Indigenous Woman Forced To Leave Canada on Canada Day
https://www.thestar.com/vancouver/2018/06/30/indigenous-woman-being-forc...
"The colonial border between the US and Canada dissects Indigenous territories in ways that sever the lifelines between FN families, communities, languages and ceremonies,' Dangeli's petition says..."
Happy Canada Day!
Petition: Demand That The Canadian Government Reciprocate the Jay Treaty
https://www.thepetitionsite.com/340/032/152/demand-the-canadian-governme...
"Sign the petition to urge Prime Minister Trudeau and the Canadian government to honour the rights of US-born First Nations people of Canada by codifying the Jay Treaty..."
The Jay Treaty: First Nations and American Indians
https://ca.usembassy.gov/visas/first-nations-and-native-americans/
"The Jay Treaty, signed in 1794 between Great Britain and the United States, provides that American Indians may travel across the international boundary..."
Isn't it kind of odd to try and frame this as "Forced to leave Canada!! On Canada Day!!", when the whole point of the relevant section of Jay's Treaty is to treat Canada as if it doesn't exist?
Maybe if this woman were a Canadian citizen, somehow being forced to go live in the US, the Star's appeal to outraged irony would make sense. As it stands, though, her predicament is a direct result of the fact Canada exists as a separate country to begin with.
The Jay Treaty is an acknowledgement in international law that rights of Indigenous nationals to cross lines arbitrarily imposed by colonizing settler-state invaders and occupiers are recognized as continuing. Canada being a less enlightened jurisdiction than USA in this regard, doesn't reciprocally recognize the same rights.
Here is a similar case where two basketball players from Haidaberg were detained after visiting their relatives in Haida Gwaii.
http://cbc.ca/news/canada/british-columbia/haida-canada-us-border-1.4543877
I probably know her family. Will check in on that. Thanks for posting this story.
The Jay Treaty is an acknowledgement in international law that rights of Indigenous nationals to cross lines arbitrarily imposed by colonizing settler-state invaders and occupiers are recognized as continuing. Canada being a less enlightened jurisdiction than USA in this regard, doesn't reciprocally recognize the same rights.
http://cbc.ca/news/canada/british-columbia/haida-canada-us-border-1.4543877
I'm not denying any of that. Just that, contra the Star's appeal to shamed patriotism, there is nothing antithetical to the meaning of Canada Day about the woman's deportation from the country. Canada Day celebrates the very thing that deprives the woman of the right to live where she wants to live.
Maybe if it were "Indigenous Rights' Day" or "Jay Treaty Day", the ironic spin would make some sense.
