Some of you will recognize a few speakers and audience members in this video from the rally that took place just over one month ago at Ryerson University in Toronto. This post is a reminder that the KI 6 are still in jail and continue to need our support. (Janet Conway is in this video... can you find her?) please check out: http://www.freeki6.ca/

People Before Profits!
198 emails sent to the Premier!
1,377 names on our petition!

Why We Are In Jail

We have been in jail since
March 17. This is a small note to our friends and supporters to explain
why we are still in jail and why we may be in jail for several more
months.

First of all, we want to thank all of you for your
support and encouragement. You have given added strength to a strong
community under siege. We especially want to thank our brothers and
sisters from Muskrat Dam, Bearskin Lake, Wawakapeewin, Wapekaka, and
Kingfisher Lake First Nations, as well as Nishnawbe-Aski Nation, who
have supported KI and our allies, the Ardoch Algonquin First Nation, by
suspending lands and resources negotiations with Ontario.

Contempt of Court and Sentencing

On
October 25, 2007 KI announced that we could no longer afford to
participate in court proceedings in the Platinex dispute, and then we
walked away from the court. After 18 months of litigation and
negotiations, legal options had been exhausted and our community was
virtually bankrupt. Our position had not changed: KI will not support
any exploratory drilling by Platinex and we will not negotiate with
Platinex, despite being ordered by the court to do so. Our priority is
the protection of our land, not money.

After KI walked out of
court, Mr. Justice Smith issued an order which prohibits our members
and supporters from interfering with or obstructing Platinex as they
conduct exploratory drilling within KI's traditional territory. When KI
responded to the October 25 order by publicly announcing that Platinex
would not be welcome in KI's traditional territory, Platinex brought a
motion for civil contempt of court.

On November 12, 2007 we
retained Chris Reid as our lawyer. We have given Chris very clear
instructions not to appeal any orders or defend against contempt of
court proceedings. Our dispute with Ontario will not be resolved
through the courts - it must be resolved through
government-to-government negotiations between KI and Ontario.

On
December 7, Platinex's contempt motion was heard by Mr. Justice Smith
in Thunder Bay. We offered no defence to the contempt of court motion.
We told the court that we would not obey the October 25 order and would
not engage in any further negotiations with Platinex. We then were
found in contempt of court. Contrary to what Minister Bryant has been
saying in the media. Ontario did not support KI in any way.

On virtually every issue they support Platinex.

On
March 17, we were sentenced to six months in prison for contempt of
court. This was expected since Robert Lovelace, former Chief of the
Ardoch Algonquin FN, had received a six month sentence in a very
similar case on February 15, 2008. Again, contrary to what Minister
Bryant has been saying in the media, Ontario did not support KI on the
sentencing issue. Bryant's lawyers asked the court to severely punish
us for our "disobedience".

Appeal

Although
our focus is no longer on the courts, a process to appeal the sentences
has begun. Since it could take many months before the appeal will be
heard we will also be bringing a motion in the Court of Appeal to have
the sentences suspended pending the hearing of the appeal. The motion
will also ask that all prisoners be released unconditionally and
immediately. Our lawyer has asked lawyers for Ontario whether they have
instructions from Mr. Bryant to support a motion for our immediate and
unconditional release. Ontario's lawyers have not yet responded.

After We Are Released

Both
KI and Ardoch remain committed to the proposal which we made in January
for a Joint Panel to examine the causes of these disputes and make
recommendations for preventing similar disputes in the future. Although
Mr. Bryant has not yet responded to the proposal, both communities have
told him that we are still prepared to work with Ontario to set up the
Joint Panel, as soon as all of the prisoners are released from jail and
a moratorium on mining and exploration in the disputed territories is
implemented.

KI's Position on Legal Issues

Although
we say that Ontario failed in its duty to consult with us before giving
Platinex permission to explore for minerals on our land, we do not
expect to achieve our goal of protecting our lands through the courts.
We learned the hard way that the courts are not always the way for
First Nations to get justice.

To encourage mining and
exploration, Ontario's Mining Act is based on a "free entry" system,
which means that all Crown lands, including those subject to Aboriginal
title claims, are open for staking, exploration and mining without any
consultation or permitting required. Anyone with a prospector's license
may stake claims and prospect for minerals on any Crown land. Once a
claim has been staked the Mining Recorder "shall" record the claims.
There is no opportunity or requirement for consultations with affected
First Nation communities. Once a claim is recorded, the prospector can
conduct exploratory drilling without any more permits being required.

It
is also important to know that in the 2004 Haida case, the Supreme
Court made it clear that First Nations which have asserted rights
claims or land claims, but not have not yet proven their claims, must
be consulted and accommodated, but they cannot "veto" development on
disputed land. Consultations and accommodation can include measures to
mitigate the impacts of the project and provide some compensation for
the affected communities, but they must lead towards implementation of
the project. KI spent more than 18 months and $700,000 trying to break
out of this legal box only to find ourselves faced with an injunction
which permits drilling by Platinex and forbids us from obstructing
Platinex.

The only way to achieve what KI and Ardoch believe is
a fair and just solution is through negotiations between Ontario and
the First Nations. Negotiations could lead to land use plans which
withdraw sensitive lands from mineral staking and mining. That's why we
ask that our supporters focus on the need for political action to
resolve these disputes, not the courts.

We want to get out of
jail and go back to our families, but please remember why we are here.
We need Ontario to agree that Platinex will not be allowed to drill on
our territory, and to work with us to ensure that disputes like this
one do not happened again. If we have to remain in jail for five more
months, or even five years, so be it.