DARC Fall workshops

Decolonizing Gender and Sexuality - Wednesday, September 21, 4-6pm at Confederation Park (George St. N., across from City Hall)

Join us for a discussion on re-centering Indigenous and anti-colonial ways of approaching gender and sexuality, and unpacking Western constructions and their consequences.

This event is part of Peterborough Pride! For more information, please visit peterboroughpride.ca

Decolonizing Allyship - Friday, September 23 from 3-4pm on the lawn at Sadlier House (751 George St. N.)

Oftentimes we are confronted with the idea of being an “ally” when we aim to work with communities that are not our own. Some communities have been using the language of “ally” for quite some time, while other communities are questioning whether or not the term applies to them. This discussion places self-determination and decolonization at the centre, and asks participants what allyship with Indigenous peoples could look like when honouring these frameworks.

Hosted by Community and Race Relations Committee (CRRC) in partnership with Decolonization & Anti-Racism Circle (DARC) for DisOrientation Week

For more information on DisO events, please visit
centreforgenderandsocialjustice.ca/diso

UPDATE: Coming to the Circle

DARC is back! ...Well we never really left. But we have circled in a good way, and we've got a new look!

Here's a a few of the events we've organized or participated in over the last couple years:

-POC GenderTalk at Bodies of Dissent: Transform (March 2010)
-Decolonizing Anarchism discussion circle & screening of AfroPunk at A-Fest (August 2010)
-Decolonization and Anti-Violence discussion circle at METRAC's Thrive Women's Voices Rising! Forum on Violence (December 2010)
-Screening of the Watermelon Woman for Black History Month (February 2010)
-"Responding to Institutionalized Racism: Self-determination in Education" Arthur Student and Community Newspaper
http://trentarthur.ca/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=2369%3Aequity-is-not-about-equal-treatment-its-about-equal-opportunity&catid=17&Itemid=47
-Member of Peterborough Pride's working group looking at Barriers to Participation, and current member of Peterborough Pride's Equity, Diversity & Accessibility Committee

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We've been doing lots of internal work too!

Including our name changing from Decolonization & Anti-Racism Coalition to Decolonization & Anti-Racism Circle to better reflect Indigenous knowledges and organizing principles.
Look out for changes to our Logo, About DARC, Guiding Principles, Basis of Unity and Resource Centre coming soon!

Look out for us at Peterborough Pride and DisOrientation in September!

Ode'min Giizis

Seven Day Multi-disciplinary Aboriginal Arts Festival
June 17 - 24

We invite you to the Ode'min Giizis Festival, a seven-day multi-disciplinary Aboriginal arts festival in Peterborough, Ontario. This year's festival will feature performances by Aboriginal 'trailblazers', Buffy Sainte-Marie, Tomson Highway (Rez Sisters), Elaine Bomberry (Rez Bluez), NYC based a cappella trio Ulali, Keith Secola (NDN Kars), Gary Farmer (Dead Man, Pow Wow Highway) and local shining women musicians Missy Knott (Curve Lake First Nation), Drea Nasager(Peterborough), Sean Conway(Curve Lake First Nation) and Sarah DeCarlo (Peterborough).

Events Schedule:

June 17th-7pm VISUAL ART EXHIBITION: Opening 'Nogojiwanong' featuring regional Native artists curated by WILLIAM KINGFISHER ( at The Art Gallery of Peterborough & showings at Black Honey, Kubo, Blue Tomato, Catalina)

June 17th- 10pm CONCERT GARY FARMER w BROCK STONEFISH & THE BATTLE RIVER BLUES BAND. At the Historic Red Dog Tavern $10.

June 18th-8pm PERFORMANCE & INSTALLATION: 'Rez-Erection' Curated by WANDA NANABUSH. Belle Sauvage, Buffalo Bill & Miss Chief Eagle Testickle Set Up Camp by LORI BLONDEAU and ADRIAN STIMSON. With films by KENT MONKMAN at Artspace (378 Aylmer ST. N)
In partnership with Artspace.

June 18th- 10pm DANCE PARTY DJ madeskimo and Bear Witness, Kubo Lounge (413 George St. N.)

June 19th-8pm CONCERT: Peterborough Native SARAH DECARLO, DREA NASAGER, KEITH SECOLA and THE BAND OF WILD INDIANS. Market Hall (336 George Street N.) $15.

June 20th-8pm CABARET: The Incredible Adventures of Mary Jane Mosquito and Rose. TOMSON HIGHWAY on piano & singer PATTY CANO performing 14 songs from 2 of Mr. Highway's musical plays. Opening act MISSY KNOTT. Market Hall (336 George Street N.) $15.

