Odds and Ends > Etcetera
The Concerns about Annett
educatedindian:
I look upon Annett (and Lekay's support for him) as much like Ward Churchill. Churchill is opposed to the war, opposed to abuse of Native people on all kinds of issues. All of those I agree with. But has Churchill helped or hurt the antiwar cause? Has he helped NDN causes, or is his carelessness and recklessness and grandstanding used all the time to discredit NDN causes?
I don't think Lekay really cares about NDN causes one bit. He just likes that he can find a few bizarre (not BIZZAR) fringe characters who leach off of NDN causes willing to feed his paranoia.
Ingeborg:
--- Quote from: Moma_porcupine on July 02, 2007, 02:04:51 pm ---James Craven sounds like he was working with cultural sensitivity , on behalf of Aboriginal people for jusctice . If Annett's allegations that this person was an RCMP disrupter are not true , attempting to discredit Mr Craven sounds to me like it was Annett doing the disrupting and not Mr Craven . I am still curious what evidence Annett has for his allegations against James Craven .
--- End quote ---
None whatsoever, I presume. We had contacts to Jim Craven at CERTAIN. What I would like to say is that his long lasting political standings do not make it likely he ever was an RCMP disrupter. However, the person trying to smear Craven as a disrupter may have had his very own reasons to cry wolf.
coffee_drinker:
Has anyone contacted Louie Lawless that filmed the movie, and what his take is on the controversy surrounding Arnett?
Would be curious to know what he has to say on the subject.
Moma_porcupine:
It might be an idea to contact Lawless . In the thread , " Dupree Part 2", LBW posted and said Lawless will be making a movie on her too . Might be good to encourage Lawless to get the opinion of people respected within the Native community and do some investigating first ....
Barnaby McEwen
Reply #3
--- Quote ---The other problem I have with Annett is that he is promoting stories - Native elders providing children for abuse, paedophile rings composed of top politicians & church leaders etc - which sound extremely implausible (except to the paranoid) and lack proof; they are eerily similar to the satanic-ritual-abuse scare stories of the eighties. This is a gift to those anti-Native forces in Canada who want Indians to shut up and go away. Whenever Native people bring up a grievance or demand justice, racists can say "I bet you made that up, just like that residential-school bullshit".
--- End quote ---
In my opinion the difference between being paranoid and telling the truth is simply making sure you got your facts straight .
People who report serious abuse , but don't keep all the facts straight, as some have accused Annett , will tend to be brushed off as being paranoid or exaggerating , , which does a huge disservice to these things being taken seriously and investigated .
The link below has a lot of general information on children being forced into the the sex trade . Though it is so horrendous it's hard to believe , this problem is very real and is often connected to organized crime . Meaning these creeps actually plan their crimes and
conspire to coperate with each other . Many reserves do have a criminal element ,and some tribal councils have been accused of cooperating with this ... So ... anything is possible and unfortunantly not that improbable .
http://72.14.253.104/search?q=cache:gJTDz4S-4s0J:www.harbour.sfu.ca/freda/articles/crime1.htm+%22Harriet+Nahanee%22+
pedophile&hl=en&ct=clnk&cd=8&gl=ca
It wasn't just Annett who had concerns about a pedophile ring. James Craven, mentions this in the link below , along with a lot of other information . In the past 30 years over 500 Aboriginal women have been murdered or have gone missing in Westren Canada . There is many people who feel the RCMP don't seriously investigate these cases .
http://72.14.253.104/search?q=cache:Ph3r5c_rZgcJ:itwillbethundering.resist.ca/warrior_publications/violenceandabuseagainst
women.html+%22Harriet+Nahanee%22+pedophile&hl=en&ct=clnk&cd=4&gl=ca
--- Quote ---These allegations have been echoed by others over the years, including Squamish elder Harriet Nahanee, who has stated that she saw young Native girls being removed from the reserve to serve as prostitutes for wealthy businessmen connected to the Vancouver Club.
