Mark Vandermaas interviewed by CBC re Tom Keefer march in Caledonia

Not long ago I finished a short, but great radio interview w/CBC radio (French) out of Toronto who wanted my perspective on today’s march through Caledonia as the founder of the Caledonia Victims Project.

 

They were given material by the organizers of today’s takeover of the streets of Caledonia by Tom Keefer and his anti-capitalist allies that left the impression today’s march was about ‘commemmorating’ the occupation, but I talked about the flyer delivered to Haldimand homes in which they make it clear that the purpose was not about commemoration, but because Gary McHale & company (of which I am proud to be one) decided to walk down a county road through DCE, and how they are using the circumstances of a mentally disturbed person who tried to commit suicide by driving his car into the house on DCE.

 

I told him that it doesn’t matter whether they’re commemorating the beginning of a reign of terror against innocent people or reacting to non-native people who dared to walk down a county road, their goal is to legitimize the use of violence against innocent people as a political tool, by denying the humanity of their victims by pretending they don’t exist, by blaming the victims for the violence against them, and by attacking those who speak out for them. I said this was the essence of a supremacist ideology and, as the son of parents who lived under Nazi occupation, I found it disgusting and despicable.

 

I made clear that the victims also include native people; I mentioned the two rapes of native women on DCE, and that as a former soldier/peacekeeper I have a duty to speak for them too.

 

‘Violence Against Aboriginal Women’ author agrees w/Six Nations Councillor Helen Miller re futility of blaming colonization & residential schools

Since initially publishing Six Nations Councillor Helen Miller: ‘Stop blaming colonization & residential schools‘ VoiceofCanada has been made aware of an excellent article about violence against native women by a woman – whom I have met personally – with a 30-year connection to aboriginal communities and, as she says, “great respect for the indigenous way of life.”

She wrote to tell me  how pleased she was to have read Helen Miller’s observations about the futility of constantly blaming colonization and residential schools since she had written nearly identical words in her own article – before having read Miller’s letter.

Violence Against Aboriginal Women

CounterPoise.ca, May 27, 2011

On March 25, 2011, the Canadian House of Commons all-party Standing Committee on the Status of Women tabled Interim Report: Call Into the Night: An Overview of Violence Against Aboriginal Women (the final report should be ready by the fall of 2011).  Hedy Fry (Liberal, B.C.) is the chair of this committee, and Irene Mathyssen (NDP, Ontario) and Tilly O’Neill-Gordon (Conservative, New Brunswick) are the vice-chairs.  The committee traversed the country between April 2010 and February 2011, meeting with reserve, rural and urban stakeholders.  More than 150 witnesses provided testimony.  In her press release regarding the interim report, Fry said the problem was getting worse.

Gary McHale to Six Nations: Beware what you teach your children

SEE ALSO: Six Nations Councillor Helen Miller: ‘Stop blaming colonization and residential schools’

Beware What You Teach Your Children

by Gary McHale   [PDF]
Regional News (Caledonia), June 08, 2011  

For five years the youth on Six Nations have watched their leadership, their parents and so-called community protectors illegally occupy sub-divisions throughout Haldimand and Brant County. They have listened to the wisdom of their chiefs who have repeatedly supported criminal behaviour as the means to resolving issues. Now that these youth have learned their lessons well, they have decided to follow in the same footsteps and resolve their issues using illegal behaviour by occupying the old Police Station on Six Nations. 

So far this illegal occupation has resulted in zero police officers being hospitalized, no Six Nations residents have been attacked, no tire fires, no burning of people’s private properties, no roads have been dug up, no disruption of any public services and yet, suddenly, several people on Six Nations believe it is wrong, disrespectful, counter-productive and unhelpful for such tactics to be used. 

Six Nations Councillor Helen Miller: ‘Stop blaming colonization & residential schools’

SEE ALSO: Gary McHale to Six Nations: Beware what you teach your children

“It’s no wonder so many of our youth seem lost, without direction and guidance, and are choosing the wrong road. Look at the examples they have to follow.” Six Nations Councillor Helen Miller, May 25/11

UPDATED June 11/11 — In the wake of the lawless takeover of the former Six Nations police station by youths Councillor Helen Miller has written a letter to the Turtle Island News in which she itemizes a brutally honest shopping list of reserve dysfunctionality and provides a shockingly fresh solution:

• repeated vandalism of the Veterans’ hall.
• Men’s Fire telling people provincial laws don’t apply, and that Six Nations Police have no authority, which promotes lawlessness.
• People paying kids to steal cars and sell drugs.
• Cigarette shops, some of which are fronts for drug dealers.
• ATV drivers & Poker Run organizers refuse to respect farmers’ properties and crops.
• People stealing reserve land, including the Glebe Lands.
• Domestic violence is rampant.
• Women and girls are being sexually assaulted.
• Too many kids being raised by single parents because fathers refuse responsibility or mothers deny access.
• Increased violence at sports games with racism on both sides.
• More suicides among kids in last few years than in 10 years.
• Kids being bullied at school, but no zero-tolerance policy adopted.
• Drug addictions are plaguing the community, not just youth, but moms, dads, grandmas, grandpas, aunts and uncles. Several babies born addicted to drugs, or born w/Fetal Alcohol Syndrome.
• Elected council fighting with confederacy council with Mohawk Workers refusing to work with either council.

