Subject: FFWD - Calgary News & Views - News - Cree speak in U.K. on oilsands
UPDATE: Crystal Lameman-Cardinal Speaks out...
News Release for November10,2011
http://www.ffwdweekly.com/article/news-views/news/cree-speak-in-uk-on-oilsands-8387/
She is so amazing & I can never thank her enough for speaking for us in a country that refuses to hear us or Mother Earth's cry!
The U.S. State Department has ordered an environmental assessment for a new Keystone XL pipeline route, allowing U.S. President Barack Obama to shelve the controversial issue until after the 2012 elections.
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This story, forwarded to you, appears on http://www.cbc.ca at the following URL:
http://www.cbc.ca/news/business/story/2011/11/10/keyston-pipeline-route.html
Take Care,
Shannon M Houle
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| (L to R) Crystal's uncle Former Chief Al Lameman of Beaver Lake Cree Nation who spearheaded the legal case, herself, & Cooperative Group/Bank UK Colin Baines |
"I have a heavy task ahead of me that requires all of my positive energy; thus I will leave you with this: I do this for those that cannot speak for themselves, I do this because our earths entire fresh water reserve is only 3% but industry is producing over a billion barrels of oil a day and it takes 3-5 barrels of fresh water to 1barrel of tarsands oil and 90% of that water is not recyclable and contaminated thus sits in insitu ponds and leaches into the ground ultimately leading to destruction; in case you didn't know... When that water's gone, we have no more drinking water. I do this whether you agree or disagree... I do it for everyone. Everyone has a family to feed. I have never stated that I was against the industry, what I do say is that industry and the Canadian Government must be held accountable for not abiding by the agreements set forth and that our inherent right to hunt, fish, and forage is being ignored...I do it for our people... The First People of Canada - our ancestors said, "we will have the ability to use the land as we did yesterday, and the day before that and the day before that, and we will use it that same way tomorrow and the next..." I'm grateful for those that have supported me and those that doubt me. When the tarsands are depleted and our ecosystems destroyed, our Treaties will be gone, and we will not be able to drink that oil or eat that money. I don't parade around yelling, "shut down the tarsands," but I do advocate for ethical oil!"She will be blogging her experience daily at: http://clameman.posterous.com/
"Natural Resources Minister Joe Oliver has quite the sales job ahead of him. As minister in charge of selling the oil sands, there's a lot of bad press to spin out of and ugly pictures to gloss over. Lucky for him, the potential for tens-of-thousands of new jobs and billions of dollars in new revenues make the job that much easier.Not to mention our Indigenous people have been here for thousands, not hundreds, THOUSANDS of years...
Still, when he sat down for an on-camera interview with the CBC's Margo McDiarmid last week, it was hard to ignore when he made his job a whole lot harder.
"That (oilsands) land, which only represents one-thousandth of our boreal forest, is uninhabitable... uh... by human beings. So, you know, no community is being disrupted," according to the minister.
Uh, Joe? It may be uninhabitable by human beings if your idea of human habitat is restricted to the confines of the Toronto riding of Eglinton-Lawrence. But if, say, you live just down the river from the oil sands development in the mainly Cree, Dene and Metis town of Fort Chipewyan, you might have a different take on the possibilities of the human habitability of the area. There are about a thousand people who live in Fort Chip. And they've been doing pretty well ever since the town was founded in 1788..." (read article further at:
Uninhabitability of the oil sands forest)
A First Nations' view on keeping tar sands oil out of Europe
(taken from the Facebook page of Tar Sands Free - People & Planet)
The Alberta tar sands are the most destructive industrial project on Earth. The UK Government have recently bowed to Canadian Government and industry pressure and are trying to undermine the European Fuel Quality Directive, which would effectively ban tar sands from being sold in Europe.This reminds me of an International Indigenous Leadership Gathering (the official site: International Indigenous Leadership Gathering) I went to outside of Lillooet, BC in St'at'imc Lands a few years ago and I was listening to the Indigenous Elders speak. Many spoke from different nations all over the world but one universal message was that us Alberta Indigenous people need to wake up and be true to ourselves, our people, our children, and our Mother ~ Earth. They said the effects of the Oil Sands are affecting all of us all over the world, not just those in Alberta. They said, if any nations are going to affect change and help save us all, it's us Indigenous people located in the province of Alberta. As I sat there and witnessed the effects when I worked on Traditional Lands, and participated on the Soil Ingestion Project this year, I can confirm this to be a truth. We need to use the strength of our Treaty, NOT the INDIAN ACT (totally different than our Treaty) to support us. It says in Treaty #6 that we "shall have right to pursue their avocations of hunting and fishing..."; however, we need a habitat to pursue our Treaty Rights but once the Canadian Government or any other entities affected our rights by destroying or negatively affecting our habitat, prevents us from pursuing our Treaty Right, and they have INFRINGED on that right and broke treaty. Now remember, they approached us to sign treaty, who is upholding the treaty now?
Beyond their massive C02 emissions, the tar sands industry is also responsible for the ongoing destruction of the food, water and traditionalcultures of countless First Nations peoples in Northern Alberta.
Crystal Lameman-Cardinal and Chance McPherson, two young people from the Beaver Lake Cree Nation, an indigenous community living at the centre of proposed tar sands expansion, will be in the UK to speak about their experiences and challenge the UK’s opposition to the proposed EU tar sands ban.
Come hear firsthand stories about this global issue from some of the people who are living with its realities every day of their lives.
Other speakers to be announced.
This event is Pay What You Can Afford, with all funds supporting People & Planet's 'Tar Sands-Free' campaign.
Crystal and Chance will be speaking in London, Oxford and Birmingham between November 8th and 16th. Visit peopleandplanet.org/tarsands or email Liam Barrington-Bush at tarsands@peopleandplanet.o rg for more information on their trip, or to arrange interviews or media appearances.
This event has been organised by People & Planet, with Greenpeace UK, the UK Tar Sands Network and The Co-operative's Toxic Fuels campaign.
Crystal Lameman-Cardinal and Chance McPherson, two young people from the Beaver Lake Cree Nation, an indigenous community living at the centre of proposed tar sands expansion, will be in the UK to speak about their experiences and challenge the UK’s opposition to the proposed EU tar sands ban.
Come hear firsthand stories about this global issue from some of the people who are living with its realities every day of their lives.
Other speakers to be announced.
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| Crystal's son (please respect & do NOT copy) ~ It's our children, who will inherit the land, what are we leaving them? |
“All students in Canada deserve a learning environment that they are proud to attend, and that gives them hope. We want the same hope as every other Canadian student."
Shannen Koostachin, 13,
Attawapiskat First Nation