June 21 GATHERING /POW WOW.
Sunrise Ceremony 7 am @ Del Crary Park.
Community Procession-11am. Meet infront of Peterborough City Hall and travel to Del Crary Park- Look for Toronto's RED PEPPER SPECTACLE ARTS 12-foot puppets! All Welcome to participate.
GRAND ENTRY 1pm. Followed by Pow Wow with story-tellers, drummers, dancers, hoop dancers, smoke dancers, Kehewin Dance Troupe, canoeing, vendors, and a 30 foot performance tipi. (George Street Del Crary Park)

June 22nd-7pm FILM SCREENING: 'Waterlife' Directed by KEVIN McMAHON and featuring JOSEPHINE MANDAMIN. Market Hall (336 George Street N) $10.

June 23-8pm ARTIST TALK: an intimate evening with ELAINE BOMBERRY in conversation with multimedia artist, activist, Academy award winner, singer/songwriter, BUFFY SAINTE-MARIE. Market Hall (336 George Street N) $20.

June 24th-8pm CLOSING CONCERT: BUFFY SAINTE-MARIE with NYC-based acappella trio ULALI In partnership w/ Peterborough Festival of Lights. Del Crary Park.

Tickets can be purchased at Showplace. For further details please refer to publicenergy.ca, or contact Patti Shaughnessy @ 705.745.1788 email. admin@publicenergy.ca.

THE TAXI PROJECT

The community and race relations committee of peterborough (CRRC) is proud to present
THE TAXI PROJECT
a play about exile

When: This Saturday May 9th at 7 pm
Where: Prince of Wales Public School Auditorium, 1211 Monaghan Rd (at Sherbrooke)
FREE
Not recommended for young children

An original play exploring issues of freedom of expression and the complex realities of living in exile, the play follows four characters forced to leave their home countries and the struggle to create a new life in Canada.

Weyni Mengesha (Director) is a Dora nominated director and composer who was born in Vancouver to Ethiopian parents. Her credits include Lorraine Hansberry’s A Raisin In The Sun (Soulpepper Theatre Company/Theatre Calgary); director/dramaturge of d’bi.young.anitafrika’s Dora award winning play blood.claat (Toronto, Vancouver, Montréal, New York); director/co-writer for Blink (Soulpepper Theatre Company/Luminato); and director/composer of trey anthony’s hit play da kink in my hair (Toronto, New York, London).

Emma Beltran (Playwright) is a poet from Mexico. Since 1994 she has been involved in the struggle of indigenous peoples, facilitating poetry and popular theatre workshops for women and children throughout Mexico. Beltran was a founding member of the first community radio station in Mexico’s history during the student strike at the National Autonomous University of Mexico in 1999. Exiled in Canada since May 2002, Beltran was an award-winning artist selected for Artscape’s Gibraltar Point International Artist Residency Program in 2005.

Martha Kuwee Kumsa (Playwright) is an Oromo, born and raised in Ethiopia. She worked as a journalist there until being imprisoned early in 1980. She spent 10 years in jail and was released upon the intervention ofPEN and Amnesty International. PEN Canada adopted her as an Honorary Member while she was in prison and helped bring her to Canada after her release. Martha completed her PhD at the Faculty of Social Work, University of Toronto. She is Assistant Professor in the Faculty of Social Work at Wilfred Laurier University.

Sheng Xue (Playwright) grew up in Beijing. She moved to Canada soon after the June 4th Tiananmen Square massacre in 1989. In 2000 she won the Canadian Association of Journalists Award for Investigative Journalism and the National Magazine Award. In 2001 Sheng Xue investigated China’s most prominent smuggling case and published a book (in Chinese and Japanese), Unveiling the Yuan Hua Case, which soon became a bestseller in Chinese communities outside of China and created shockwaves both inside and outside the country. Sheng Xue is a member of the Editorial Board of June 4 Poetry, a collection of poems commemorating the June 4th Movement.

Goran Simic (Playwright) was born in Bosnia and has published many volumes of poetry, drama and short fiction. His work has been translated into nine languages and published and performed in several European countries. One of the most prominent writers of the former Yugoslavia, Simic and his family were trapped in the siege of Sarajevo. In 1995 they were able to settle in Canada as a result of a PEN Freedom to Write Award. In 2003 Brick Books published Simic’s first full collection of poems in Canada, Immigrant Blues, translated by Amela Simic.

PEN Canada works on behalf of writers, at home and abroad, who have been forced into silence for writing the truth as they see it. To find out more please visit: http://www.pencanada.ca/

For more information, please contact racerelation@gmail.com / 647 822 4105

part of peterborough's first annual Asian Heritage Month

Creative Drag & Gender Performance Workshop with Sheesha Yadil and Prince Deep

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Saturday, April 5, 2009
1 - 5pm

Rm 2011, Sherbourne Health Centre
(333 Sherbourne Street)
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THIS WORKSHOP IS FREE AND ONLY OPEN TO INDIGENOUS INDIVIDUALS AND PEOPLE OF COLOUR.