Youth barricade of ‘reclaimed’ Six Nations police station represents teaching opportunity for elders

UPDATED — A group of youths on Six Nations have barricaded and ‘reclaimed’ the old police station on the reserve, lit a ‘sacred’ fire, and are demanding that Council turn over the keys so they can use it as a ‘youth centre.’    

Chief Bill Montour is refusing to do so because he says, “the building has health, structural and safety issues that have to be fixed.”    

• Brantford Expositor, May 28/11: Kids can’t have old station: Chief
• see also: Brantford Expositor, undated (updated June 01/11): New police station reason to celebrate on Six Nations

One of the police station barricaders,  a young woman named Ojistaryo, is quoted as responding to the chief’s refusal: 

“Band council doesn’t have any proof of their claims.”     

• Brantford Expositor, undated (last updated June 02/11): Young people urged to get behind effort

Not the first occupation on Six Nations    

On page 245 of her book Helpless: Caledonia’s Nightmare of Fear And Anarchy, And How The Law Failed Us All, Christie Blatchfords recounts reading a front page story in the Jan 13/10 issue of the Turtle Island News about how a group of Six Nations residents stopped construction of the new police station:    

“Dominating the front page was a story about a group led by Dick Hill that had recently stopped the construction of a new Six Nations police station. Since Dick Hill stopping development was by then a classic of dog-bites-man, I cannot resist the impulse to ask how on earth this qualified as news”    

• Christie Blatchford, Helpless, p245 

Irony of Six Nations occupation not lost on neighbours weary of native intimidation    

UofW pseudo-leftists create “surge” in HELPLESS sales publisher reports

Nazi swastika drawn on home of a Caledonia resident during the night.

Despite the shameful assault on freedom of speech and academic freedom represented by the character assassination, and intimidation that resulted in the cancellation of Christie Blatchford’s speech at the the University of Waterloo on Nov 12/10, the controversy has achieved several positive results.

Not only has it generated a storm of counter-criticism in mainstream media and blogs highlighting universities as being the front line in the battle to preserve free speech, it has – happily – dramatically boosted sales of Blatchford’s book.

Our friends at Doubleday Canada say that thanks to the Waterloo protest and the publicity it has generated they’ve had another surge of demand for the book which made it necessary to order a reprint of Helpless.

Comment by Mark Vandermaas

All who have supported our four-year long quest to expose and oppose racial policing in Caledonia owe an ironic, yet distasteful, debt of gratitude to the radicals and anarchists who have now helped to ensure that even more people will read Helpless and understand the despicable conduct of those whose lawlessness they supported, and the dangers these self-appointed censors pose to the Charter of Rights.

Sam Gualtieri - suffered permanent brain damage after being assaulted by native protesters Sept 13/07 during illegal occupation while in a home he was building for his daughter. Click image to read his family's tragic statement of claim in Superior Court.

It should be no surprise that those who support and/or actively worked to enable the native extremists who terrorized Caledonia do not want the victims they helped create to have a voice, and then vilify those of us who have been willing to speak for them. As I noted in my presentation at the 2010 New Directions in Aboriginal Policy forum:

The words ‘heartless’ and ‘cruel’ seem inadequate to describe the irony of a situation wherein an organized group from one race of people terrorized others with racial slurs, fire, violence, vandalism, and property seizures and then tormented their victims with false accusations of being white supremacists.

As the son of parents who lived in Nazi-occupied Holland I am offended to the very core of my being by the blaming of innocent victims for racially-motivated crimes committed against them.

• Mark Vandermaas presentation to 2010 New Directions in Aboriginal Policy forum, May 05/10: Listening to Victims: A Fresh Approach to Healing and Reconciliation [PDF, 21p, 8.5MB]

Part 2 of Six Nation’s Tekawennake op-ed series by McHale, Vandermaas et al: ‘Healing Two Communities: What Now?’

July 21/10 - Six Nations newspaper Tekawennake op-ed series by Doug Fleming, Merlyn Kinrade, Gary McHale & Mark Vandermaas: 'Healing Two Communities, Part 2: What Now?' Click to enlarge.

On July 14/10 the Six Nations newspaper Tekawennake printed the first in a two-part op-ed series by Merlyn Kinrade, Gary McHale, Mark Vandermaas, and Doug Fleming entitled, ‘Healing Two Communities.’

