Queen of England Issued a Letter of Demand, Possible Lawsuit by Indian Residential School Survivors
Evening of Thursday, January 24, 2008
Unceded Squamish Territory ("Vancouver, Canada")
Elizabeth Windsor, the Queen of England, was issued a Letter of Demand yesterday that requires that she identify the fate and burial sites of all the children who died in Indian Residential Schools established under the authority of the Church of England and the British Crown.
The Letter was handed personally to Governor-General Michaelle Jean by aboriginal elder Carol Martin at the Downtown Eastside Womens' Centre in Vancouver in the afternoon of Wednesday, January 23. Ms. Martin asked the Governor-General to deliver the Letter of Demand to the Queen on behalf of residential school survivors, and the Governor-General accepted the Letter and assured her that she would.
As a Common Law Notice, the Letter requires that the Queen comply with the request to identify the grave sites and cause of death of these children within thirty days, or face possible legal action.
"The buck stops at Buckingham Palace" commented another aboriginal elder and residential school survivor. "The Queen, and the Pope, are the ones responsible for the genocide their government and churches did to my people. She has to be held accountable. She has the power to help bring our children home, finally."
In recent weeks, similar Letters of Demand have been issued to officials of the Canadian government and the Catholic, Anglican and United Church of Canada by residential school survivors. Karl Ratzinger, Pontiff of the Roman Catholic Church, is scheduled to be issued a similar Letter of Demand soon.
A national press conference to announce the next stage in this Truth Campaign will be held on Monday, February 4 at 10:00 am outside the Prime Minister's Office at 80 Wellington street in Ottawa. Organizer Kevin Annett (Eagle Strong Voice) will be present at this event.
For more information contact:
The Friends and Relatives of the Disappeared
(Chief Louis Daniels, Anishinabe Nation, Patron)
c/o 1-888-265-1007 (pager) or:
hiddenfromhistory@yahoo.ca
A copy of the Letter of Demand to the Queen of England is reproduced below.
Issued 24 January, 2008.
..............................................................................................
Public Notice
Letter of Demand from Elders and Members of The Friends and Relatives of the Disappeared
23 January, 2008
To: Elizabeth Windsor, aka "Queen of Great Britain"
Buckingham Palace,
London, England
(transmitted through the office and person of Michaelle Jean, Governor-General of Canada)
Dear Ms. Windsor,
This Public Letter of Demand is issued to you, Elizabeth Windsor, as one who claims the title and fiduciary responsibility of Queen of Great Britain and the Commonwealth, and Head of the Church of England in Canada, aka the Anglican Church.
We, as the friends and relatives of tens of thousands of children who died or were murdered in Indian Residential Schools in Canada established and run by your Church of England and the British Crown from 1867 to 1996, do hereby demand that you, Elizabeth Windsor, in your capacity as Queen of Great Britain and the Commonwealth, and Head of the Church of England, publicly disclose the cause of death, and whereabouts of the buried remains, of all children who died in Indian Residential Schools operated by the Church of England in Canada, aka the Anglican Church.
This Common Law Notice also requires that you, Elizabeth Windsor, arrange the immediate repatriation without conditions of the remains of these persons to their homes for a proper burial.
This Common Law Notice also requires that you, Elizabeth Windsor, publicly name and surrender all person in or employed by the government of Canada and the Anglican Church who are responsible for or complicit in these deaths and disappearances, and all documents and evidence related to the same.
This Common Law Notice also requires that you, Elizabeth Windsor, compel the government of Canada through its Governor-General to comply with these requirements of natural justice and international law.
If you, Elizabeth Windsor, fail to comply with these requirements within thirty (30) days of your receiving this notice through the medium of the Governor-General of Canada, it will be assumed that you do not dispute the claims contained herein, and legal action may be commenced against you.
Sincerely,
Jeremiah Jourdain
on behalf of The Friends and Relatives of the Disappeared
Issued under the Tribal Land Law Jurisdiction of the Squamish Nation on unceded Squamish Territory
cc: world media and governments, indigenous nations