Sunday, December 17, 2006

Support Grows for Trevor Miller

A couple of weeks ago i reposted an item from Indymedia about Mohawk political prisoner Trevor Miller. Miller was arrested at a protest at Grassy Narrows on August 9th and was charged with being part of an incident between Six Nations men from the Reclamation Site outside of Caledonia and two CH TV cameramen who happened to be in the Canadian Tire parking lot to film the confrontation. One of the cameramen was injured in the fracas that ensued. (i posted on this incident at the time, if you need your memories refreshed...)
Until recently, Miller received very little support, be it financial or political. During his four months behind bars he has suffered ongoing harassment, and has been told repeatedly that he will be released if only he pleads guilty, but that his continuing defiance could land him a fifteen year prison sentence. Nevertheless, he has remained steadfast in his position that the Canadian government does not have any jurisdiction over him.

Following a letter written by Trevor, in which he questioned the lack of support he has received, and signed “The Forgotten Warrior,” the situation has improved. Supporters, including members of the Traditional Mohawk Council, packed the courthouse on Trevor’s last two court appearances, on November 29th and December 11th, and there was a spirited picket line to support Trevor outside the Hamilton Detention Centre on the 9th. (For videos of these events, see here.)

A leaflet has been designed, that can be downloaded in PDF format, explaining both Trevor’s case and the context of the Six Nations Land Reclamation.

On December 12th Jaggi Singh, of CKUT-Montreal’s NO One Is Illegal Radio programme, interviewed Trevor’s mother Trudi Miller. (You can listen to an mp3 of this where i have mirrored it here, or else on the Radio4all site.)

And tomorrow, family and supporters of Trevor are going to be holding a demonstration from 7:30am on, outside the Ontario Attorney General’s Head Office, at 720 Bay Street in Toronto (just north of Gerrard), demanding Trevor’s release, and his right to be governed by the laws of his own people.

More to come...



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