Archive for the ‘Uncategorized’ Category

Running in Honour of Water this year… Peace and Dignity Journeys

Sunday, May 6th, 2012

I just found out that these people are running in honour of water this year, and they need some funding to keep the runners safe out there. www.peacenanddignityjourneys.com

They need help between Chicago and Dallas. If you can help here is the link to the page of regional organizers.

Here is a link to a page with some background  information.

Here is the link to their Donate page.

From their facebook page:

“Peace and Dignity Journeys are spiritual runs that embody the prophecy of the Eagle and Condor. This prophecy mandates that at this time all Indigenous Peoples in the Western Hemisphere shall be reunited in a spiritual way in order to heal our nations so we can begin to work towards a better future for our children and generations to come. Through the Journeys, participant runners and supporters work to accomplish this goal by helping each other reconnect to their respective spiritual practices and traditions; by helping each other relearn our role in the world as Indigenous Peoples; and by reminding each other of our responsibilities to Mother Earth, Father Sky, our communities, and ourselves.
Peace and Dignity Journeys occur every four years and start with Indigenous runners on opposite ends of the continents (Chickaloon, Alaska and Tierra del Fuego, Argentina). They run for six months through hundreds of Indigenous communities where they participate in their respective spiritual practices and traditions; spark dialogue on the issue of peace and dignity for Indigenous Peoples; model their responsibility to Mother Earth, Father Sky, communities, and themselves; and receive the community’s prayers. These prayers and conversations are then carried to proceeding communities until the runners reach the center of the hemisphere. When the runners meet at the Kuna Nation in Panama City, Panama, it will symbolize all Indigenous Peoples joining together in a spiritual way to manifest the prophecy of the Eagle and Condor.”

Bottled Water

Tuesday, September 6th, 2011

Submitted by Sue Chiblow.

PDF water-disaster

Council of Canadians call a spade a spade!

Tuesday, March 1st, 2011

MEDIA RELEASE

For Immediate Release
March 1, 2011

Council of Canadians raises concerns about Senate bill on First Nations water safety

Ottawa – The Council of Canadians has raised several concerns with the Safe Drinking Water For First Nations Act (Bill S-11) in a submission to the Standing Senate Committee on Aboriginal Peoples.

With 117 communities under water advisories in December, the Council of Canadians strongly supports the creation of legislation that recognizes First Nation communities’ right to water and ensures safe drinking water for First Nation communities.

“Water is a human right, public trust and global commons,” says Council of Canadians national water campaigner Emma Lui, who prepared the submission. “We are extremely concerned that the Bill as it stands lacks funding commitments and could open the door to water privatization in First Nation communities. The Bill also currently gives the Canadian government the power to force a community to allow a private, for-profit entity to build, operate and/or manage its water services.”

The UN passed two resolutions last year recognizing the right to safe and clean drinking water and sanitation, with the second resolution making the right legally binding. The Council’s submission highlights that several clauses in Bill S-11 are inconsistent with the UN Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous People (DRIP), which Canada endorsed last November. In developing Bill S-11, many First Nation communities were not consulted and the bill does not require consultation in developing regulations on safe drinking water for First Nation communities.

The UN DRIP requires free, prior and informed consent to any decisions affecting indigenous lands and resources. Any bill or regulations involving safe drinking water in First Nation communities should be developed alongside First Nation communities and must include their concerns.

“It’s deeply troubling that several clauses affirm that the regulations made under Bill S-11 take precedence over aboriginal and treaty rights and First Nation laws or by-laws,” says Council of Canadians chairperson Maude Barlow.

Last December, the Council released a report entitled Public Water for Sale: How Canada will Privatize our Public Water Systems warning of the potential impacts of the Canada-EU Comprehensive Economic and Trade Agreement (CETA) on Canada’s water systems. (see below) The report noted that, “The private sector will have the ability to enter First Nations as owners and operators of water and wastewater facilities due to a lack of infrastructure, resources and training within First Nations.” CETA and Bill S-11 combined could prevent First Nations from building, owning and operating their own water and wastewater plants.

The Council of Canadians is urging that any legislation on safe drinking water for First Nations include funding commitments, the explicit recognition that First Nation communities have a right to build, own and operate their own water systems, clear responsibilities for governments and private companies and a clause on free, prior and informed consent on any decisions affecting water systems.

The full submission is available Bill-S11. Please download and read the full submission.

For more information:

Dylan Penner, media officer, Council of Canadians, 613-795-8685, dpenner@canadians.org, Twitter: @CouncilofCDNs

December 16, 2010

Canada-EU trade talks put Canada’s water up for sale, says new report

Ottawa, ON — Canada’s already challenged public water systems are under threat from a broad free trade agreement being negotiated by Canada and the European Union (EU). A new report released today, Public Water for Sale: How Canada will Privatize Our Public Water Systems, warns that public water in Canada will be lost unless the provinces and territories take immediate steps to remove water from the scope of the proposed Canada-EU Comprehensive Economic and Trade Agreement (CETA).

