Attack on Native rights
The growing polarization in the world is showing up in
many forms. In the case of our rural area, a virulent racism
is growing rapidly into a lynch atmosphere.
For the past 11 years, the Caldwell First Nation has fought for and won a 200-year land claim. In the tentative agreement with the Canadian Federal government, the landless Caldwell will be given $23.4 million over the next five years to buy 4,500 acres to create a Native self-governing reserve. They now have 654 acres held in trust by their chief Larry Johnson.
A Native reservation in this area, which was the traditional homeland of the Chippewa, has caused the rise of a right-wing hate campaign aided and abetted by the mayor of Chatham, who publicly advised farmers "to be careful who they sell to." In spite of federal government assurances that there will be no expropriation and that it will be on a willing seller/willing buyer basis, hundreds of "Not for Sale" signs have been tacked up by a right-wing outfit called Chatham Kent Community Network. A building on Native property has been vandalized and tools stolen. Many incidents of racism have been reported to the Band Council.
The city administration and the police have been harassing the Caldwell over building construction, although the Band has utilized inspectors and professionals through federal sponsored entities. The Federal Indian Act provides that land held in trust or owned by a First Nation shall be treated as a reserve and is responsible only to the Federal government.
For messages of support, the Caldwell First Nation can be reached through Chief Larry Johnson, Blenheim, Ontario, Canada.
Bea Bryant
Blenheim, Ontario
Forum on labor struggles
I have been a subscriber since 1992 and work as a mechanic
at Alaska Airlines, where AMFA [the Airline Mechanics
Fraternal Association] is now the bargaining unit. I spoke at
a Militant Labor Forum January 29 in Seattle on "Challenges
Facing the Labor Movement Today." The forum was very
encouraging, with speakers from the Kaiser [Aluminum] strike
and a SEIU [Service Employees International Union] local that
just won a significant victory from the bosses.
I would like especially to thank you for your coverage of the AMFA situation in the airlines. Your assessment of what fighters should be doing to advance the working-class struggles on the properties where AMFA has won is absolutely 100 percent correct and once again demonstrates the ability of this publication to point the road forward for activists like myself. I feel that it would be very helpful to organize forums in cities where AMFA has won and also at cities where they have active campaigns. Craft unionism is a step back for workers, and we need to open up the political debate on the impact that it represents.
Also, I really appreciate the ongoing coverage of the Cuban revolution.
Guy Blue
Seattle, Washington
The letters column is an open forum for all viewpoints on subjects of general interest to our readers. Please keep your letters brief. Where necessary they will be abridged. Please indicate if you prefer that your initials be used rather than your full name.