TCFN Off Reserve Human Rights Fund
Donation protected
We, as Tallcree Indians, aspire to self-determination, and the right as Indigenous people to take an active part in choosing our own political and economic destiny based on the interrelation between cultural, social and spiritual values.
Our people have walked the land since time immemorial, and through such interaction between human body and physical space—to the extent that our journey in life starts and ends with the soil under our feet—an energy has formed that can only be only be described as spiritual. This energy plays an essential part in healing; it is life’s blood (of ancestral bonds with earth, wind, fire and water) that invigorates well-being. It is something that can be only truly felt when your feet touch ground in your own homeland.
Our homeland is the territory of the Woodland Cree, which our ancestor Kuis-Kuis-Kow-Ca-Poohoo deemed to protect under Treaty 8 for the benefit of his people as long as the sun shone and the rivers flowed.
Currently, Canada and the Tallcree Tribal Government are colluding to deprive us of our homeland, which is impacting on the physical and spiritual well-being of the people of Tallcree as a whole.
Therefore, we as Tallcree Urban Indians, Nehiyowak are working on putting together a case against the TCFN Tribal Government for the following reasons:
1. We are TCFN Band Members that rightfully belong to Tallcree;
2. We have been rejected as TCFN Band Members without just cause or reason;
3. We have Aboriginal, Indigenous and Treaty Rights that are being ignored;
4. We have been separated from our homeland far too long, and simply want to reconnect to a place that was deprived to our mothers, grandmothers, and great grandmothers through no fault of their own;
5. We deserve Tribal Government leadership, policies and practices that support equality, fairness, freedom and unity for all Members of Tallcree.
6. We want Election and Members Codes that represent all the people of Tallcree, at all times for now and future generations.
A contingency-fee, could possibly cost $10,000. We have set our $15,000 goal amount for the following reason...
GoFundMe charges 2.9% on total amount of donations
$15,000 x 2.9% = $435.00
GoFundMe also charges $0.30 on every dollar donated
$15,000 x $0.30 = $4,500
Total = $4,935
$15,106 - $4,935 = $10,171
We will also be requesting that TCFN Tribal Government cover "ALL COURT COSTS".
What we have worked on up to this point of time...
1. Contacted INAC various times by email, phone, and personal meeting. We have been rejected help by INAC, because TCFN is under custom code. INAC's only suggested solution is to take this to court.
2. We have attempted to contact Chief Rupert Meneen numerous times and he has not responded to any of our calls or emails.
Our plans,
1. Raise enough money for a contingency fee, to take our case to court.
2. Select a lawyer that will "best represent" us TCFN Urban Indians in court. We do have a few lawyers that are interested.
3. Request a Federal Court Injunction to refrain TCFN Tribal Government from specific acts - Election and other Court Proceedings.
4. Discuss a potential Band Division from TCFN in the event that our voices are not heard via court proceedings.
We have chosen Valerie Mercredi Smith to be the head of our TCFN case against the TCFN Tribal Government. Valerie does have a lot of insight to offer our case, and we will support her with donated funds and information that we have collected over the past 6 months.
Our current TCFN Leadership is moving forward and has eliminated us as TCFN band members. We do have a lot that we can potentially lose if we do not make plans to move forward with this now.
We currently have 166 members in our Facebook Group, and we do have supporters that do not have Facebook Accounts.
We are asking all of you to donate what you are capable of donating towards our goal.
If all 166 members made a $91 donation - we would have enough money to hit our goal. If you are unable to donate the $91 on your own, maybe discuss splitting the donation with TCFN members that support us and are not in our Facebook Group "Okawimaw Askiy".
Payment Options; (You may need to set up a Paypal Account to donate with debit card)
1. Donate $91 to this GoFundMe Account showing your name.
2. Donate $91 to this GoFundMe Account anonymously - and private message me your name(s), date and amount of donation.
3. Donate $91 to this GoFundMe Account on behalf of you and your family - show your name and private message me the other members that contributed.