The report from the Canadian Union of Public Employees (CUPE) and the Council of Canadians exposes how CETA would open up public municipal water systems across Canada to privatization. At the request of Europe’s large private for-profit water corporations, provincial and territorial governments are considering including drinking water and wastewater services in their services commitments under CETA. They have been asked by the Harper government to make the final decision before a sixth round of CETA talks in Brussels this January.

“CETA is a water privatization deal,” says Maude Barlow, national chairperson of the Council of Canadians. “Our public water is being negotiated away behind closed doors. We need to act now or we will wake up one morning and our public water systems will be gone.”

CUPE and the Council of Canadians are calling on the provinces and territories to assert their jurisdiction and protect water from the Harper government’s reckless disregard for Canada’s public water. The report notes the CETA agreement would compound existing pressure in Canadian municipalities and First Nations reserves to privatize water systems due to a lack of proper public funding and federal programs designed to encourage privatization.

“Canadians hold a great deal of trust in publicly owned, operated and delivered water and sanitation systems,” says CUPE National President Paul Moist. “Water and other essential services – such as health care, public transit, postal services and energy – are vital to our communities. This deal will allow the world’s largest multinational corporations to profit from Canada’s water.” Moist is also calling on CUPE’s municipal locals to take action against this deal which is being negotiated without full public debate.

EU negotiators are also asking that Canada’s municipalities and their water utilities be included in a chapter on public procurement. If this happens, it would be the first time Canada has allowed our drinking water to be fully covered under a trade treaty. The goal is clearly to encourage the privatization of Canada’s public municipal water systems.

“Canada’s drinking and sewage systems are important community assets. Public drinking water and sanitation services are a human right and the lifeblood of well-functioning communities,” says Barlow.

The report is available at www.canadians.org and www.cupe.ca

For more information:

Greg Taylor, CUPE National Media Relations – (613) 237-1590 ext. 393
Matthew Ramsden, Communications Officer (Campaigns) – (613) 698-5113 (cell)

Assembly of First Nations National Chief Shawn A‐in‐chut Atleo

Monday, February 28th, 2011

Standing Senate Committee on Aboriginal Peoples Regarding Bill S‐11, Safe Drinking Water for First Nations Act

3 standout concerns voiced by National Chief Shawn, shared by other First Nation leaders across Canada. (I highlighted them in the pdf that you can download.

1 – lack of financial provisions.

2 – First Nations have said that they fell that they haven’t been properly consulted.

3 – Canada appears to give itself the authority to determine the extent to which the Crown can abrogate and derogate Aboriginal and Treaty rights.

Senate begins hearing witnesses for Bill S-11, Feb 2/11

Tuesday, February 8th, 2011

BILL S-11 = the Safe Water Act for First Nations

View the unrevised transcript: SENATE meeting, FEB 2 2011

“If you wish to cite an unrevised transcript, please obtain beforehand the consent of the person who spoke.” The Standing Senate Committee on Aboriginal Peoples

Witnesses:

Indian and Northern Affairs Canada,  Ms. Christine Cram, Assistant Deputy Minister, Education and Social Development Programs and Partnerships, and

Mr. Karl Carisse, Senior Director, Strategic Initiatives Directorate, Community Infrastructure Branch, Education and Social Development Programs and Partnerships.

Health Canada, Ms. Sheilagh Jane Woods, Director General, Primary Health Care and Public Health, First Nations and Inuit Health Branch

Department of Justice,  Mr. Paul Salembier, General Counsel.

WATER WALK 2011, Walkers from the NORTH Tentative Schedule

Wednesday, January 19th, 2011

May 25       Churchill, Manitoba send off.
May 28       Winnipeg, Manitoba
June 1         Emerson, Manitoba
June 3         Grand Forks, Minnesota
June 4         Crookston, Minnesota
June 6         Bemidji, Minnesota
June 8         Grand Rapids, Minnesota
June 10       Duluth, Minnesota
June 13       Bad River, Wisconsin

For more information please go to www.motherearthwaterwalk.com

Facebook group: Water Walk 2011

Ni guh Izhi chigay  Nibi onji   –   I will do it for the water.

WATER WALK 2011, Walkers from the East, Tentative Schedule

Monday, January 17th, 2011

WALKERS FROM THE EAST
Leaving Machias, Maine
May 7 Bangor, Maine
May 8 Skowhegan, Maine
May 9-10 Armstrong, Quebec
May 11 Vallee Jonction
May 12 Levis, Quebec
May 13 Victoriaville, Quebec
May 14 Drummondville, Quebec
May 15 Longueuil, Quebec
May 16 Montreal, Quebec
May 17,18 Cornwall, Ontario
May 19, 20 Ottawa, Ontario
May 21 Pembroke, Ontario
May 22 Deep River, Ontario
May 23 Stonecliffe, Ontario
May 24 Mattawa, Ontario
May 25 North Bay, Ontario
May 26, 27 Sudbury, Ontario
May 28 McKerrow, Ontario
May 29 Serpent River, Ontario
May 30 Thessalon, Ontario
May 31, June 1 Sault Ste. Marie, Ontario
June 2, 3 Newberry, Michigan
June 4, 5 Munising, Michigan
June 6, 7 Marquette, Michigan
June 8 Ishpeming, Michigan
June 9 Ironwood, Michigan
June 10 Bad River, Wisconsin

35 days to Meeting Place

For more information: www.motherearthwaterwalk.com

Facebook group: Water Walk 2011

Water Walk 2011 update from Josephine Mandamin

Friday, January 14th, 2011

Waterwalk 2011… update from Josephine Mandamin

Much has happened since word went out over the holidays about the 2011 Waterwalk . Nothing can happen until volunteers come forward and they have. The successful carrying of the ocean water from the 4 cardinal points will be a reality once it is mingled on June 12, 2011 with Gichiogimaagumee or Lake Superior as it is called.

