Ohsweken, April 9, 2015. The Embassy of the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela in Canada, represented by Ambassador Wilmer Barrientos Omar Fernández, attended last Wednesday April 8, a cultural meeting organized by the leaders of the Six Nations of the Grand River in honor of the memory of the Supreme Commander of the Bolivarian Revolution Hugo Chavez. The meeting entitled "Meeting of Friendship" was held at the Mohawk Longhouse, sacred center for the celebration of rituals and other traditional Canadian First Nations activities.
The meeting was attended by about 200 people, most of them members of the Mohawk, Cayuga, Onondaga, Oneida, Seneca and Tuscarora Nations, members of the Six Nations of The Grand River Reserve, being the only reserve in North America where the six Iroquois Nations live in community.
These nations are unified under the Great Tree of Peace. During the American Revolution, Captain Joseph Brant led many from the Iroquois Confederacy to ally with the British. For their loyalty to the Crown, the Six Nations would be deeded a tract of land along the Grand River. Eventually, most of the land would be stripped from them and they would be reduced to present 46,000 acres. Recognized as “Six Nations Reserve No. 40”. " These 46,000 acres (190 km2) account for about 5% of the original 950,000 acres (3,800 km2) of land granted to the Six Nations by the Haldimand Treaty of 1784.
On his part, Ambassador Barrientos, focused on publicizing the inclusion of indigenous communities in the Venezuelan legislation, the demands for their rights and self-determination of their ancestral cultures, having as main objective the preservation of their land, free from any capitalist exploitation. Also, the Bolivarian Ambassador stressed the importance of the creation of the Indigenous University of Venezuela (UIV), located in Tauca, State of Bolivar, which seeks the inclusion of the original ethnic groups to the system of vocational training within their own cultures. To this effect, the academic curriculum is decided by the elders of the Academy of Culture Ye'Kuana, developed according to the needs of indigenous peoples. In that sense, the Venezuelan Ambassador added, "the Indigenous University in Venezuela, officially created in June 2010, is a historic legacy of our Supreme Commander Hugo Chavez and represents the vindication of our indigenous peoples in educational development, where they decide what they want to study, within their ancestral cultures, and are not exposed to material foreign to their roots, therefore, the Ye'Kuana, E'ñepa, Pumé, Warao, Sanemap, Piaroa and other indigenous peoples are prepared to become leaders and multipliers in their communities; as so the indigenous educator is also at the same time a promoter of ethno development. "
The Venezuela's top diplomatic representative in Canada highlighted the importance of the self-determination of the peoples and the need to avoid foreign interference in the internal affairs of States; he also gave details of what the executive order signed by President Obama means for Venezuela and the region, and the #ObamaRepealTheExecutiveOrder campaign. In that sense, Ambassador Barrientos noted, "the Bolivarian Government is a guarantor of peace and a broad defender of human rights, so it is unsustainable that Venezuela, the socialist Venezuela that conceived Hugo Chavez, and is continued by our President of the workers, Nicolas Maduro, could be an extraordinary threat to any state, and even less to the imperial power of the US. This latest assault on the Venezuelan people, not only it is repudiated by Venezuelans, it is condemned by comrades from other parts of the hemisphere, by regional integration organizations such as the CELAC, UNASUR, ALBA, religious leaders, social movements, progressive organizations, among others. "
After the native dances, rituals and exchange of presents, at that meeting of friendship, Fawn - Indian name of Yvonne Hill - Mohawk Clan Mother, thanked Ambassador Barrientos and other members of the diplomatic corps for their participation and said that he was the only Ambassador to visit the reserve, while repudiating any attempt to destabilize and interventionist and expansionist policy of hegemonic powers that hover on the peoples of Latin America, especially against Venezuela, as has been done throughout history against the First Nations of the continent; and concluded by signing the request to US President for the repeal of the executive order issued recently, where the Obama administration declares Venezuela an extraordinary threat to the United States.
