RCMP co-opt sacred fire on Burnaby Mountain

RCMP moving the sacred fire on Burnaby Mountain, Nov 21, 2014.Original title: RCMP help keep sacred fire burning on Burnaby Mountain

Note: Cops love co-opting Native culture and spirituality as part of their repression of Indigenous resistance, and they often find willing and naive accomplices from within Native communities to do this…

Officers working with elders to bring in firewood

By Mike Hager and TIFFANY CRAWFORD, Vancouver Sun November 24, 2014

As tempers on Burnaby Mountain flare between protesters and duty-bound Mounties, the mutual respect behind the scenes is evident between three First Nations RCMP officers and several elders who are helping maintain a sacred fire within the zone ruled off-limits by a court injunction. The fire is considered sacred to aboriginal people because it symbolizes the fight to save the land.

First Nations leader Phil Fontaine: An angry radical embraces compromise

Phil Fontaine with 2010 Winter Olympics torch, representing the Royal Bank of Canada.

by Shawn McCarthy, The Globe and Mail, May 16, 2014

At 30 years old, Phil Fontaine was an angry man.

A survivor of sexual abuse at a residential school, separated from his parents at a young age, forbidden from speaking his native language, the Anishinaabe from Manitoba was elected at the age of 29 as chief for the Sagkeeng First Nation, situated east of Lake Winnipeg. By his own account, he was impatient and belligerent, especially in his dealings with government bureaucrats.

The former national chief of the Assembly of First Nations mellowed over the years. He became convinced he could do more for aboriginal people through compromise and pragmatic action than angry radicalism. But he remains passionate about the need for Canada to address the appalling poverty among First Nations people. He sees resource development as one way to end that poverty.

#Solidarity Fail: Cops and Collaborators Conspire to Isolate Warriors at Vancouver Protest

By Zig Zag, Warrior Publications, Dec 6, 2013

“I’d like to thank the police… for punching me in the face” said no one ever; Mi’kmaq warrior Paul “Soda Pop” Francis assaulted by RCMP, Dec 2, 2013.

FYI:  Here is a very recent and clear example of how police and Native collaborators work in undermining and dividing our movements, while attempting to isolate warriors and other radicals in our ranks.

On Dec 2, 2013, a national day of solidarity with the Mi’kmaq anti-fracking resistance was held (#Shutdown Canada).  In Vancouver, the day started at around 7AM with a one hour blockade of the main entrance to the Port of Vancouver.  It was a good start in manifesting solidarity for the Mi’kmaq and in the spirit of the call out. This action was carried out by social justice activists, anarchists, and a couple of Native warriors.

Assembly of First Nations, RCMP co-operated on 2007 ‘Day of Action’

By Tim Groves and Martin Lukacs, The Star (Toronto), Fri Feb 15 2013

The Assembly of First Nations worked closely with the Mounties and provincial police to exchange information about protests and develop common stances before a national aboriginal day of action in the summer of 2007, according to RCMP documents.

The revelations are likely to provoke anger among Idle No More protesters and provide ammunition to aboriginal critics who have argued the AFN’s relationship with the federal government has become too cosy, with few gains to show for it.