Ever wanted to dress up and perform on stage? Interested in exploring with your gender identity? This workshop will introduce you to the art of drag outside of the more mainstream depictions of drag you may see on your popular TV or at a Club. Workshop artists Prince Deep and Sheesha Yadil will be bringing in a variety of alternative gender performance tools than the typical drag queen lip-sync. The purpose of this workshop is to provide resources to people of colour and Indigenous folks who have been interested in gender performance but may not know where to start. In this queer and trans-positive space, we will go through the technical aspect of preparing and getting ready: from covering the clothes and materials drag artists use for getting dressed to the methods of make-up and facial hair. Participants will also have to opportunity to play with their creative side as we try out different styles of presentation on stage. We will also get a chance to view some video clips on the different genres of gender performance and have a discussion on some issues that can emerge from drag shows, namely, cultural appropriation and passing. At the end of the workshop, we hope participants will feel more comfortable with the style of gender performance they wish to explore and we will end with ideas of spaces and events where that can happen.

Sherbourne Health Centre is a fully accessible location.

Registration is required. Interested participants are asked to email their name to ywc@riseup.net to register.

Any questions, inquiries and/or concerns please contact Cristina at 416 736 2100 ex. 33484 or at ywc@riseup.net.

TTC tokens will be available for participants, and refreshments and a light lunch will be provided.

This workshop is brought to you by Centre for Women and Trans People at York and OPIRG York
/
About the Facilitators:/

Prince Deep is a budding young artist and uses gender art on stage to express and share emotions, identity, creativity and personal stories. Prince Deep often teams up with other drag artists to do group numbers on stage using dance, acting, and culture.

Sheesha has been performing since childhood and has years of experience on a number of stages in Toronto, Halifax and Peterborough. Realizing her style is different from other types of drag and gender performers, she expresses even more variety in her art, inspired by a lifetime of music, dance and Bollywood.


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Amardeep Kaur
Volunteer Coordinator
OPIRG York

Rm. 449, The Student Centre
4700 Keele St. York University

Phone: 416-736-5724
amardeep@opirgyork.ca
www.opirgyork.ca

TUNA ANNUAL TRADITIONAL POW WOW

EVERYONE WELCOME!
GIVE AWAY CEREMONY HONOURING RESIDENTIAL SCHOOL SURVIVORS!!!

Saturday, March 28, 2009 at 11:00
Sunday, March 29, 2009 at 9:00
Peterborough Armoury
220 Murray St.

Admission: $5.00 adults
$3.00 elders 50+ & youth under 12

Vending $30.00 a booth or $20.00 plus donation for give away

TWO CONTEST SPECIALS!!
WOMENS JINGLE AND MENS GRASS!!
WINNER TAKES ALL!!

Beats 4 Justice!

Decolonization and Anti-Racism Coalition (DARC) presents:
Beats 4 Justice!
Sadleir House Dinning Hall
9:00pm-2:00am
$5 unwaged, $10 waged, or PWYC

Join us for great music and performances. All proceeds go to DARC and an No Olympics on Stolen Native Land organizing. Amazing door prizes available!

This event is in conjunction with "Bridging Communities of Resistance: Solidarity in Anti-Racist, Anti-Colonial Struggles" forum.

Performers include: LAL, Sean Conway, Dakus of Disco Duniya, Stolen from Africa and more...

B4J! History:
Beats 4 Justice! started in 2005 by a Trent professor and a local spoken word artist, Beats for Justice! seeks to raise awareness around issues related to borders, immigration, and Indigenous rights. Each event has raised over $1000 to support organizations who work toward human rights in these areas.

Bridging Communities of Resistance: Solidarity in Anti-Racist, Anti-Colonial Struggles

Peterborough Public Library - Auditorium
10am - 6pm

A day-long forum that aims to address issues of Indigenous people and people of colour in political organizing, both within academia and within grassroots movements. The forum will feature a plenary session around the racialization of poverty, and several workshops ranging from a DARC Resistance workshop on solidarity between Indigenous peoples and people of colour to women of colour involved in punk scenes. We hope this forum will provide a space (physical and discursive) for Indigenous people and people of colour to explore strategies for challenging white normativity/supremacy within organizing as well as to foster new activist communities built on similar experiences with racism.

This forum is being co-organized by the Decolonizing Anti-Racism Coalition (DARC) and the Peterborough Coalition Against Poverty (PCAP).

Schedule Date: Saturday March 21, 2009 (International Day for the Elimination of Racism)

10:00 am: Welcome and Introductions (coffee and tea will be provided)11:00-12:00 pm: Presentation of TCCBE project: "Canadian Municipalities Against Racism and Discrimination (CMARD)" and "Spaces of Racism II"
Discussion on racism in Peterborough and the CMARD initiative.
Speakers: Andres Salazar, Muna Ali and Manal Elawar

12:00-1:00 pm: Workshop"Challenging Invisibilized Whiteness: Organizing within Predominantly White Settings" (closed; hosted by DARC)
This workshop will be a space to address the experience of organizing within predominantly white settings (specifically at Trent and within Peterborough) and to come up with strategies for dealing with invisibilized whiteness in these setting. As a group, we will discuss our experiences with activism and academia as Indigenous people and people of colour working within spaces where we might be a minority. How can we ensure accountability on the part of groups we organize with to address issues of invisibilized whiteness and racism? How can we offer substantial and productive challenges to invisibilized whiteness? How can we approach these issues without exhausting ourselves or bearing the burden of responsibility?
This will be a closed workshop for Indigenous people and people of colour.
Facilitators: Teresa Cheng and Kam Husbands

