CAIA Re-affirms Solidarity as Canadian Government Escalates Attacks On Indigenous People

(19th September) - The Coalition Against Israeli Apartheid (CAIA) affirms its unequivocal solidarity and support to the struggle of indigenous people for sovereignty, dignity and self-determination across North America (Turtle Island). We strongly reiterate this support given the climate of repression and escalating attacks by the Canadian government on the indigenous population of this country.

Last week, the Canadian government once again demonstrated its utter contempt for indigenous people when it voted against the UN Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous People. CAIA is not at all surprised by this vote given the history of Canadian colonialism. The stark reality of this colonialism - and the fact that the profits of transnational corporations largely depend upon the continued theft and dispossession of indigenous resources - was made clear by those who joined the Canadian government in this vote: Australia, the US, and New Zealand. By their decision to oppose the UN Resolution, these governments have merely confirmed the ongoing reality of colonialism.

Furthermore, this vote comes at a time of escalating attacks against those struggling to defend their lands. In Tyendinaga Mohawk Territory at the Bay of Quinte, a scant 17,000 acres remain of the original 92,700 acres of Mohawk land. For 200 years, the Canadian government has facilitated the theft of these 70,000 acres of land by settlers, private land developers, and companies such as CN Rail. In the fall of 2006, Tyendinaga Mohawks renewed efforts to regain part of their land, the Culbertson Tract, a 923-acre piece of land that had been stolen in 1832. Despite the fact that even the Canadian government acknowledged that the Culbertson Tract was Mohawk land in 2003, private developers have continued to expand their use of the land. In March 2007, members of the Tyendinaga community reclaimed a gravel quarry operated by Thurlow Aggregates, rightly noting that it was impossible to ‘negotiate’ over the land when 10,000 truckloads were being carted away each year. Actions around the reclamation of the quarry, and others in solidarity with the ongoing struggle by Six Nations people near Caledonia, have led to the arrest of Tyendinaga Mohawk and spokesperson, Shawn Brant, and a lawsuit against members of the Tyendinaga community.

The repression against Tyendinaga Mohawks comes in the context of the ongoing subjugation of native people. We note that 1 in 3 indigenous people are living in poverty – more than double the non-native rate. The percentage of First Nations people in Canadian prisons has increased by more than 20% over the last 10 years and the incarceration rate is almost nine times that of non-native people. Three quarters of native reserves have water supplies that are considered ‘at risk’. And the native youth suicide rate is more than 5 times that of the non-native population. This small snapshot of indigenous life indicates that any pretension of Canada as a ‘fair’, ‘tolerant’ or ‘just’ society is simply a lie designed to hide the odious reality of colonial dispossession.

CAIA extends its full support to all indigenous people in their struggle on this land. As a Palestinian solidarity organization, we recognize and support indigenous sovereignty, and see the direct parallels between the Palestinian struggle and that of indigenous people on Turtle Island. The illegal occupation of land, forced dispossession, restrictions of movement, military force and the systematic destruction of culture and livelihood are familiar colonial strategies that Palestinians have endured for decades. We are absolutely confident that the indigenous people of this country will win justice, as shall the people of Palestine.

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