July 10, 2007
14 Sechelt Natives Pepper-Sprayed by Cops
Fourteen people, six of them children, were sent to hospital on Monday, after a procession of 20 vehicles from the Sechelt Nation on British Columbia’s Sunshine Coast celebrating the victory of two teams in a youth soccer tournament was stopped by Royal Canadian Mounted Police officers for “unsafe driving” on the edge of the reserve.
“…Chief Stan Dixon called for reconciliation at the band’s meeting Tuesday morning, but said he was booed by band members who were there.”
---------------------------------------------
(This is a letter sent to the RCMP regarding the above incident)
International Indigenous Youth Conference
Secretariat
PO Box 2042 Station Main Terminal,
Vancouver, BC 604-639-9039
OPEN LETTER TO THE RCMP
RCMP Headquarters
1200 Vanier Parkway
Ottawa, ON K1A 0R2
From local Indigenous groups active on Coast Salish
Territory
July 5, 2007
We greatly condemn the RCMP's vicious and sinister
use of violence
against a six-month-old baby in the Sechelt
community in BC. While
the baby's face and scalp was severely burned from
the RCMP's use
of pepper spray on him, the RCMP chose to claim that
they were
justified in the violence.
There is absolutely no justification in the
deliberate administration
of violence and bodily harm against a small baby.
Further we also
condemn the use of aggression the RCMP used against
the Sechelt
community members who were celebrating a youth
soccer championship
victory. It is clear in this case that the RCMP
wanted to cause
trouble and attacked members of the community, many
whom were young
people and moms, arbitrarily.
The situation points to the extremes the RCMP will
go to attempt to
assert irrational and arbitrary powers in our
Indigenous communities.
It is an example of why we need to stop depending on
and giving
legitimacy to racist, cruel and violent state
oppressors like the
RCMP. We stand in solidarity with the Sechelt people
and support
whatever actions they wish to take against the RCMP
and in their
community. We assert that the guilty RCMP officers
and cohorts, who
violently attacked a Sechelt baby, and other members
of the community,
should be removed from the force immediately. In
addition, we feel
that the RCMP should be banned from Indigenous
communities permanently
given the longitude of their abuses against our
children, youth,
Elders, women, and men.
Sincerely,
The International Indigenous Youth Conference
Secretariat
Redwire Native Youth Media
The Indigenous Action Movement
We are watching you
---------------------------------------------
Personal note: I have many family that are Shíshálh (Sechelt). My great grandfather was Shíshálh. This is absolutly horrible horrible act by the RCMP, again. I fully call for RCMP and Police out of our nations. I spent many summers in Sechelt with friends and families and know firsthand that the RCMP in this area are very racist to the Indigenous. Repeatedly they've discriminated, attacked, and hurt the Indigenous of this nation. I can't explain how horrible this is. Action needs to happen, now, not later.
0 comments:
Post a Comment