12:00 – 1:00 pm: Workshop: “Challenging Invisibilized Whiteness: Organizing within Predominantly White Settings”
(open; hosted by the Trent Women’s Centre)
This will be an open workshop for participants to discuss similar issues of accountability, invisibilized whiteness, and racism within organizing. The Trent Women’s Centre will share some past and present experiences of dealing with these issues within their organization and potential strategies for ensuring a truly anti-racist, anti-oppressive framework.
Facilitators: Meghan Ritchie and Zahra Murad

1:00 - 1:45pm: Lunch
Lunch will be catered by organizers from DARC and PCAP as well as by donations from local organizations. We will also have snacks throughout the day, catered by local businesses.

1:45 – 2:45: Workshop'Cultural Appropriation/Cultural Theft"
In this workshop the group will arrive at working definitions for 'Cultural appropriation"/ 'cultural theft' generated from discussion, the participants own experiences and the critical race theory I will present as a facilitator. We will watch videos, listen to songs and look at visual art and fashion examples to build on our understanding of these two terms. We will dicuss what cultural appropriation means in the context of colonization, slavery, global racism, power and privilege. We will discuss the importance of self representation as marginalized people who generally have less power to represent ourselves in ways that we decide upon ourselves or as communities. We will discuss the damage that can be done through cultural theft, stereotyping. We will then look at cultural theft through looking at histories of American Pop music and the appropriation of queer, trans and Black music and dance. We will look at appropriation in the context of European racism and how appropriation relates to privilege, money, fame and power. Finally we will look at the notion of appropriation and how it informs our practices as community organizers - what does appropriations of tactics, movements and voices look like? What are the differences between appropriation and solidarity? What are differences between appropriation and reclamation? Emphasis will be put on how cultural theft impacts LGBTTT2IQQ people and racialized people and how to use these concepts to shape responsible art and organizing practices. We will interrogate our own practices as community organizers and activists and learn tactics for how to become anti racist ally.
Speaker: Leah Newbold

2:45-3:00 Break

3:00-5:00: Panel Discussion"(e)RACEing Poverty: Developing Anti-Racist Actions and Strategies to Eliminate Poverty"
The goal of this panel is to bring together activists and community based organizations to discuss racialized poverty. Presenters will be from a broad base and will include members from the New Canadians Centre, PCAP, DARC, OCAP, and No One Is Illegal. The panel will also serve as an action-oriented event to develop strategies and actions to eliminate poverty with an emphasis on issues of racialization, colonization and imperialism.

5:00-6:00 pm: Workshop"DARC Resistance: Bridging Anti-Racist and Anti-Colonial Struggles" (closed)
This informal workshop is for people of colour and Indigenous peoples who want to learn more about the ongoing colonization of Turtle Island and how to support each other in Anti-Racist and Anti-Colonial organizing. Through this workshop, people of colour and Indigenous peoples will unmap their complex relationships by sharing experiences and thinking through the following topics: How can people of colour be effective allies and work in solidarity with Indigenous peoples and movements without reproducing colonialism? What is the relationship between Indigenous peoples and people of colour as colonized peoples?
Facilitators: DARC members

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9:30 pm-2:00 am: Beats 4 Justice!
A Fundraiser for DARC and No Olympics on Stolen Native Land Organizing
We will be having a music/performance/spoken word night at the Sadleir House Dinning Hall to raise money for DARC and an No Olympics on Stolen Native Land organizing.

Performers: LAL, Sean Conway, Dakus of Disco Duniya and Stolen from Africa

Check out: http://www.facebook.com/event.php?eid=57501774627#/event.php?eid=57312373219&ref=mf

For more information, contact: darcpeterborough@riseup.net or pcap@riseup.net

Decolonize this! Checking in Solidarity with Indigenous Communities

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Thursday, March 5 at 4:30
Lady Eaton College Pit
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This informal workshop is for those who want to learn more about the ongoing colonization of Turtle Island and how to be an effective ally in the struggle for Indigenous Rights. Discussions will focus on decolonization, and will highlight some of the ways in which “allies” have reproduced colonial relations in everyday interactions and social justice organizing. However, the movements against colonization continue to grow, and there is a potential for broad based social movements that challenge Canadian capitalism, colonialism, patriarchy and ecocide. Concrete examples of resistance will also be raised, including the importance of Indigenous sovereignty through Indigenous agriculture.