4. Donate what you can afford - showing your name.
5. Donate what you can afford "anonymously" and private message me your name, date and the amount that you donated.
6. Donate "more" than $91 showing your name.
7. Donate "more" than $91 "anonymously" and private message me your name, date and the amount that you donated.
If at some point of time that we do not need to take our case to court - we will reimburse the amount donated to the person that submitted the donation via e-transfer - it would be the responsibility of the person that "donated" via GoFundMe to return the money to others that contributed through them. If we decide to cancel this campaign before a bank account is added, your donation will be returned to you by this GoFoundMe Account - again it is your responsibility to return the funds that you donated on behalf of others.
If we end up having money left over after the contingency fee has been paid and no other court fees are in question - we will reimburse as equally and just as possible.
This is why it is important to provide name, date, and amount donated to Renee Higa-Brown via Facebook Messenger.
The funds will cover the following,
1. Contingency fee to pay lawyer.
2. TCFN Court related travelling expenses for Valerie Mercredi Smith.
3. Any fees that are required to pay toward this Court Case.
Valerie Mercredi Smith has stated that she will be very conservative with her travelling expenses. Valerie has family and friends that will be able to accommodate her if she is required to stay out of town for court related business.
Please know that a separate bank account will be opened to access these funds and will require the signing authority of 3 Tallcree Members.
I Renee Higa-Brown will not be on the signing authority of the bank account, but I will be in charge of collecting information and documenting all activity in regards to this GoFundMe Account and providing updates to members of our group.
We will provide transparency with the following;
1. Pictures of physical receipts for all payments made
2. Pictures of physical receipts for TCFN Court related travelling expenses
3. All information and documentation related to the court case as permitted by lawyer.
4. A spreadsheet will be maintained with all donation & payment information - names, dates, amounts.
We will share this court case info within our group and not on this GoFundMe Account.
Deadline;
Friday, September 21, 2018
Our people have walked the land since time immemorial, and through such interaction between human body and physical space—to the extent that our journey in life starts and ends with the soil under our feet—an energy has formed that can only be only be described as spiritual. This energy plays an essential part in healing; it is life’s blood (of ancestral bonds with earth, wind, fire and water) that invigorates well-being. It is something that can be only truly felt when your feet touch ground in your own homeland.
Our homeland is the territory of the Woodland Cree, which our ancestor Kuis-Kuis-Kow-Ca-Poohoo deemed to protect under Treaty 8 for the benefit of his people as long as the sun shone and the rivers flowed.
Currently, Canada and the Tallcree Tribal Government are colluding to deprive us of our homeland, which is impacting on the physical and spiritual well-being of the people of Tallcree as a whole.
Therefore, we as Tallcree Urban Indians, Nehiyowak are working on putting together a case against the TCFN Tribal Government for the following reasons:
1. We are TCFN Band Members that rightfully belong to Tallcree;
2. We have been rejected as TCFN Band Members without just cause or reason;
3. We have Aboriginal, Indigenous and Treaty Rights that are being ignored;
4. We have been separated from our homeland far too long, and simply want to reconnect to a place that was deprived to our mothers, grandmothers, and great grandmothers through no fault of their own;
5. We deserve Tribal Government leadership, policies and practices that support equality, fairness, freedom and unity for all Members of Tallcree.
6. We want Election and Members Codes that represent all the people of Tallcree, at all times for now and future generations.
A contingency-fee, could possibly cost $10,000. We have set our $15,000 goal amount for the following reason...
GoFundMe charges 2.9% on total amount of donations
$15,000 x 2.9% = $435.00
GoFundMe also charges $0.30 on every dollar donated
$15,000 x $0.30 = $4,500
Total = $4,935
$15,106 - $4,935 = $10,171
We will also be requesting that TCFN Tribal Government cover "ALL COURT COSTS".
