Marche Amun/Amun March

6 PM Monday, May 31, 2010
Odawa Friendship Centre, 12 Stirling Ave. Ottawa,
Algonquin Territory
Everyone is Welcome to the fest!

Opening ceremony by Elder Annie St. Georges

Speakers:
Michèle Audette and Viviane Michel, Marche Amun
Organizers,
Lynn Gehl, Giizhigaate-Mnidoo-Kwe, Makinag Ndoo-dem
Lynn Gehl is an Algonquin from the Ottawa River Valley, has
constitutional challenges regarding the Indian Act. Ph.D.

For more details, please see below or check IPSMO web site

http://www.ipsmo.org/

Please Forward widely!

Celebrate the Arrival of MARCHE AMUN / AMUN MARCH

On June 1, 2010, after nearly one month of walking, the
AMUN March will arrive on Parliament Hill to draw attention
to ongoing legislative sexism in the Indian Act, and to call
people of conscience to join the struggle against it.

AMUN March kicked off its 500 km march from Wendake, QC to
the Parliament Hill in Ottawa on May 4, 2010 to pursue the fight
that was undertaken by Sharon McIvor
(see Sharon McIvor’s fight for gender equality in the IndianAct),
and to request that the Canadian Government resolve
the injustices created by the Indian Act. The Government of Canada
introduced Bill C-3 to bolster gender equity in the registration
provisions of the Act.
However, this Bill is just another continued failed
remedial legislation, it partially corrects discriminatory aspects
of the Indian Act registration rules (See Sexist Bill C-3 is racist and
fatally flawed).

Furthermore, the government of Canada failed to consult
with Indigenous Peoples and accommodate their concerns prior
to introducing Bill C-3, which violates Section 35 of Canadian
Constitution Act of 1982. Not only Bill C-3 does not end
discrimination against Indigenous women and their descendants,
it also does not address the underlying issue of the Indian Act
– categorization of Indian status. If Canada is SINCERE in its
promise of reconciliation with Indigenous peoples following
the Apology of June 11 2008 and in the recent Throne speech,
Canada must recognize and respect the INHERENT RIGHT of
Indigenous peoples to govern themselves, to define who can be a
citizen of their nation. Indigenous Peoples Solidarity Movement
Ottawa is one of many groups, including the Native Women’s
Association of Canada, and Québec Native Women Inc.,
calling allies to come out and greet the march
as it arrives on Parliament Hill.

Community Feast to Welcome AMUN March

6 PM Monday, May 31, 2010
Odawa Friendship Centre, 12 Stirling Ave. Ottawa,
Algonquin Territory
Everyone is Welcome to the fest!

Rally & Press Conference

Tuesday, June 1, 2010
11:45 AM March from Victoria Island to
Parliament Hill.

EVERYONE IS WELCOME
(end of Middle Street, off ChaudieÌre Bridge, follow signs
for “Aboriginal Experiences”)

12 PM Welcome
Jeanette Corbiere Lavell, President of the Native Women’s
Association of Canada
Sharon McIvor, McIvor v. Canada
Dawn Harvard, President of the Ontario Native Women’s
Association
Kathleen McHugh, Women’s Council Chair of the Assembly of
First Nations
MicheÌle Audette and Viviane Michel, Marche Amun
Organizers

12:45 Closing and Send-off

1-1:30 PM Press Conference (Charles Lynch
Room, 130S, Centre Block) ALL

MEDIA WELCOME

Further Information

AMUN March:
http://www.facebook.com/group.php?gid=337072966265&ref=search&sid=1256244881.1913377769..1&v=info
Quebec Native Women (QNW) Position Paper on Bill C-3
Sharon McIvor issues letter urging all MPs to defeat BillC-3
Address of NWAC President Jeannette Corbiere Lavell to the
Standing Committee on Aboriginal Affairs regarding Bill C-3:
Gender Equity in Indian Registration Act

For more details:
http://ipsmo.wordpress.com/2010/05/24/celebrate-the-arrival-of-marche-amun-amun-march/

In Solidarity,
IPSMO
Unceded Algonquin Territory

Check out IPSMO's Videos:
http://ipsmo.wordpress.com/video-archives/

IPSMO's Facebook page:
http://www.facebook.com/home.php?#/group.php?gid=120142932547&ref=ts

University of Ottawa - May 15: Conference "Canadian Mining Companies: Leaders in Health and Environmental Destruction?" Guatemala and El Salvador case

Hello everyone,

In the context of the International Mining In-Justice by Canadian Corporations, we are hosting several presentations by Central American environmentalist leaders.

