893.8283 (c)
Harmony Rice: 204.510.9899 (c)

2008-11-04T23:44:00.008-05:00

Click here to listen to Canada: A Pariah State?, a lecture by Arthur Manuel at McGill University, November 3rd, 2008.

At the Defenders of the Land, on November 4th, community spokespeople, Marylynn Poucachiche and Norman Matchewan, Russell Diabo, policy advisor for Barriere Lake for the past two decades, and Arthur Manuel all spoke at the Native Friendship Centre in Montreal. Along with the presentation, a 12 minute film of the recent October blockade of highway 117, made by Martha Stiegman, was screened. It was an informative and emotional event for everyone, bringing both Marylynn and audience members to tears.

The speeches from the event are available here -- just click on the name of the speaker and download the file.

Russell Diabo (35 minutes)
Marylynn Poucachiche and Norman Matchewan (20 minutes)

Martha Stiegman's film:
Click HERE to view

Barriere Lake T-Shirts

2008-11-01T04:10:00.000-04:00

Barriere Lake Radio T-Shirts
Cost: $15-25
*Proceeds support Barriere Lake.

The image on the t-shirt is the sound wave file produced by someone saying: "Mitchikinabiko'inik Nodaktcigen", which translates roughly into "Radio Barriere Lake".

To order a shirt, email: barrierelakesolidarity@gmail.com