FIRST PERSPECTIVE

Grassy Narrows Supporters Blockade Trans Canada Highway

July 13, 2006 by FP/Drum Staff

Supporters erected a 30-foot tall tripod on the highway and perched on the top, while others locked themselves to cement filled oil drums and even the axle of a Weyerhaeuser log truck, reports Rainforest Action Network, which helped organize the demonstration near the Grassy Narrows first Nation in Western Ontario.

The action stopped log trucks carrying hardwood trees logged on Grassy Narrows traditional territory on their way to a timberstrand mill in Kenora.

For over a decade Grassy Narrows has been working to end clearcut logging on their Traditional Territory. The Ontario McGuinty government, Weyerhaeuser and Abitibi failed to respond to years of official complaints, environmental assessment requests, negotiations, and public protest which gave rise to a blockade that has continued for more than three years, reports Rainforest Action Network, a California based environmental organization.

This action by the Rainforest Action Network,Grassy Narrows community members, supporters from other Native communities, and other supporters of social and ecological justice from across North America marks the latest development in the growing international response to a call to action issued by Grassy Narrows community leaders in late February, 2006, the organization reports.