Blog: Voices of #Decolonization

#FirstNations chiefs shouldn’t be duped by the ‘#nuclear-is-green' deception

by William Eric Altvater, February 6, 2025

"Some First Nation Chiefs are victims of shenanigans, not unlike the swindle behind the purchase of Manhattan. The federal government needs the support of #Indigenous peoples to expand nuclear power generation capacity in #Canada.

"For millennia, the cornerstones of the Indigenous people that inhabit Turtle Island, now known as North America, held all that is essential to life, in reverence. Every decision considered the next 7 generations. These cornerstones are crumbling.

"Newcomers, armed with the #Colonizing tool, 'The #DoctrineOfDiscovery' and their mentality of superiority, invaded the land of those they called 'Savages,' almost totally exterminating #Skicinuwok, People of The Earth.

"Determined to bestow Christianity and civility to this wild untamed population, old growth forests were cut, rivers and streams were dammed to power sawmills, roads and railroads were built, bridges erected. All to create an infrastructure for #capitalism, a system to make a #profit, that morphed into #greed, a word of foreign root. This unbridled desire for progress has ruined what was once called Paradise.

"Now most water is not fit to drink, clean air is scarce, #deforestation is rampant, #biodiversity loss out of control, plants genetically modified, food manufactured with unpronounceable chemicals, caged fish starved of oxygen while being fed chicken feathers and pig parts, cancer cases in the millions, the list goes on.

"As the population increased over this continent the available sources for power generation have not been able to satisfy the insatiable desires of the 'bigger, better, faster, more is never enough' mentality. Some have finally acknowledged the fact that #FossilFuels are not the golden egg they were once deemed to be.

"So-called '#GreenEnergy' is required to slow the blind drive to extinction of man; man, who is considered by some to be the most intelligent creature to ever roam Earth. Unfortunately, the lure of riches and the corruption of self-serving purposes have led man to stray from practices that nurture everything required to sustain life on this tiny blue marble floating through the universe.

"#NuclearPower is now being touted as being 'Green.' It is not. Big money corporations are lobbying legislators to convince them and the public that it is. They are also lobbying to convince the public that they should foot the bill in the form of taxes and rate hikes, for a process that pollutes from the day it starts. Water is life. As soon as #uranium is mined from the earth it begins to contaminate the water in surrounding aquifers.

"When the uranium is processed sufficiently, it is used as fuel for reactors where it generates heat while delivering electricity, not just for essential needs, but also for many things once considered luxuries. This fission generated heat is then dumped into nearby waters where it kills thousands, if not millions of small beings that form the basis of life itself.

"After this radioactive fuel is depleted, it is stored in various containers where it will stay radioactive for eons. Indigenous #Grandmothers have labelled it 'Forever Dangerous.'

"The power generated during the fission process benefits only those who exist today as the process occurs, not those born tomorrow or next week or next month. All the #RadioactiveWaste and the inherent danger it creates is left to future generations, kicking the can down the road.

"What better place to dump this waste than in an area with a population that has witnessed Newcomers enrich themselves for hundreds of years? Yes, what better place than a population that has been targeted for assimilation, suffered theft of lands, witnessed the taking of naturally bestowed rights? A population that has been subjected to racial Indian Act legislation essentially stripping away all that sustained this population for thousands of years.

"Yes, let us give the Indians some more shiny beads and trinkets so that they willingly agree to care for our radioactive garbage. How do we do this? Let’s talk to the Chief and Council. Let’s wine and dine them. Let’s give them some money, take them to dinner, buy some drinks and make them feel all festive and most of all make them think we are looking out for their best interests. Some Chiefs have taken the bait.

"Egregious as it may be, this is exactly what is happening in some Indigenous communities contrary to the will of the majority. Elected Chiefs are continuing the deception as they are blinded and professing the 'Nuclear is Green' mantra. They have lost connection with the Spirit of Ancestors and traditional values. They need to have a serious introspection and realize that looking forward, we need only look back at what has sustained us to this point in time. We need not do any more than that."

Eric lives in #PeskotomuhkatiNation territory in Maine and stands shoulder to shoulder with his Peskotomuhkati relations in #NewBrunswick in the struggle to achieve Canadian Government recognition.

https://www.wabanakireach.org/first_nations_chiefs_shouldn_t_be_duped_by_the_nuclear_is_green_deception_by_william_altvater
#NoNukes #NoNewNukes #WaterIsLife #AirIsLife #UraniumMining #UraniumMilling #LeaveItInTheGround #Greenwashing #NuclearIsNotCarbonFree #NuclearIsNotGreen #CanadaPol #NuclearWaste #NuclearIndustry #TEPCOLies #HoltecLies #NuclearColonialism

So, fracturing amongst the various environmental and social justice groups has been going on as long as I've been in the movement. But there have always been those (like myself and some of my colleagues in #EarthFirst and the #ThomasMortonAlliance and #AIM) that saw #HumanRights abuses and #EnvironmentalPollution as being connected -- and that #CorporateGreed was the main driver of most of the issues facing our planet!

Hear Me Out: In 2025, Climate Activists Should Spend Less Time on Climate

If you’re a climate activist who doesn’t know what to do for the next four years, the answer is remarkably simple: Join other movements.

“[Climate is] not more urgent than kids being ripped away from their families and dying in the desert—anyone who tries to win that argument is monstrous themselves. We either merge, join forces, or we lose,” #NaomiKlein, 2019.

Sophie Shepherd
Jan 09, 2025, Common Dreams

"Yet my optimism arises out of a different trend in the climate movement: Climate activists are (finally) showing up for other movements.

