March in Honour of Harriet Nahanee to Resist the Olympic Torch

March in Honour of Harriet Nahanee to Resist the Olympic Torch

SEE LINK: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yZZ0ZV_XoJY

On December 17th, in Toronto (Mississauga Territory) Indigenous women will march in the streets in honour of Harriet Nahanee, the Pacheedaht elder and activist who died as a result of being jailed for refusing to apologize for resisting the olympics.

Her death gave birth to a movement, and sounded the call for thousands to join in what is becoming a uniting struggle against colonialism, fascism, injustice, poverty, land grabs in urban centres and in sovereign territories, civil rights violations, and violence against women.

When women become empowered, a struggle becomes a movement. When Indigenous peoples unite, movements gain momentum. When Indigenous women are empowered in unity, the human narrative changes course.

So here's the plan: This is a call for Indigenous women, and supporters to come out on December 17th, 4pm at the southeast corner of Dundas and Yonge, to honour her resistance with a peaceful convergence on the olympic torch as it is "celebrated" by the city of Toronto.

Wear the colour red: the colour Harriet wore on the day she was arrested, and one of the four sacred colours which represents Indigenous peoples. Bring a picture of Harriet (you can print one out) or a picture of any woman who has sufferd violence for her political actions, or just for being a woman.

Time and place may change, please keep checking torontotorch.blogspot.com frequently for updates.

We stand in solidarity with the many marches which protest violence against women, especially the "Women's Memorial March" that is held annually in the Downtown Eastside of Vancouver each year on February 14th to honour abused, missing or murdered women, and which even now, is being threatened and harassed by VANOC and the City of Vancouver, because it coincides with the olympics.

We stand in solidarity with Mapuche women in Chile, fighting to resist the destructive takeover of their traditional land by EU-Chile free trade agreements, political prisoners, hunger strikers, our sisters in struggle.

We stand in solidarity with the youth of Six Nations, the traditional peoples of the unceded and unsurrendered St'at'imc nation, Secwepemc youth fighting the Sun Peaks Resort development on their sacred mountain, Skwelkwek’welt, the Algonquins of Barriere Lake and Sharbot Lake, the Zapatistas, and all other Indigenous peoples all over the world resisting the rape of our mother earth, and the land and water sustaining us.

Come join us on December 17th, at the southeast corner of Dundas and Yonge in Toronto, at 4pm. Wear something red (and warm!) and bring a picture. Banners, signs, drums, etc. welcome. Peaceful protest only, children and families are welcome.

Video call-out is here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yZZ0ZV_XoJY