Shortly after the protest the OPP followed and pulled over the van containing the delegation from Six Nations. The Natives were violently arrested. OPP used excessive force in the act of detaining the group. This use of excessive force to arrest the Native protestors had a traumatic result. One member of the Six Nation's delegation, a Native woman named Nisha, was pregnant at the time of the arrest. Her pregnancy did not deter the OPP officers from using force to arrest her. She was roughed up and mistreated.
[The OPP’s physical attack on Nisha is causing to suffer [causing her to
begin bleeding]. There is no clearer way to say this."] (edited)
Nisha is a dedicated young activist who turned to political activism out of a deep compassion for her people and to stop the injustices we, as Native people face. She, as well as her unborn child, are being violently persecuted by the OPP for her noble passion for freedom from colonial oppression.
This tactic of police violence directed at Native activists, who are courageous enough to stand up for their people to right the horrible wrongs of 500 years of colonialism, is obviously used to inspire fear from our people to force them to remain silent in their oppression. This tactic of police violence against Native activists to suppress their voice has to stop immediately! This act of police violence cannot go unnoticed or unpunished leaving Nisha to suffer alone.
As I write this letter Nisha is still incarcerated in an OPP jail in Kenora, Ont. She still has not received medial treatment.
Others accompanied Nisha in the van are also still incarcerated and their van has been confiscated as well.
A second van was also pulled over with the occupants arrested and van confiscated. The total number of activists arrested is still yet undetermined, as is the charges that they may face. There has not been any answer from the OPP concerning anyone being charged or what kind of charges they will be. Keep in mind this was a short peaceful protest with no acts of violence from any protestor.
This deplorable act by the OPP raises some very important questions for Native people.
Was the use of OPP violence to conduct an arrest justifiable when all that the Six nation's delegation did was attend a peaceful protest?
Considering the Native protestors did not commit any violence or any criminal offences, these possible charges (if any) cannot be of any great importance. Could the OPP just have peacefully served a warrant at the Native protestors homes to show up in court to instead?
Were the Six Nation's delegation "Targets of Opportunity" for the OPP to grab, harass and persecute when they had a chance?
Will more key members of the Six Nation's protest be subjected to continued violent police persecution and harassment?
Knowing they have just caused a death, will the OPP trump up charges against the Native protestors as a way of "justifying" their arrest and the police use of excessive force?
Is the tactic of police violence utilized against Native people to suppress our promotion of the truths of colonial oppression justifiable?
Do we allow these government sponsored and directed acts of violence against are people to continue?
Do we continue to accept the illusion that the Canadian police forces are here to protect and serve Native people too?
Why is it so necessary for the Canadian government to ensure that Native people suffer under the conditions "over-policing" and "over-enforcement"? From the highest rates of violent arrests? From the highest incarcerations rates? From the longest prison terms? And from the highest death tolls caused by the Canadian police forces?
I encourage everyone to look into the history of Canadian police forces in particular the history of their relationship with Native people and draw your own conclusions.
I ask of you to support Nisha in her time of suffering. An update to this letter will be sent out with possible points of contact for anyone who wishes to help Nisha.
Don't let Nisha and her unborn child be forgotten and forsaken.
Imsit Noolgama (All my Relations),
Sakej
Wolf Clan, Mi'kmaq Nation
========
For Updates and Related information, see
http://intercontinentalcry.mahost.org
========
[Proofreader's note: this article was edited for spelling and typos on July 17, 2006]
Note: http://intercontinental...
OPP Excessive Force [Nearly] Causes Death Of Native Child
Posted on Monday, July 17 at 09:07 by AhniwanikaContributed By
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addressed at the u.n. and sovereignty re-instated. instead we get a
declaratiion that's like a kind uncle patting wee ones on the head. bush
howard and harper all have stalled on the declaration but for the WRONG
reason.
there are many reports on this inicdent if you google it, but none by
mainstream media. mind you it took the media over a month to start
covering the caledonia incident, and that wasn't until the opp moved in.
reports were one sided, photos were one-sided. ctv's slant was abysmil and
i've registered a complaint with the crtc over it.
governor general michaelle jean never answered one email, letter or phone
call over it until directed by the queen to do so, after the clan mothers wrote
the queen.
i suppose dim prentice, harper and cronies are smiling wryly at this story and
dalton macguinty is looking in the mirror saying, 'YES!'.
i'm too furious to post links, i believe the post included one.
