AMIKWA NIPISSING NATIONHOOD
(Continued)
A Presentation by Michael Swinwood
Additionally, the universal Declaration on the rights of indigenous peoples has now been legislated by Canada Bill, C15, which binds Canada to all the protections enunciated therein. The Supreme Court of Canada, in three recent decisions, confirms that international law applies to domestic law. Armed with the Universal Declaration on human rights, the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights and the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples, your community is in a position to assert nationhood and dramatically change the relationship of your Nation with the Crown.
Who is the Crown, you may ask. Quite simply it is King Charles; the crown you end up dealing with, Canada and Ontario are mere extensions of King Charles. Your plight is brought about by the invasion of the British into Turtle Island and specifically your territory. Although your ancestors existed in the same territory for hundreds of years, prior to the arrival of the British, you have been enslaved by the common law system and British laws imposed on the colony by King Charles's heirs.
The time has come for decolonization.
This is what the proposed lawsuit is all about. Regaining your power through the laws, traditions, ceremonies and customs of the Amikwa/ Nipissing Nation of the Algonquin Nation.
As you are non treaty people, you are not bound to the Canadian nationality. You have your own nationality to assert which will free you from the yoke of British imposed common law system.
Historically and as your genealogy proves, you are all descendants of the Amikwa/Nipissing Nation,, the most dominant tribe of the Algonquin Nation. You can trace yourselves to the Feast of the Dead of 1671 at Frank's Bay, smack dab in the middle of your traditional territory. The Amikwa/Nipissing people governed themselves and interacted with the French newcomers as equals. With the arrival of the British, the atmosphere changed from cooperation to imposition and destruction of traditions laws and customs of the Amikwa/ Nipissing Nation.
The Beaver Wars 1650 to 1700 brought about much displacement from the traditional territory and saw many of your ancestors taking Refuge at Oka. The Treaty of Friendship of 1701, in Montreal, brought about a modicum of tranquility to the chaos of hostilities, however the Nation did not progress as it should have and the Amikwa/ Nipissing are in the same position as they were in 1701.
What is remarkable about the Treaty of 1701 are the signatures by the traditional people on the treaty itself. It clearly identifies the dodems or totems of each sector of the territory. We are provided with a physical demarcation of the traditional territory.
Along Came the Royal Proclamation of 1763. I have been told by Algonquin Elders that at the time of its presentation to those Elders, they rolled it up and gave it back to the British saying this is not for us. There is an active controversy surrounding a British imposed document on a Sovereign Indigenous Nation such as the Amikwa/ Nipissing.
The Robinson Huron Treaty of 1850 is equally controversial. The signatories to that treaty were mostly indigenous people from the United States, who had migrated into the territory after the US passed the Indian Removal Act of 1830. They were not the original indigenous title holders; the Amikwa/ Nipissing were and continue to be the original indigenous title holders. In a report to the Colonial treaty makers, Papineau reported to them that they were not dealing with the proper indigenous people as they would be found at Oka, the Amikwa Nipissing peoples.
The AOO is not an indigenous nation. It is another Colonial imposition designed to bring about the extinguishment of indigenous rights in your territory in exchange for money and a portion of the traditional territory. The intent is to favor a small group of Algonquins to the detriment of a majority of Algonquins who will have their rights impaired, all the while not participating in the process.
The fraud must not be allowed to continue.
The Amikwa/ Nipissing Nation has never surrendered its territory. It has never surrendered its sovereignty. The time has come to assert its nationhood and you are the members who must make this assertion. Your ancestors, from the Feast of the Dead of 1671, are crying out to your willpower to preserve their heritage. The efforts of the AOO, Canada and Ontario is an extinguishment of your rights. Your nation stands in the way.
The lawsuit we are preparing as against the AOO,, Canada and Ontario is designed to give you back your voice as independent Sovereign Amikwa/ Nipissing indigenous peoples. You do not need permission to hunt and fish as it is your inherent right never surrendered.
More importantly, you are the people of the land, not made-up communities contrived by the AOO. The Reserve at Pikwaknagan was purchased by the province of Ontario. You are the proper indigenous title holders that the Crown ignored in the Robinson Huron Treaty of 1850. In order to protect your birthright you have an obligation to assert indigenous title in your territory and join together with your non-treaty brothers and sisters and claim your proper indigenous title.
Once an indigenous title is declared in the territory, you then become the decision maker in that territory, as it relates to lands and resources, not a conglomerate of Bay Street lawyers administering resources on behalf of the AOO members. As you can see from recent developments, they are already turning indigenous ways of doing things into a corporate undertaking. Tewin should be called No win. We now see corporate Partnerships with developers who clear-cut land to erect white man's idea of progress.
At the top of the list of eligible ancestors under the AOO/s misguided efforts at developing Beneficiary Criteria, we find the name Amikons derived from Amik which means Beaver.Yet, there is not one mention anywhere of the Amikwa Nipissing, the most dominant tribe of the Algonquins. You as indigenous peoples are excluded from the discussion as if you do not exist. This is intentional and just plain wrong.
Silence will not produce entitlement. Assertion of indigenous title will. Take up your entitlement, if not for you and your Ancestors, at least for your children and the Seven Generations to come.
Make the decision to oppose the AOO, Canada and Ontario and do not allow them to continue this fraudulent land claim leading to a flawed Algonquin treaty. The lawsuit we are proposing would seek injunction at the early stages, to halt the negotiations until the Amikwa/Nipissing Nation is recognized as having legitimate input into the present flawed process.
Be mindful of the recognition achieved by the Wet'suwet'en traditional people over the Indian Act Chiefs and Band Councils. The Crown had to acknowledge the legitimacy of the traditional people; it was not just the Indian Act Chiefs and Band Council who had authority to speak on behalf of the Nation. The traditional people were recognized as legitimate spokespersons on behalf of the Nation. You possess this same legitimacy.
The words of the lawsuit are available for your reading. The intention of the lawsuit is to give your members the voice you deserve. Your collective support will make it real. Without your support, the fraud will continue. Do not allow this to continue.
Grandfather William Commanda, Spiritual Elder of the Algonquin Nation, always said “One Mind, One Soul, One Will, One Direction, One Prayer and then we can claim victory”.
Miigwetch.
Michael Swinwood