Idle No More

Latest News from the United Nations

United Nations Blasts Canada on Human Rights Issues, including Genocide against Aboriginal Peoples

December 27, 2012 News (video)

Unionist wrote:

Well said, quizzical, and well worth repeating.

It's very interesting that settlers, who have denied Indigenous peoples' rights for 500 years, would now take an interest in lecturing them as to how best to win those rights - by being cool, calm, civilized, don't rock the boat. This is not the advice of an ally. And it's the same kind of "advice" that students and workers and women get whenever they become too "uppity".

And how is that same advice working for Palestinians? The U.S. and Israel have always preferred dealing with militant Islam rather than political wings of the PLO and Hamas. Right wing extremists in the U.S. and Israel would rather deal with other right wing extremists when maintaining brutal colonizations.

Similarly I think our corrupt stooges in Ottawa would love nothing more than to let the tanks roll on Indian reserves across the country sooner than be foreced down the road to recognizing their legitimate claims to land and basic human rights. Our right wing extremists in Ottawa would just love another Oka standoff. They would surely "get" that and respond with state-sponsored violence same as they have throughout Canadian history. Our brutes and neanderthals in Ottawa need no encouragement.

"We, First Nations people, have been subsidizing the wealth and prosperity and programs and services of Canadians from our lands and resources," Palmater says. "And that’s the reality here that most people don’t understand."

Thanks for posting this NDPP.
This makes so much sense and needs to be known by all Canadians. Canada's resource wealth, about to explode with massive development, comes from traditional Aboriginal land.

How do we insist that our governments negotiate fair resource sharing agreements?

ilha formosa wrote:

Absolutely. My opinion comes from the perspective of someone who wants to see Idle No More spark a movement congruent with, but extending far beyond, issues concerning indigenous peoples' rights.

yup that beats 20 years of newsgroup flame wars where people expend their energy demanding that others listen while not listening themselves

human rights for all; support for any that try, because they'll be that much better at it to support you in your own efforts

I offer this as one person's opinion, not "advice."

kropotkin1951 wrote:

....Being civil gave them Harper ripping up their treaty rights. Most Canadian settlers merely think that they stole the natives land ages ago so why the fuss now. Maybe if they get stuck in traffic they might give it at least one thought because without the protests FN's were sure not getting a mass outpouring of support from their settler neighbours.

Blockades have happened in the past and Harper is still ripping up treaties. Why the fuss now, what is different?  

1) Progressives and FNs have been handed a well-defined rallying point (C-45) to build broader support.

2) I'll venture to say that it's the **peaceful and non-confrontational** methods that have stirred the hearts and won the support of large numbers of non-indigenous people, rather than the blockades.

The flash mobs in shopping malls have proven to be a "feel-good" way of being heard. Round dances at major street intersections are better than roadblocks for communicating to a broader public indigenous peoples' desire for justice, respect and a better life. Compared to blockades, non-indigenous people can far more easily join round dances - and they do. In a fast-moving and depth-challenged media environment, "feel-good" messages can win more support more quickly.  As for Chief Spence's hunger strike, it's an appeal, not a confrontation; the largest confrontation in this case is her own starvation.

Games and other celebrations of indigenous culture in public spaces, other dances - anything life affirming - I think should continue. I don't think there is a need for anyone but the honorable Chief Spence to be on a hunger strike. Solidarity hunger strikes that do not last will be overblown in the media. Focus.

If Harper and Johnston show themselves to be truly monstrous and Chief Spence dies (bless her soul)...everyone re-watch Attenborough's 'Gandhi' in preparation for this...I say show massive restraint and do not turn to confrontation and violence, because Harper and his ideological core supporters are waiting for a reason to react broadly and ruthlessly. What would be needed in place of violence is a second chief willing to continue with a hunger strike (by this time the demand could be to repeal C-45). If that person dies, I think Canada burns. [eta: That's not a call to violence, which I oppose, but a prediction of what would transpire in a hypothetical situation.]

I'm not on Turtle Island now and I voice this as an opinion, not "advice."

