http://www.pcwf.ca/pcwf/new.php?ID=80 Midwinter Harvest Food Program Overview: It almost goes without saying that hunger, malnourishment, diabetes, substandard housing and suicide disproportionately affect First Nations communities. It is the children of these communities that bear the brunt of these issues and are at substantially greater risk than those of the general population. Suicide is the leading cause of death for Aboriginals in Canada between the ages of 10 and 44. The chances that a 16 year old treaty Indian boy will wind up in prison at least once by age 25 is 70%, while likelihood of the same for a non-native youth is 8%. In 2001 the Sioux Lookout First Nations Health Authority put out an emergency request for food for 2,100 people – including 1,900 children – who they said would face imminent peril without intervention. Child welfare legislation introduced under Mike Harris has translated into the removal of literally thousands of children, many ending up in foster homes thousands of miles from their families, communities and culture. New definitions have meant that in most First Nations communities, all children can now be declared at risk and are subject to removal. It is not uncommon to have entire families of children scooped from their beds at four of five o’clock in the morning and many Northern communities are left to exist, virtually childless. The pain and havoc such legislation leaves in its wake cannot even begin to be quantified. Midwinter Harvest emerged in response to this ongoing crisis. Using food, and the traditional practices around its harvesting and provision as a focal point, Midwinter Harvest extends its reach and influence into the wider social, political and economic needs of First Nations communities. As a grassroots initiative, we have demonstrated a capability of encouraging a sense of pride and purpose in our young people in communities across the province where there was none. We believe that hope, pride, purpose and the belief in one’s ability to exert control over his or her life are the cornerstones from which concrete strategies can develop to begin to restore health and balance to lives choked in grief and chaos. We are cognizant of the experiences of communities like Kahnawake who saw a marked turn around in suicide rates, depression and apathy immediately following the closure of the Mercier Bridge and battle with police in 1990. We operate under the same principle in Tyendinaga and resist outside intervention and incursion by Government, police and military on daily basis. Ultimately we strive for sovereignty and self-government, however we understand that First Nations self-government is so often spoken of in the abstract, it has lost much of its meaning. We understand it to mean both self-sustainability and self-determination on the social, economic and political issues that affect us as a people. On Tyendinaga, we have worked consciously for the cultural, social and political development of our people for the last 15 years. Midwinter Harvest is a part of that initiative that is ongoing. Our food stores have been drawn on to fill family freezers, for community gatherings, ceremonial purposes and school functions here on Tyendinaga, and elsewhere across the province. Our people take pride in our ability to reach out and assist other communities in need. However we make it a point to expand our operations beyond those of a strictly charitable model. We are ever cognizant of the fact that regardless how we may be able to increase our harvesting and distribution capabilities, the existing crisis is simply too large for us to handle. Nor do we believe such an approach is sustainable, or even helpful in the long run. It is from personal experience that we know fundamental and far-reaching positive change will not come from any charitable source, from Government grants or programs, nor will it come from any other outside body. Rather, transformation is dependent upon the engagement of the people affected at the grassroots. Further, Midwinter Harvest applies this concept beyond First Nations communities and forges links with non-natives organizations in an effort to support their struggles for justice. Many of the resistance movements, whether in the present, or the past, that have been able, with any degree of success to have impact on the systems that oppress them, understand the vital importance of developing components within their organizing that can deal with the daily hardship that is the result of poverty and injustice. Providing steaks, roasts, chops or fish serves not only as a means of alleviating some of that burden, but it also provides tangible evidence that the organization does more than just talk. It further serves to diminish the legitimacy of governments that have long since abdicated any real responsibility for feeding, clothing and housing such vast segments of the population, and offers a greater credibility to the organizations that would confront them. Specific Projects (i) Northern Outreach Pikangikum is a remote Northern community that can be accessed by boat in the summer and only by air in the winter. In 2001 it had a suicide rate 34 times the national average and was deemed the suicide capital of the world. In the late spring of 2001, Pikangikum was reeling from a string of suicides, including four girls that joined a suicide pact involving seven 13-year olds. As word of the crisis began to spread, media persons started to visit the community and other aspects of life at Pikangikum began to emerge. The community sits directly south of land the Federal Government is keen to explore for diamond mining, hydroelectric dams and forestry purposes. Any roads, exploration and future development would occur in Pikangikum’s traditional territories. The Band and the Feds were locked in a dispute over such access, exploration and