Open Letter And Ultimatum To Archbishop Of Vancouver From Sovereign Squamish People

An Open Letter and Ultimatum to John Michael Miller, Catholic Archbishop in “Vancouver, Canada” on occupied sovereign Squamish territory

November 1, 2011

Dear John Michael,

I have tried speaking to you before now, but you haven’t answered my calls concerning the location of the many children who died under the legal care of your church in the Christian internment camps inaccurately called “Indian residential schools”.

Now that survivors of those camps have tried to occupy your Cathedral last Sunday, we seem to have won your attention. So please take careful note of what I am about to say to you, which I communicate as a delegated legal agent of the sovereign siyam of the Squamish people, Kiyapilano, whose land you illegally occupy and who formally evicted you from it three years ago.

As of this Sunday, November 6, our people and broader international movement will continue to peacefully reclaim the buildings of your church which lie on Squamish sovereign land, and on other nations, through direct occupation of the churches and offices of your corporation known as the Roman Catholic church. We will do so indefinitely until you and your corporation agree to do the following:

1. Vacate the premises of these churches and buildings so that they can be opened as permanent sanctuaries for the homeless and the poor, as Christ himself commands,

2.  Publicly identify the location of the buried or incinerated remains of all the children who died in Catholic Indian residential schools and hospitals, and repatriate those remains to their families for a proper burial at the expense of your corporation, and

3. Publicly surrender all the written and other evidence relating to these deaths, and all those persons responsible for causing or concealing these deaths.

If you agree to do these three things, further protests will not be necessary. This matter is now in your hands.

I offer my prayers to you, and commend this matter to your conscience and Creator. I look forward to your written reply no later than 9 am on November 6, 2011. In the absence of your reply, our occupations will continue, and will extend to other communities.

Sincerely,

Rev. Kevin D. Annett (Eagle Strong Voice), M.A., M.Div.

Legal agent for Siyam Kiyapilano, sovereign Squamish people,

and Secretary of The International Tribunal into Crimes of Church and State (Brussels), affiliated with Occupy the Vatican

Cc: world media, the Vatican, ITCCS