James Craven, a Blackfoot & constitutional lawyer, has corroborated this story & stated:
"It has been alleged with considerable supporting evidence, that some of the same forces involved in trafficking young Indian boys & girls for the rich & powerful pedophiles are also involved in key aspects of the BC Treaty Commission as well as being involved in using isolated reserves for the landing & distribution of drugs..." ("Reprisals due to exposure of pedophile ring," Statement by James Craven, August 3, 1998)
--- End quote ---
In 1998 James Craven expressed concern for the safety of Harriet Nahanee , who was one of the people who made the accusations
of organized crime operating on reserves with he cooperation of both native and non native officials in positions of trust .
http://72.14.253.104/search?q=cache:OB9AN97-eTIJ:sisis.nativeweb.org/resschool/aug1398tri.html+%22Harriet+Nahanee%22+
walking+Craven&hl=en&ct=clnk&cd=2&gl=ca
written by James Michael Craven
Thursday, August 13, 1998
--- Quote ---Following the Tribunal, Harriet, who works with Elders of the Squamish has lost her work. Consistent with her duties as a Pacheedaht Elder and descendant of Hereditary Chiefs, she has been going around schools to teach Pacheedaht Culture. Recently portions of her talks have been showing up on the internet; she does not own or know how to use a computer. Further, a few weeks ago she filed a formal complaint with the RCMP alleging that RCMP came on the Squamish Reserve and twice tried to run over her pregnant granddaughter--witnessed by her son Jeff Nahanee and others. The RCMP asked if an apology would be enough--it was not.
Having been made destitute Harriet walks everywhere. Three days ago she received a phone call and a male voice said "now we have you walking which is where we want you; soon we will be seeing you."
This hero refused to break; she is some fighter who has suffered so much and continues to suffer. There are nexuses--increasingly apparent and threatening to some of the powers-that-be and their interests--between the Residential School Abuses, potential Treaties and composition of the Treaty Commission, present-day forms of sexual and physical abuses of children and rings that facilitate them, intra-Tribal corruption, RCMP machinations, threats by ultra-rightists and their allies etc.
I urge all people of conscience to write vigorous letters of protest to the Canadian Government and bring Harriet's story to their attention and demand full investigation of these matters and all necessary resources for her protection.
--- End quote ---
http://72.14.253.104/search?q=cache:sMV4n4vx0DMJ:intercontinentalcry.org/harriet-nahanee-public-inquiry-being-sought/+%22
Harriet+Nahanee%22+died+jail+others+released&hl=en&ct=clnk&cd=3&gl=ca
--- Quote ---On February 24, 2007 Aboriginal Elder Harriet Nahanee passed away, exactly one month after she was sent to jail on January 24, 2007. Madame Justice Brenda Brown sentenced Mrs. Nahanee, age 71, to fourteen days incarceration for contempt of court
in disobeying the Eagle Ridge Bluff injunction. While in jail under unacceptable conditions at Surrey Pre-Trial to racist treatment, Harriet Nahanee contracted pneumonia. She was hospitalized within a week of her release from custody and passed away within a week of that.
A public inquiry will have to determine why Madame Justice Brown refused to hear Mrs. Nahanee's Aboriginal sovereignty defence and incarcerated her, whereas all non-Aboriginal defenders of Eagle Ridge Bluff charged with the same offence were given either fines or community service.
--- End quote ---
The link below has a brief summery of this contraversy .
http://72.14.253.104/search?q=cache:8f2U03gnGtQJ:web.bcnewsgroup.com/portals-code/list.cgi%3Fpaper%3D117%26cat%3D
44%26id%3D1000926%26more%3D0+%22Harriet+Nahanee%22+died+jail+Craven&hl=en&ct=clnk&cd=1&gl=ca
Only the cached link still works , so I am quoting some parts of this article before it disappears entirely .
Refusing to Repent
By Amanda Farrell
Jun 07 2007
--- Quote ---“This story needs to get to a wider scope of people,??? says Annett, who has also written two books on the subject. “[Film] is a more powerful medium when you can see people’s faces and look into their eyes. It’s more meaningful than reading it in a book.???
--- End quote ---
-------
--- Quote ---But the film has been subjected to some harsh criticisms—and not just because of its controversial subject matter. Doug Goodwin, the Executive Secretary of the United Church of Canada’s B.C. Conference, says Annett was not fired from his post in Port Alberni, but resigned—and they have the letter to prove it. “He claims he’s been fired and we have his written letter of resignation in our hands, so he can say what he likes,??? says Goodwin. “He ran into difficulty in his congregation, that happens. When that happens, the church starts investigating. Once that started happening, he simply resigned.???
