[R-G] Fwd: [Lfd] Letter from incarcerated Lovelace to his daughter

[Anthony Fenton]

Ardoch Algonquin community leader Bob Lovelace is serving a six-month  
jail
sentence for refusing to stop opposing uranium prospecting efforts near
Sharbot Lake by the Oakville-based company Frontenac Ventures. Recently,
Lovelace wrote a letter to his 12-year-old adoptive daughter, Skye,
explaining why he is in jail. We reprint that letter here.


Dearest Skye:

I received your letter the other day and it made me so happy. Your  
letter
sounded as though you are doing well. I know that Jessica loves you and
River very much and will take good care of you. You also have Jack and
Mirielle and Lyann and Mitch and Alyson. I worry about you a lot, but I
know Grandma and everyone else will be there for you.

Your report card made me happy, too. You are doing very well. You  
improved
in a number of subjects and did well in new ones. Of course, if you do  
more
homework and get it done right after school, you would even do better.  
I am
really pleased that you take school seriously and put your best effort  
into
your work. Attitude and effort always pay off.

Your poem made me sad. That is because I miss you so much. When I read  
the
poem, I realized how much you miss me and I felt sorry that I have to be
away. The poem also made me happy because it reminded me how much I love
you and you love me. You are a beautiful, loving daughter and a father
couldn't ask for anything better.

I hope that you understand why I have had to go to prison. I hope that
Jessica and Mirielle have taken time to explain why I made the  
decisions to
challenge the court and ask for a higher standard of justice. As Indian
people, we have lost so much of our land and our culture that we simply
can't let any more be wasted by greedy people. The mining company  
wanted to
dig up and destroy a very beautiful and abundant part of our land. They
would also dump the poisoned water into Crotch Lake, which is the  
source of
clean, fresh water for many people downriver, all the way to Ottawa.

This past summer, the Ardoch council told the mining company they  
couldn't
take our land and they had to leave. We put up guards to protect the  
land
and started teaching people about the hazards of uranium mining and  
about
our rights as Indian people.

The mining company didn't like this. They said Ontario, the  
government, had
given them permission to drill holes in the land. We said that Ontario
couldn't do that because the Canadian Constitution and the highest  
court in
the land has said that Ontario has to talk with Indian people first  
before
mining companies can do their work. We asked important people from  
Ontario
to take responsibility, but they just ignored us. The mining company  
went
to the court house in Kingston and said we owed them $77 million because
we
would not let them on our lands to drill holes. We told the judge that  
it
was Indian land and about the Constitution and about a promise made by  
King
George III a long time ago in 1763. The judge just waved his hand and  
said,
"That's not important. I don't want to know about the past, I want to  
know
about now."

This sounds like a long story, doesn't it? The important part is this:  
the
mining company got the judge to tell us to get off our land and let the
mining company drill holes. Algonquin law says that we have a duty to
protect the land and the people. This is our homeland and we have no  
other
place in the world to call home.

The elders who keep our law said that exploring for uranium is
unacceptable. They had seen what had happened to other Indian lands and
people. So we said to the judge "no." I said we wouldn't get out of the
way and we wouldn't let the mining company drill holes in Mother Earth,
estwakimikwe.

The mining company got really mad and told the judge that I should be  
put
in prison while they did they work drilling holes. The judge was mad,  
too,
because I had disobeyed his order and he believes that his law is more
important than Algonquin law. All this time, Ontario stayed quiet about
their responsibility, hoping that no one would notice.

I don't like being in prison. It is not nice here and I miss you and  
River,
Michael and Victoria very much. But I think I did the right thing. You
children need clean, beautiful land on which to live your lives. The  
land
gives us everything we need and our Indian culture comes from the land.
Harold, your adopted grandfather, and I promised each other many years  
ago
that we would fight for the land and people; that we would make sure  
that
the children, you and your children, would have what Kijimanide, the
Creator, gave our ancestors.

So I hope this helps you understand why I am in prison. I pray every day
that I will be home soon, and I know that many other people are  
praying as
well for my release. We will be together again soon, so don't give up  
hope.

I love you.
Love Bobby
(your Dad)

Copyright C 2008 The Whig Standard