Grassy Narrows First Nation battles big forestry companies

[CPTnet]

CPTnet Asubpeeschoseewagong/Kenora: What would you lose if your town were clear-cut? July 19, 2004

Monday, July 12, three CPTers and nine One World delegation members walked the 10 kilometre perimeter of a medium-sized clear-cut, but not in the boreal forest where recent clear-cuts of timberland takes place.

Instead, they walked the distance inside the town of Kenora (pop. 10,000). The goal in circling the 260 acre urban area with brightly coloured flagging tape was to demonstrate to Kenorans and tourists present in the city the size and impact clear-cutting has upon them and Anishinaabe neighbours. In clear cutting all of the timber within a confined area is harvested and the land is left desolate.

The group attached ties to telephone poles and fences that outlined the area of Kenora that could be covered by a medium-sized clear-cut and carried signs with messages that read, "Respect the spirit of Treaty #3" and "Don't clear-cut the future". Treaty #3 is the covenant that defines the framework for native rights in Northwest Ontario. The group engaged people they passed in conversations while flyers were offered showing a map of the main area of Kenora covered by the outline of a clear-cut and the question, If Kenora were clear-cut, what would we lose? The walk around the perimeter of the area covered by a medium-sized clear-cut lasted 4 hours.

As the walkers passed the office of the Ontario Ministry of Natural Resources (MNR), members of the delegation took the opportunity to speak with area manager, Shawn Stevenson to express concerns about the destruction of culture and livelihood experienced by the Anishinaabe nation as a result of clear-cutting practices. The MNR regulates the logging and other activities that take place in the Anishinaabe traditional land use area. Last week a Grassy Narrows band member took us to see his trapline. Eighty percent of it was clear-cut and he has been unable to trap anything there for the past seven years,explained delegation member, Dwyer Sullivan. Decision making about where and how Anishinaabe land and resources will be used is imposed from outside without adequate recognition of the destruction of the life and culture chosen by Anishinaabe people.

Kenora, the logging and tourist town 100 kilometers south of Grassy Narrows located on the northern banks of Lake of the Woods, has economic ties to the Anishinaabe community. Grassy Narrows residents go to town for jobs, recreation, shopping and other purposes. The Abitibi Consolidated paper mill in Kenora processes the trees cut from Grassy Narrows traditional land. Partially due to clear-cutting of the forest, Anishinaabe people have been far less able, in recent decades, to hunt, fish, trap and collect medicines and pursue traditional economic endeavors.

"I was surprised by the number of positive responses we received from Kenorans", said CPTer, Lisa Martens after the walk. "I just hope their opposition to clear-cutting and cultural genocide will be translating into action."

One World is an organization designed to provide immersion and learning opportunities for young people in villages in Africa and Latin America. Delegation participants were: Krista Harrison (London, ON); Sarah Shepherd, Bob Holmes, Dean Jalonen and Jim Loney (Toronto, ON); Jenn Geddes and her one year old son Zachary (Ottawa, ON); and Sheila and Dwyer Sullivan (Kitchener, ON).

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Christian Peacemaker Teams Canada -
Equipes Chrétiennes d'Action pour la Paix Canada
Tel 416-423-5525
Mobile 647-297-7079
Fax 416-423-9213

[Support Grassy Narrows]

Grassy Narrows Warns Weyerhaeuser:“Withdraw or Face Fierce Campaign”

Cease and Desist All Logging and Industrial Resource Extraction on Our Territory . . .

"If you choose to continue engaging in, or profiting from, the destruction of our homeland, know that you will face a firece campaign on all fronts - in the woods, in the streets, in the marketplace, in your boardrooms, and in the media . . . We are prepared to take all necessary actions to protect our homeland from further desecration."

READ THE LETTER http://www.turtliesland.org/news/gnarrows06.pdf

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For Immediate Release:
February 28, 2006

Grassy Narrows, Ontario- The Grassy Narrows First Nation today sent letters warning the chief executives of Weyerhaeuser (NYSE: WY) and Abitibi-Consolidated to “immediately cease and desist from all logging and industrial resource extraction on our territory” or face a “fierce international campaign”.

