Mi'kmaq Warriors Speaking Tour Calgary 2013
Channel: MyVoiceCalgary
Date: 2014-02-17

Monday, February 10, 2014.  7:00 pm at the Inglewood Community Hall 1740 24 Ave SE.

Defending our Land
Defending our Water
Defending our Future

How the Mi'kmaq warriors and Blood tribe are fighting to Protect Mother Earth, treaty rights, and the future of Canada
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Members of the Mi'kmaq Warriors Society speaking tour will arrive in Calgary, February 10. The goal is to raise awareness about their struggle against fracking, their ongoing assertion and exercise of nationhood, and the repression they face from police and courts.

The Calgary event will feature dynamic and engaging speakers, including Suzanne Patles, Brian Seaman, Lori Brave Rock. The event will also feature a panel moderated by Rev. Bill Phipps.

"Our warriors are still being mistreated in the system, justice for our political prisoners of war." Suzanne Patles, member of the Mi'kmaq Warrior Society

Suzanne Patles - Mi'kmaq Warriors Society
Suzanne Patles is a Mi'kmaq warrior from the Eskasoni reserve on Cape Breton Island, Nova Scotia whose heart and spirit belongs to the whole Mi'kmaq people of Mi'kmaq territory, territory which comprises much of the present day Maritime provinces. From the earliest days of the Mi'kmaq led resistance to early steps toward fracking on traditional Mi'kmaq territory to the violent raid by the RCMP on a peaceful camp of defenders of the land on October 17, 2013, Suzanne has consistently been the epitome of a warrior: courageous, defiant, and compassionate. Suzanne is knowledgeable in traditional medicines, spirituality and Treaty Law.

Brian Seaman, Human Rights/Civil Liberties Advocate
Brian Seaman is a human rights/civil liberties advocate, writer and public speaker. From November of 2004 to November of 2013, he was a research associate at the Alberta Civil Liberties Research Centre. In addition to writing for the ACLRC, Brian's articles and commentaries have appeared in over 100 print and online media sources in Canada, South America and Europe including Law Now, The Abeledo Perrot Family Rights Journal, Migration Letters, The Calgary Herald, and ABlawg. He has also participated in discussions for broadcast tor CTV Alberta Prime Time, APTN and Foundation for Democratic Advancement. He has written several articles and made several appearances in connection with the Idle No More Movement, most frequently in connection with the Canada-China Foreign Investment and Promotion Agreement (FIPPA). He has been a vocal critic of FIPPA because it favours Chinese investment in Canada's energy and natural resource sectors at the expense of Native rights, sound environmental regulations and Canadian jobs.


Lori Brave Rock, Kainai / Blood Reserve
Lori Brave Rock is an enrolled tribal member of both the Blood Tribe here in Alberta and the Blackfeet Tribe in Montana; both tribes are a part of the Blackfoot Confederacy. She is an entrepreneur, activist and organizer within the Idle No More movement. She is also a current board member with the Oldman Watershed Council. Prior to Idle No More she began raising awareness of her concerns about the risks involved with fracking when it was announced in 2010 that this type of extraction would be utilized on the Blood Reserve, where she resides. Raised traditionally she learned the importance of the relationship the Blackfoot people have with their lands, waters, plants and animals and their sacred place within this culture. In the spirit of First Nations as the stewards of the lands, waters and skies she urges everyone to take an active role in the protection of all we hold dear for all of our future generations. "Mokakit Ki Iyikakimat - Be wise and persevere."

Reverend Dr. Bill Phipps
Retired minister of United Church of Canada. He was minister of Scarboro United in Calgary, 1993-2007, with time out to be Moderator of the United Church, 1997-2000. He is co-founder and chairs the Faith and Common Good interfaith network, is a member of the Peace Consortium at University of Calgary, and author of "Cause for Hope". Throughout his working life, Bill has been an advocate for social justice, and particularly in recent years for Climate Justice and Care for the Earth. As Moderator, Bill issued the United Church Apology to Survivors of Indian Residential Schools in 1998.


BACKGROUND:
Suzanne Patles speaks from Elsipogtog Anti-Fracking Blockade
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UyewGdAlQNk

Elsipogtog: The Fire Over Water
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=m0N-lDcq1PQ

Mi'kmaq Blockade
http://www.submedia.tv/stimulator/2013/10/16/mikmaq_blockade/

Sacred Fire: The People United Against Fracking
http://sacredfirenb.com/welcome-to-the-sacred-fire-website/

Guardian: New Brunswick fracking protests are the frontline of a democratic fight
http://www.theguardian.com/environment/2013/oct/21/new-brunswick-fracking-protests