The people of Grassy Narrows have sustained themselves for thousands of years on their traditional territory – 2,500 square miles of forest, lakes, rivers north of Kenora, Ontario. Now plans for clear-cut logging, mining and the legacy of residential schools, hydro damming, relocation, and mercury poisoning threaten to uproot their way of life.
Grassy Narrows youth are building two new cabins at the Slant Lake blockade site. The cabins will be used for hunting, fishing, and housing elders, guests, and community members who visit the blockade. The cabin building is part of a process of reclamation and revival for Grassy Narrows where people are using the land on their territory to empower themselves and to sustain their families, revive their culture and heal their community.
Some Weyerhaeuser iLevel products contain low levels of formaldehyde, a chemical that the U.S. government’s National Toxicology Program Report on Carcinogens recently listed formaldehyde as “known to be a human carcinogen” following a “rigorous scientific review.
Grassroots women are blocking Segise Road to keep Ministry of Natural Resources (MNR) enforcement officers out, so that the community can repair a bridge used to access the territory. The government had said they will only allow the road to be repaired if the community agrees to logging on the territory, but under increasing pressure and public scrutiny the Minister has been forced to step in to try and resolve the dispute.
A ceremonial gathering is being planned at the blockade site. The common ground will be the ceremony to be for the land the people and our future generations. So we are inviting all singers, pipe carriers, drum keepers, ceremonial people and hunters to come for ceremony and anticipated evening feasts, and social dances.
Come hear from three of the women who have helped initiate and sustain the Grassy Narrow blockade. Through their actions they are empowering the youth in their community, reclaiming control over their territory, reviving their culture, and defending our earth. (more…)