The settlement of this lawsuit which gave nothing to the Kitchenuhmaykoosib Inninuwug First Nation, was the end of a protracted struggle led by the Ojicree community to stop uranium exploration on their territory and to assert their sovereignty. Often framed as a struggle for 'better' consulataion process, Kitchenuhmaykoosib Inninuwug viewed it as an assertion of their own sovereignty and the right to say no to activities on their lands which they do not approve of. In October 2005, five First Nations in Treaty 9 territory including KI declared a moratorium on mining exploration in northern Ontario, asserting their sovereignty and voicing their disproval of the Mining Act's free entry system. Disregarding the moratorium, mining company Platinex attempted to set up an exploration camp at Nemeigusabins Lake in February 2006. They were requested to leave by Chief Donny Morris and Councillor Sam McKay and the next day the Company flew in a corporate 'security consultant' and Ontario Provincial Police also showed up. Platinex left and filed an injunction to prevent any KI interference as well as $10 billion in damages against KI, which was the highest in Canadian history. The community decided to try to fight in court, and they won a temporary pause on Platinex drilling on July 27, 2006. However, negotiations were difficult with Ontario and Platinex working together against the First Nation. By May of 2007, the courts decided Platinex could begin drilling against the wishes of the community. In Oct 2007, KI informed the court they would be pulling out of the 'consultation' process as they had spent almost $700,000 on the legal battle and had no more money to spend on it. The community could spend no more money on the legal process and informed Ontario they would "address the Platinex situation ourselves, on the ground." When Platinex notified the community of their intention to come and start drilling, Chief Morris responded “As for your proposed arrival in the community on November 6, 2007, please be advised that the membership of Kitchenuhmaykoosib Inninuwug are reaffirming that your admittance into the community IS NOT allowed and this has been demonstrated to you once before." For this response, on March 17, 2008, KI Chief Donny Morris, Deputy Chief Jack McKay, Councillors Sam McKay, Darryl Sainnawap, Cecilia Begg and staffer Bruce Sakakeep were sentenced to six months in jail for contempt of court. This jailing was very high profile and put their case in the national and international news headlines. Rallies were held and the sovereignty issues facing Grassy Narrows First Nation, and Ardoch Algonquin leader Robert Lovelace banded together to demonstrate against their similar issues. Due to the pressure, Platinex requested their release in court on May 28, 2008. Legal observers described a “complete meltdown” of Ontario’s senior legal counsel in the proceedings at the Court of Appeal. Ultimately, Kitchenuhmaykoosib Inninuwug First Nation won their struggle and it is also recognized as a catalyst in Ontario’s reform of the Mining Act, which was announced in July 2008; just seven days after the written reasons of the Court of Appeal called the existing mining legislation “archaic.” We encourage you to read a more in depth version of these events and the mining moratorium itself. We also encourage you to view this struggle as Ojicree assertion of their own legal system and rights to the land, not a better consultation process under the colonial system.

From Wikipedia: "Ella Josephine Baker (December 13, 1903 – December 13, 1986) was an African-American civil rights and human rights activist. She was a largely behind-the-scenes organizer whose career spanned more than five decades. In New York City and the South, she worked alongside some of the most noted civil rights leaders of the 20th century, including W. E. B. Du Bois, Thurgood Marshall, A. Philip Randolph, and Martin Luther King Jr. She also mentored many emerging activists, such as Diane Nash, Stokely Carmichael, and Bob Moses, as leaders in the Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee (SNCC). Baker criticized professionalized, charismatic leadership; she promoted grassroots organizing, radical democracy, and the ability of the oppressed to understand their worlds and advocate for themselves. She realized this vision most fully in the 1960s as the primary advisor and strategist of the SNCC. Biographer Barbara Ransby calls Baker "one of the most important American leaders of the twentieth century and perhaps the most influential woman in the civil rights movement". She is known for her critiques of both racism in American culture and sexism in the civil rights movement." In order for us as poor and oppressed people to become a part of a society that is meaningful, the system under which we now exist has to be radically changed. It means facing a system that does not lend itself to your needs and devising means by which you can change that system. That is easier said than done. — Ella Baker