E. HISTORY & EVOLUTION

Before colonial invasion, disease spreads overland from first imperial ports of call, then missionaries come spreading gospel, genocide starts against infidel native survivors and often racist religious settler folks have stolen land on their hands in which they've made major investments.  The land begins to fail, dry and flood. Climate changes becomes more serious usually with drying (Dust-bowl of the 1930s) from regional and continental cutting of mixed multi-level orchard trees for foreign export and misguided agriculture.  When the trees disappear, solar energy is unharvested, the roots no longer hold the water or the soil and winds are no longer drawn from the sea.  Photosynthesis in mixed multi-level orchards absorb 92 - 98 % of solar energy and converts this energy into food, material, water-cycle and other benefits.  Agricultural field plants only absorb 2 - 8% of solar energy.  The unabsorbed 90% of solar energy pushes winds from the continent to the sea.  As things go wrong and scarcity ensues, colonial settlers and administrators first ignore Indigenous heritage, then denigrate it, not realising the abundance they have denied themselves would have been large enough for everyone. 

 As the victors write the history books, future generations who have inherited scarcity are told that: indigenous savages were cruel, unproductive savages.  Of the hundreds of millions of dollars devoted in Quebec province over the centuries to celebrating, researching, writing and institutionalising colonial history, next to nothing is used to compile or preserve indigenous heritage.  This same ignorance is recreated across the still colonial world even though we all believe we have moved on. 

Some good sources of Ethno-historical material compiling First Nation perspectives of history are:

The Inca, Garcilaso de la Vega (1539 - 1616),  'Mutual Aid, a factor of evolution' by Petr Kropotkin circa 1905, 'In the Absence of the Sacred' by Jeremy Rifkin, 2000, '1491' by Charles C. Mann 2006, Guns, Germs and Steel by Jared Diamond, 1997, 'Their Number Become Thinned' by Henry F. Dobyns, Stolen From Our Embrace by Ernie Crey and Suzanne Fournier 1998, Custer Died for Your Sins, an Indian Manifesto, Vine Deloria 2004, Bury My Heart at Wounded Knee by Dee Brown circa1970 and now a movie 2007.

Montreal Resources:

• 1. Francine Lemay, sister of corporal Marcel Lemay who was killed during the Oka crisis of 1990, translated At the Wood’s Edge, An Anthology of the history of the Kanehsatake Mohawks   into French   http://www.cbc.ca/canada/story/2010/07/07/f-francine-lemay-oka-reconciliation.html

  2. The Nation News, Beesum Communications, James Bay and Quebec Cree News, James Bay Telephone Book and organisation of urban and rural services http://www.nationnews.ca  514-272-3077

1. Missing Justice, Billy Jack Douthwright, http://www.missingjustice.ca/

   1. Native Friendship Center of Montreal, http://www.nfcm.org (514) 499-1854

   2. Mohawk Traditional Council, Kahnawake www.mohawktraditionalcouncil.org 450) 638-4357

   3. Terres en vues, Land in Sights, Alanis Obomsawin president, André Dudemaine  www.nativelynx.qc.ca (514) 278-4040

   4. Through Ancient Eyes, June to July 29th at the Kanien’keha:ka Onkwawen:na Raotitiohkwa Cultural Center Matshinanu - Nomades  From May 25, 2010 to September 25, 2011, Grande Biblioteque de Montreal

   5. Kanien’keha:ka Onkwawen:na Raotitiohkwa Language and Cultural Center, Kahnawake, Martin Akwiranoron Loft, 450-638-0660 http://www.korkahnawake.org/gift-shop

   6. Catbird Productions, http://www.catbirdproductions.ca/

   7. L'autre Montreal tour Les Autochtones et la ville   www.autremontreal.com  (514) 521-7802 x 226 from 13h30 to 17h. (1:30 to 5 pm) L’autre Montreal has many other history and social information tours about Montreal.  The Indigenous and the city tour focuses on building bridges of understanding between urbanites and First Nation populations both in the city and surrounding.  A yellow school bus at 13h20, leaves Carré St-Louis at 13h35. Tour guide Kate Browne, accompanied by a couple of L’autre Montreal collaborators welcomed some 50 people onto the bus.  Kate described, in the French language, elements of First Nation heritage and perspectives using a microphone amplifier, while we travelled first to Kahnawake (due to unresolved aspects of the Kahnawake tour, L'autre Montreal will continue with its First Nation history information tours 'on-the-island' exclusively until arrangements are made formally with experts in Kahnawake).  We stopped at a grave yard to pay our respects and in the process learn family and Mohawk names as well as some of the history of people in this community such as Mary Two-Axe Earley work for recognition of women’s rights under Canadian law and other initiatives over the centuries.  Kate and other L’autre Montreal organisers have met with many people, spokespeople (eg. Ellen Gabriel), activists, organisations and band councillors from Kahnawake, Kanehsatake and other First Nation communities in order to describe indigenous priorities and perspectives.

   8. Phantom Montreal Ghost Tours Donovan King 514-842-1467  www.optative.net   www.infringementfestival.com  www.theatrummundi.net  http://www.fantommontreal.com/en/accueil.htm

Subsections 1) PHANTOM MONTREAL GHOST TOURS, 2) MUTUAL-AID, A FACTOR OF EVOLUTION & 3) CELTIC EUROPE. Each with pictures and attachments which illustrate indigenous heritage and the drama of its fall.