development. In the words of Pikangikum Chief, Louie Quill, “Pikangikum wants to be clear on this. We would never stop any other First Nation from working with the Minister (of Indian Affairs) to develop their lands North of us. We only want to be in the driver’s seat with respect to resource development on our Traditional Territories. We have our own initiatives, including the Whitefeather Forest Initiative, which are based on community tenure and outside partnerships. We only… want to ensure the developments of our lands are sustainable and that we benefit. We use the knowledge of our Elders to ensure that what we do is sustainable.” Beyond that state of affairs, clean water hadn’t flowed from the taps in the few houses with running water in over a year. Citing the suicide crisis, the Department of Indian Affairs had taken control of the bands finances and the school where 700 students were enrolled was forced to close as a result. In September 2001, Chief Louis Quill wrote, “The media has written lots about our situation at Pikangikum. There have been reports about people at Pikangikum going hungry. Sometimes it looks to us when we read the media reports about us that we are totally helpless – that we cannot take care of ourselves. Some media reports even make it look like someone has to step in and take care of us for our own good… This is critical because it is the Department of Indian Affairs, and the Minister of Indian Affairs himself, who has appointed an Indian Agent to directly administer our affairs. In other words, the Department of Indian Affairs is using reports about our social crisis and our ‘poverty’ to take control over all our affairs.” Despite the fact that Pikangikum had a clear financial audit, had never run a deficit and had in fact posted a modest surplus, the DIA transferred total control from the community’s elected leadership to a non-native private business operating in Southern Ontario. When the community refused to submit to this offensive and nonsensical state of affairs, the Government of Canada stopped all funds to the First Nation in an apparent attempt to literally starve them out. Already living in the midst of crisis and a suicide epidemic, Chief Quill asked for assistance from Tyendinaga. In response we brought a busload of youth from Pikangikum to Toronto. Joined by other communities throughout Ontario, a three-day gathering was held on the lawn of the Provincial Legislature, despite repeated attempts by the Government and police to stop it. It would appear that the event proved significant in the lives of these young people. Upon their return home, the suicides that had devastated the community came to an abrupt and seemingly conclusive end. Such a turn of events may be difficult for the non-native population to understand. It goes back once again, to finding the ways to convince people that have the ability to exert control over their lives. For these young people coming all the way to Toronto and staring down more police than they would have in the entire region of their home instilled courage and pride in themselves and their histories that is unattainable any other way. Eventually the courts ruled that the Government of Canada had greatly overstepped its authority in imposing an Indian Agent to control the band’s finances and returned that responsibility to the elected council. Some months later Louie Quill contacted us to ask that we put together a small team of by people that could to join him in visiting other remote fly-in communities in the area. Louie felt that we had had been instrumental in breaking through to the young people of his community that there was no shortage of other communities who were equally in need. Much to our frustration and chagrin, we have been unable to fulfill his request, not from any lack of interest, ability or people willing the make the trips, but because of the financial costs attached to such an endeavor. Traveling in the region south of Pikangikum, sometimes with barely enough gas even to get home, we have maintained contact with other troubled communities like Shoal Lake, Grassy Narrows, White Dog and Pic Mobert and are happy to understand from them that the impact on the suicide rate has been a lasting one. (ii) Harvest House Construction This summer we took another step towards increasing our capacity to harvest, process and distribute food with the construction of the ‘Harvest House.’ In fact, this will be a series of buildings: a meat and fish processing facility, a storage and distribution centre for venison, fish and vegetables that will be easily accessible to community members and community meeting and educational centre. Such a space is non-existent on the reserve currently and would provide a forum for engagement in the political and social issues facing our community and Nation. In addition, a centre that would allow for greater involvement in our gardens, harvesting and other projects will promote a greater awareness of Mohawk cultural teachings and traditional practice. A fish and meat processing facility is also presently non-existent and it’s absence a great void given the high percentage of families who rely on fish and game as the major staples in their household. Currently these families are forced to turn to businesses off reserve known for their exorbitant prices, unsanitary conditions and poor quality work that generally includes poundage lost to operators who don’t think twice about skimming choice cuts off the animal for themselves. Such a facility will greatly increase our distribution capabilities as well, given that we too have had to rely on the off-reserve facilities, largely at a personal cost to the families involved in our organization. Our members have been planning for the construction of such a building for a number of years; have salvaged the wood from two barns in the