We invite you to attend the conference that our organization is sponsoring which will host members of communities affected by Canadian mining corporations in Guatemala and El Salvador at the University of Ottawa. The presentation is this Saturday, May 15th at 2pm. Please see following invitation for more information or visit

http://www.socialsciences.uottawa.ca/eng/documents/MiningGuatemala.pdf

Laura Avalos

President

Asociación Salvadoreña Canadiense de Ottawa y Región de la Capital Nacional /

Salvadorian Canadian Association of Ottawa and National Capital Region

- ASCORCAN -

Ottawa, Canada

Email: ascorcan@gmail.com

Tel: 819.319.0904

TIPI

Introduction:

The Tipi of the Plains was a portable conical structure. It was covered with well-made buffalo hides sewn together with sinew. This conical-shaped dwelling probably evolved from the dome-shaped dwelling that was made by bending willows into an arch shape, like a sweat lodge, but bigger, and then putting a cover over it.

The tipi was practical for buffalo hunters on the prairies who moved from place to place.

The tipi was easy to dismantle and the poles became part of the travois.

When the horse was introduced the tipis became larger and more elaborate, and the number of foundation poles was more consistently patterned.

The fifteen poles represent the following values:

1. Obedience: We learn by listening to traditional stories; by
listening to our parents or guardians, our fellow students and our Teachers.
We learn by their behaviours and their reminders, so that we know what is right and what is wrong.

2. Respect: We must give honour to our Elders and fellow students and the strangers that come to visit our community. We must honour other peoples' basic rights.

3. Humility: We are not above or below others in the circle of life.
We feel humbled when we understand our relationship with Creation.
We are so small compared to the majestic expanse of Creation. "We
are just a strand in a web of life," and we respect and value life.

4. Happiness: We must show some enthusiasm to encourage others at
social functions. Our actions will make our ancestors happy in the next
world.

5. Love: If we are to live in harmony we must accept one another as
we are and to accept others who are not in our circle. Love means to be
ind and good to one another.

6. Faith: We must learn to believe and trust others, to believe in a
power greater than ourselves whom we worship and who gives us
strength to be a worthy member of the human race.

7. Kinship: Our family is important to us. This includes our
parents, our brothers and sisters who love us and gives us roots, the roots
that tie us to the life blood of the earth. It also includes extended
family; grandparents, aunts, uncles and cousins and their in-laws and
children. These are also our brothers and sisters and they give us a sense
of belonging to a community.

8. Cleanliness: We must learn not to inflict ills on others, for we
do it to ourselves. Clean thoughts come from a clean mind and this
comes from Indian spirituality. Good health habits also reflect a
clean mind.

9. Thankfulness: We learn to give thanks for all the kind things
others do for us and for the Creator's bounty, that we are priviledged to
share with others in the spirit of love.

10. Sharing: We learn to be part of the family by helping in
providing food or other basic needs. This is sharing responsibilities in
order to enjoy them.

11. Strength: We must learn to be patient in times of trouble and
not to complain but to endure and show understanding. We must accept
difficulties and tragedies so that we may give others strength to accept
their own difficulties and tragedies.

12. Good Child Rearing: Children are unique and blessed with the
gift of life. We are responsible for their well-being, spiritually,
emotionally, physically and for their intellectual development.
They represent the continuity of our circle of life which we perceive
to be the Creator's will.

13. Hope: We must hope for better things to make life easier for us,
our families and the community, both materially and spiritually.

14. Ultimate Protection: The ultimate responsibility to achieve is
"health for a balanced caring for the body, mind, emotions and the
spirit of the individual, the family, the community and the nation."

15. Control Flaps: We are all connected by relationships and we
depend on each other. This controls and creates harmony in the circle of life.



Summary: Using the Tipi structure as a symbol.

"All life is sacred and all things are connected." We are all one
family, of one heart. We do not live on this earth to dominate it.
We are here to share the earth's bounty.
We are here to care for our mother earth.

We strive to live in harmony with one another and with all creation
around us in this circle of life. In a circle no one is above another.
There is a sense of belonging to a family and to a community and
roots in a national identity.


Saskatchewan Indian Cultural Centre / July 2001

(Courtesy of Ron 'Bigbear' Goddard)