About two dozen people gathered at the Shawanaga Band Council office on Monday, March 22nd to rally against the March 11th, 2021 raid by Anishinabek Police Services on the High-Way 69 Medicinal dispensary. The group was led by Hereditary Chief Del Riley, a former head of the National Indian Brotherhood, and one of the main authors and negotiators for the sections of the Canadian constitution which are meant to safeguard Aboriginal and Treaty Rights.
Dispensing Freedom
The Six Nations Cannabis Commission (SNCC) has projected costs to establish an industry at Six Nations will hit almost $3 million before any structures are built or sales made according to SNCC budget documents obtained by Turtle Island News.
The Six Nations Cannabis Commission (SNCC) may be denying community members licenses to sell cannabis on the territory even though they have no legal authority to do so – and they know it.
54 Anishinaabe people are on trial in an Indigenous hunting and fishing case that will set precedent for the ongoing North Shore Anishinaabe cannabis constitutional challenge. Lawyer Michael Swinwood is appealing for contributions to go towards paying for two expert reports that are needed as the case returns to court on May 10th, 2021.
Algonquin Amikwa Anishinaabek (Beaver People) living in Reserves #13 and #2 as described by the 1854 Rowan Proclamation and the 1850 Indians’ Protection Act are waging a legal battle to defend the Indigenous right to grow and trade cannabis.
Albert Sewell is facing some challenges in establishing his multi-million dollar, 30,000 square-foot commercial cannabis cultivation facility on the western edge of Rankin reserve.
"It's made it quite difficult for First Nations to actually do any business off-reserve, so I took it upon myself — once the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples was tabled in B.C. — to step off-reserve and basically assert our rights within our territory, our practice, our rights within our territory."
At 9:30am on Monday, March 22nd, supporters of the High-Way 69 Medical Cannabis dispensary will gather in the parking lot of the store, and then travel in a convoy to the APS station in Wasauksing First Nation which launched the raid. The convoy will be led by Chief Del Riley and will demand that the APS return the stolen medicines and apologize for the raid. Supporters are asked to bring flags and signs and wear camo to show their support.
The High-Way 69 Medicinal Cannabis Shop was not deterred by the raid and has decided to re-open and will continue providing medicinal cannabis for their customers. According to one staff member, “Our rights have been violated, and I think we have to take a stand on it. By opening up again, we’re taking a stand.”
From The Chilliwack Progress by Jennifer Feinberg December 30, 2020 The provincial government declared cannabis retail business an essential service in March 2020 Chilliwack’s retail landscape for legal cannabis kept shifting in 2020. The Chilliwack area was already unique, with the first fully licensed store in the region opening in…