By Danny Beaton (Turtle Clan Mohawk)
In Memory of Alicja Rozanska
Our Sacred Fires and Fire Keepers are needed more than ever. Pipe Carriers and Sweat Lodge Leaders can focus on healing our Elders and leaders, who will defend our children's future and their children's children.
When the Lubicon Cree came to Toronto from Little Bear Reserve, Alberta, in the 1980s, their homeland was under attack by the Japanese company Daishowa, which had built a pulp mill and was logging on traditional Lubicon territory. This is why the Lubicon Cree came around that time, speaking at the Steel Workers Hall on Cecil Street about their way of life under attack by corporate giants who wanted their forests, gas, and oil: the eyes of greed were on the Cree homeland. Many fires were being lit everywhere on Turtle Island. The entire Mother Earth was being pillaged by corporations and mega projects coming from the minds of people with negative fantasies.
When I think about how this plundering and pillaging started, it’s like the Great Hopi Peoples, who call it “World Out Of Balance”. Everything that was forced onto the Lubicon Territory is documented by Amnesty International, Friends of the Lubicon, and Cultural Survival: 90% of their hunting and trapping was destroyed by corporate extraction and exploitation, resulting in cultural genocide. After years and years of court decisions, in 1996, the Royal Commission on Aboriginal Peoples and the government said the Lubicon deserved to be given the territory needed for them to survive without further threats of exploitation.
Not long after this struggle took place, the Tar Sands mega project in Alberta began the dirtiest oil extraction in the world, as it turns out. All of this is documented with Environmental Defense here in Canada. The tar sands pose the greatest threat to climate change, global warming, and extreme weather conditions. The Cree, Athabaskan, Dene, and Gwitchin are some of the tribes suffering from massive contamination from dirty oil extraction, far beyond what any scientist would imagine it possible to be given permits to continue, because of the extent of land and water pollution. The Athabaskan and Mackenzie Rivers have been contaminated since the 1990s, and toxins are in the groundwater that flows to the ocean. Scientists have documented the worst industrial disaster in the world, which occurred right here in Canada.
Once the Anishinaabe had decided to bring their urgent message of environmental genocide to Toronto, Chief Rudy Turtle of Grass Narrows, Elder Moonias of Neskantaga, and Cecilia Begg of Kitchenuhmaykoosib-Inninuwug each stated that Mother Earth is suffering from contamination and pollution that dates back to 1962. Logging and mining have polluted not only Grassy Narrows, but also the Attawapiskat Community in the James Bay area, and the Swampy Cree Communities. People there will tell of groundwater contamination and polar bears and Beluga whales with cancer from diamond mining. Now the Anishinaabe want protection for their children's children, and all species need the same protection if their traditional cultures are to stay healthy and strong. The Anishinaabe have traveled by canoe from Attawapiskat and set up a blockade to bring attention to the Ring of Fire mining project, which is being promoted as the future of Ontario's Economy. Indigenous leaders and Elders are saying what about Mother Earth’s natural economy and the hunting and trapping lines that will be threatened. When you look down at Northern Ontario from a plane, you see nothing but a majestic wonderland, no different from the Amazon. In fact, scientists and environmentalists will say the Boreal Forest in Northern Ontario is the largest intact forest in the world.
Danny Beaton (left) and Dr. John Bacher, who are fighting Ring of Fire attack on Mother Earth in Northern Ontario, Canada.
Chief Oren Lyons, 94 years old, said: “Our forests are our refuge. It is where we live and grew up in the forest. It is our homeland for the Indigenous people of the Woodlands. We have always traveled by these rivers, the Great Lakes, and we need clean, pure water for our Seven Generations to come." Wilmer Nadjiwon, Anishinaabe chief for 14 years, said: “When I was growing up in Cape Croker, you could bring home deer and fish to feed a family and community. Even now, you can go for a walk in our community and count 30 or 40 deer in one night. Our animals still lead a good life here, but we must protect our sacred Mother Earth for the future of our children's children. We must work together in unity. I have always gotten along with Mohawk people. From the very beginning, we followed the footsteps of our Iron Workers’ Union in New York. Back in the day, we had to have unity, and all Indians are the same way. We need unity first to achieve our goals, no matter what.” Anishinaabe/Ojibway and Cree people need the support of southern tribes now. No one has the right to sell Indigenous territories or homelands. Our moose, bears, deer, wolves, eagles, sturgeon, and insects have a home in the boreal forest, just like all life in the Amazon rainforest.
Everything that is happening to Mother Earth is a continuation of all past negativity. It is negative thinking that goes against life; positive energy does not go against life. We need positive thinkers wherever you are to speak out for sacred Mother Earth and our Children's Children, just as the Friends of the Lubicon came together and started a boycott to help the Cree Elders and people back in the day. Society should not look away from the threat to Northern Ontario or anywhere development threatens life and future generations. We need to build our work and life on protecting Mother Earth, not destroying Creation. Our Elders, Chiefs, and Clan Mothers have told us this story repeatedly: peace, power, unity, and equality are the natural laws. It is The Great Law, and from the people coming together for justice and harmony, all life survives and thrives. Mohawks, Cree, Anishinaabe/Ojibway, and all southern tribes have the Spirit of Our Ancestors to guide us through our way of life and ceremonies. Fish life needs clean water; our four-legged ones need fresh, clean water; winged ones need clean forests; and our insects drink the same water as all life. Great Spirit, watch over us and guide us.
Thank you all for listening. In the Spirit of Our Ancestors.
--Danny Beaton (Mohawk Turtle Clan) is the son of Lois Clause, whose grandparents were Edna Beaver and Freeman Clause of the Six Nations Reserve in Ontario, Canada. In 1990, Chief Oren Lyons, Faith Keeper of the Onondaga Nation, Wolf Clan, brought Beaton into the Traditional Circle of Elders & Youth, a coalition of grassroots Native American Elders and youth who gather to maintain traditional ceremonies and council. Beaton has worked intensely with Cree, Innu, Apache, Seminole, Ojibway, and Indigenous people from the Amazon Rainforest to protect their cultures and traditional territories. Beaton has received grants from the Ontario Arts Council and Canada Council to study Native American flute music at The Institute of American Indian Arts in Santa Fe, New Mexico. He has produced and directed four films that feature Native American Spiritual Elders voicing their concern for the need for society to return to spiritual values and the protection of our sacred Mother Earth. Three of these films have been broadcast nationally in Canada. Beaton has written numerous articles in newspapers and magazines across Canada and the United States to educate society about environmental protection and traditional Native values. He has a permanent collection of his photography at the Smithsonian Museum, Woodland Cultural Center, and The Mohawk Traveling College. Beaton has lectured extensively in many schools, colleges, and universities, including the University of Toronto, Queen's, Trent, and Ryerson Universities. He has also lectured and performed in Japan and the United Kingdom. Danny lectures and plays traditional Native flute on request. For more information, please visit: www.dannybeaton.ca.
Top photo: Danny Beaton speaking at an Indigenous and Northern Affairs protest. Photo by Stan Williams.