Fond memories come back of past waterwalks where people so generously came to help out in whatever way they could. Food and water/juices would be brought to us, someone would have a place for us to stay for the night and church people opened their doors to give us a place to cook and sleep, community centers made cots for us to rest, or money would be received from collections made by youth, and someone would come by and tell us to gas up at the gas station and fill up our vehicles. Helping hands came and rubbed us down when our bones and feet were weary. Kindness helps move the water easily.

This spring will be quite the same in terms of asking youth to be more active in carrying the water to the destination in Bad River, Wisconsin to the end of Madigan Road. The Aunties, Uncles and Grandmothers will assist in the Spirit of the Water. Knowing them, they will not be stopped from carrying the water. The North has no roads so the water will travel by train for some distance. The West group will use horses for some distance, the South will utilize runners for some distance and the East will use New Balance. It is still early for proposals to go out for financial assistance as much hardware will be required by all groups; such as van rentals, cell phone compatibility, cameras, and brochure/printing to name a few.

A Central Communications Post has been graciously offered to us from Shingwauk University wherein a space is used for computer work. This will be under the careful wings of Joanne Robertson at: waterwalk2011@gmail.com.

We now have a central account for donations.
Donation account – Bank of Montreal, Transit #00507,
Account #8996-769
More update will follow as we proceed. Me i ewe, Miigwech.

www.motherearthwaterwalk.com

VIDEO: Shoal Lake FN, Unama’ki + CIER

Friday, December 17th, 2010

“CIER, the Centre for Indigenous Environmental Resources, helps Canadian First Nations manage their environmental issues, including access to safe drinking water. Merrell-Ann Phare, the Executive Director of CIER, visited the Shoal Lake 40 First Nation reserve to better understand their issues. Her goal is to see how CIER might be able to help.”

Some of the standout information in this video:

- we know that 1 in 5 of our FNs lives with a water advisory, CIER tells us that in reality it is 1 in 3

- Shoal Lake FN has been on a boil water advisory for 18 years… that means that children have grown to adults with these conditions… they’ve never known anything different

- Shoal Lake FN supplies water to Winnipeg… ironic for sure… an observer would surmise from this action that Winnipeg’s children are more important than Shoal Lake’s children… we need to change this… and I’m sure that as more Canadians become aware of this, they will act to see that it is changed… this would be a good time to mail in an empty glass for water to the Prime Minister, for the people of Shoal Lake… 18 years – the length of time it takes for our babies to become adults – is long enough.

- Merrell-Ann Phare states that the biggest water issue for FNs is the ability to control and protect sources of drinking water… she explains that CIER’s work is to go upstream to see how the problem was created

- Shelley Denny shares that the same guidelines that apply to aquatic species applies to drinking water. This was very good to hear… lots of things I read and hear, people compartmentalize water into neat categories… but they are NOT separate issues…  quality and quantity of water for plants, animals, fish, and humans is all ONE issue… humans have messed the water up for everyone… it’s good to see people like Shelley Denny and the Unama’ki Institute that are combining traditional knowledge with science to maintain a healthy watershed.

Miigwech to Shoal Lake 40 First Nation, CIER and the Unama’ki Institute for your work.

CIER, Centre for Indigenous Environmental Resources www.cier.ca

Unama’ki Institute www.uinr.ca


youtube link: RBC Blue Water Project 02: CIER

Abuela Grillo

Wednesday, September 1st, 2010

This is a fantastic animation about water!

Posted on Vimeo:

“Corto animado producido en The Animation Workshop en Viborg, Dinamarca, por The Animation Workshop, Nicobis, Escorzo, y la Comunidad de Animadores Bolivianos, el cual tiene el apoyo del Gobierno de Dinamarca.
Animado por 8 animadores bolivianos, dirigido por un francès, musica por la ambasadora de bolivia en Francia, composida por un otro francès, un proyecto danès, ajuda de produccion por un mexicano y una allemana. Adaptado de un mito ayoreo.”

“Animated short-film produced in The Animation Workshop in Viborg, Denmark. By the Animation Workshop, Nicobis, Escorzo, and the Community of Bolivians Animators and is supported by the Danish Government. Animated by 8 bolivians animators, directed by a french, music by the bolivian embessador in France, composed by another french, a danish project, hepled for the production by a mexican and german. Adaptaded from mito ayoreo”