Indigenous Solidarity Team of the North Bay and Area Mission Cluster, United Church of Canada
Letters we have written Letter to Minister of Justice and Attorney General of Canada December 2020
Dear Minister Lametti, We would like to add our voices to those pleading with you to preserve the evidence from St. Anne’s residential school so that the survivors may have justice. As members of the United Church of Canada —one of the four denominations that ran Indian residential schools— we know some things about this vast and cruel assimilation project, from the point of view of the offenders. After much reflection, we believe that genocide is not too strong a term for this attempt at “killing the Indian in the child.” Justice is the priority here. The evidence must be available to the courts so that the survivors of this tragedy might see justice in their lifetime. We admire your position on UNDRIP, and thank you for it. We hope that your position on these crucial documents is equally principled. Sincerely, Indigenous Solidarity Team North Bay and Area Mission Cluster, the United Church of Canada READ CBC news coverage that the Justice department is set to destroy all the documents relating to the crimes committed at St. Anne's residential school AND watch stories in APTN News Archives November 2020 Letter from the North Bay Indigenous Solidarity Team
Dear Minister Bennett and Minister Miller,
We are writing to you as members of the Indigenous Solidarity Team of the North Bay and Area Mission Cluster of the United Church of Canada. We know that you both have been working on behalf of Indigenous people throughout your parliamentary careers, and we are grateful for that. However, at this moment, TransMountain and Coastal GasLink pipelines continue construction in Western Canada. A housing development threatens land belonging to the Haudenosaunee people in Southern Ontario, and lobster wars simmer in Nova Scotia. These conflicts are marked by injunctions and arrests that clear the way for companies or even individuals to act to the detriment of territory that is not theirs to control. We need our government to do better than this. We need our political leaders, and especially those in Cabinet, to say no to constant lobbying by powerful oil and gas interests. We need you to hold those companies accountable for the damage they do. We need land claims to be settled, and rights and title to be respected. We need you to understand that reconciliation does not entail absorbing the values of the dominant culture. Above all, we demand that the sovereignty of First Nations be respected — at this moment especially — in regards to the pipelines, housing development and fishery mentioned above. We are asking this as their allies, and as members of a national church that earlier colluded with government to run the Indian residential schools. We too hope that we can do better. We believe that more and more Canadians feel as we do. When you stand for justice for Indigenous people, in Cabinet, in the House, on the streets or around a campfire, we all stand behind you. We hope this knowledge gives you strength and a very loud voice. Sincerely, The Indigenous Solidarity Team, North Bay and Area Mission Cluster, the United Church of Canada |
Statements we've supported MORATORIUM ON RING OF FIRE DEVELOPOMENT
The North Bay and Area Indigenous Solidarity Team has endorsed the Canadian Environmental Law Association's statement calling on Canada and Ontario to establish an immediate moratorium in the Ring of Fire. We encourage you to read the statement and sign on if you have not already done so. See it HERE |
Actions to take in support of the Wet’suwet’en: click HERE