"L'éveil au Cercle" - "Awakening to the Circle"

Tuesday, June 15, 2010

Save our Prison Farms Event – June 15 in Downtown Ottawa

THE THREE FOUNDING PEOPLES CALL ON OUR GOVERNMENT TO SAVE CANADA'S PRISON FARMS:

First Nations, English and French Canadians demand respect for rehabilitation, restorative justice and sustainable local farms and food.

Sacred Fire Ceremony on Victoria Island - 11:00am-12:00pm
Algonquian spiritual leader, Grandfather William Commanda supports this sacred fire blessing ceremony on Victoria Island and has called for the participation from the Algonquian peoples on this important issue of restorative justice and local farm and food sustainability. Water from the Little Cataraqui River (which runs past the Frontenac prison farm in Kingston) and soil from the Pittsburgh Institution prison farm fields will be offered at this ceremony and on Parliament Hill.

Canoeing past Parliament - 12:00pm-12:30pm
Supporters who have participated in the ceremony will paddle down the Ottawa River past Parliament with signs and flags unfurrowed in the canoes and land at the base of the Rideau Canal.

Portaging Up to Parliament Hill - 12:30-1:00pm
Others can walk and drive from Victoria Island and meet us at the base of the canal, where we will tape banners onto the sides of the canoes and portage/march them up to Parliament Hill via Wellington St.

Drumming Circle and Campaign Message on Parliament Hill - 1:00-2:00pm
We will gather on the Hill and meet with Members of Parliament from all opposition parties and place the canoes with messages on the lawn of the Hill. Larry McDermott (Algonquian Elder), Dianne Dowling (President of the National Farmers Union, Local 316) and Sister Shirley (of the Sisters of Providence of St. Vincent de Paul) will offer the campaign's letter to the group of Members of Parliament gathered there from all three opposition parties, who will deliver it to Parliament. A Drumming Circle will take place. A press conference will occur at 1:30pm and it is hoped that John Ralston Saul will make a live or prerecorded statement from where he will be in Europe .

The cooperation of Canada's three founding peoples on this urgent practical issue of our country's prison farms has broader and deeper implications for justice and farm and food sustainability in Canadian society.

All questions regarding this event should be directed to:

Andrew McCann, Urban Agriculture Kingston, 613-767-4127, mccann17@yahoo.com or Dianne Dowling, National Farmers Union, Local 316, 613-546-0869, dowling@kos.net

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