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Jessica Yee is the founder and director of the Native Youth Sexual Health Network whose work is nationally focused on sexual health initiatives and cultural competency. At 23 she is a proud Mohawk-Chinese young woman who is also involved in anti-oppression and violence prevention education work with organizations such as the Canadian Centre for Policy Alternatives and the Highway of Tears Initiative. She is a strong believer in the power of the youth voice and currently writes for rabble.ca, the Kahnawake Eastern Door, and SHAMELESS Magazine; For Girls Who Get It!

Dakota Brant is 21 years old and is a Haudenosaunee citizen (Mohawk Turtle Clan) born and raised on the Six Nations of the Grand River Territory. She is a third year honours student working toward a double major BA in Indigenous Studies and Environmental studies. She is Vice-president of the Trent University Native Association (TUNA), has been a contributor to Redwire magazine, and is a bi-weekly columnist for the Turtle Island News. www.theturtleislandnews.com

DJ Danforth is a proud 25 year-old Native young man from the Oneida Nation. He is currently the Youth Cultural Coordinator for the Oneida Tribe of Wisconsin, and sings with drum groups Elk Soldier, and Tha Tribe.
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Sponsored by Decolonization and Anti-Racism Coalition (DARC) and Trent University Native Association (TUNA)

DARC Presents: Afro-Punk

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When: Wednesday February 11
7:00-9:00pm

Where: Sadleir House (751 George st.)
Lecture Hall
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*Free Documentary Film Screening*
*Free organic popcorn & drinks*
*Wheelchair accessible*

*Sponsored by DARC & OPIRG*

*DARC New Members & Organizers Meeting*

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When: Tuesday, February 3, 2009
6:00 pm - 8:00 pm
Where: DARC & PCAP office - 393 Water street, Unit #17
(Across from Scotiabank, above the Funky Buddha) ******************************************************

*This meeting is open to people of colour and/or Indigenous peoples* because DARC seeks to support and promote the active participation, leadership and perspectives of racialized and Indigenous peoples throughout its structure and work, and believes that services and efforts to organize are most successful when they involve the communities served.

*For more information, please contact darcpeterborough@riseup.net*

Club Native & Deb-we-win Ge-kend-am-aan Our Place In the Circle

DARC, Community and Race Relations Committee & Trent University Indigenous Studies Program Present:

Club Native

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When: Saturday, January 24
3:00
Where: Showplace
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Tracey Deer grew up on the Mohawk reserve of Kahnawake with two very firm but unspoken rules drummed into her by the collective force of the community. These rules were very simple and they carried severe repercussions: 1) Do not marry a white person, 2) Do not have a child with a white person. The consequences of ignoring these rules were equally simple: 1) Lose all status as a Native person and, 2) Deny your unborn child their status as a Native person. The larger tragedy, of course, was that by breaking either of these rules, she would be depleting the growth of “the Nation” and, by extension, betraying everyone she loved.

In Club Native, Deer looks deeply into the history and present-day reality of Aboriginal identity. With moving stories from a range of characters from her Kahnawake Reserve - characters on both sides of the critical blood-quantum line - she reveals the divisive legacy of more than a hundred years of discriminatory and sexist government policy and reveals the lingering “blood quantum” ideals, snobby attitudes and outright racism that threaten to destroy the fabric of her community.


DARC & Transmission Present:
*Deb-we-win Ge-kend-am-aan*
*Our Place In the Circle*

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When: Friday, January 23
4:20
Where: Showplace
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Traditionally, the two-spirited person was one who has been given the gift of having both a female and male soul that would allow the individual the ability to see the world from two perspectives at the same time. This unflinchingly honest documentary profiles two-spirited people united in their experiences of self-discovery and affirmation.

*Part of Reframe Peterborough International Film Festival*

Protest Against Israeli Attack on Gaza!

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When: Saturday, January 17th 2009, at 12:00pm
Where: Peterborough City Hall
What: Rally & Speak Out
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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Protest against Israeli Attack on Gaza – Peterborough

This Saturday, January 17th 2009, at 12pm the Peterborough Coalition for Palestinian Solidarity (PCPS), Peterborough Coalition Against Poverty (PCAP) and the Decolonization & Anti-Racism Coalition (DARC) will rally outside City Hall to protest against the Israeli attacks on Gaza. All members of the Peterborough community are encouraged to join us in speaking out in support of the people of Gaza.

The current situation in Palestine is devastating. Nearly 800 people have been killed so far, including several hundred women, children and aid workers. Thousands of innocent people have also been injured. As a massive humanitarian crisis unfolds among Gaza’s 1.4 million citizens, Israel is prohibiting shipments of medical supplies and other necessities from entering Gaza, as well as preventing the International Committee of the Red Cross and foreign journalists from entering the area. Most Palestinians living in Gaza are now struggling to survive without basic necessities and access to medical treatment.

People around the world are protesting against the violence being carried out by the state of Israel. We call on the people of Peterborough to join the growing chorus of voices calling on Israel to end its attacks on Gaza. As PCPS and DARC member Muna Ali points out, “This rally will give the people of Peterborough a chance to join thousands of people in speaking out and condemning the state of Israel’s actions.”

