By Andrea Loewen
@ms.andreajoy

The past few months have seen two major Indigenous treaty rights conflicts come to a head in Canada. First in Ontario, where Six Nations land defenders have been working to protect their territory, now called 1492 Land Back Lane, since July. Then, more recently in Nova Scotia, where Mi’kmaq fishers began exercising their treaty right to catch lobsters and were met with hostility and protest from non-Indigenous fishers. Here’s some background on what’s going on and what you can do.

1492 LAND BACK LANE

On July 19, about two dozen land defenders from the Six Nations walked onto the construction site for a new housing development called McKenzie Meadows in Caledonia, Ontario, stopped construction, and set up camp. The land in question is a part of the Haldimand Tract, territory that was guaranteed to the Six Nations in 1784.

Since the Six Nations members took possession of the land, now called 1492 Land Back Lane, over two months ago, there have been court injunctions, violent arrests of the land defenders, of journalists and a unity jam concert.

Learn more about 1492 Land Back Lane:

This Statement From Concerned Haudenosaunee Women Regarding Injunctions At 1492 Land Back Lane gives background on the issue, including the fact that, within the Haudenosaunee worldview, the women are caretakers of the land (not an elected band council). They also include a timeline of activities on 1492 Land Back Lane.

This Turtle Island News article appears to be the first reported piece on 1492 Land Back Lane.

Journalist Karl Dockstader was embedded within the camps before he was arrested and wrote this Kwa’y^hneha – The Rabbit Dance, a beautiful and troubling piece about his experience there, pre-arrest.

What you can do:

Join the Oct 9th Day of Action and donate to the 1492 Land Back Legal Fund.

Follow 1492 Land Back Lane on Twitter and Facebook.

MI’KMAQ LOBSTER FISHING

In 1999, the Supreme Court of Canada ruled that Mi’kmaq fishers have a treaty right to hunt, fish and gather in order to earn a “moderate livelihood,” regardless of hunting or fishing seasons. This is called the Marshall Decision.

Since this time, Mi’kmaq fishers claim they have been trying to work out a deal with the Department of Fisheries and Oceans (DFO) on how to go about licensing their own fishery and getting nowhere. After 21 years, they gave up and created the Moderate Livelihood Fishery, opening on the anniversary of the 1999 ruling.

Non-Indigenous fishers immediately reacted by removing lobster traps, intimidating potential buyers and even allegedly shooting flares at them, leading the Mi’kmaq to declare a state of emergency. To date, there have been two arrests of settlers involved in this activity,  and both individuals were released.

The non-Indigenous fishers claim that they are afraid the Mi’kmaq fishers will deplete lobster stock during the mating season and damage a delicate ecosystem, so it’s worth noting that there are currently a total of 150 traps licensed by the fishery, compared to thousands of commercial licenses.

What you can do:

Go to this Google Doc of ways to support Mi’kmaq fishers in Digby, it includes places to donate money or gear as well as links for reporters to follow and background to the treaty rights in question and what it means to be a Treaty Person.
Enjoy the #MikmaqMemeContest on Twitter, a comic take on Indigenous activism by Twitter user @TheAgentNDN.