Dr. Pam Palmater interviews Chief Mike Sack of Sipekne’katik First Nation for her excellent Warrior Life Podcast and Youtube channel. Lots of information here that isn’t as readily available as it should be.
Mercedes Peters: “We as Mi’kmaq have rights that predate the existence of Canada. And as settlers began to move into our territory centuries ago, we made treaties with them—not to create rights, but to remind settlers that we had them, to protect our rights. We are taught as Mi’kmaq, not only to be memory-holders for ourselves, but to remind Canadians who live in Mi’kma’ki of the agreements that govern our territory, and the responsibilities they have.”
“The enemy of a healthy fishery is not the Mi’kmaq, but corporate profiteers like Mayer-Murphy and Risley who are bent on depleting this resource and resisting Mi’kmaq treaty rights. The Mi’kmaq fishery deserves our full support, while the corporate fishery should be shut down,” writes Chris Frazer.
Saturday, Sept 26, 11am, Halifax Waterfront (by the big wave)
Mi’kmaw fishers are currently under attack by angry non-indigenous fishers who mistakingly claim that Mi’kmaw fisheries have no basis in Canadian law. Come out to show solidarity with Mi’kmaq people earning a moderate livelihood through the fishery!
“This is our children’s future; this is why we do this. This is why we have been here for 21 years. If we don’t stand up and protect our treaty rights now, who is going to do it down the road?” Journalist Amber Bernard reports from the Saulnierville wharf.
What’s playing out in the waters off Digby is complex, but the bottom line is that both non-Indigenous fishermen and the Department of Fisheries and Oceans are trying to stop Mi’kmaq from exercising their treaty rights.
Raymond Sheppard on the urgent need to fix systemic anti-Black racist bias in the courts and in policing.
This weekend’s video is a documentary / docudrama about Donald Marshall Jr, the Mi’kmaq youth convicted of a murder he didn’t commit. The most impressive part is how Donald Marshall Jr, one year before his death, talks about his 12 years in prison hell, his powerlessness during the criminal case, his anger at Nova Scotia’s racist police and judicial system.