"WARNING: The WRCSB is voting Monday on a motion that would ban pride flags, slogans, and symbols from being hung or shown (even on a sticker!) on school property. Even teacher's personal flags would not be allowed.

Please show up on Monday to show support!"

I will add that their motion also erases Indigenous Peoples by saying the Canadian flag represents all. Kitchener is on the Haldimand Tract, the stolen, occupied territory of Six Nations.

https://bsky.app/profile/mdruker.app/post/3lkwkdtihyk2y

@waterlooregion #homophobia #CatholicSchool #pride #LGBTQIA2S #fascism #ontario #KitchenerWaterloo #ProtectTheTract #HaldimandTract

@waterlooregion I just got a response which uses the word "unique" a lot without actually clarifying if Six Nations has been consulted or not. I'm thinking not.

"Indigenous communities have a unique role in land use planning and development.  They contribute unique perspectives and traditional knowledge to land use matters including cultural heritage, natural heritage and water resources protection.  The City/ Township/ Region values the ongoing relationship with Indigenous communities. We look forward to continued collaboration with Indigenous communities on our Official Plan to continue to inform decision-making."
 
"In consideration of the existing trees on the site, City Staff work with the applicant to conserve trees whenever possible, recognizing them as essential infrastructure within our community."

_____

Personally, I question what "collaboration" is going on. The Land Back camp, after a lot of harrowing life in Willow Park (Victoria Park), managed to negotiate free use of the park facilities. It is a traditional/historical meeting place for Indigenous Peoples in the region. Yet within the last month, the City of Kitchener has started charging Indigenous groups money to use it again.

That is not collaboration. That is colonialism.

I also mistrust what they say about the trees. Last year, in the middle of nesting season, those trees were trimmed and the branches--baby birds and all--were thrown into a woodchipper. When I sent complaints to the city, they promised to get back to me and rectify the situation (I don't know how since they can't resurrect baby birds or undo the damage). No one ever did get back to me.

#LandBack @waterlooregion #ProtectTheTract #Haudenosaunee #SixNations #Anishinaabeg #DishWithOneSpoonTreaty #HabitatDestruction #AnimalAbuse

I received a notice from the city regarding a nearby property. The neighbours want to put an additional dwelling on the property, and the city wants to know if I have any issues with that. I said I personally have no problems with that so long as the big maple trees aren't damaged/destroyed, but I do want to know if the city contacts Six Nations re. any development. After all, this is their land, and they have placed a moratorium upon development. I'm curious to hear what the folks at City Hall have to say about that.

Edit: I heard back. Response in the comments. #HaldimandTract #ProtectTheTract #SixNations #IndigenousLand #LandBack #Haudenosaunee #Anishinaabeg @waterlooregion

I pass this property on Guelph Street often. Until a few years ago, that shitty stretch of lawn used to be a big cluster of juniper, bearberry, and milkweed. It was necessary food and habitat for monarch butterflies and other critters. Now it is a food desert for pollinators.

And that sign they have along the sidewalk is the meanest, most selfish sign I've ever seen directed to pedestrians. It shows they really don't give a shit about children and pedestrians.

And that last sentence about "these lands" is pretty fucking awful. These lands are on the Haldimand Tract. They're occupied, stolen lands of the Haudenosaunee and Anishinaabeg. These lands are under the Dish With One Spoon wampum, and this sign shows the people who currently "own" this property have no intention of honouring that treaty.

https://www.thecanadianencyclopedia.ca/en/article/a-dish-with-one-spoon#:~:text=A%20%E2%80%9Cdish%20with%20one%20spoon,spirit%20of%20mutual%20co%2Doperation

#kitchener #HabitatDestruction #ProtectTheTract #HaldimandTract #DishWithOneSpoonTreaty #wampum #MonarchButterflies #AntiPedestrian #CarCulture #Treaty @waterlooregion

