PRESS RELEASE

[blackcrowheart]

PRESS RELEASE
>
>WHY DID British Columbia SENTENCE ABORIGINAL ELDER TO DEATH?
>Fellow Aboriginal activists and concerned non-indigenous citizens demand
>answers regarding the death of Harriet Nahanee as a direct result of her incarceration
>
>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 72, to fourteen days
>incarceration for contempt of court in is obeying the Eagle Ridge Bluff
>injunction. While in jail under unacceptable conditions at Surrey
>re-Trial Center, where she was held in a cell with tens of other inmates
>and subject 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. Aboriginal activists and non-indigenous concerned citizens demand a public inquiry into Harriet
>
>Nahanee's death as a direct result of her incarceration. These are the
>questions we want answered:
>1) Why was Aboriginal elder Harriet Nahanee sent to jail despite clear
>direction from the Supreme Court of Canada that imprisonment should be the last remedy for Aboriginal persons?
>
>2) Why did Madame Justice Brown fail to take Mrs. Nahanee's frail health
>into consideration?

>3) Why did Madame Justice Brown refuse to hear Mrs. Nahanee's Aboriginal
>sovereignty defense? 4) Why was Mrs. Nahanee incarcerated at Surrey
>Pre-Trial Center, under such inappropriate Conditions?
>
>A public inquiry will have to determine why Madame Justice Brown refused
>to hear Mrs. Nahanee's Aboriginal sovereignty defense and incarcerated
>her, whereas all non-Aboriginal defenders of Eagle Ridge Bluff charged
>with the same offense were given either fines or community service. Such
>an inquiry will also have to address Madame Justice Brown refusal to
>exercise her discretionary powers in considering other sentencing
>options or ordering medical check up before incarcerating a
>great-grandmother. Madame Justice Brown was made aware of elder Harriet
>Nahanee's health condition, including her asthma and recent influenza
>before sentencing. Madame Justice Brown is also set to sentence, fellow
>activist and elder, Betty Krawczyk, 78, on Monday, March 5, 2006 for her
>involvement in the Eagle Ridge Bluff Protests. Crown Counsel is asking
>for 9-15 months of incarceration for Mrs. Krawczyk for her opposition to
>the expansion of the Sea to Sky Highway, paving the way to the 2010
>Olympics.
>
>The Crown and the courts also have to answer the underlying question:
>why are 2 respected elders and women over seventy years of age being
>prosecuted for protecting the environment and sent to jail for defending
>the land? There can be no justification for the incarceration and resulting death
>of esteemed Aboriginal elder Harriet Nahanee, a strong voice for her
>people at a time when many are afraid to speak out in the light of
>criminalize of dissent. Harriet Nahanee was a part of many struggles, firstly for the
>recognition of Aboriginal land rights and protecting the environment and
>also fighting against discrimination, marginalizatio marginalization and
>institutionalization of Aboriginal people in the cities, especially
>Aboriginal women in Vancouver's Eastside. She was a vital member of so
>many movements and activist communities, a role model for many and will
>be deeply missed. The loss is aggravated by the fact, that she passed
>away as a direct result of her incarceration, starting January 24, 2007,
>in Surrey Pre-Trial where she contracted pneumonia. A service was held
>at the Squamish Recreation Center on February 28 with hundreds of people
>in attendance mourning the passing of their mother, grandmother,
>great-grandmother, fellow activists, friend and role model.
>FOR MORE INFORMATION CONTACT: Kat Norris
>[phone]
>