The letter follows a decade of failed negotiations, lawsuits, environmental assessment requests, public protests, and a 3-year logging blockade. The letter asserts that decades of unsustainable logging has “poisoned our waters with mercury and other toxins, nearly eliminated our ability to practice our way of life, and robbed us of economic opportunities.”

The letter includes an SOS to the international environmental and human rights community to stand with Grassy Narrows in their demands and expand the struggle in the woods, in the streets and in the market place.

American Dream: First Nation’s Nightmare

In the 1990s Weyerhaeuser fiber-supplier Abitibi dramatically increased logging rates in Grassy Narrows without the consent or proper consultation of the community. According to a report by the Canadian Parks and Wilderness Society, Abitibi cut almost all of the remaining endangered woodland caribou habitat between 1999 and 2004 and regularly clear-cuts huge tracts of land, sprays the land with pesticides, and replants with monoculture tree plantations.

According to plans filed with the Ontario Ministry of Forests in 2003, Abitibi-Consolidated and Weyerhaeuser will continue their clear-cut logging operations within the community’s traditional territory through at least 2009, and have requested an extension to log through 2024.

Nearly half of this wood will supply Weyerhaeuser’s Trus Joist/ Timberstrand mill and will be used widely by American homebuilders, the US building industry and by Weyerhaeuser’s own home-building subsidiaries to build American tract homes in suburbs throughout the US.

Most of the remaining wood taken from Grassy Narrows territory is used by Abitibi-Consolidated to manufacture Abitibi paper products. Abitibi newsprint is used for hundreds of newspapers including the New York Times and the Washington Post.

Grassy Narrows First Nation

The people of Grassy Narrows First Nation have lived on 2,500 square miles of land north of Kenora, Ontario for thousands of years. Nearly 50% of the community still sustain themselves from the land by hunting, trapping, and gathering medicine and berries. The old-growth habitat provided by these areas also support animal species like the pine martin and woodland caribou critical to the ecological integrity of the area.

The Royal Proclamation of 1763, Treaty #3, and the Canadian Constitution all outline the rights of indigenous people to their traditional lands. An ongoing lawsuit between the members of Grassy Narrows First Nation, the Minister of Natural Resources and Abitibi-Consolidated claims that the community was not properly consulted or compensated by the company, and that Abitibi’s clear-cut practices are making it impossible for the people of Grassy Narrows to exercise their Treaty 3 right to hunt and trap on their traditional territory. The lawsuit, if successful, would revoke all current cutting rights on Grassy Narrows land north of the English river.

Supporting Statements

“The clear-cutting of the land, and the destruction of the forest is an attack on our people,” says Roberta Kessik, Grassy Narrows’ blockader, grandmother, and trapper. “The land is the basis of who we are. Our culture is a land based culture and the destruction of the land is the destruction of our culture. And we know that is in the plans. Weyerhaeuser doesn't want us on the land, they want us out of the way so they can take the resources. We can't allow them to carry on with this cultural genocide."

“For years now, we have attempted to voice our concerns within this process with very little constructive response or progress towards desired benefits for the trappers,” explains Gabriel Fobister, Head of Grassy Narrows Trappers’ Council. “All we have seen is the demise of our way of life which disappears every time more cutting areas are extended to Abitibi and Weyerhaeuser. In despair our trappers are ending up in the streets in the cities to become homeless people and living off the soup lines.”

“The government and the logging industry have conspired to destroy much of what we hold sacred,” says Joseph B Fobister, Grassy Narrows business owner and community leader. “Our traditional values and culture are suffering and are headed towards extinction. This land and the forests that are an integral part of it have sustained our people for time immemorial. We watch as they disappear on the backs of logging trucks to paper mills all over the continent.

We do not have more to give. We are left to deal with the environmental and sociological nightmare left behind following tree “harvesting”. Most of our trap lines have been decimated along with the old growth forests. A way of life disappears with these forests. This way of life does not grow back. Tree planters cannot replace it. Yet the government and corporations show no interest in correcting unsustainable economic growth. We are not against economic development; we simply realize that it should not be considered an end unto itself.

We have participated fully in planning for many years and our concerns are never properly considered. We are never treated as equal partners in the process. What’s worse, our attendance at the information sessions and open houses is misconstrued as participation or approval.”