• Tekawennake News op-ed series, July 14-21/10: Healing Two Communities [PDF, 7p] (complete series)

Part 1, ‘White Supremacists – Truth or Fiction?,‘ addressed the attempts to falsely paint non-native activists as racist white supremacists. Part 2, ‘What Now?’ appeared in the Teka on July 21/10 and is republished below. It offers specific suggestions for healing the relationship between Caledonia and Six Nations:

—————————–

Tekawennake
Wednesday, July 21, 2010

OPINION EDITORIAL

Healing Two Communities: What Now?
[complete series PDF, 7p]

by Doug Fleming, Merlyn Kinrade, Gary McHale and Mark Vandermaas

Ed. note. Between June 24-30, 2009 the Tekawenakke published several stories in our on-going coverage of the Caledonia conflict which might lead some readers to believe that members of the CANACE (Canadian Advocates for Charter Equality) organization, which has advocated on behalf of the residents of Caledonia, includes members or associates with Neo-Nazi, KKK or other white supremacist ties. The Tekawennake wishes to clarify that we have no evidence that Doug Fleming, Merlyn Kinrade, Gary McHale or Mark Vandermaas are associated with or sympathizers of such groups, and offer the following Op-Ed as the first in a two-part series giving them the opportunity to communicate their purpose and agenda in their own words.

From the very beginning we have never believed that those who committed acts of lawlessness in Caledonia represented Six Nations or aboriginal people as a whole. That belief was reinforced by Councillor Helen Miller’s letter of July 14/09 in which she stated that “the majority of Six Nations people who I’ve spoken to are fed up with the protests, fed up with these groups of people and individuals claiming to speak for them and fed up with the smoke shops on Highway 6. So people who fear another Caledonia can put their fears to rest.” This was confirmed when Council voted to revoke the negotiations lead from the Confederacy to go in a ‘new direction.’

Gary McHale to appear on Michael Coren Show

UPDATE June 02/10: Gary McHale’s appearance went very well. He was only allotted a half hour instead of the hour expected because Coren wanted to devote time to the Israel/Gaza situation. He did promise to have McHale on again in the future. Video now available:

• Michael Coren Show video, June 01/10: Gary McHale interview [CWUC download LINK, 30 mins, 47MB]
• JeffParkinson.ca, June 02/10: Video: McHale on the Michael Coren Show (3-10 minute segments)

——————————–

UPDATED May 31/10 — Gary McHale will appear on the Michael Coren show on Tuesday, June 01/10.

Coren had originally scheduled McHale for just a half-hour session, but after reviewing some of the documentation provided, he decided to devote the entire show to McHale and Caledonia.

My understanding is that one of the key topics to be discussed is the targeting of McHale for criminal charges by the OPP despite the lack of evidence. This will, of course, lead to a very interesting discussion about the racial policing practices used against Haldimand County residents.

The show will be aired Tuesday night at 6pm on CTS TV and again on Wednesday at 12:30 pm.

• CTS (Crossroads Television System) TV: Michael Coren Show
• Michael Coren.com : The Michael Coren Show

Tuning in across Canada

Gary McHale has sent out an email to his supporters – which live all across Canada – with this update:

The Michael Coren Show is on CTS Television – cable 19 with Mountain Cable, Cable 36 or 17 for Cogeco, cable 9 on Rogers in Toronto, ExpressVu – 651/Star Choice – 355/Look – 19.

For a full list of stations throughout Canada that will be airing the Michael Coren Show please see: http://www.ctstv.com/ontario/tuningin.php

According to Coren’s website, his show has 250,000 viewers each night.

‘The Strength of a Woman’: Six Nations Councillor Helen Miller

UPDATE – CWUC blog, July 17/09: Six Nations councillor speaks out against lawlessness

UPDATED 2101 EST JULY 14/09

A remarkable letter by Six Nations Councillor Helen Miller to the editor of the Brantford Expositor echoes the very message that CANACE founders have been trying to share with the media, the public, the police,  government officials and the people of Six Nations for nearly three years:

The individuals and ad hoc groups who have committed crimes against the people of Haldimand and Brantford do NOT speak for the people of Six Nations, and do NOT have the support of the people of Six Nations.

As for who represents Six Nations let me put it this way: The Mohawk Workers, Women of the Mohawk Nation, the Men’s Fire or individuals like Steven “Boots” Powless or Ruby and Floyd Montour were not elected, appointed or authorized by the people of Six Nations to be their representatives or to speak on their behalf. Nor is the Haudenosaunee Development Institute (HDI) supported by the elected council or the community at large. However, it was authorized by the Confederacy council.

Brantford Expositor, letter to editor, Six Nations Councillor Helen Miller, July 14/09: Only elected council can speak for Six Nations  PDF