INVITATION TO THE FILM SHOWING-

May 12, 2012 at the Royal in Nelson, BC

FUND RAISER for Sinixt Nation
*WE ARE NOT EXTINCT &
*ANNA, EMMA AND THE CONDORS

How would you feel if the government proclaimed you did not exist?
In this thought provoking documentary, “We Are Not Extinct,” a Native
tribe living in theSlocan Valley was falsely declared extinct in
Canada in 1956. A road and bridge building project was scheduled to
run through their ancient village and sacred burial site in the
1980′s. The Sinixt and some of their Slocan Valley neighbours
blockaded the road and occupied the site in what has become in 2012
the longest occupation of government land in Canadian history.
Despite archaeological evidence of the Sinixt
living on this landscape extending back to the last glaciations, the
Sinixt voice continues to be denied by both the Provincial and Federal
governments. Their legal battle is presently before the courts.

Max Frobe, (Max the Jeweller,) produced the film, with his wife
Virginia Frobe as writer/director, with the intention to bring this
injustice to the attention to both the local and global communities.
“We Are Not Extinct” was chosen as an official selection at the
prestigious Sedona International Film Festival in Arizona this
February. They met Katja Torneman at the festival and fell in love
with her film. She has graciously given them permission to pair her
work with theirs.

”Anna, Emma and the Condors” is a 20 min. short doc produced/directed
by Katja Torneman as a student project. This film has gone on to
show at many film festivals and has been awarded for best picture. Sisters,
Anna and Emma Parish together with their father, Chris Parish,
director of the Peregrine Fund at Vermillion Cliffs, Arizona work for the survival of
the California Condors. The girls lives are unique in their growing
understanding that if we do not take care of the life surrounding us,
we will in the end face the possibility of our own extinction. As
long as the California Condors soar the sky, there will always be hope
for the future.

PLS PRINT AND POST IN YOUR AREA IF POSSIBLE
THANKS
Marilyn

How would you feel if the government proclaimed you did not exist?

Week of Solidarity with the Peoples Struggling against Racism and Racial Discrimination
Community Celebration
Saturday, March 24, 2012

Sinixt and Perry Ridge Water Users Association

Vegetarian and Meat Pasta meal $15.00

Raffle for a beautiful hand woven rug by Dianne Carter and dinner for two at Cedar Creek Cafe

“The struggle for justice on Perry Ridge continues through the long standing hard work of the Perry Ridge Water Users Association and their community work toward reconciliation with Sinixt Nation.

The Board of Directors has worked under a lot of pressure this past year.

We now do have evidence that the development is on gentle over steep terrain that will drain east (see slide show. BC Timber sales is now doing reconnaissance work further along the top, which will impact the headwaters of the creeks above hundreds homes and increase the risk to our properties and water. The Association is getting a legal opinion regarding our options as it relates to the further development into headwater areas above the densely settled area on the east side of the ridge.

Legal actions require substantial funding. For the justice system to serve Canadians it must be accessible. At present, barriers exist which make it difficult for many Canadians to access the justice system. Chief Justice Madame Beverly McLachlin was the keynote speaker at the University of Toronto Faculty of Law’s Middle Income Access to Civil Justice Colloquium on Feb. 10. 2011.

McLachlin said full representation is out of the question for many, with average legal fees hovering in the range of $340 per hour. Low legal aid cut-offs have made that option equally unrealistic for the growing group caught between two financial extremes.

“Do we have adequate access to justice? I think the answer is no. Among those hardest hit are the middle class and the poor. We have wonderful justice for corporations, and for the wealthy.

But the middle class and the poor may not be able, in many situations we have found, to access our justice system,” said McLachlin.

“We can draft the best rules in the world, we can render the most enlightened decisions, but if people can’t take advantage of that body of law, if they cannot have access to it to resolve their own legal difficulties, then it is for nought,” she said.

It has been a year of steady fundraising and meeting many supportive members in the community and worldwide support.

Our fund raising committee worked hard with raffles, posters and events to help continue enabling us to look at legal options to hold the government accountable for developing on Perry Ridge.

The appeal for the Sinixt Nation to have standing in the northern 2/3′s of their traditional territory and to protect the environment on Perry Ridge is still before the courts.  The Sinixt have not yet exhausted their legal challenge and BC Timber Sales continues planning and development in the sensitive headwaters on top of the ridge.

The government continually rejects the Association’s wilderness proposals stating that under the Kootenay Land Use Plan there are NO more protected areas. Therefore the only solution is for Perry Ridge to be removed from the cut due to the increased risk development poses downstream. Please send your letters to the government demanding that the remaining intact forests on Perry Ridge above the dense settlement be removed from the cut to prevent landslides caused by increased runoff as has happened in many places in the valley and caused loss of life in close proximity to Perry Ridge.

See attached e-mail list for your convenience when you write a letter asking that Perry Ridge be removed from the cut due to the increased risk development poses downstream.

The Association looks forward to 2012 being the year that the remaining intact forests and water sources on Perry Ridge are protected for their environmental and cultural values. In our work let’s remember what the famous anthropologist Margaret Mead stated:

“A small group of thoughtful people could change the world. Indeed, it’s the only thing that ever has.”

Perry Ridge Water Users Association
and the Sinixt Nation

Music and Dinner Celebration

Come celebrate the season and help raise legal funds to protect Sinixt Cultural Sites and Water in the Slocan Valley.

Perry Ridge December 2011 Fundraiser