Last Friday marked the 5th anniversary of the logging road blockade at Grassy Narrows. Judy DaSilva, a clan mother from Grassy Narrows and member of the grassroots effort to end clear cut logging there, offered these thoughts.
December 2, 2002 Grassy Narrows People (& youth) decided to put up a road blockade on a logging road in their traditional territory. Many different types of people came from far and wide to support this blockade and the media eye was on this community. Today, December 2, 2007 there were two people humbly lighting a sacred fire to commemorate this day 5 years ago. They took tobacco in their hands and prayed for the people and for the land to be protected for futures generations “Creator, help us to continue to protect the land, our mother the earth and the people’s survival for future generations”. The two little boys oblivious to this were running around in the snow having alot of fun. Then they saw their parents with tobacco in hand and came running into the wigwam and asked for tobacco too to make their prayers. It is a good day. There are still people out there fighting for the survival of humanity in their own ways. Here we are in the boreal doing the same.
Last week 3 Anishinabe women went to the northend of our traditional territory and dropped off a notice to a logging camp to vacate the land because they are destroying the land and there is a morotorium on. The women have not heard any response yet and are waiting and will continue with this land protection initiative.
I would also would like to take this day to remember our fallen comrades that fought along side us to protect the earth;
Dave Brophy
Colleen McCrory
Marcel Angeconeb
Catherine Mae Keesick
Posted on 12 December 2007
Tags: freegrassy, Frontline Communities, Grassy Narrows, indigenous, logging, officemax, Old Growth
About the Author
Brant has worked as a strategist on national corporate campaigns in the retail, finance, energy and forest sectors for more than seven years. While working at RAN, he has negotiated agreements from The Home Depot, Lowes, Centex Homes, ProBuild, BlueLinx, Boise Cascade, Georgia Pacific and others. His research into campaign finance and corporate supply chains have been featured in national publications including Business Week and the New York Times. Brant can be found on Twitter: @branto
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Judy and everyone else at Grassy Narrows – Greetings from Scotland. We have huge respect for your commitment and fully support your campaign to save the Whiskey Jack forests. The theft of your lands by the forestry industry is an outrage. We back your eviction notices all the way. Wishing you a cheerful solstice and hoping the loggers will leave you and your forests in peace. Cheers Bill and Mandy