Canada should not be sending their Minister of Indigenous Services Marc Miller or Minister of Crown-Indigenous Relations Carolyn Bennett to do any of their negotiation talks. The one that should be sent is Minister of Foreign Affairs François-Philippe Champagne
When the seasons change from harvest into the cold months, and all the necessary things have been done to prepare for the falling snow this signifies a time of change and renewal. In the first live feed of the year I explain how as Kanyen’kehaka we spend most of our time outdoors, except in the cold winter months when the longhouse became the center of community life.
In the winter, people repaired clothing and tools and got ready for the busy spring ahead and was a time when people visited with one another, renewed friendships, and told stories. Through the use of stories, Indigenous communities have passed along their oral traditions including life lessons, histories, and languages. Reflecting over the past year and being thankful is a key to going through the winter months.
As you sit and think back, there will be stories to be told and many other things to be shared whether they be happy or sad. These are all points in life that can be shared and even help heal when told, as now the solstice is here and the mid winter ceremonies are about to commence; the stirring of the ashes signifies a new year among the Kanyen’kehaka, other Haudenosaunee Nations within the Confederacy, and other Indigenous Nations around the world.
Much has happened since the live feeds ended in the spring of 2020 such as the murder of George Floyd on May 25, 2020, which set off the calls for defunding and disbanding police forces altogether across the United States. #defundthepolice and #acab exploded along with #ftp and #blm #blacklivesmatter. As outrage began to spill over the colonial border Indigenous voices became louder and stronger, even more since the Canada-wide shut down in solidarity with the Wet’suwet’en and the invasion on their unceded traditional territory.
One example is at Land Back Lane when police used their own cell phones to record footage, which made its way to the @opp_news Twitter account:
“Restraint and patience demonstrated by @WR_OPP who have been working hard to keep the situation from escalating. We will continue to follow the Framework for Police Preparedness for Indigenous Critical Incidents while enforcing the injunction and keeping the peace”
Retweeted post from Commissioner Thomas W.B. Carrique, his Tweet read “Protesters falsely blamed #OPP for escalation in #Caledonia. Extremely proud of my officers for their professional and measured response to keep the peace & preserve life while under attack. Arrests continue as members take responsible and sustained enforcement approach @WR_OPP”.
The police writing their own news is, in itself, propaganda based. This follows two days after the Toronto Star published an article where Caledonia Mayor Ken Hewitt casts racists remarks, stating “I think they’re using the political correctness that surrounds Indigenous issues to prop up this activity, This is not a land claim.” Shortly after he admitted a blatant conflict of interest by stating “I purchased a home like anyone else; I paid the same price like anyone else, and my kids are waiting to move in just like everyone else.”
Forgetting where his ancestry comes from, no matter how many generations his family has been on the stolen Proclamation lands, he had the ignorance to publicly state “First Nations people can’t just assume they can step on land and take it."
As all of these colonial attempts at genocide continue, the mainstream media begins removing the word “Mohawk” and replacing it with “Haudenosaunee Nation”. This in itself comes straight from oil and government funded media outlets who know the Mohawk Nation is essential to the entire operation of the Haudenosaunee Confederacy. In the Wampum #5 of the Kayanere’kowa (Great Law of Peace, law under which the Haudenosaunee Confederacy is governed) it dictates:
“The Council of the Mohawks shall be divided into three parts: Tehanakarine, Ostawenserentah and Soskoharowane are the first. Tekarihoken, Ayonwatha and Satekariwate are the second. Sarenkowane, Teyonhekwen and Orenrekowa are the third.
The first party is to listen only to the discussion of the second and third parties and if an error is made or the proceeding irregular, they are to call attention to it and when the case is right and properly decided by the two parties, they shall confirm the decision of the two parties and refer the case to the Seneca statesmen for their decision. When the Seneca statesmen have decided, in accord with the Mohawk statesmen, the case or question shall be referred to the Cayuga and Oneida statesmen on the opposite side of the house.” Rotinonshonni ónhwe – Tkanatáhere.
These facts are public knowledge, and any good journalist will stumble upon it in their research. The problem is that they do not understand that this for us is International Law, and we are dealing with foreign government when it comes to Canada. Canada itself dictates that it is the Nation that holds the law of the land, when that could not be further from the truth. In going further into the truth, Canada should not be sending their Minister of Indigenous Services Marc Miller or Minister of Crown-Indigenous Relations Carolyn Bennett to do any of their negotiation talks. The one that should be sent is Minister of Foreign Affairs François-Philippe Champagne with the other two in tow.
When the Canadian government admits to its status as an occupying state and surrenders the genocidal war it has been waging on Indigenous peoples for hundreds of years, only then can so-called reconciliation begin. Pulling out the invading Royal Canadan Mounted Police, Ontario Provincial Police, Military, and other colonial forces is step one. Negotiation does not happen at the end of a gun.
Andrew Brant
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