For more information, please contact Ayesha Asghar at(705)-868-3699 or by e-mail at hussein.ayesha@gmail.com

WORKSHOP LAUNCH OF ABORIGINAL TRANS PEOPLE GUIDE

2-Spirited People of the First Nations Invites you to a Workshop launch of…

Our Relatives Said:
A Wise Practices Guide
Voices of Aboriginal Trans People

Workshop 1
Date: Thursday, February. 26, 2009
Time: 10:30am- 1:30pm
Place: Native Canadian Centre
16 Spadina Rd., North of Bloor St.

OR

Workshop 2
Date: Friday, February. 27, 2009
Time: 10:30am- 1:30pm
Place: 519 Community Centre
519 Church St., North of Wellesley

Please choose one of these two workshop times and RSVP via Email to: nancy@2spirits.com
Refreshments and Snacks will be provided.

DEMONSTRATE AGAINST THE ISRAELI ASSAULT ON GAZA! LIFT THE SIEGE!

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*WHEN: 11am Saturday January 10, 2009
*WHERE: Israeli Consulate, 180 Bloor St West, Toronto.
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As the Israeli ground, air and sea assault continues on the civilian population of Gaza – we need to continue mobilizing against these war crimes.At least 540 Palestinians have been killed and thousands injured in the single largest massacre in Gaza since Israel illegally occupied the area in 1967.These latest war crimes occur in the context of official Canadian complicity with Israel's illegal siege, bombardment and starvation of the civilian population in Gaza. We must denounce this on-going support - including the intensification of bilateral military, political and economic links between Canada and Israel. Palestinian civil society continues to urge solidarity in the form of a boycott, divestment and sanctions campaign until Israel complies with international law. This is the time for people of conscience to take up this call from Palestine.

Last Saturday, over 10,000 people rallied in Toronto in the largest Palestine solidarity demonstration in decades. This coming Saturday, millions of people across the globe will return to the streets in internationally coordinated demonstrations against the Israeli onslaught.Join us this Saturday to demand that the Canadian government call for an immediate halt to Israel's attacks and an end to the siege of Gaza!

CONTACT: Palestine Houseinfo@palestinehouse.com

Demonstration Organized By:
Palestine House
Canadian Arab Federation
Coalition Against Israeli Apartheid
Canadian Union of Public Employee (Ontario)
Canadian Union of Postal Workers
Steel Workers – Toronto Area Council
Canadian Peace Alliance
Toronto Coalition to Stop the War
Not in Our Name – Jewish Voices Opposing Zionism
International Jewish Anti-Zionist Network Toronto
Indpendent Jewish VoicesYosher – Jewish Social Justice Network
Women In Solidarity with Palestine
Muslim Unity
Educators for Peace and Justice
Canadians for Justice and Peace in the Middle East
Near East Cultural and Educational Foundation
Canadian Forum for Justice and Peace in Sri Lanka
Muslim Association of Hamilton
Canadian Druze Society
Canadian Syrian Cultural Club
Al Huda
Canadian Shia Muslims Organization
Worker to Worker Canada Cuba Solidarity Network
Somali Canadian Diaspora Alliance
Science for Peace
Bayan – Canada
Bengali Student Association
McMaster Muslims for Peace and Justice
Arab Students Association at Ryerson University

Please send further organizational endorsements to: info@palestinehouse.com
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Followed by:
Free Gaza: A Teach-In
Saturday, January 101:00-5:30 pm
United Steelworkers Hall
25 Cecil Street (1 block south of College, 2 blocks east of Spadina)
1:30-2:30

Workshops: The Crisis in Gaza - History and Context
· Israel, Gaza and the War on Terror
· Gaza, Israeli Apartheid and the Political Economy of the Middle East
· Canada's Complicity, Zionism and Islamophobia
· Media Mythology: "Rebranding" Israel, and Covering the War

3:00-4:00 Gaza: the Humanitarian Crisis

4:15-5:30 Building Solidarity: Next Steps

Register Now:
E-mail your name, with subject "Free Gaza Teach-in", to:
faculty@caiaweb.org
(Pay what you can at the door - $5-50 suggested)
Followed by Free Gaza Fundraiser, with DJ No Capitalista
Venue: TBA 8:00 pm
Organized by Palestine House, Canadian Arab Federation and the Coalition Against

Israeli ApartheidInfo: www.palestinehouse.com

Indigenous and Racialized Communities, Mental Health and Access to Justice Forum

Monday December 8, 2008
8:30 am to 4:00 pm
Ryerson University
Jorgensen Hall, POD 250

8:30 to 9:00 am -- Registration

9:00 am to 10:00 am
Indigenous Elder to open the eventParkdale Activity & Recreation Centre Drummers
Kevin Smith, Clinic Director, Parkdale Community Legal Service: Welcome& Greetings
Ayshia Musleh, Parkdale Community Legal Services:Overview and Objectives of the day, why are we here, what do we want toachieve and what will happen during the day, Community Caucus highlights Ethno-Racial People with Disabilities Coalition of Ontario(ERDCO):Intersectionality: Experience and Perspectives from the Community

Panel Descriptions

10:00 am to 10:15 am
Indigenous Peoples’ Issues
Speaker: Bonita Lawerence, Professor York Unviersity
Ms Mohady, a community activist and Indigenous people’s speaker, willoutline the historical context to the current experiences of Indigenouspopulations’ interaction with the mental health and addiction systemsand its’ institutions.

