Spread The Word Here are simple ways that you can help spread the word about Grassy Narrows.
- Tell Others About The Free Grassy Petition
- Circulate the Free Grassy Petition
- Host a Movie Screening about Grassy Narrows
- Write a Letter to the Editor
Tell Others About The Free Grassy Petition
Copy the letter below to tell your friends and family about the petition to free Grassy Narrows.
Dear Friend
In Ontario, Canada, an indigenous community called the Grassy Narrows First Nation is being subjected to human rights abuses. Lumber giant Weyerhaeuser is trying to clear-cut log their land without the community’s consent and converting the wood into building products for the Canadian and U.S. housing industry.
This exploitation is robbing the community of economic opportunities, and destroying their way of life. Fortunately, the Grassy Narrows Community is taking a stand. On December 2nd, 2002, Grassy Narrows established a blockade on a logging road in their territory, sparking the longest standing and highest profile indigenous logging blockade in Canadian history.
Eight years later, Weyerhaeuser is still trying to log on remote sections of their land where the community does not have the resources to block all of the logging roads in their territory. Even though other major companies have agreed to respect Grassy Narrows rights Weyerhaeuser refused to stop pushing for logging, leave the land and respect the community’s right to self-determiniation within their traditional territory.
Please sign the petition to pledge your support to the Grassy Narrows First Nation’s struggle to stop Weyerhaeuser from logging without their consent on their land, and secure the right to self-determination within their traditional territory. www.FreeGrassy.org.
Download the petition
Gather signatures from friends and neighbors, enter their contact information online or mail the petition to us. Generate public support for Grassy Narrows.
- Download the Petition (Coming Soon)
We’ll present the results to Weyerhaeuser, and the Ontario Government.
Screen the movie
“As Long as the Rivers Flow. The Story of the Grassy Narrows Blockade” was produced by Dave Clement of Thunder Bay Indymedia. Order a copy, book a screening site (a local church, class, living room or parking lot will do), invite friends and learn about one of the most powerful struggles for self-determination in North America. After the film, facilitate a discussion. Use the screening to get people educated and involved and make sure to gather names for the Free Grassy petition.
Write A Letter to the Editor
Letters to the editor are a powerful way of influencing public opinion. The editorial section is one of the newspaper’s most popular sections. Check out our “news section” for recent articles that have been published about Grassy Narrows and then get cracking.
Use our sample letter as a guide. Even better, write your own.
Dear Editor,
I am responding to the article on Logging/ Indigenous rigths entitled “name title and date of article.”
The newsprint that this letter is printed on could have originated from Canada’s vast, magical and ancient Boreal Forest, one of the largest intact forests in the world and home to about 600 indigenous communities.
Unfortunately, the Boreal Forest and the future of its inhabitants are being threatened by logging companies, such as Weyerhaeuser, in order to meet unsustainable demand for wood and paper products.
Fortunately, some communities are fighting back. One community, the Grassy Narrows First Nation in Ontario, has never agreed to allow lumber gian Weyerhaeuser and log on their land and turn their forests and their way of life into Trus Joist building materials. On December 2nd, 2002, the community set up a blockade on logging roads on their territory, sparking one of the longest running and highest profile blockades in Canadian history.
But Weyerhaeuser is still trying to log on remote corners of their land, and they are asking for our help. Please help free Grassy Narrows by demanding that newspapers, retail stores, and builders in your area stop buying wood fiber or products that come from endangered forests or regions that are subject to indigenous controversy.
Yours Sincerely,
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