Boom Boom wrote:

Facebook link: Breakin' it Down: Here are Some of the New Bill Features and Just How Treaties Break

(it's an analysis of a speech by Pam Palmater)

(also available as a .pdf file suitable for printing if anyone wants it)

Thanks for that. Very helpful and while the details are beyond me, what comes through very clearly is that Harper is proceeding unilaterally with NO consultation with First Nations on any of these matters that clearly affect them and their treaty rights and territories.

As I posted in another thread, the current GG admitted to Evan Solomon two weks ago on P&P that he'e been  shilling for Harper on 13 international trade junkets so far. He's a useless piece of crap.

(second attempt at posting - this piece of shit board sent me to rabble.ca on my first attempt at posting)

(I'm thinking of leaving this board because I'm fed up - it's only because of people I love on this board that I haven't left already)

Boom Boom wrote:

There's an article in Macleans.ca that apparently is trying to discredit Chief Spence.

Quote:

The hunger strike is just about the most morally serious activity a protester can undertake. The medical profession has given a lot of thought to the “rules” of hunger strikes, which are usually undertaken by imprisoned persons.

"usually undertaken by imprisoned persons" - I don't know what his reason for saying that is. To say that she's not allowed to go on a hunger strike? Doesn't Chief Spence represent a large number of people who are effectively in prison, under the 'custody' of a repressive state and denied their rights, whether they are actually incarcerated or not?

Otherwise, I think the article makes a lot of good points. A big one being the seriousness of a hunger strike. I think solidarity hunger strikes simultaneous with Chief Spence's are going overboard. To support the cause, I say be ready to succeed her in hunger striking if she passes away. (Of course I hope it doesn't come to this.) Spread the strikes out lengthwise in time, not widthwise in geography. One person striking is already quite serious.

There are many other questions the author raises that need to be addressed. This article can help Chief Spence's cause in the long run.

Holy crap, first ad I've ever loved on my comp. #Idlenomore

Read the whole site, I'llry to paraa:

http://idlenomore1.blogspot.ca/

Quote:

Idle No More is a peaceful organization that is working towards profound social,
political, and economic change. Our goal is to use education to build
consciousness and awareness in all Canadians on the resurgence of Indigenous
sovereignty and environmental protections. We are working on building
relationships within our communities as well as across Canada and globally.

ilha formosa wrote:

...His party consists of Reformers who have realized the propaganda value of a monarchy. What would be all the ramifications of going past the PM and GG and straight to the authority that first negotiated the treaties, the British crown?...

I don't know the full intent of Chief Spence's undertaking whether a meeting is symbolic and a test of respect, or if it can actually produce a practical resolve. Nor can I hope to know the full breadth of issues Idle No More participants bring. But I don't think that anyone has any illusions about what Harper can or would do. Any dialogue with Harper would likely only result in the "same old, same old" for our relationship.

There's a lot of subtext and political smokescreens in the media and from pundits and I wonder about the capacity of people to thinking in new and different ways in order to find solutions. But I'm hopeful that both Chief Spence's fast and INM can lead to more progressive public dialogue. Within the First Nations communities, the desire and need for a substantial change in the relationship will continue to grow and evolve regardless of what the government doesn't do.

sknguy II wrote:

I don't know the full intent of Chief Spence's undertaking whether a meeting is symbolic and a test of respect, or if it can actually produce a practical resolve.

I think that Harper has demonstrated he has no problem using his political power to walk over other people, and no scruples when it comes to using his power to subvert democracy, so I'm not expecting anything practical from him.

On the other hand, his arrogance is probably the point on which he is most vulnerable, and the fact that he is letting Chief Spence starve herself because of his ego is evidence of that.

So I do think the meeting is symbolic. But I also think it is far from meaningless. This is a test of how far he is willing to go to not submit to the people.

Yes, the GG is symbolic of the fact that the treaties were signed with the Crown, nation to nation. (That is also the case for peaces agreed upon among different Indigenous nations and with France, in New France). 

I'm optimistic the Settlers have your back. I do. Peace and Solidarity.