For more information visit

http://www.FriendsofGrassyNarrows.com or

http://www.WakeUpWeyco.com

Contact:
Brianna Cayo Cotter, (415) 305-1943

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MORE . . .
http://www.turtleisland.org/news/news-grassy.htm

[Grassy Narrows Protest]

Natural Resources : More than 100 Supporters Blockade TransCanada Highway in Support of Grassy Narrows


KENORA, ON, July 13, 2006

A hundred Grassy Narrows supporters from across North America are shutting down the TransCanada Highway in Northern Ontraio in solidarity with the Grassy Narrows' call to halt clearcut logging by Weyerhaeuser Corp. and Abitibi Consolidated Inc. on their traditional lands in the boreal forest.

Supporters erected a 30 foot tall tripod on the highway and perched on the top, while others locked themselves to cement filled oil drums and even the axle of a Weyerhaeuser log truck. The action stopped log trucks carrying hardwood trees logged on Grassy Narrows traditional territory on their way to the Weyerhaeuser Trus Joist Timberstrand mill in Kenora. Their banners read "Save Grassy Narrows' Boreal Forest," "Wake up Weyerhaeuser, Defend Native Rights, Defend Ancient Forests," "Freedom for Grassy Narrows; No logging without consent."

For over a decade Grassy Narrows has been working to end clearcut logging on their Traditional Territory. The Ontario McGuinty government, Weyerhaeuser and Abitibi failed to respond to years of official complaints, environmental assessment requests, negotiations, and public protest which gave rise to a blockade that has continued for more than three years. This action by the Rainforest Action Network, Grassy Narrows community members, supporters from other Native communities, and other supporters of social and ecological justice from across North America marks the latest development in the growing international response to a call to action issued by Grassy Narrows community leaders in late February, 2006.

"Weyerhaeuser is destroying an ancient way of life and an ecosystem vital to our plant's health while the McGuinty government fails to act to resolve this crisis," said David Sone, an Organizer for Rainforest Action Network's Old Growth campaign. "We stand proudly with the people of Grassy Narrows and will continue to help protect the Boreal Forest and defend their Traditional Territory."

"The clear-cutting of the land is an attack on our people," said Roberta Keesick, a Grassy Narrows blockader, grandmother and trapper. "The land is the basis of who we are. Our culture is a land-based culture, and the destruction of the land is the destruction of our culture. Weyerhaeuser and the McGuinty government don't want us on the land, they want us out of the way so they can take the resources. We can't allow them to carry on with this cultural genocide."

Last month, the Superior Court of Ontario ordered the province to pay legal costs associated with a lawsuit challenging clear-cut logging on the community's traditional lands. However, proceedings for the three- year old legal action will not be heard until late 2008. Meanwhile, clearcutting continues unabated. In a recent submission to the United Nations, Amnesty International argued that current logging on Grassy Narrows' traditional land violates the community's indigenous rights to self-determination and culture and fails to meet international standards of "free prior and informed consent" for development on traditional Indigenous lands.

For more information go to http://www.FreeGrassy.org

Rainforest Action Network campaigns for the forests, their inhabitants, and the natural systems that sustain life by transforming the global marketplace through education, grassroots organizing, and non-violent direct action.

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/For further information: David Sone, Rainforest Action Network, (On site): (416) 452-4199; Leah Henderson, (On Site): (647) 883-5983; Brianna Cayo Cotter, RAN: (415) 305-1943; Joe B. Fobister (Grassy Narrows Spokesperson) - work: (807) 925 2071, home: (807) 925 2745/

MORE . . .
http://www.turtleisland.org/news/news-grassy.htm

[Grassy Narrows Arrests!]

Thank you for your letter regarding Weyerhaeuser's use of wood products
sourced from the Whiskey Jack forest in Ontario, Canada.

August 2006

Grassy Narrows is an aboriginal community located on the Whiskey Jack
forest in Northwestern Ontario. Weyerhaeuser does not operate in this
forest. However, some of the wood supply to our plant in Kenora is
sourced through a Memorandum of Agreement with Abitibi-Consolidated Inc. on the Whiskey Jack Forest as directed by the Province of Ontario.