area. Windows, doors and much other needed material have been donated by local contractors and community members. Young people from Montreal, Toronto, Ottawa and Kingston have aided in the construction process. The Fences and Windows Fund, established by Naomi Klein in September 2002 has also contributed to this project by providing us with the funds necessary to invest in proper meat processing equipment. We are also grateful to the Trinity St. Paul Church in Toronto, the Canadian Auto Workers and the Toronto Disaster Relief Committee for coming forward to assist us with this project. Despite these kind donations and the many hours of dedicated volunteer labour, some costs remain that we are currently unable to meet. (iii) Fish Stocks Conservation and In-class Education Born out of a militant and contentious campaign in the spring of 1992, the renewal of harvesting of fish throughout Mohawk territorial waters in the Bay of Quinte region can be described as one of the greatest acts to define, animate and strengthen Mohawk Nationalism specifically and Indigenous sovereignty generally within North America today. Every spring, Mohawk Nation members from the community of Tyendinaga harvest fish by spear in various rivers throughout the area. These rivers fall within Mohawk Territorial waters, but run largely, off reserve. While non-native fishermen are bound by Ontario law with respect to fishing seasons, catch quotas and licenses, Mohawks fish free of similar, or in fact any, outside restrictions. Fishing season for the Mohawk Nation starts, as it always has, when the fish come on. In practice this means that Mohawks are generally bringing home fish some four to five weeks before non-native fishermen are allowed to cast a single line in the water. Many non-natives are acutely aware of such differences. Fuelled by organizations like the Ontario Federation of Anglers and Hunters, anti-Indian sentiment is a constant factor just under the surface and the threat of race based violence very real. For the past several years, Midwinter Harvest has worked in partnership with a Quebec organization on a program of restocking depleted northern lakes in that province. Through this program our harvesters extract walleye predominantly from one river and aid in a process of artificial propagation. The fish are then grown until they reach 8 inches in size and deposited in depleted lakes and tributaries. We have been participating in this program for the last three years. Since that time upwards of 150 thousand fish annually have been introduced to the environment. Studies have indicated that human intervention in the walleye’s reproduction processes enjoys a 70% success rate. In comparison, the natural processes only produce a success rate in the neighbourhood of 8 to 12%. Building on this successful project, we would like to see it expanded to include maintenance of current stocks in the Great Lakes region, thus ensuring future generations ability to harvest and distribute this food source that is necessary to the health of our community and society. While the knowledge and practice of milking the fish, as it is called, is possessed and maintained by some people within the community, there is a desire to facilitate a means by which this process can be formalized and expanded in an organized and systematic fashion. Further we believe the development of a successful local model will allow for the implementation of similar programs in other First Nations communities throughout the country. A second and equally important component of this project, is the introduction of this knowledge, practice and technique into the school curriculum. Working with our school’s Mohawk language teachers, we will ensure that all children in our community will have access to fish, gain harvesting and cleaning skills, fully understand the great importance of conservation and respect for the natural world and appreciate the place that these practices hold within our culture and history. (iv) Midwinter Mural Project The intent of the Mural Project is to strengthen our young people’s understanding, confidence and pride in their identity as Mohawk, (Kanienkeha’ka) and Aboriginal, (Onkwehonkwe) persons by enhancing the their knowledge of Mohawk and Iroquoian culture through art and design. The Mural Project is open to all senior level students at the reserve school. Students will share in the development, planning and execution of a mural, roughly four by eight feet in size. They will learn colour mixing as well as drawing and painting techniques as they apply to large-scale design. Mural themes will be derived from the seasons and their significance within Mohawk and Iroquoian culture, (Winter – resting, Spring – planting, Summer – gathering, and Fall – hunting), as well as the Ceremonies that fall within each season. Through study and discussion of the given ceremony, season and their meaning, the students will develop the specific components of each mural. With assistance, the students will also be responsible for the layout and design. The murals will be constructed, painted and sealed with weather resistant materials and will be displayed both inside and outside the Harvest House. Permanent plaques will be established honouring the students for their work and explaining the significance of the mural’s theme. The mural project will run as a series of 8 –10 after school classes, providing a positive and creative recreational outlet for the older child/young teenager age group that does not currently exist. The Midwinter Harvest Food Program can be reached at: Midwinter Harvest Food Program 1020 Ridge Rd. Tyendinaga, Mohawk Nation Territory K0K 1X0 phone: (613) 968.3305 fax: (613) 968.3305 email: midwinterharvest@kos.ca The Indigenous Peoples Solidarity Movement can be reached by email at ipsm@resist.ca or by phone: 514.398.7432/514.848.7585