Peace and Friendship Gathering

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Rhonda Sussman & Connie Kidd: Genuine Truth & Reconciliation

On August 22 - 24, 2008, the Haudenosaunee Men’s Council, of the Iroquois Confederacy, hosted a Peace and Friendship gathering in Six Nations of the Grand River Territory (near Caledonia, Ontario).

Hundreds of participants came together to celebrate the growing solidarity among Indigenous nations and Canadian allies who take action to defend Mother Earth. Throughout the festival of solidarity, people learned about indigenous sovereignty, environmental politics, anti-racism and social justice.

IsumaTV spoke with two participants, Rhonda Sussman and Connie Kidd, members of Friends and Relatives of the Disappeared Children, and asked them what Canadians need to do to make the genuine changes necessary for just society to prevail. Rhonda and Connie are part of a pan-Canadian grassroots movement that has been organizing to raise awareness about the heinous crimes committed under the Residential School policy.

Approximately 150,000 aboriginal children attended Canada's 130 residential schools from the late 1800s to 1996, when the last school closed. Rhonda and Connie support a genuine truth and reconciliation process - which brings to justice those responsible for all crimes of Genocide committed against aboriginal peoples and the land by churches, the Canadian government, and other bodies and persons. They challenge the court-ordered Truth and Reconciliation Commission - part of the Residential Schools Settlement Agreement negotiated in 2006 - which includes a $1.9-billion compensation plan for victims, and the apology statement read by Prime Minister Stephen Harper on June 11, 2008.

For more information, visit www.hiddenfromhistory.org

Filmmaker: Sarita

Year of Production: 2008

Country: Canada

Media on this Channel

Rhonda Sussman & Connie Kidd: Genuine Truth & Reconciliation

On August 22 - 24, 2008, the Haudenosaunee Men’s Council, of the Iroquois Confederacy, hosted a Peace and Friendship gathering in Six Nations of the Grand River Territory (near Caledonia, Ontario).

Six Nations: Take it Back and let it Grow. Part 5

Part 5: Boots speaks about one of the actions in a wave of protests ensuing from the initial land reclamation on Douglas Creek Estate and the following Stirling Street takeover in Caledonia (Ontario).

Six Nations: Working Together-8pts of Jurisdiction. Part 4

Part 4: Leroy Hill and Bill Montour explain the importance of challenging the divide and rule logic of the colonial system. Bill outlines the 8 points of jurisdiction that are central to the defense of their traditional land base and culture: 1) the Haudenosaunee Great Law, 2) the Land, 3) Treaties, 4) International relations,

Six Nations: Band Councillor Bill Montour. Part 3

Part 3: Bill Montour - Six Nations elected councillor in the Indian Act administrative body, the Band Council - speaks about the history of research that has been done to establish Six Nations ownership to the Haldimand Tract.

Six Nations: Defenders of the Land. Part 2

Part 2: Leroy Hill, Cayuga Nation, is one of the Six Nations Confederacy chiefs who participates in the land negotiations with the federal and provincial governments.

Six Nations: Defenders of the Land. Part 1

In February 2006, ten women and their children galvanized the community of Six Nations into occupying an area called Douglas Creek Estate to halt the growing land encroachment by the bordering town of Caledonia. The area, Six Nations land, had been illegally sold to a US-based developer to build a suburban housing complex.

Part 2: From Genocide to Justice

Part 2 looks at the issues of authentic justice for indigenous people, environmental sustainability and a revolutionary change in thinking... Connie and Rhonda discuss the differences between the court-ordered Truth and Reconciliation Commission and the grassroots elders tribunal called the Truth Commission.