This beautiful stand of trees separating the neighbourhood from a gas plant has been bulldozed and thrown into a wood chipper. Now the animals who lived there are without homes. Now the area is much dustier because the soil dried up and blew away. My neighbourhood becomes more and more barren. Were Six Nations consulted about the destruction of this habitat on their territory? I sincerely doubt it was even considered for a moment by the “developers.” #ProtectTheTract #DishWithOneSpoonTreaty #HaldimandTract #LandBack @waterlooregion #HabitatDestruction #Deforestation

When I first moved to this house in 2016, the backyard was dead. The soil was barren and only a couple of sad-looking weeds grew there. I immediately set about repairing the land, and now it is thriving. Wild strawberries are abundant, and I just ate a couple. I also have lots of violets, false Solomon’s seal, mayapple, ramps, cleavers, and some escaped lemon balm and catnip. See those vines? That’s groundnut or hopniss (not peanut): a traditional Indigenous food crop which is now very hard to find. I’m trying to coax my ostrich fern to thriving. It comes back every year, but it’s still a bit puny. This is one of the ways in which I strive to honour the treaties of this land. #DishWithOneSpoonTreaty #HaldimandTract #gardening #rewilding #ProtectTheTract

An extended interview with one of the exhibit's curators on radio local to the area: https://omny.fm/shows/newstalk-610/karl-dockstader-with-courtney-skye-protect-the-tra?in_playlist=one-dish-one-mic

A reminder the exhibit is on until March 22.

#SixNations #ProtectTheTract #WeRemainCertain #HamOnt

"We Remain Certain", a group exhibition curated by a collective of Haudenosaunee artists, showing the enduring relationship between Haudenosaunee and their home in Grand River Territory will be on from January 11 to March 22, 2024 at McMaster Museum of Art. Curated by Protect The Tract (here to a limited extent at @protectthetract)

The opening is this Thursday.

See images for more details.

#Art #ArtExhibit #ProtectTheTract #GrandRiver #OseKenhionhatatie #WeRemainCertain

Post I made on this date in 2020: Rubber bullets don’t sound all that bad. They sound like toy versions of bullets. But they can remove all the flesh right down to a bone. They can shatter bones and remove eyes. They kill. And the RCMP and OPP have no compunction against shooting at us.

Not long ago, the OPP drew firearms on people at 1492 Land Back Lane in another act of terrorism against Indigenous people. They fired at women, including an elder, who were sitting outside the so-called exclusion zone.

And then they got inside their squad car and filmed the reactions. I am certain this was an intentional act of provocation. It finally worked. It elicited the violent reaction they’ve been hoping for all along. Two people attacked the squad car, and the OPP got that part on film and used it to say this was an unprovoked attack.

Give me a break. If someone were to draw a gun on your mom or grandma, I’m willing to bet it would elicit a reaction from you, too. For many of you, it would be violent.

These folks who attacked the car were trying to make the cops leave. I’ve seen video from the other side. They were trying to make the cops leave.

As someone who recently stopped cops from hurting a woman, I understand their rage.

This is continued genocide. Do not let it slide. Do not let the cops control the narrative. #ReconciliationIsALie #HaldimandTract #ProtectTheTract #IndigenousMastodon #OPP #AbolishThePolice #1492LandBackLane

@waterlooregion the more I think about this, the worse it gets. I will lose my vegetable garden. I am a seed saver for Indigenous communities. I produce seeds to feed communities. Losing this bit of land will mean I can no longer grow food for myself or continue with seed saving for Indigenous food sovereignty. #Indigedon #IndigenousFoodSovereignty @IndigenousFoodSov #ProtectTheTract

I walked to one of my favourite neighbourhood destinations today: the community gardens at Hacienda Sarria. They’ve all been bulldozed. Those gardens and orchards fed a lot of people. Their flower fields fed a lot of pollinators. Now it’s all gone. For what? An equipment yard. It shouldn’t be legal to destroy something so beautiful and so necessary. Six Nations have issued a development moratorium along the Haldimand Tract, but colonizers gonna keep on colonizing. #KWAwesome #Kitchener #ProtectTheTract #HaldimandTract #Destruction #Waste #HabitatDestruction #WaterlooRegion #DishWithOneSpoonTreaty @waterlooregion