ASUBPEESCHOSEEWAGONG REFLECTION: A community of hope
June 7th, 2008
CPTnet
7 June 2008
ASUBPEESCHOSEEWAGONG REFLECTION: A community of hope
[The following reflection by CPT Director Emeritus Gene Stoltzfus has been edited for length and clarity. People wishing to see the original piece, "Paper plates and aboriginal forests," will find it at http://www.gstoltzfus.blogspot.com/]
On 3 June 2008, AbitibiBowater announced plans to stop logging operations in the Whiskey Jack forest, the region claimed by Grassy Narrows (Asubpeeschoseewagong) First Nation, because the province of Ontario has entered into a new four-year consultation process with Grassy Narrows First Nation on the future management of the forest.
The process is a consequence of a blockade that began 2 December 2002 on a logging road adjacent to Grassy Narrows. The Grassy Narrows blockaders started a sacred fire and the community school was moved to the blockade site. CPT responded to an invitation to accompany that blockade and sharing in the nightly vigils around the fire, as well as the bannock and other treats. Community members told and retold stories from the old days when the plants, herbs, and animals in the forest sustained the life of the community.
Ten years ago, when my wife, Dorothy, and I first visited Grassy Narrows, I was struck by the tired, sad faces of people at there. When I visited Grassy Narrows First Nation years later, I met a unified community with a sense of momentum and hope. Youth groups confronted trappers and hunters lacking permission to operate in the surrounding 4000 hectares of forest the community claims. Women's groups had begun to deliver eviction notices to loggers and miners who arrived unannounced and without appropriate consultation. Other community leaders engaged in sustained discussions and negotiations with government agencies. Aboriginal communities from throughout the region and beyond were now watching Grassy Narrows and learning from their struggle for land rights.
In the Grassy Narrows Blockade we can identify the ingredients of a successful Direct Action campaign
1. A major event, the blockade, set in motion a series of movements towards health within the community.
2. The emerging unity of purpose and vision galvanized by the blockade expanded to include elders, youth, children, women and middle-aged. The blockade created a space to remember tradition, religious conviction, and the relevance of the local struggle to environmental concerns for the entire planet.
3. The openness to tactical innovation in the direct action program, gave space for many to participate.
4. The leadership's commitment to nonviolence gave a sense of connectedness to the whole.
5. The leadership understood well the temptation to short-term gain at the expense of long-term security.
6. Recognition of the role that paper plates, newsprint, copy paper, and other timber products play in modern life provided a way for auxiliary supporters like CPT, Rainforest Action Network, and other groups to connect to the struggle.
The story at Grassy Narrows is not finished. In many ways, it is now a new story about a community of hope that has replaced a neighbourhood of victims. The future may require additional stages of direct action to lubricate the processes that bring the trees, the animals, the herbs—all things—into a responsible covenant that acknowledges the Creator of all life.
7 June 2008
ASUBPEESCHOSEEWAGONG REFLECTION: A community of hope
[The following reflection by CPT Director Emeritus Gene Stoltzfus has been edited for length and clarity. People wishing to see the original piece, "Paper plates and aboriginal forests," will find it at http://www.gstoltzfus.blogspot.com/]
On 3 June 2008, AbitibiBowater announced plans to stop logging operations in the Whiskey Jack forest, the region claimed by Grassy Narrows (Asubpeeschoseewagong) First Nation, because the province of Ontario has entered into a new four-year consultation process with Grassy Narrows First Nation on the future management of the forest.
The process is a consequence of a blockade that began 2 December 2002 on a logging road adjacent to Grassy Narrows. The Grassy Narrows blockaders started a sacred fire and the community school was moved to the blockade site. CPT responded to an invitation to accompany that blockade and sharing in the nightly vigils around the fire, as well as the bannock and other treats. Community members told and retold stories from the old days when the plants, herbs, and animals in the forest sustained the life of the community.
Ten years ago, when my wife, Dorothy, and I first visited Grassy Narrows, I was struck by the tired, sad faces of people at there. When I visited Grassy Narrows First Nation years later, I met a unified community with a sense of momentum and hope. Youth groups confronted trappers and hunters lacking permission to operate in the surrounding 4000 hectares of forest the community claims. Women's groups had begun to deliver eviction notices to loggers and miners who arrived unannounced and without appropriate consultation. Other community leaders engaged in sustained discussions and negotiations with government agencies. Aboriginal communities from throughout the region and beyond were now watching Grassy Narrows and learning from their struggle for land rights.
In the Grassy Narrows Blockade we can identify the ingredients of a successful Direct Action campaign
1. A major event, the blockade, set in motion a series of movements towards health within the community.
2. The emerging unity of purpose and vision galvanized by the blockade expanded to include elders, youth, children, women and middle-aged. The blockade created a space to remember tradition, religious conviction, and the relevance of the local struggle to environmental concerns for the entire planet.
3. The openness to tactical innovation in the direct action program, gave space for many to participate.
4. The leadership's commitment to nonviolence gave a sense of connectedness to the whole.
5. The leadership understood well the temptation to short-term gain at the expense of long-term security.
6. Recognition of the role that paper plates, newsprint, copy paper, and other timber products play in modern life provided a way for auxiliary supporters like CPT, Rainforest Action Network, and other groups to connect to the struggle.
The story at Grassy Narrows is not finished. In many ways, it is now a new story about a community of hope that has replaced a neighbourhood of victims. The future may require additional stages of direct action to lubricate the processes that bring the trees, the animals, the herbs—all things—into a responsible covenant that acknowledges the Creator of all life.