"Historically, the climate movement has attempted to isolate itself from other political and social issues, arguing that climate policy is 'just science.' This majority-white movement has failed to see that fossil fuel emissions are part of a larger history of the Global North #colonizing and exploiting both people and the planet for decades. The climate crisis is a symptom of a broader exploitative system. To change that system, we need a united left that will fight for all people—not just those who identify as environmentalists.

"In 2020, climate activists were rightfully berated for not showing up enough for the #BlackLivesMatter movement. Thankfully, I think many climate activists heard that message because today, they have come out in droves for #Palestine.

"Many of the college students who organized campus encampments last spring to urge their school administrators to divest from Israel and the U.S. imperial war machine were students who had previously organized for climate justice. I witnessed this firsthand at the Claremont Colleges when I was a senior: The student organizations demanding fossil fuel divestment fell to the wayside as the crisis in Gaza intensified. Globally, many climate organizations chose to speak out and take direct action to call for a cease-fire in Gaza.

"But none of these climate activists had stopped caring about the climate. In fact, they often pointed out that Israel’s actions were not just #genocide, but #ecocide as well. The onslaught of #bombs dropped on Gaza will contaminate the soil and groundwater in the region for decades. And the destruction has produced at least 54.5 million tons of carbon dioxide, equal to the annual emissions of 16 coal-fired power plants.

"Climate activists cannot claim to fight for a just future and stay silent about genocide. 'If we, as climate activists, aren’t able to see and speak up against the current #marginalization and oppression and killing of people today, then I don’t think we should be able to call ourselves #climatejustice [activists],' climate champion #GretaThunberg told Al Jazeera in early December 2024.

"As Trump prepares to enter the White House, we will undoubtedly see more people oppressed and killed. Among the many groups who are vulnerable under his administration are undocumented immigrants, whom Trump has vowed to round up and deport.

"Migrant justice has long been intertwined with climate justice. As climate change makes many areas around the world uninhabitable, climate refugees have no choice but to leave their home.

In response to Trump’s election, climate organizers Jeff Ordower and Ahmed Gaya called on their fellow activists to bring their experiences of shutting down pipelines and coal plants to fight the incarceration and deportation we can expect under Trump. Climate activists should answer this call: The struggles for migrant justice and climate justice are intertwined, and we must meet the needs of the current moment.

"'[Climate is] not more urgent than kids being ripped away from their families and dying in the desert—anyone who tries to win that argument is monstrous themselves. We either merge, join forces, or we lose,' writer and activist Naomi Klein said in 2019.

"With Trump as president, things will undoubtedly get worse before they get better. We need to build a strong left to fight fascism during Trump’s presidency and to build a just green future in its aftermath. To do so, climate activists must put their words into action when they say they fight for every living being."

https://www.commondreams.org/opinion/climate-movement-fight-fascism?utm_source=dlvr.it&utm_medium=mastodon
#WaterIsLife #NoGenocide #NoBombs #HumanRightsAreNeverWrong

#IndigenousAustralian lawmaker confronts British royals: ‘#YouAreNotMyKing'

Story by Hilary Whiteman
October 21, 2024

“Britain’s #KingCharlesIII had just finished giving a speech to #Australia’s Parliament House on Monday when an #Indigenous senator began yelling, 'You are not my king.'

“From the back of the room, Independent Senator #LidiaThorpe shouted at the royal couple, 'Give us our #LandBack, give us what you stole,' as security officers moved to escort her away.

“The interjection came as King Charles and Queen Camilla visited the Australian capital Canberra to meet the nation’s leaders, including Prime Minister Anthony Albanese.

During his speech, King Charles acknowledged Australia’s #FirstNations people, who lived on the land ‘for tens of thousands of years before the arrival of British settlers over 230 years ago.

“‘Throughout my life, Australia’s First Nations people have done me the great honor of sharing so generously their stories and cultures,' King Charles said.

'I “can only say how much my own experience has been shaped and strengthened by such traditional wisdom.'

“Earlier, a traditional Aboriginal welcoming ceremony was held outside Parliament House for the royal couple, but for many of the country’s Indigenous population, they are not welcome.

“The arrival of British settlers to Australia led to the #massacre of #IndigenousPeople at hundreds of locations around the country until as recently as the 1930s. Their [descendants] still suffer from #racism and #SystemicDiscrimination in a country that has failed to reverse centuries of disadvantage.

“Thorpe, a #DjabWurrung #Gunnai #Gunditjmara woman, has long campaigned for a treaty and has previously voiced her fierce objections to the British monarchy.

“Australian’s Indigenous people never ceded #sovereignty and have never engaged in a treaty process with the British Crown. Australia remains a Commonwealth country with the King as its Head of State.

“During her swearing-in ceremony in 2022, Thorpe referred to Australia’s then-Head of State as 'the #colonizing Her Majesty #QueenElizabethII,' and was asked to take the oath again.

“She did so while raising one fist in the air.

“On Monday, protesters stood with an Aboriginal flag as the royal couple visited the Australian War Memorial. A 62-year-old man was arrested for failing to comply with a police direction.

“Before she yelled at the King, Thorpe turned her back during a recital of 'God Save the King,' Australian media reported. Images showed her wearing a possum-fur coat, standing in the opposite direction of other attendees.

“#TheGreens party said in a statement that the King’s presence was 'a momentous occasion for some' but also a 'visual reminder of the ongoing #ColonialTrauma and legacies of #BritishColonialism' for many First Nations people.

“In the statement, #Greens Senator Dorinda Cox, a #YamatjiNoongar woman, called for the King to be clear in his recognition and support of ‘First Nations #justice, #TruthTelling and #healing.'

“‘He now needs to be on the right side of history,' she added.

“The Australian Monarchist League demanded Thorpe’s resignation after what it called a 'childish demonstration.’”

Read more:
https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/world/australian-lawmaker-confronts-british-royals-you-are-not-my-king/ar-AA1sD1n0