First Nation protestors attacked by Mountied Police in Canada. Armed mercenaries at sacred Native American site in nothern Wisconsin. Idle No More rally and protest in Minneapolis at Canadian Consulate in response. If you have no idea about this you are easily forgiven. You see there is a virtual corporate media blockade on these stories and others like it. The Star Tribune, WCCO, KSTP, MPR and the rest of the corporate media, or more importantly the owners of the corporate media do not want you to know about these critically important issues.
First to Canada. In recent months the First Nation Elsipogtog Nation, formerly known as the Big Cove Band is a Mi’kmaq First Nation band government in New Brunswick, Canada. In recent months they have been organizing protests, including blockades to stop corporate interests from fracking on their tribal lands. To protct the waters and their tribal sovereignty. The RCMP Royal Canadian Mountied Police attacked these peaceful protestors of men, womenn, children and elders with pepperspray and rubber bullets. The Mi’kmaq activists defended themselves from this brutality and in the process burned five cars of the RCMP and added them to the blockades. These actions have clearly tarnished the well honed image of the “Canadian Mounties” as forces for goodness annd justice. Now they are revealed as simply working for the Harper government of Canada and the corporate interests that own them.
Hat Tip to The Uptake for this footage.
Closer to home and in many ways more disturbing are the reports coming from the Penokee Hills in northern Wisconsin. There the G Tech Mining company is proposing to create an iron mine. The site is located on what is known by the local Ojibwe as “Sacred Rock” and is an Ojibwe sacred site. The G Tech Mining corporation have been hiring Blackwater style mercenaries from Arizona as guards in an attempt to intimidate the local population. Needless to say they have failed. The Ojibwe Lac Courte Oreilles band of Lake Superior Ojibwe are leadinng the charge to protect this sacred and beautiful site. Just like the Mi’kmaq tribe in Canada, their motivation is to protect the waters. Both of these projects would contaminate the local water tables. Also in both cases the government are owned by the corporate interests and so are not trustworthy on any level to protect the local population from these excesses of corporate mining interests.
Hat Tip to Dan Feidt AKA Hong Pong for this footage.
In response activists from Idle No More Minneapolis, Occupy Minnesota and AIM (American Indian Movement) got together to organize a protest march and rally at the Canadiann Consulate in downtown Minnneapolis on October 21st. After leaders from Idle No More and AIM spoke to the crowd the speaker was opened up to the crowd. If you wanted to say something, then you were allowed. There was no strict control of the mic with which to only allow one group or “leaders” agenda. As it was put- all voices were to allowed and respected. A number of activists (including myself) went forward and said our piece and thoughts. It was a beautiful demonstration of openesss, transparency and actual democracy.
None of these critical stories have been covered or allowed in the corporate media. Oh sure, a token story about a protest of the racist emblems of football teams? No problem. It will even help assauge the guilty consciences of some who benefit from this racist. corporate occupied state that we live in.
But stories about peopple doing more than just symbolic actions? Where resistance is very real and growing bolder and more prolific? No indeed. Those are things that the corporate owners of the media (and government, education systems etc etc etc) do not want you to know about.
It might just give you little folks ideas.
Viva La Revolution.
Comment