I have removerd the links so you will have to read your mail to see the message in its entirty (sp?)
The following links will do nothing to sooth your mood, scoutvagabond and may even open the eyes of our readers.
I am honoured to have Jack Cram as some one I admire and call friend.
All I have ever been able to do is to shine some light on events to are presented to me so others may share the knowledge.
I have seen first hand what happens to whistleblowers and it, as is said, “ain’t pretty”
Anyone who believes the law and its enforcers have "clean hands" (a legal term) ought to examine those beliefs using the lense of the links I provide here
My signature is not chosen as a pretty set of words- It is meant to cause attention to be brought to our implied permission.
Dio
Ps. when I posted the above I was met with a message; spam detected message deleted
---
The world is a dangerous place, not because of those who do evil, but because of those who look on and do nothing.... : Albert Einstein
UPDATE:Regarding Neecha
Micarriage of Justice, for sure, but Neecha did not lose her baby yet.
I spoke with Neecha Dupuis, an Ojibway woman from Saugeen, yesterday, when they contacted me through a common friend. Neecha was one of the women arrested, detained and eventually charged with mischief for blockading the Trans Canada Highway in support of Grassy Narrows. Although she has been supporting Six Nations in their stand to reclaim their land, her birth family is from Saugeen. Her birth name was Theresa Anne Maggotte and her dad is a Wassaykeesic from Mishkeegogamang. She was adopted in the 60s scoop to a white family in Ottawa.
She attended the Earth Justice Gathering but went with a friend who was to report to the Kenora OPP station, part of the conditions of the Six Nations Police requirement. That brought her into contact with the Kenora OPP force. While her friend reported, she tried to get license numbers from the vehicles in the parking lot she was confronted by six officers. There was an escalation of force when she refused to give them the paper she had used to record the numbers. During that same time two other First Peoples were being held inside the OPP office. Neecha relates the incident in which OPP were excessively aggressive, six and seven very large OPP officers surrounding her to remove first her mother's medicine blanket and a white eagle feather, then the Unity Flag. Camcorders were used by police situated inside the offices, to record the actions of the young people outside. It seems an Anishinabe woman police officer also exposed Neecha to male OPP while doing a search.
Two women from Six Nations who had been held from 10-6:30 p.m. on Friday at the Kenora OPP station were finally released with the intervention of a woman sent to them by Judy da Silva. They were released without being photographed or fingerprinted. Neecha is pregnant and as a result of the treatment she received, she began to bleed and cramp. It is not clear whether she will lose her baby or not.
When I spoke with Neecha she said they'd been told they had 24 hours to vacate the Kenora area, despite asking for 48 hours. They had not decided when they would leave. Please contact Judy da Silva at the number below to get more details. I have two Six Nations phone numbers to reach Neecha if you wish to talk to her.
It sounds like this was a harrowing experience for First Peoples who are being criminalized, demonized, and subjected to harassment because they wish to protect the land.
Joyce Atcheson
365 B Queen Street
Thunder Bay, ON
P7B 2K2
Phone/Fax: 807-345-5707
This leads me to believe this is native propaganda, and quite possibly could be fabricated or spun into something it's not. We should dispense with the opinion that only one side of a dispute is capable of twisting the truth. That something so inflammatory and newsworthy only appears in native blogs suggests that this has been planted by someone trying to influence native opinion. There are so many real news stories out there to focus on that have enough researchable facts in the news.
I suggest to people reading this consider the story as credible as the source... An opinion blog.
What say you?
So now Nisha hasn't miscarried? Her baby is still alive?
Sounds like you're not being clear at all. You should hang your head in shame to jumping to conclusions, and making such blatantly wrong statements. You should apologise to the readers here for needlessly inflaming race relations.
While you're at it, look up responsible journalism on the web, and try to stick to the facts when you write.
I do apologize for that.
As for Sakej being an irresponsible journalist, I don't know this person or exactly what happened at Grassy Narrows, I wasn't there;
Regardless, who are you or I to judge or make our own assumptions? For all we know... everybody's being grabbed and brought down by the cops - everybody's getting arrested - people are freaking out, shaking, crying - and then suddenly here's Neecha Bleeding.
No one's allowed to think the worst?
Mistakes happen, honey.