This letter is intended to express Fossil Free UWaterloo’s condemnation of government and law enforcement’s treatment of Haudenosaunee Land Defenders and their supporters at the 1492 Land Back Lane reclamation camp. 

We unequivocally stand in solidarity with Indigenous Land Defenders resisting colonial and corporate agendas to protect the lands, waters and future generations, as well as to assert their sovereignty and Treaty rights.  

Haudenosaunee people continue to face settler encroachment on lands promised to them in the Haldimand Treaty of 1784. It is an absolute injustice that of the original 950,000 acres owed to the Haudenosaunee in the Haldimand Treaty, less than five percent or 46,000 acres remain. Yet development projects on disputed land in Haldimand County press ahead, even as the Six Nations’ 25-year old lawsuit over disputed land claims with the Federal Government heads to trial in the fall of 2022. 

We therefore amplify the requests of 1492 Land Back Lane by demanding the following:

• For the Attorney General of Ontario to drop all charges against Land Defenders, journalists & supporters of 1492 Land Back Lane.
• For the Province of Ontario to develop a “policy prohibiting the use of injunctions on Indigenous people in cases of disputes over land use”.
• For the 1492 Land Back Lane site to remain under Haudenosaunee control and for broader Haudenosaunee sovereignty over the Haldimand Tract.  
• For the Federal Government to take responsibility for upholding land and Treaty rights in a manner that respects Indigenous Peoples’ sovereignty, and ensuring proper consultation in cases of disputed land. 

It is an absolute disgrace to witness how settler governments, corporations, media and law enforcement have been responding to the 1492 Land Back Lane reclamation site in a time of uprising against racial & colonial violence. 

We call on all others who have power and a platform to declare their support for and solidarity with Land Defenders, especially those who live, work and ultimately profit from illegally occupying stolen Indigenous lands such as the Haldimand Tract. 

ONLINE

Twitter: @1492LBL

Facebook. com/groups/16568790344566

DONATIONS

landback6nations@gmail.com (PayPal and E-Transfer)

LEGAL FUND

GoFundMe. com/f/legal-fund-1492-land-back-lane

Hashtags: #1492LandBackLane #LandBack #ShutDownCanada

Signed, 

Fossil Free UW and FAUW’s Climate Justice Working Group