What we have worked on up to this point of time...
1. Contacted INAC various times by email, phone, and personal meeting. We have been rejected help by INAC, because TCFN is under custom code. INAC's only suggested solution is to take this to court.
2. We have attempted to contact Chief Rupert Meneen numerous times and he has not responded to any of our calls or emails.
Our plans,
1. Raise enough money for a contingency fee, to take our case to court.
2. Select a lawyer that will "best represent" us TCFN Urban Indians in court. We do have a few lawyers that are interested.
3. Request a Federal Court Injunction to refrain TCFN Tribal Government from specific acts - Election and other Court Proceedings.
4. Discuss a potential Band Division from TCFN in the event that our voices are not heard via court proceedings.
We have chosen Valerie Mercredi Smith to be the head of our TCFN case against the TCFN Tribal Government. Valerie does have a lot of insight to offer our case, and we will support her with donated funds and information that we have collected over the past 6 months.
Our current TCFN Leadership is moving forward and has eliminated us as TCFN band members. We do have a lot that we can potentially lose if we do not make plans to move forward with this now.
We currently have 166 members in our Facebook Group, and we do have supporters that do not have Facebook Accounts.
We are asking all of you to donate what you are capable of donating towards our goal.
If all 166 members made a $91 donation - we would have enough money to hit our goal. If you are unable to donate the $91 on your own, maybe discuss splitting the donation with TCFN members that support us and are not in our Facebook Group "Okawimaw Askiy".
Payment Options; (You may need to set up a Paypal Account to donate with debit card)
1. Donate $91 to this GoFundMe Account showing your name.
2. Donate $91 to this GoFundMe Account anonymously - and private message me your name(s), date and amount of donation.
3. Donate $91 to this GoFundMe Account on behalf of you and your family - show your name and private message me the other members that contributed.
4. Donate what you can afford - showing your name.
5. Donate what you can afford "anonymously" and private message me your name, date and the amount that you donated.
6. Donate "more" than $91 showing your name.
7. Donate "more" than $91 "anonymously" and private message me your name, date and the amount that you donated.
If at some point of time that we do not need to take our case to court - we will reimburse the amount donated to the person that submitted the donation via e-transfer - it would be the responsibility of the person that "donated" via GoFundMe to return the money to others that contributed through them. If we decide to cancel this campaign before a bank account is added, your donation will be returned to you by this GoFoundMe Account - again it is your responsibility to return the funds that you donated on behalf of others.
If we end up having money left over after the contingency fee has been paid and no other court fees are in question - we will reimburse as equally and just as possible.
This is why it is important to provide name, date, and amount donated to Renee Higa-Brown via Facebook Messenger.
The funds will cover the following,
1. Contingency fee to pay lawyer.
2. TCFN Court related travelling expenses for Valerie Mercredi Smith.
3. Any fees that are required to pay toward this Court Case.
Valerie Mercredi Smith has stated that she will be very conservative with her travelling expenses. Valerie has family and friends that will be able to accommodate her if she is required to stay out of town for court related business.
Please know that a separate bank account will be opened to access these funds and will require the signing authority of 3 Tallcree Members.
I Renee Higa-Brown will not be on the signing authority of the bank account, but I will be in charge of collecting information and documenting all activity in regards to this GoFundMe Account and providing updates to members of our group.
We will provide transparency with the following;
1. Pictures of physical receipts for all payments made
2. Pictures of physical receipts for TCFN Court related travelling expenses
3. All information and documentation related to the court case as permitted by lawyer.
4. A spreadsheet will be maintained with all donation & payment information - names, dates, amounts.
We will share this court case info within our group and not on this GoFundMe Account.
Deadline;
Friday, September 21, 2018
Fundraising team: TCFN Urban-Indians vs TCFN Gov. (2)
Renee Higa-Brown
Organizer
Lethbridge, AB
Valerie Smith
Beneficiary
Valerie Smith
Team member
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