CANACE tries to remove barricades, "clean up the mess" at Six Nations reclamation site

 

 

Gary McHale and CANACE organized a rally in Caledonia on June 9th, with the intentions of removing the barricades from kanonhstaton, the Six Nations reclamation site.  When CANACE arrived, they took some firewood, and talked about how they were “just here to clean up the mess”.  I prodded members of CANACE about what they meant by that, and it’s clear that they meant far more than cleaning up physical debris (see the video–Randy Fleming is the most explicit about their intentions/goals).

This CANACE event is just the latest in a long series of rallies organized by McHale, Fleming and others since the reclamation began in 2006.  They frame each of these events in ways that obscure the racism and white/settler privilege that is at the root of their rhetoric.  See the video for deconstruction of claims of white victimhood, and rule of law. In addition, the video contains images of neo-nazi support.

CANACE claims to want equality through rule of law.  Canada has a history of ignoring laws that would inconveniently uphold the rights of Six Nations people, while creating laws that oppress the original inhabitants of this land (specifics provided in the video).  Based on my observations, and just a glimpse at how the rule of law has been used to oppress indigenous people in Canada, it seems like what Gary McHale and his supporters really want is the maintenance of a justice system that upholds the rights of non-natives at the expense of the rights and well being of Six Nations people.

This video was created within 36 hours of the rally itself.  The voice overs are quiet, but I worked with the equipment I had in order to get it out as soon as possible, rather than waiting and taking the time to produce a high quality video.  I plan to make a longer and higher quality version of this video at some point in the future.  This future video would also further explore how it is that the messages and aims of CANACE have such resonance with white supremacists, i.e. those on stormfront.org (“white pride world wide”) and the Northern Alliance, a neo-nazi group based out of London Ontario.   In addition, the next video will explore in more detail the role of Canadian law in maintaining and perpetuating colonialism. More to come.

Thanks for watching.

For more information and background: see 6nsolidarity.wordpress.com

I also highly recommend Dr. Dawn Martin Hill’s documentary about the reclamation, called Sewatokwa’tshera’t (the Dish with One Spoon).