CPTnet
4 October 2007
FRONTENAC COUNTY, ON: First Nations and settlers join struggle against
uranium mining

by Alan Slater

Frank Morrison was cutting his winter wood supply on his northern Frontenac
County farm in October of 2006 when he came across stakes and severely
injured trees in his woodlot. This damage was the first warning that a
company called Frontenac Ventures was exploring for uranium in the area.
People soon learned that the Ontario government had given Frontenac Ventures
permission to stake uranium claims on privately owned land and Crown land
claimed by Algonquin First Nations people.

On 28 June 2007, the Algonquin people set up a blockade at the main gate to
the exploration site. Within a few days, their neighbors of European
descent--who refer to themselves as "settlers"-- had formed the Community
Coalition Against Mining Uranium, www.ccamu.ca <http://www.ccamu.ca/
<http://www.ccamu.ca/> >, to support the Algonquin action. The hills and
forests of north Frontenac are located near the headwaters of the
169-kilometer-long Mississippi River (a different body of water from the
river in the United States that has its headwaters in Minnesota.) The
Mississippi flows into the Ottawa River through Carleton Place, Almonte and
Packenham. People from along the river down to Ottawa are supporting the
blockade.

Several weeks ago, Christian Peacemaker Teams sent a team to the blockade.
I joined the team for a week on 16 September 2007. Tents and trailers are
set along the road and just inside the gates of the property. People come
when they have days off work to be part of the blockade. When they go home,
they leave their tents and trailers for others to use. About twenty chairs
circle the open fire in front of the gate. People bring coffee and snacks,
and stop awhile to get news about the latest court actions. Inside the
gates, generators provide power to run a kitchen and keep freezers--stocked
with food donated by hundreds of supporters--cold.

On Saturday, 22 September, a flotilla of canoes set off from the Village of
Ardoch on Mud Lake to paddle down the Mississippi River to Ottawa. About
100 people gathered in front of a stone cairn commemorating the efforts of
Algonquin Chief Harold Perry's efforts to save the wild rice in Mud Lake
from destruction in the 1980s. Algonquin Grand Chief and Grandfather of all
Grandfathers William Camanda from Maniwaki, Quebec performed pipe and
smudging ceremonies with sweet grass and sage. Two young women filled mason
jars with clear water from Mud Lake to be presented to the people of Ottawa
as a sign of what uranium mining is threatening. Several Algonquin drummers
beat out a traveling song on the big drum. Harold Perry, now a wiry
seventy-years-old, slid a canoe that he had built into the water, leading
the way to Ottawa.