Kitchenuhmaykoosib Inninuwug host Ontario First Nation leaders in struggle to protect their land
NAN press release ...
First Nation Leaders Gather in Solidarity with KI
November 21, 2007
Nishnawbe Aski Nation (NAN) Grand Chief Stan Beardy together with Eabametoong First Nation Chief Solomon Atlookan, Ginoogaming First Nation Chief Celia Echum, Muskegowuk Council Grand Chief Stan Louttit, and Ontario Regional Chief Angus Toulouse will gather in solidarity in Kitchenuhmaykoosib Inninuwug (KI) this Thursday November 22, 2007.
This gathering of First Nation leadership from across Ontario comes after a November 15, 2007 letter from Platinex Inc’s legal counsel requesting a contempt order against KI and almost two years of court proceedings following a $10 billion lawsuit against the remote fly-in community.
The group will meet in KI (approximately 600 km north of Thunder Bay) to show support and solidarity for the community’s defence of traditional lands and the aboriginal and treaty right to consult and accommodate with First Nations prior to exploration and development – a story that’s made national headlines since the junior mining exploration company was requested to vacate KI traditional land February 2006.
Prior to KI’s October 2007 announcement withdrawing the community from court proceedings due to financial demise, negotiations to develop an Ontario Superior Court ordered Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) with KI and Platinex Inc. that would include the Government of Ontario’s obligation to consult with KI prior to development had been ongoing since July 2006.