The Whiskey Jack Sustainable Forest License is managed by Abitibi. It
is developed and approved under regulation and guidelines of the
Province of Ontario, which require extensive public consultation. The
Whiskey Jack Forest and Abitibi's environmental practices are also
independently certified by third parties to the ISO 14001 environmental
standard and the Canadian Standards Association CZ809 standard for
sustainability. The latter also requires broad public consultation.

Weyerhaeuser takes its commitment to the environment very seriously and is one of just over 100 firms - 93 in the United States and 18 in Canada - listed in the Dow Jones Sustainability North American Index. In
addition, we have obtained independent certification that all of the
forests we manage or own in North America meet the Sustainable Forestry
Initiative Standard or the Canadian Standards Association sustainable
forest management standard, and all of the Weyerhaeuser primary mills in
the United States meet the procurement provisions of the Sustainable
Forestry Initiative Standard.

Regarding your concern about forestry practices in Ontario, Weyerhaeuser
believes issues related to treaty rights or co-management of resources
can only be addressed at a government-to-government level, between
Grassy Narrow's council and the provincial government. We have
respectfully presented this position to Ontario's Minister of Natural
Resources, and we are supportive of the Minister continuing to work to
resolve the matter.

Sincerely,

Dan Dedo
General Manager, Ontario Forestlands

Weyerhaeuser Company


Dear Weyerhaeuser Company,

We the undersigned hearby endorse the call of the Grassy Narrows First
Nation and call on Weyerhauser to "immediately cease and desist from all
logging and industrial resource extraction on our territory."
Weyerhauser should terminate all logging, buying, selling, investing,
financing and profiting from the desecration of the Grassy Narrows
homeland and should not engage in any development on this territory
without the full, free, prior, and informed consent of the Grassy
Narrows community.

Clearcutting should be illegal.


Sincerely,

janine bandcroft
1027 pandora ave
victoria, v8v 3p6
Canada

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Boreal Crisis Grows - 9 More Arrested for Defending Grassy Narrows Traditional Territory from Clear-cut Logging

KENORA, ON, July 27, 2006

Last night, Ontario Provincial Police officers arrested Chrissy Swain, member of the Grassy Narrows First Nation, and 8 supporters on English River Road. The group had been blocking trucks hauling logs to Weyerhaeuser's TrusJoist mill in Kenora since Tuesday afternoon to demand a moratorium on clear cut logging within the community's
Traditional Territory. The nine were charged with mischief and released early this morning on the condition that they leave Kenora within 24 hours.

The arrests marked the first time ever that a member of the First Nation
community has been arrested for defending its Traditional Territory from
logging.

"Weyerhaeuser and Abitibi are destroying our people by logging our Boreal Forest," said Chrissy Swain, a young Grassy Narrows mother from the blockade site. "We've been passive for too long while we've suffered from the impacts of industrial logging. Our people are sick and we can't afford to allow this anymore. We are standing up to protect our land and our children's future."

The English River blockade is the second protest by the Grassy Narrows
community in as many weeks and the latest development in a decade long
campaign to end logging without the native community's consent.

Last Thursday, July 13th, over 80 supporters blocked traffic on the
Transcanada Highway. The following day, Ontario Provicial Police officers
established checkpoints on Highway 671, arresting 9 allegedly involved in the protest. Supporters criticized the OPP for jailing and interrogating people of color including several First Nations individuals, while Caucasians among the arrestees were released with a citation. Hearings in the case will take place Sept 18th in Kenora.

"It is obscene that the Ontario government is arresting peaceful
protestors and allowing Abitibi and Weyerhaeuser to continue destroying the land and way of life of the Grassy Narrows people," says David Sone, organizer with the Rainforest Action Network and one of the individuals arrested Wednesday night. "I now am part of a long and proud history of people who stood up for what was right and just during a time that government refused to respect human rights."

"The forest should be protected," said Steve Fobister, Councilor in charge of Forests Portfolio for the Grassy Narrows Council. "Whatever trees we have left should remain for our purposes and our survival as a people. For over a century we have shared the land, but Abitibi and Weyerhaeuser have abused our generosity for too long. The Provincial government must stop abusing our human rights by destroying the Boreal Forest that we depend on."

For further information: go to FreeGrassy.org