Solidarity with 1492 Land Back Lane Land Defenders

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The Asian Canadian Labour Alliance (ACLA) stands in solidarity with the 1492 Land Back Lane Land Defenders and allies currently resisting attempts by the Canadian colonial state to forcefully take land that rightfully belongs to the Haudenosaunee people. The Haudenosaunee Land Defenders and their ancestors have lived in this territory since time immemorial and have been caretakers of the Haldimand Tract for over 200 years and their rights and entitlements must be respected as outlined in the Canadian Constitution.

We urge Canadian state officials at all levels to recognize the Haldimand Proclamation. As allies, we join the call in denouncing the unjust process of land development that has taken place within the Haldimand Tract and Plank Road. Politicians, the Courts and police are using violence, threats, criminal charges, and legal proceedings to thwart Haudenosaunee efforts to protect their land. ACLA is appalled by the actions of settler politicians, state police, and land developers. Their response has amplified Canada’s shameful legacy of colonization, racism, and the continued genocide of the Indigenious people of Turtle Island and their cultures.

ACLA supports the demands put forward by the Land Defenders of 1492 Land Back Lane which calls for the following: 

  1. Implement a moratorium on land development; 
  2. 1492 Land Back Lane remain under Haudenosaunee control and Haudenosaunee sovereignty over the Haldimand Tract respected;
  3. End the criminalization of Land Defenders and their allies;
  4. Stop identifying Land Defenders as “terrorists”; and 
  5. Stop the criminalization of media coverage on this issue

We encourage other labour organizations and community groups to undertake similar statements of solidarity, show up to and support the organizing work led by 1492 Land Back Lane Land Defenders, aid in fundraising for a legal defence fund, and provide additional resources as requested. 

We all must collectively work together to end Canada’s colonial relationship with Indigenous communities and come to terms with the ongoing role of genocide that we as a colonial state have undertaken against the original peoples of these lands.

In solidarity,

Asian Canadian Labour Alliance