10:15 am to 11:00 am
Immigration
Moderator: Claire Littleton, Parkdale Community Legal Services
Panellists: Ezat Mossallanejad Canadian Centre for Victims of TortureKwassi Kissi, Across Boundaries,Iliam Burbano, The Meeting Place
This panel will provide a historical and contemporary overview onCanada’s immigration policies and programs and their subsequent impacton the overall settlement and mental health conditions of racializedcommunities. Speakers will also highlight the specific ways in whichthese policies and programs in addition to existing mental healthlegislation exacerbate the stressors faced by immigrant and refugeepsychiatric survivor populations. By highlighting the various systemicbarriers this panel will help us to understand the importance ofapproaching social policy from an intersectional approach in order toenhance the opportunities for racialized populations to access justiceand successfully settle into Canadian society.
CCVT will address the experiences of those who are affected by PTSD andother forms of stress and trauma pre and post settlement and thespecific ways in which this impacts an individual’s ability to settleinto Canadian society.
Iliam Burbano will highlight the ways in which ones legal status withinCanada intertwined with the intersections of race and disability impactupon the daily lives of those struggling to call Canada their home.
Across Boundaries will speak about their work as a community-basedagency to address the issues and barriers experienced by racializedpsychiatric survivors. What are some of the solutions/programinitiatives, for immigrants? Where are the gaps?

11:00 am to 12:00 pm (noon)
EmploymentModerator: Chris Ramsaroop, Parkdale Community Legal Services
Panellists:Ajamu Nangwaya – Executive Member of CUPE Ontario Indigenous speaker Community memberWorkers’ Action Centre Representative
Studies confirm the growing numbers of racialized individuals who exist within precarious labour circumstances. With the ever growing body ofresearch being conducted there is a growing understanding andacknowledgement of the ways in which ones legal status subsequentlyimpacts on the mental health of those that are employed in the labourforce but who are not afforded basic employment rights. By examiningcurrent labour/employment legislation such as the Employment StandardsAct (ESA), Occupational Health and Safety Act (OSHA) and migrant labourprograms, such as, the Domestic Workers’ Program, the SeasonalAgricultural Workers Program and the Temporary Foreign Workers Program;this panel will discuss the links between workplace rights, mentalhealth, and racialization.
Issues to Discuss:Precarious work and mental health statistics and historyDuty to Accommodate: are racialized psychiatric survivors trulyprotected? Where are the gaps and how can we improve upon sustainableand accessible workplace environments?

12:00 pm to 1:00 pm – LUNCH (provided)

1:00 pm to 2:00 pm
Social Assistance/Poverty/Income SecurityModerator: (Angela Robertson, Executive Director, Sistering)
Panelists: Voices from the StreetAboriginal Legal Services of Toronto (TBA)Professor Grace-Edward Galabuzi (Ryerson University, Colour of PovertyCampaign)ODSP Action Committee
Over the last 13 years Ontario has been witness to the erosion of the“social safety net”, with the claw backs of social assistance programsand supports. The confusing and complicated employment programs that arepart of Ontario Works (OW) and Ontario Disability Support Program (ODSP)create a disincentive to return to work ultimately creating situationsof continued and persistent poverty. Community-based research andcampaigns have highlighted how the experience of poverty has exacerbatedthe social stressors and stigma faced by racialized communities.Panelists will provide a critical analysis of Ontario Works and ODSPbenefits and programs: where are the gaps, how can it be improved, arethere existing models that currently can be used as a standard to follow?
Poverty Reduction Strategy/25in5 Campaign/Colour of Poverty Campaign,what do these campaigns mean for indigenous and racialized psychiatricsurvivors and their families? How do these campaigns address the issuesof homelessness and outreach to the most vulnerable in society?

Policing
Moderator David Reville (Ryerson University, School ofDisability Studies)
Panellists: Magaly San Martin (PCLS) -- Safe Streets Act and Ticketbusters –
Nadia Chiesa, CLASP (Osgoode Hall Law School, York University)
TBA Mental Health and Police Records Check –The use of tasers and theuse of force in dealing with individuals in distress No One Is Illegal Policing and immigration – undocumented anddeportation/criminalization Homeless, indigenous/racialized psychiatric survivors feel especiallytargeted by policing policies and procedures and often made to feel likecriminals for being in poverty and stigmatized due to their potentialmental health status. How do initiatives such as the “Safe Streets Act”,the use of tasers and the disclosure of mental health status during avulnerable person security police check impact upon the psychiatricsurvivor communities, and in particular indigenous and racializedmembers? What are programs and groups such as Ticketbusters and theMental Health Police Records Check Coalition doing to mobilize andadvocate for change?

