[R-G] Anti-Native/anti-gun raid in Canada -- and some personal stuff [Hunterbear]

[Hunter Gray]

Note by Hunterbear:

". . .allegations were made that he was "stockpiling arms" and that they
did not know the identity of the person or persons behind the "malicious
allegation". [Anti-Native raid by Feds in British Columbia.]

It's one more current in the stifling -- and strangling - and rapidly
proliferating Everglades of Sanctimonious Security, a great big piece of the
contemporary repressive scenery North of Mexico.

And this version of Death Valley's gettin' bigger.

The anti-gun laws of Canada are notorious.  What's happened here at Port
Alberni, B.C. to Native people  is reminiscent of Alcohol, Tobacco and
Firearms "raids" during the venomously anti-gun and anti-civil libertarian
Clinton administration -- or the on-going fascist/erector set
political/ethnicity assaults of Bush/Ashcroft.

This particular indigenous family in Idaho [and I mean us -- Real Reds and
pretty radical] has [in my personal case] six traditional Western lever
action big bore rifles and one ten gauge magnum [3 1/2 inch shells]
single-barrel shotgun. A still-young family member has his from-childhood
.22 rifle.  Of course, we have plenty of ammunition because these firearms
are not decorative.

We also have the Family Tomahawk which sits on the wall just behind a
bookcase-top-based bust of Lenin -- part Tartar, BTW -- which I rescued from
oblivion. Mentioning that arrangement in a phone visit to a Back East friend
[and an authority on Lenin], I wondered how V.I. would feel about being
joined by the Native war weapon.

"I really don't think Lenin would mind that at all," my friend replied.

Some years ago, Anglo bigots in Grand Forks, ND, floated the story around
the region that I -- me -- had "a houseful of guns."  During that period,
two unknown very urban-looking white men came to our out-on-the-edge house
on different occasions, seeking the emergency use of our telephone.  Once
in, they seemed to spend an inordinate amount of time looking at the living
and dining room and hallway areas -- but saw only my artist father's fine
Indian art and many other Native things.

Then, in each case, they left fast.

After we returned to the Mountain West -- Eastern Idaho -- we've been
encountering all sorts of surveillance/harassment from assorted "lawmen" and
obvious racists. No raids -- yet.

See my long article, "Civil Rights and Self Defense", from the excellent
socialist journal, Against the Current [July/August 1988.] This was under my
original name of John R Salter, Jr and is posted on our website at
http://www.hunterbear.org/liveissueshtm.htm

Or this glimpse of our Southern Movement realities provided in a civil
libertarian essay:

"In the 1950s and 1960s, a new civil rights movement began in the South.
White supremacist tactics were just as violent as they had been during
Reconstruction. Blacks and civil rights workers armed for self-defense.

John Salter, a professor at Tougaloo College and chief organizer of the
N.A.A.C.P.'s Jackson Movement during the early 1960s, wrote, "No one knows
what kind of massive racist retaliation would have been directed against
grass-roots black people had the black community not had a healthy measure
of firearms within it."

Salter personally had to defend his home and family several times against
attacks by night riders. After Salter fired back, the night riders fled.

The unburned Ku Klux Klan cross in the Smithsonian Institution was donated
by a civil rights worker whose shotgun blast drove Klansmen away from her
driveway.

State or federal assistance sometimes came not when disorder began but when
blacks reacted by arming themselves. In North Carolina, Governor Terry
Sanford refused to command state police to protect a civil rights march from
Klan attacks. When Salter warned Governor Sanford that if there were no
police, the marchers would be armed for self-defense, the Governor provided
police protection."


Hunter [Hunterbear]  [formerly John R Salter, Jr]

===============

Press conference at UVIC MacLauren Bldg

Education Bldg room D114, 11:30-1:00 Thurs.
Oct.3rd

Re: Anti-Terrorist Unit Uses Excessive Force On
Indigenous Family

At 6:00 am Saturday, September, 21st 2002,
members of the Integrated
National Security Enforcement Team (INSET) raided
the residence of Nitanis
Desjarlais and John Rampanen in Port Alberni,
British Columbia. With the
assistance of the RCMP Emergency Response Team,
local RCMP, ambulance, and
fire departments, a warrant to search for
unauthorized firearms was
executed.

