Hard For Me To Say I'm Sorry

A story I neglected to cover at the time. The government of Canada has officially apologized for its' dreadful, racist Indian residential schools policy. This policy, incidentally, was virtually identical to that of the United States ("kill the Indian; save the Man"). The United States, to date, has never once apologized for any of its policies designed to exterminate the indigenous population of this nation; policies which continue, in a more genteel form, to this very day.

The Canadian Menace!

Excellent post on the reality of the Canadian healthcare system (warts and all), as opposed to the typical Right Wing Noise Machine hype. I have been convinced for years that the only realistic solution to the crisis in health care in America (both for the uninsured and those at the mercy of HMO's) is a Canadian-style single-payer system, administered by the States (as the Canadian system is managed by the individual provinces).

H/T to "Groggie" at Something Awful for this shocking footage of our way of life being threatened by the Forces of Evil.

Meanwhile, at the United Nations...

...to precious little media coverage, the Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples passed, but over the opposition of the United States, Canada, New Zealand and Australia. And while the United States and Canada gave the usual vapid, mealy-mouthed, diplomatic excuses, Australia at least had the huevos to be brutally honest about the reasoning underlying the votes of all four nations: opposition to tribal sovereignty and support for continuing cultural genocide.

"There should only be one law for all Australians and we should not enshrine in law practices that are not acceptable in the modern world," said (Australian) Indigenous Affairs Minister Mal Brough.

Tell it like it is, Oz.

More Native Protests in Canada

Members of the The Pimicikamak Cree First Nation have occupied a hydroelectric generating plant in northern Manitoba Province to call attention to the government's failure to offer adequate compensation for flooding tribal land. You can read an interview with the band's chief, John Miswagon, which goes into more detail at the Natural Resources Defense Council. Acimowin, a blog for news about the Pimicikamak Cree Nation, can be found here.

The Company You Keep

The United Nations is close to adopting the long-awaited Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous People. Unfortunately, the proposal is bitterly opposed by a coalition of industrialized countries with horrible records on Indigenous rights; namely, the United States, Canada, Australia, Russia and New Zealand. These nations fear the completely toothless and non-binding resolution's call for "self-determination" might give oppressed and marginalized Indigenous people the ridiculous idea that maybe they should have some control over their own lives.

Meanwhile, On the Barricades...

Fat, white Canadian computer programmer leads protest against "mean ol' Indians" who have mildly inconvenienced him with all their whining about "stolen land" and "treaties." Vows neverending vigil until the Canadian government calls in the Army or the donuts run out, whichever comes first.

The Long Haul

Six Nations protestors who are re-occupying Native land near Caledonia, Ontario, are making preparations to continue their vigil through the winter. See previous posts on this subject here and here.

INVASION CANADA!

From the lovely and talented Dos Centavos.

Things Get Ugly

Six Nations protestors (rather quaintly referred to as "aboriginals" by the Toronto Sun) were attacked by local white residents, who also roughed-up former Ontario Premier David Peterson, who has been acting as a mediator in the dispute over lands granted to the Six Nations by King George III as a reward for their service to the crown during the American Revolution.

Manning the Barricades of Freedom

Profiles of some of the Six Nations warriors re-occupying tribal land in southeastern Canada.

SIX NATIONS FIGHT BACK!

Members of the Six Nations (the Haudenosaunee Confederacy, more popularly known as the Iroquois League, ancestors of the Cherokee) are reclaiming Native land in Ontario, Canada, to protest white development on land that was awarded to the tribes by the British Crown in 1784 as a reward for service in the American Revolution.
The standoff has reunited, at least temporarily, peoples who were divided when the Canadian government tried to replace the tribal government in 1924. The Iroquois League, consisting of the Mohawk, Seneca, Cayuga, Onandaga, Oneida, and later the Tuscarora tribes, inspired the US Constitution with its governing law, the Gayanashagowa or "Great Law of Peace." More information is available at the official web-site of the Six Nations of the Grand River Territory.