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Natives agree to go

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In Indigenous
Apr 30th, 2012
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By MIRANDA MINASSIAN Orillia Packet & Times April 30 2012
Hoping to foster good faith with the stewards of the Coldwater Canadiana Heritage Museum, First Nation activists camping in front of the museum have agreed to leave the site as of Friday.
On Sunday, an OPP liaison team met with the growing group after museum stewards asked them to leave the property during a meeting last Wednesday.
“We came in peace, we want to leave in peace,” said Memeskwaniniisi, (who would only provide his spirit name) one of the founders of the peace camp. “I guess we are ruffling feathers in an indirect way.”
On April 7, Memeskwaniniisi and two other men set up just off Highway 12 to protest the proposed Coldwater-Narrows settlement offer and to attract attention to their fading traditional practices.
Last week, the group met with the museum stewards who offered to add a First Nations voice to the pioneer-style site if the men left the site.
While the First Nations protesters were open to the idea, they were somewhat skeptical that the offer would materialize.
“On our behalf, I just wanted to know the intention of what is going on here,” said Sgt. Jeff LaValley, one of three plain-clothed officers who attended on Sunday. “They gave us their word that they would be out by Friday.”
The group said they needed the week to properly close the encampment and to respect the process of extinguishing their sacred fire.
LaValley said he was going to relay the message to the museum’s governing body.
“We are here to keep open and transparent lines of communication open,” said LaValley. “We are here to keep the peace.”
When asked by Memeskwaniniisi what the next step was and if uniformed officers would remove them before Friday, LaValley said he hadn’t received orders that that was necessary at this point.
The Anishinabe men originally chose the site because of its place along the historic route that is the subject of the land claim and because of its visibility. They also wanted to draw attention to the fact that while the museum celebrates the area’s history, it omits the history of the First Nations people in this area.
“We wanted to bring awareness that we are as much a part of this history as you are,” said Memeskwaniniisi. “We want to educate all people, not just our people.”
A member of the Beausoleil First Nation, Memeskwaniniisi didn’t vote on the most recent land claim settlement offer which he said opposes the Indian Act and Specific Land Claims Policy.
Memeskwaniniisi would like to see all 24 First Nations initially involved in turning over the land consulted in the settlement.
“We want to bring everyone to the table. This (protest) is the best option we have.”
“Any time people opposed the offer, they were told, ‘No, this is the best offer,’” he said. “You don’t have a voice.”
The group also expressed concern that accepting the settlement put their traditional lifestyle and sovereignty at risk.
By Sunday, 16 people — First Nations and otherwise — were at the camp, drumming and discussing the issues at hand.
“They are giving up not property, not money but their very existence,” said Midland resident Don Morgan, who supported the camp. “If you look at the process they are camped out on their property. This is the disputed land.”
While the museum believes the lands to be private, the First Nations group was attracted to the plot of land because they thought it was public.
“I have no idea at this stage who owns it,” said LaValley. “We are going to clarify that.”
Due to safety concerns with the activists on site, the museum has lost more than $1,500 in event revenue. All museum events have been cancelled indefinitely.
Though the group agreed to disassemble their encampment, Memeskwaniniisi still wasn’t sure why they weren’t welcome or what safety concern they presented.
“The people who are so offended by us, why don’t they come up and ask what we are doing,” he said. “We invite everyone to come and share their stories and be educated on what we have to say.”
No museum stewards attended the site on Sunday.

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