Algonquin Canoe Protest

Saying a firm "No" to Uranium Mining in Ontario

Click on photos to enlarge them

On September 22, members of Canada's First Nations and their supporters participated in a paddling protest, setting out from Galetta, a community in eastern Ontario located on the Ottawa River near the mouth of the Mississippi River, and arriving on the 27th at Victoria Island, a sacred neutral territory of the Algonquins, also located on the Ottawa River not far from Parliament Hill.

They brought with them some water from the Mississippi River to pour onto the steps of Parliament as a symbol of its natural flow into the Ottawa River toward Parliament Hill, and also as a clear warning of what uranium mining can do to the quality of our water supply.

The canoeists stayed overnight on the island, and then on the 28th they portaged to the Hill to bring their protest to the seat of the federal government. In the photo below they are seen marching east on Wellington Street, about to turn left onto the Hill.

Flag bearers and water bearers lead the way onto the Hill.

Here's a closer view of the water bearers:

Below is one of the parade banners - a message to Ontario's Premier, Dalton McGuinty: "Premier McGuinty, please enact Moratorium on Uranium Mining in Ontario

This next banner gives the web URL of the Community Coalition Against Mining Uranium, where you can learn more about this issue:

The canoes are seen here being laid out on the lawn. The woman in the yellow vest, near the lamp post, is there on an entirely different mission. As crowds of uranium protesters swarmed around her, she did not pause in her ritual movements and appeared entirely unperturbed by the commotion. She is a member of the Chinese Falun Gong (Falun Dafa), protesting discrimination in China against her religious organization. Representatives of this group have been on the Hill every day for a long, long time, as have proponents of the criminalization of abortion. (All activists should only be so dedicated.)

The below pose was very carefully arranged by a media person, so I took advantage:

T-Shirt - "This is our Land! Our Water! Our Future!" And that means all of us, native and non-native, human and animal.

Sign - "Algonquins & Settlers United Against Uranium Mining"

The following three photos are so that you can get a good look at the elaborate costumes (Note: See comment from reader "Siusaidh" on the use of the word "costumes") worn by the native drummers:




Take a gander at the size of this "acoustical" ceremonial drum:


Below is a banner carried by "Riverkeeper / Sentinelle" of Ottawa-Outaouais - Citizens for Healthy Rivers:


The PGA Bloc's banner expresses their solidarity with First Nations resistance. I express my solidarity with PGA Bloc's anti-authoritarian stance by not taking photos of politicians or bureaucrats :-) of whom there were a number at this event.


The t-shirt below - "1876" with bloodstains - speaks volumes. If you'd like to get a glimpse of the general attitude toward North America's indigenous people back then, which still seems to exist at varying levels in some circles, read this account of "The International Exhibition of Arts, Manufactures and Products of the Soil and Mine" which opened in Philadelphia in the spring of 1876, coinciding with Custer's infamous and bloody last stand.


The following four photos reiterate the great truth that humans, native and non-native, as well as animals, marine life, and insects are affected by the pollutants from uranium mining and from many other forms of pollution related to modern industry. As Premier Dalton McGuinty himself keeps saying: "We're all in this together."

T-shirts on both man and dog say: "No Uranium Mine - There is a Better Solution"


Butterflies, seen below on the capes of two young women in attendance at the rally - have great significance to native folklore, particularly the magnificent Monarch Butterfly which some North American first peoples believe are the spirits of their dead ancestors. But the butterfly is also like a canary in a mine: the gradual disappearance of the Monarch Butterfly is a sign of the damage being done by industrial pollution and deforestation.


Two members of the Ottawa Raging Grannies, a group that has been faithfully supportive of First Nations issues, marched in the canoe portage from Victoria Island to the Hill:


The Raging Grannies are concerned about the future being created for everyone's grandchildren. The young girl below is somebody's grandchild, and her sign saying, "Don't mess with Mother Nature", depicting a fish with three eyes (not just a fantasy these days), shows her own concern as well.


Here's what it says on the reverse side of her sign "Is this what we want?". Nobody wants fish with three eyes, but some people seem bent on risking it.

Grandkids and teddy bears (representing both human and animal offspring) have a right to grow from little paddle to large in a healthy environment:


How long should we continue the fight to protect the food our children eat, and the water they drink? As long as it takes!


This lady has the last word on the subject of uranium mining - "NO":

Related:
HarperValley: The Answer My Friend is Glowing in the Wind
“HOT ROCKS” AT SHARBOT LAKE! WHO IS FRONTENAC VENTURES CORP AND WHY THE MYSTERY?

Ottawa Sun: Suits and countersuits fly in Sharbot Lake uranium mining protest - A lawyer representing Oakville, Ont.-based Frontenac Ventures Corp. spent Tuesday morning in Superior Court of Justice grilling provincial police for the names of protesters occupying the company’s proposed mine site lands, north of Sharbot Lake, Ont.

TheDominion: Algonquin Resist Uranium Mine - Sharbot Lake Algonquins and locals occupy mining site and enforce land claim

CommonDreams: As Butterflies Die, So Goes a Way of Life - Logging in Mexico puts wildlife, livelihoods at risk