Joe Clarke ... That's significant pressure from 'Progressive'Conservatives.
And though it's the only useful and truthful thing she's said, even Christie Blatchford gets this:
[I]But if she were to die on Harper’s watch, it would not only be tragic, but also disastrous.
[/i]
http://www.vancouversun.com/touch/story.html?id=7749970

Harper's a fool to let this escalate, unless that's his purpose ...

sknguy II wrote:

There's a lot of subtext and political smokescreens in the media and from pundits and I wonder about the capacity of people to thinking in new and different ways in order to find solutions. But I'm hopeful that both Chief Spence's fast and INM can lead to more progressive public dialogue. Within the First Nations communities, the desire and need for a substantial change in the relationship will continue to grow and evolve regardless of what the government doesn't do

The Christie Blanchards are inevitable. And shes the tip of the iceberg for all the crap floating around out here among the settler public.

It isnt going to sound pretty- but its discussion. And even being realistic about what is possible, that can only be good. For one thing, there just aren't enough hard hearts out there for people to dismiss a woman starving herself who galvanizes young people across the country. Normally, 70% or so of settlers dont get past the 'whining Natives' schtick in their thoughts and discussion.

I have - actively - supported Indigenous claims for almost all my life (more than "all my adult life" as I have Indigenous relatives, and was very early on exposed to the horrible conditions most Indigenous people in North America and beyond endure, and to contemporary Indigenous struggles). 

That said, I am rather annoyed at calling people who were either born here or immigrated to a very European-settled area called "settlers", confusing them with people who actually stole Native lands, or with contemporary Israeli settlers in Palestinian territories. It is very simplistic, and not useful in getting non-Aboriginals to understand how much they owe to the original inhabitants of these lands, and how deeply they were and continue to be expelled, exploited and oppressed. 

Harper Government Replaces Aboriginal Emblem on $20 Bill

http://www.terracedaily.ca/show10655a/HARPERS_GOV_REPLACES_ABORIGINAL_EM...

"This week the Harper government released new $20 bills which conspicuously replaces the Aboriginal emblem with a depiction of a WW1 memorial. Analysts say the replacement of an aboriginal motif on Canada's money with one linked to Canada's military history is indicative of the Harper government's impulse to celebrate militarism and downplay the importance of Canaada's Indigenous peoples."

think about this - some here might even have settler 'rights' in two stolen land occupations...Israel and Canada..

Three if you count La Conquête! Not to mention Le Grand Dérangement. 

Of course all people in the imperialist countries of the global north - yes, even oppressed Indigenous people in the Canadian state who tend to be somewhat less in deep shit then their sisters and brothers in Bolivia or Guatemala - benefit from imperialism, but this kind of analysis ignores the fundamental class element, and is not necessarily conducive to building solidarity. 

There are a lot of racist or simply ignorant commenters I'm reading these days that I'd like to swat about the vile things they are saying about Indigenous people, Chief Spence and Idle no More, but I don't think the "settler" epithet is necessarily the most useful approach to overcoming systemic racism. Perhaps better to say that people in Canada (and Québec) benefit from stolen land? I tend to use settler in a more narrow definition; someone who has actually, actively, plonked themselves down on someone else's land and kicked out or marginalised the original inhabitants. 

But I guess that is just my allergy to post-modernism... 

I'm actively involved in support to Idle No More, by the way. Meeting tomorrow. 

It would be worthwhile looking even farther back - I'm sure the Reformers and Canadian Alliance have a wealth of neo-liberal crap they have always wanted to force down the throats of Indigenous Nations. 

They are far closer to USIAN Republicans than traditional Canadian Tories. 

NDPP wrote:

Policies of termination, extinguishment, or 'self-government' "until there is not a single Indian that has not been absorbed into the body politic of Canada, and there is no more Indian problem,'  should not be exclusively attributed to the Harper government. No matter how much this kind of revisionist history is now claimed or desired by some. The BC 'trick or treaty' process, for example, which shares many of the same ultimate ends of termination and extingushment as C-45, has been as effectively promoted by the ndp as anybody else. More so in some ways. So let us not so easily forgive and forget parties previously active or committed to usurpation-as-genocide despite a few opportune and  convenient recent photo-ops on Victoria Island

Agreed. Canada's policy on assimilation of Indigenous people has never wavered. It is only more blatant from Harper: All funding removed from negotiating tables for all Bands refusing to submit to 'full and final' surrender of Aboriginal rights 'forever' etc etc ...
There is nothing in that policy that indicates he was sincere in the official apology for the policy of "assimilation" that fueled the damages of the residential schools.