Goodwin also says the process where Annett was placed on the discontinued service list was well documented and fair, a claim
Annett disputes at length in the film. Annett says the church is trying to discredit him to cover up what happened in the residential schools.
--- End quote ---
-----------
--- Quote ---Goodwin says the United Church has admitted to its role in Canadian residential schools and is doing its best to mend its bridges. “We’ve recognized for many years that the United Church was involved in a system that was unjust and sometimes cruel and was one we regret taking part in,??? he says. “It’s quite well known in the church itself, but it’s not well known to the public so it might seem there is a secret here that is finally being exposed, but that’s not the case . . . the problem with Kevin’s stuff is the alarmist nature of it, that this is new and being covered up and he’s the only one doing anything about it, when that’s not true.???
Some of the more disturbing allegations against Unrepentant comes from first nations people themselves. Jim Craven is a member of the Blackfoot nation who served as a judge at a 1998 tribunal into residential school abuses. Craven, who teaches economics at Clark College in Vancouver, Washington, and also goes by his Blackfoot name Omahkohkiaayo i’poyi, appears briefly in the film when footage from the tribunal is shown. He says he never gave permission to Annett to use his likeness and several others—including 71-year-old Harriet Nahanee, an elder who as arrested earlier this year during the Eagleridge Bluffs protests in Squamish and died shortly after spending 14 days in jail—didn’t either.
“What he does is what he’s always done, and that is to use native people and their cause as stage props for his own narcissism. He’s using people who have already been horribly abused, marginalized and taken advantage of and using them as stage props,??? says Craven, adding that Annett has called him a RCMP and FBI agent—an allegation he says could get him killed in certain circles. “What percentage of the minutes are about poor Kevin, and how many talk about native issues and native people in their own voice????
--- End quote ---
------
--- Quote ---Craven says he’s far from an apologist for the residential school system, and has “accused the Canadian government of genocide to their faces.??? He’s not disputing the factual content of the documentary.
“My own mother is one of the victims, my own mother committed suicide. I’ve interviewed over 400 victims in preparation for liitigation, and this is why I take serious exception, because it is a sacred cause,??? he says. “It is true, but because he stretches things and he can’t be trusted, because he’s an apparent pathological liar, now a sacred cause is tainted with his baggage.???
Both Craven and Goodwin say they know of no first nations group that stands behind Annett’s work, but Annett says he has the support of the majority of first nations groups that “aren’t tied into government money.??? He also says he has been granted permission by residential school survivors to use their testimonies. The issue of not having permission was raised in a bogus manner, he says, during the 1998 tribunal.
--- End quote ---
--- Quote ---“One native woman on the payroll of the government called a press conference and said I didn’t get permission to use the footage,??? says Annett.
--- End quote ---
It is a very complicated and horrendous situation and reading through it all can be a bit overwhelming ....
Barnaby_McEwan:
I'm grateful to you again, Moma P. I had only read Annett's allegations about "paedophile rings" before. I didn't believe him and maybe that illustrates what I was trying to say. Annett presents sensational allegations and I don't believe him because I know a lot of Indian people say he betrayed them. When I hear similar but less luridly presented statements from Native people themselves it becomes credible - but how many Canadians are going to hear those Native voices? It'll be Annett grabbing the few column inches and evening news interviews devoted to this ongoing scandal, versus pundits saying things like "This is over and done with. The band governments got all that money and our government said sorry. This guy's just trying to make a name for himself." And they'd only be right about one of those things.
With regard to Lawless, Coffee Drinker, I wonder whether survivors' organisations might have contacted him with their concerns.
I've found these two pages regarding Kevin Annett and Harriet Nahanee on mytwobeadsworth.com. The oldest is a eulogy written by Annett:
Remembering Harriett Nahanee - Reclaiming our Sacred Space, and Holding the Criminals Accountable
Reading it, you'd think they were still on good terms, and perhaps not notice that's it's as much about Kevin Annett as anyone else: don't friends and colleagues write eulogies?
A week later another page was put up
What Kevin Annett has done to Harriet Nahanee
containing three statements submitted by Jim Craven - including one by Harriet Nahanee - condemning Annett's vanity and bungling, with an account of her life and passing, and a call for political action conspicuously missing from the Fearless Investigator's missive. At the end of his piece there's just a plug for his movie, radio show and website.
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