Emergency meeting of the Wabanaki Confederacy.
For Wabanaki members only ..
DAY 2: Saturday, November 28, 1:00-5:00 pm Atlantic Time
ATTENTION WABANAKI PEOPLES
The Wolastoq Grand Council has called an emergency meeting of the Wabanaki Confederacy.
REGISTER HERE:
https://forms.gle/UwPvhPzRiP3oQcjA8
SCHEDULE:
DAY 2: Saturday, November 28, 1:00-5:00 pm Atlantic Time
LOCATION:
Due to the pandemic, this meeting will take place online via ZOOM videoconference. An email address and internet connection is required.
AGENDA:
Please see BACKGROUND information in the Event Discussion.
SPEAKERS:
Katherine Hermes – Colonial/Aboriginal law during the 17th/18th centuries (https://www2.ccsu.edu/faculty/hermesk)
Heather Hirschfeld – Satisfaction (https://english.utk.edu/people/heather-hirschfeld/)
Harald Prins – Loron Saugaaram, Dummer/ Mascarene Treaty (https://www.k-state.edu/sasw/faculty/prins.html)
REGISTER HERE:
https://forms.gle/UwPvhPzRiP3oQcjA8
WHAT: The New Brunswick justice system has refused to recognize and honor the Treaty of 1725/26’s dispute resolution mechanism found under Article 5 of the promises made to us after we challenged the New Brunswick government’s decision to create more snowmobile trails at Mount Carleton Provincial Park, home to many of our relatives: flyers, crawlers, swimmers, four-legged critters, and so on. Nearly 300 years ago, Loron Saugaaram and three other representatives of our Confederacy negotiated this dispute resolution article with Massachusetts Governor William Dummer, Nova Scotia Major Paul Mascarene and others. Whereas before we would have taken the law into our own hands to settle any perceived wrongdoings suffered at the hands of the settlers, such as physically obstructing the passage of ski-doos in our traditional territory, we gave up our traditional law of private satisfaction in exchange for the promise that any Indians would get satisfaction and reparation in the British court system for any controversy with the settlers.
Acting upon that promise through Rule 69 of the New Brunswick Rules of Court, Wolastoqey Grand Chief Ron Tremblay, Wolastoq Grand Council, and Jean Louis Deveau asked for satisfaction and reparation for injuries resulting from the Government’s non-adherence to Mount Carleton Park’s zoning system, a system that was developed in 1980 by park staff specifically to protect our plant and animal relatives from such hazards as snowmobile activity. Lawyers and judges in Waponahkik (Wabanaki homeland), however, know nothing about the negotiations that took place between our ancestors and theirs three centuries ago. They have been importing ideologies created by judges in Western Canada, such as the doctrine of Aboriginal rights, wherein we first need to prove our rights, in their courtrooms here in New
Brunswick. In keeping with this colonial approach, Justice Petrie dismissed our application because nobody has yet proven in court that the term any Indians, meaning, in this case, Chief Tremblay and the Grand Council, actually means
any Indians. After appealing Justice Petrie’s decision with the New Brunswick Court of Appeal in October 2019, we have recently been summoned by the court to decide, by December 8th, 2020, whether or not we wish to continue with the appeal process.
Given that Grand Chief Tremblay was made Chief following traditional Wabanaki law, and that Article 5 has implications for all Nations in Wabanaki Confederacy, he has a duty and an obligation to seek guidance from you, its citizens. The questions we need guidance and/or support from the Confederacy in the upcoming ZOOM video conference gathering are:
1) Do we continue with our appeal knowing that it took the New Brunswick justice system 25 years to recognize and honor our inherent rights to hunting and fishing? or,
2) Do we drop the appeal and focus our efforts on rejuvenating Wabanaki Confederacy’s traditional laws, thereby revoking Wolastoqey Grand Sachem Charles Manituphike’s previous agreement, in 1728, to resort to the British court system for conflict resolution?
WHEN: Two afternoons: Saturday, November 21st and Saturday, November 28th, from 1:00 – 5:00 PM Atlantic Time
WHERE: On your computer, tablet, or smartphone with internet access. Due to the pandemic restrictions, we cannot meet in person, but we can meet over the video conferencing platform ZOOM. We will send the coordinates either to
your or a friend’s email address, after you register, so that you can join this historical meeting by video and sound. You can also join by phone, to be connected by audio only. We will have a capable ZOOM host available to help you setup.
HOW: Day 1 will feature a special panel of trusted advisors (Prof. Katherine Hermes, Prof. Heather Hirschfeld, and Prof. Harald Prins) who will provide information on those topics we need to make an informed decision on Day 2, namely Satisfaction (as in the treaty promise of Satisfaction and Reparation), 17th/18th century Wabanaki (Algonquian)/colonial law, Loron Saugaaram’s involvement with Dummer’s/Mascarene’s treaty, and so on.
On Day 2, Wabanaki citizens only will be asked to discuss their responses to the above questions amongst themselves in separate (ZOOM video conference) rooms and to report back to the whole group where a resolution will be sought based on consensus.
Registration: https://forms.gle/CuMVwiMJRvEeFBoE7
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/events/3658070907564402