An interesting perspective:
[Url=http://www.firstperspective.ca/news/2766-harpers-gamble-with-first-natio... harpers-gamble-with-first-nations-rage [/url]
[I] As the old year passes, Stephen Harper faces a dilemma: If he can’t attend at Chief Theresa’s Spence’s teepee, how could he possibly attend her funeral? And yet, if should she should starve herself to death because the PM refuses to meet with her, how could he stay away?
[/i]

Key reading.

Understanding Harper's Evangelical Mission: Signs mount that Canada's government is beholden to a religious agenda averse to science and rational debate. By Andrew Nikiforuk.

Quote:

These tenets not only explain startling developments in Canada but should raise the hair on the neck of every thinking citizen regardless of their faith:  1. Disdain for the environmental movement  2. Distrust of mainstream science in general  3. Distrust of the mainstream media  4. Loyalty to the party  5. Libertarian economics as God's will (God is opposed to government regulation or taxation  6. Misunderstanding of divine sovereignty (God won't allow us to ruin creation)  7. Unreconstructed Dominion theology (God calls on humans to subdue and rule creation) 

In the end of the interview, Gushee summarized the purpose of this new evangelical Republicanism: "God is sovereign over creation and therefore humans can do no permanent damage... God established government for limited purposes and government should not intervene much in the workings of a free market economy... The media is overplaying climate change worries... The environmental movement is secular/pagan and has always been a threat to American liberties...

A nicely timed blockade, to pique the attention of people travelling perhaps to reach New Year celebrations. I wonder how many people are aware of the issues and think like the author? How many are more inclined to believe the Conservative spin? What is the risk of a tactic assisting the Conservative spin at a given moment or phase?

Quote:

And so Stephen Harper has placed his bet. It is clear from his strategy that he believes he will be going neither to a meeting nor a funeral and that sufficient pressure can be brought to bear on Chief Spence that she will voluntarily discontinue her hunger strike.

6079_Smith_W wrote:

This is a test of how far he is willing to go to not submit to the people.

I think along the lines that Harper is preparing for - even relishing the prospect of - a repressive crackdown after the passing of Chief Spence and the breaking out of violence. Key for Harper would be preventing the growth of non-indigenous support for INM, and dividing indigenous people against each other (same old). The media offensive that C-45 will only help FNs would be part of this. They will try to isolate and paint as radical the leaders of the INM movement.

I'm not close to what's happening on the ground, but from my distant perspective my ideal strategy would be for INM to dig in for the long-term, a major goal being to teach more non-indigenous people of the issues, and spread deeper than the grassroots, to the mycelia that support the grassroots. I'm hoping the movement can be tenacious enough to continue peacefully teaching non-indigenous people about the issues even after the possible passing of Chief Spence (I wish for her to enjoy good health in this life but I don't think Harper does).

Are there still simultaneous hunger strikes going on in solidarity? I can't recall the names of those strikers, they aren't getting much coverage. The seriousness of a hunger strike means one striker at a time is plenty. If other chiefs are currently hunger striking, my opinion is that they keep their good health for now. They're not getting enough media attention now anyways, although...they could get plenty of national attention now if they say one of them (to be decided when the time comes) will take the place of Chief Spence if she becomes incapacitated, for example if she becomes unconscious or can't communicate lucidly with anyone. The hunger striking they've done so far will serve as proof that they are serious about following in Chief Spence's footsteps. I feel morbid writing this; it's just my opinion about some stark possibilities.

It would be foolish to think this man, Stephen Joseph Harper, is not calculating his options in a scenario in which he lets Chief Spence pass from this world. INM must consider its options beyond the possible passing of valiant Chief Spence. I say keep the pressure on, using peaceful means.

I think this article is also informative: How the FBI coordinated the crackdown on Occupy

Quote:

It was more sophisticated than we had imagined: new documents show that the violent crackdown on Occupy last fall – so mystifying at the time – was not just coordinated at the level of the FBI, the Department of Homeland Security, and local police. The crackdown...was coordinated with the big banks themselves.

Based on seeing speakers on youtube, I also think INM is coming from a much deeper and richer place than OWS, with power enough to transform the oppressor.