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G20 and Aboriginal Land Rights

This Land is Still Stolen: The G20 and Aboriginal Rights  The Bermuda Radiacal, 2 July 2010, “No G20 on stolen Native land,” was chanted by demonstrators throughout the week of protests leading up to G8/G20 meetings and warrior flags were flying at all the marches, whether led by environmental justice advocates or anti-poverty organizers.

And on June 24, over one thousand people flooded the streets of downtown Toronto for the Canada Can’t Hide Genocide march and rally.

The crowd did not gather on June 24 to protest the G20 so much as to reject it entirely. …………

“The Canadian government have been trying to impose section 74 in our community from the Indian Act,” says Poucachiche, which would require the community to hold band elections.  “It [section 74] favours the Canadian policy on how we should govern and select our leaders.”  “That will extinguish our Aboriginal title and treaty rights,”………….

the growing Indigenous resistance is a threat to something, says Thomas: It’s a threat to the pocketbooks of big business.

“Canada, the US and Australia are avoiding signing the UN Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous people,” she says.  “One of the main points in that declaration is free, prior and informed consent.  That means they have to respect our ability to say yes or no to development in our territories.  So it’s threatening their prosperity.”

The prosperity of a few is coming at a serious cost,

This Land is Still Stolen: The G20 and Aboriginal Rights « The Speed of Dreams

July 2, 2010 - Posted by Christina Macpherson | general | indigenous