PHOTO BY MEYSAM MOTAZEDI Heavy Showers and Dark Days Affecting Douglas Moods Nicole Burton, News Editor It’s been a long cold month of darkening days and deepening rain puddles. Meanwhile, stu- dents at Douglas College are now entering the push for the last two weeks of the Fall semes- ter before exams. How has the dreary weather, including record-setting rainstorms and tor- rential winds, affected them? “T think everyone feels a little bit down and low-energy at this time of the year,” says Kelsey White, a student at the New Westminster campus. “I know I start to feel more tired earlier in the day, which can be so frustrating in these final weeks before exams. It means there’s a limit to what I can get done.” Other students tend to agree that the Fall term in general weighs heavily on people’s moods. But last week, to add fuel to the fire, the Lower Mainland was hit by torrential rain- storms cutting power to some 60,000 Greater Vancouver residents and to more than 200,000 across the province. Many Douglas Cc students returned home from classes 't outages and flash floods that hit many ment suites in North Vancouver and c lying suburbs of Surrey, Coquitlam an Ridge. “T got home last Thursday and wa; shocked about the flooding,” said Ken Paquette, a part-time student at the Ni campus and a resident of Surrey. “I’ve my place for two years and this is the | time it has flooded.” For students experiencing bouts w: fatigue, depression, or increased stress anxiety due to seasonal changes, the Vancouver Coastal Health Authority v recommends those who ate. “seasonal tive” to make sure they get full nights and regular exercise, eat a healthy diet, back on products that contain lots of alcohol, caffeine, or tobacco. Six Nations’ Occupation in Caledonia Digs in Heels for Winter Months Protesters in southern Ontario reflect on ten~month fight for disputed land Adrienne Klasa, The McGill Daily (McGill University) MONTREAL (CUP)—Members of the Six Nations Confederacy of Indigenous People are preparing to continue their ten-month occupation of disputed land this winter, after negotiations with the government reached a new roadblock earlier this month. The protesters intend on “maintaining a presence on the occupation site through the winter,’ said Hazel Hill, a Six Nations spokeswoman. Protesters began occupying the land bordering the Grand River in southern Ontario last February to protest the federal government’s sale of what they claimed was their land to a real estate developer. At the beginning of November, the government announced its position on the ownership dispute: according to the min- utes of a set of documents from the 1840s, the Six Nations surrendered the land long ago. However, negotiations continue, as many Six Nations people deny that the records are valid. “These are documents made by a dis- credited agent,” said Lynda Powless, editor of the Turtle Island Newspaper. “The gov- ernment discredited [Samuel Jarvis, an Indian Agent] for . . . stealing funds and absconding. They are fully aware of this sit- uation.” Six Nations spokeswoman Jaqueline House went further, claiming the docu- ments are forgeries. “Signatures are in calligraphy, which our chiefs would never use,” she said. “Or else they have X’s on them . . . and you can see where they started cutting and gluing those on all over the place.” 4 THE OTHER PRESS NOVEMBER 23 2006 Hill described the current occupation site as “quiet” as the protesters prepare for colder months and continuing negotiations. The summer months had been mote exciting, with international visitors from other indigenous communities showing up in support of the land claim, said Powless. However, House stressed that the is less about land than about counter racism and oppression that the Six N people continue to face. “For a long time we blamed ours: for losing our culture, our language, _ “But it’s not our fault. Now, we are _ diplomatically for our dignity. I don’ my children to grow up hating or be hated.” The land-claim dispute has been by tension and violence, including a police raid on the reclamations site ; when protesters were sleeping. Bott and Powless said that many of thos over the past months, with charges from robbery to attempted manslau still awaiting trial and have not had hearings. Other violent run-ins have been journalists and neighbouring reside: Powless said that most of the racial in Caledonia comes from new resid have moved to the area from larger and have no clue who their neighb« while House cited media misrepresi tions.” “[People] come and make ra and throw rocks all the time,” she s one of our guys throws one back . sudden [people think] the natives a attacking.”