Toronto that has quickly come together to gather support to Free Shawn
Brant.
In this e-mail...
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1. August 29: Public Meeting to Demand the Release of Shawn Brant
2. Sign the Petition: http://www.ipetitions.com/petition/supporttmt
3. Free Shawn Brant Website: http://www.ocap.ca/supporttmt.html
4. What you can do
5. Next Tyendinaga Support Committee Meeting
6. Join the Free Shawn Brant group on Facebook
7. Join the E-Mail List
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1. TAKING A SERIOUS STAND:
PUBLIC MEETING TO DEMAND THE RELEASE OF SHAWN BRANT
Public Meeting
Wednesday August 29th, 2007
7pm
Steelworkers' Hall - 25 Cecil Street
Admission: Pay what you can
Speakers:
Natercia Coelho, wife of prisoner Gary Freeman
Naomi Klein, author
and
Featuring: Sue Collis, Tyendinaga Mohawk Territory
Shawn Brant, spokesperson for the Mohawks of the Bay of Quinte (Tyendinaga
Mohawk Territory), was denied bail for the second time earlier this month.
Shawn is currently imprisoned in Quinte Detention Centre, Napanee.
Shawn Brant is the only person facing charges for his role in two major
blockades carried out by members of the Mohawks of the Bay of Quinte during
the past four months, as part of the struggle for their land.
Clearly, Brant's real 'crime' has been to take a serious stand against the
theft of the land, the denial of sovereignty and the impoverishment and
abuse of his People.
The Mohawks of Tyendinaga, and Shawn Brant as a spokesperson for the
community, have carved out a national platform to expose Canada's complicity
in the suffering of First Nations peoples. Given Brant's refusal to live as
a victim of the Canadian state's systemic violence, he poses too great a
threat to a country built on the backs of First Nations peoples. That is
why he is still in jail, and why, if convicted, he will face federal
penitentiary time. The government of Canada is trying to send a brutal
message to First Nations people committed to resisting centuries of genocide
and colonialism.
As supporters, allies, and people who live on and profit from stolen land –
even through our mere existence – we bear a serious responsibility to
understand the struggle in Tyendinaga, to support the Mohawks of the Bay of
Quinte, and to participate in the fight for Shawn Brant's freedom. If we
sit back and allow this act of criminalization to imprison Shawn at length,
if we allow Shawn Brant's family to be torn apart, we too are participating
in the on-going war against the original people of this land.
We invite you to come out and hear directly from Sue Collis, Shawn Brant's
wife, about the struggle against the Canadian government, a force that is
determined to continue its colonial project ruthlessly and at age-old high
cost. It is vital that we shift the balance of forces by building a movement
of solidarity around Shawn Brant and, by extension, First Nations' struggle
for justice, respect, and the land.
Hosted by the Tyendinaga Support Committee.
For more information, please contact: support.tmt@gmail.com
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2. Sign the Petition: http://www.ipetitions.com/petition/supporttmt
Please sign the following petition at the website above:
We, the undersigned, believe that Shawn Brant, spokesperson from Tyendinaga
Mohawk Territory, should be released from jail and have all current
criminal charges against him stayed. Given unresolved land claims, polluted
drinking water, overwhelming poverty and suicide rates in First Nations
communities across this country, it comes as no surprise to us when First
Nations people create physical impediments to halt the extraction of
resources and wealth from their land. Therefore, we believe that First
Nations peoples have the right to refuse to live in these conditions and
that the exploitation of their land should cease.
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3. Website: http://www.ocap.ca/supporttmt.html
A website has been started. Please check back frequently for updates about
Shawn's court case and what you can do to support. In the following week we
will be posting support letters from various organizations, a more thorough
booklet of information and analysis about Shawn's situation and the struggle
for land in Tyendinaga more generally as well as information about how to
donate to the legal fund.
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4. What you can do
For now we are asking people to sign the petition, come to the public
meeting on August 29th in Toronto and spread the word about Shawn's
continuing imprisonment. We are in the process of setting up a legal fund
for the cost of the trial and will be asking for donations in the near
future. We are also asking for organizations to write letters of support
for Shawn that can be distributed and posted on-line. If you are part of a
union, community group, political organization, church congregation or
otherwise, please consider drawing up a letter of support from your
organization and e-mail it to support.tmt@gmail.com. If you are in Toronto,
come to the next meeting of the Tyendinaga Support Committee...
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5. Next meeting of the Tyendinaga Support Committee
Will be on Wednesday, Septemeber 5 at a location to be announced. If you
are interested in coming to this meeting keep checking the website and a
location should be posted there at least a week before the meeting.
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6. Join the Free Shawn Brant Group on Facebook
Why not? There's already 680 members.
http://www.facebook.com/group.php?gid=2407903830
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7. Join the E-Mail List
To join the Tyendinaga Support Committee e-mail list (if you are not on it
already) please go to:
http://masses.tao.ca/lists/listinfo/tyendinaga_support
Thanks for Reading
-Tyendinaga Support Committee
http://www.ocap.ca/supporttmt.html
support.tmt@gmail.com