***DARC ORGANIZER’S MEETING***

Interested in organizing in a movement for anti-racism, decolonization, and social justice?

The Decolonization & Anti-Racism Coalition (DARC) is having a *new organizers meeting* that is open to people who identify as a person of colour and/or Indigenous.

When: Tuesday November 11, from 7-9 pm
Where: Peterborough Coalition Against Poverty (PCAP) office on 393 Water (across from Scotiabank, above the Funky Buddha)

POC genderTalk: Decolonizing Gender

Saturday, November 8
4:00-5:30
Peterborough Public Library
345 Aylmer Street N – Wheelchair Accessible

A closed discussion for people of colour put together by Decolonization and Anti-Racism Coalition (DARC) in Peterborough to explore issues of gender that we experience as people of colour, Indigenous people and radicalized communities.

This workshop is part of Bodies of Dissent: Trans Access.
To register for the conference, please see the link below:
http://www.trentwomenscentre.ca/trans/

Bodies of Dissent: Trans Access

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November 7th-9th, 2008
Peterborough, Ontario
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Bodies of Dissent is focused on decolonizing ourselves from the racialization and gender norms present in our society, as well as from institutional practices of psychiatry and prison. We are calling for a rebuilding of 'trans access'.

The conference features workshops, presentations, talks, discussions, film screenings, performances and dancing. Topics include disability, race, barriers to access, youth, mental health, psychiatry, prison system, and more.

This conference is organized by the Trans Event's Committee in Peterborough


Check out the link below to register:
http://www.trentwomenscentre.ca/trans/


You can reach the organizers of the Trans Conference and the Trans Events Committee through:
Email: trans@trentwomenscentre.ca
Phone: (705) 742-7195
Mailing Address:
Trans Events Committeec/o Trent Women’s Centre
Suite 202, Sadleir House
751 George St. N.
Peterborough, ON, K9H 7P7

DARC Responds to Racist Article Published in Absynthe Magazine and Calls for Accountability

***DARC Response to Racist Article Published in Absynthe***

The Decolonization & Anti-Racism Coalition (DARC), a group devoted to naming, challenging and reacting to systemic and everyday racism in Peterborough, are outraged by the overtly racist article published in Absynthe Magazine, September 2008 issue, entitled “Stephen Harper Doesn’t Care About White People”. To write and publish such a hateful article illustrates the fact that we live in a society that privileges white bodies and white voices. The article’s use of the language of ‘tolerance’, speaks to a power dynamic between White identity and racialized identities; wherein, those who are White have the power to choose whether or not to be tolerant. Further, the article speaks from a position of privilege that negates the oppression marginalized communities continue to face by appropriating the language of victimization and exclusion.

This article is also clearly violent; it essentializes and targets specific groups, shifts blame, and deflects attention away from white privilege and the fact that we live in a racist society. In so doing, this article acts as a rallying point for other racist students to express their hatred for racialized and Indigenous peoples.

What is more alarming than the article itself is the general lack of response; other than the problematic request for the Editor in Chief’s resignation. This approach closes avenues for dialogue and fails to address the underlying context, which gives people the impression that it is okay to make such hateful statements. As a means of fostering such dialogue, DARC will be holding an open discussion, A Call for Accountability: A Forum on the Racist Climate at Trent, Thursday October 2nd in the Lady Eaton College Pit at 5pm to 7pm. We have invited the members of Absynthe Magazines Board of Directors as well as Trent University’s administration to attend this discussion on the racist climate currently being fostered at Trent University.

***DARC also demands that the following actions be taken:***

1) Accountability of Absynthe Magazine Board members- Provide a statement explaining how and why racist content was published.
2) Abynthe Magazine adopt an anti-oppressive and ant-racist mandate
3) Any group affiliated with the Trent Central Student Association (TCSA) adopt an anti-racist and anti-oppressive mandate
4) Abynthe Magazine Board members and staff as well as all groups affiliated with the TCSA attend anti-oppression and anti-racism workshops
5) An official response from the Trent University administration by President Patterson condemning the racist attitudes perpetuated in the article
6) Absynthe Magazine Board and staff as well as the Trent University administration attend the October 2nd forum
7) That Trent students write letters to Absynthe expressing their opposition to such articles, demanding that their letters be published.
8) That Trent students stand in solidarity against racism- do not financially support organizations that foster racism or refuse to be accountable for racism.

*** Public Forum ***

Due to the outrageously racist article published in Absynthe Magazine, September 2008 issue, entitled “Stephen Harper doesn’t care about white people,” the Decolonization & Anti-Racism Coalition (DARC) has organized A Call for Accountability: A Forum on the Racist Climate at Trent, which is scheduled for Thursday, October 2nd, in the Lady Eaton College Pit from 5:00 pm to 7:00 pm. The forum will be moderated by Dr. Winston Husbands.