This police raid was conducted as a follow-up to
allegations that Mr.
Rampanen was "stockpiling arms". The quiet
neighborhood of Mr. Rampanen and
his common-law wife Ms. Desjarlais, located on
the outskirts of Port
Alberni, was evacuated during the early hours of
September 21st, as a safety
precaution during the police raid. Fortunately,
Mr. Rampanen and Ms.
Desjarlais along with their twelve year old son,
two year old daughter and
new-born son were not present in their home
during the time of incursion.

At 9:45 am on the same day, members of INSET
along with local RCMP officers,
visited the residence of Mr. Rampanens' parents,
also located in Port
Alberni. Upon arrival, INSET officers became
aware of the presence of Ms.
Desjarlais and Mr. Rampanen and immediately began
questioning Ms.
Desjarlais. Ms. Desjarlais was taken outside of
the house and asked if she
knew that John Rampanen was involved in Native
Issues. She replied that she
did and that she herself was involved and
sarcastically asked if it was a
crime to be involved in Native Issues, to no
reply from INSET. Approximately
10 minutes into the questioning, the inquiring
INSET officer received a
telephone call reporting that the searched
residence was "clear". At which
point Ms. Desjarlais was informed by an INSET
member that "it would be a
shame for (her) children to grow up without
parents".

At this point, INSET officers approached Mr.
Rampanen and informed him of
the execution of a search warrant on his
residence. They further informed
him that allegations were made that he was
"stockpiling arms" and that they
did not know the identity of the person or
persons behind the "malicious
allegation". They included that there was
considerable damage inflicted upon
the front entrance to the house and that any
damages incurred would be
covered by the RCMP. Mr. Rampanen was reminded of
the "concern that he
should have towards the safety of (his) children"
and that if he was in
possession of any unauthorized firearms that he
would be given the
opportunity to surrender them without
repercussions. Mr. Rampanen replied
that he does not possess any firearms, that his
house and all of his
belongings had already been thoroughly searched,
and that that should be
evidence that he was not "stockpiling arms".

When asked if this sort of action was to be
expected every time a malicious
allegation was made in regards to Mr. Rampanen,
INSET replied that, "after
today's actions, we would have to say yes". Mr.
Rampanen stated that "it was
because of (his) concern for the safety of (his)
children that he did not
stockpile weapons", and further, suggested that
there are more civilized
methods that could be applied when dealing with
these types of concerns.

Mr. Rampanen and Ms. Desjarlais have been
actively involved in Indigenous
issues for a number of years through
organizations such as; the Union of BC
Indian Chiefs, United Native Nations, Native
Youth Movement, Indigenous
Sovereignty Network, and the Westcoast Warrior
Society. Mr. Rampanen has
also been actively involved in drug and alcohol
rehabilitation programs
directed towards Indigenous youth, as well as,
educational and informational
workshops throughout Indigenous communities. Ms.
Desjarlais is an emerging
videographer and specializes in documentaries
focusing on concerns and
issues arising from various Indigenous Nations.
The young couple have just
recently moved to Vancouver Island where they
plan on raising their
children.

Later, during the evening of the same day and the
morning of Sunday,
September 22nd, other members of the Westcoast
Warrior Society and their
families were also approached by INSET officers.
Similar remarks regarding
the safety and concern of their children, and
suggestive statements
regarding firearms were also expressed during
these visits.

After incidents arising from the weekend of
September 21st, Mr. Rampanen and
Ms. Desjarlais are still trying to ensure that
these types of aggressive
actions are not wrongfully exercised upon those
involved within matters
relating to Indigenous rights. They feel that
these sorts of unnecessary
tactics only contribute negatively towards the
already fragile relationship
between Indigenous Nations and the Government of
Canada.

INSET is a unit that emerged after September 11th
and has a budget of 64
million dollars for a five year period. more info
on INSET at RCMP website.