Idle No More

Boom Boom wrote:

Mulcair called for Spence to end her hunger strike today on CTV's QP. he also said he's been in constant touch with Atleo, whom he calls an extraordinary leader.

Who does he think he is?  Just when I was giving the NDP credit for their support for the Chief and especially Charles Angus's work for the last couple of years on this file.  Just what the relationship needs is another white man telling a FN's leader what is good for her. WTF

I have also been telling friends that Harper has calculated that he will gain support by playing hard ball with the FN's.  Seems the NDP is trying to reshuffle to make sure they appeal to the swing voters who are likely not going to support any FN's activism that disrupts their lives.

kropotkin1951 wrote:

Boom Boom wrote:

Mulcair called for Spence to end her hunger strike today on CTV's QP. he also said he's been in constant touch with Atleo, whom he calls an extraordinary leader.

Who does he think he is?  Just when I was giving the NDP credit for their support for the Chief and especially Charles Angus's work for the last couple of years on this file.  Just what the relationship needs is another white man telling a FN's leader what is good for her. WTF

I have also been telling friends that Harper has calculated that he will gain support by playing hard ball with the FN's.  Seems the NDP is trying to reshuffle to make sure they appeal to the swing voters who are likely not going to support any FN's activism that disrupts their lives.

Most humans would be concerned about another human's health and so would express their concern.

What? Was he supposed to say she shouldn't care about her health? Most people look past nationalirty, race, etc. to express concern for the health of their fellow human.

Otavano wrote:

kropotkin1951 wrote:

Boom Boom wrote:

Mulcair called for Spence to end her hunger strike today on CTV's QP. he also said he's been in constant touch with Atleo, whom he calls an extraordinary leader.

Who does he think he is?  Just when I was giving the NDP credit for their support for the Chief and especially Charles Angus's work for the last couple of years on this file.  Just what the relationship needs is another white man telling a FN's leader what is good for her. WTF

I have also been telling friends that Harper has calculated that he will gain support by playing hard ball with the FN's.  Seems the NDP is trying to reshuffle to make sure they appeal to the swing voters who are likely not going to support any FN's activism that disrupts their lives.

 

Most humans would be concerned about another human's health and so would express their concern.

What? Was he supposed to say she shouldn't care about her health? Most people look past nationalirty, race, etc. to express concern for the health of their fellow human.

Very well said.

6079_Smith_W wrote:

 

This is her stand, and her choice.

But will the Harper government allow that?  I think Harper would sooner try to force her to eat under the guise of being concerned and finding a doctor to make up some claim about her mental health.

6079_Smith_W wrote:

I think everyone is concerned for her health.

But seeing as she has been forced to go to this length to demonstrate her autonomy, it would be an outrage for the government to violate that, along with everything else that they have done to her community.

And ironic.... preventing someone from starving herself just to enforce their power to starve an entire nation. If they want to stop it.... they should stop getting in the way of them feeding themselves.

This is her stand, and her choice.

 

 

Mulcair never recommended sicking the police after her. He merely expressed concern for her health. You're reading way too much into this.

Also on that QP today - repeated at 5 pm eastern on CTV News Net/News Channel  - they talk about the 175 straight lawsuits that FN have won, including 5 in the 32 days Chief Spence has been on her hunger strike. They talk about what this means for resource development - huge implications here.

Unionist wrote:

Quite a gang of "progressives" in this thread. Babble needs a purge. Maybe then some of our missing folks will venture back.

Gotta becareful with that purge button eh?

onlinediscountanvils wrote:

lagatta wrote:

Who is Tobold Rollo? I don't place him, as a babbler. Good piece.

He was around for a few weeks in 2011. He was accused of being a troll, a Conservative or Liberal plant, and basically took a lot of shit from some longtime babblers for having opinions of his own. It's good to see that he's still writing, and that he's been welcomed back by rabble [see:[url=http://rabble.ca/news/2013/01/i-am-canadian-because-treaties-indigenous-... and [url=http://rabble.ca/news/2013/01/then-and-now-journalists-wrong-side-histor..., even if he no longer posts on babble.

Is this pretty much the norm here?   Kinda reminds me of the Survivor TV series.

Unionist wrote:

Quite a gang of "progressives" in this thread. Babble needs a purge. Maybe then some of our missing folks will venture back.

Im pretty sure threats of purges to weed out the non-believers of the true faith is why so many left and will not return

Unionist wrote:

Quote:

And purge? I mean points for honesty, but WTF?

 

Thanks for the points. Yes, purge. We're not in business here to debate whether First Nations leaders and activists should be declared mentally unstable and force fed. That kind of shit belongs out there. Not in here.

 

I don't recall anyone suggesting they should be. Only a questioning wonder if it was a possibility that the Harper government could try and use it as an underhand attempt to take Chief Spence out of the picture or protect themselves from the fallout generated by her passing away.

Big difference but please don't let facts get in your way of discussing who should be purged.

Incidently I wonder who's names would pop up if we revisted the thread that caused Tobold Rolloto depart.

Boom Boom wrote:

Matthew Coon Come - a pretty prominent and well known  FN leader - also suggested that Chief Spence has made her point and needs to stop her fast and to carry on.

He has a right to state his opinion like anyone else. And I have no problem with Thomas Mulcair offering the same advice. And I don't think their respective status or wisdom is at all relevant here.

But the respectful way for ALL of them would have been to speak to her in person, and in private so as not to undermine her stand. What is the point of doing this in public?

http://www.ctvnews.ca/politics/idle-no-more-co-founder-supports-spence-n...

Quote:

A co-founder of the Idle No More movement says while she supports the efforts of fasting Attawapiskat Chief Theresa Spence, she does not condone the blockade of rail lines and highways to draw attention to the protests.

Sylvia McAdam, a professor at First Nations University of Canada and one of the four founders of the now-global movement, describes Idle No More as a peaceful protest.

“Right now the vision of Idle No More is that we’re peaceful and we’re working within the means of the legal boundaries,” McAdam told CTV’s Question Period in an exclusive interview.

Quote:

However, McAdam said the AFN has different goals than the Idle No More movement and the organization cannot speak on behalf of the activists.

“It doesn’t begin to address the issue that Idle No More is attempting to stop and that’s the legislation that’s going through Parliament,” she said, adding that the agenda that emerged during Friday’s meeting between the AFN and Prime Minister Stephen Harper is too narrow to capture the essence of the grassroots movement.

“All I can say is no political organization can speak on behalf of Idle No More.

Read more: http://www.ctvnews.ca/politics/idle-no-more-co-founder-supports-spence-not-blockades-1.1111628#ixzz2HtSluCft

from what i am reading in other forums it seems like many Canadians don't realize the AFN is seperate from #idlenomore.

Otavano wrote:

Interesting. How does this translate peopel abroad commenting on Canada, or Canadians commenting on other nations or non-Canadians?

Well, to some extent most countries prefer that others stay out of their politics, but it's not quite the same dynamics. When we comment on FN leadership, we're commenting as citizens of colonial Canada, on how to go about the business of representing FN in negotiations with colonial Canada. It's a bit of a conflict of interest.

When Canadians comment about American politics, we are speaking about our largest trading partner, and about a country that creates massive worldwide ripples no matter what they do. We're not exactly a disinterested third party, but it's not the same kind of power dynamic.

theleftyinvestor wrote:

When we comment on FN leadership, we're commenting as citizens of colonial Canada, on how to go about the business of representing FN in negotiations with colonial Canada. It's a bit of a conflict of interest.

When Canadians comment about American politics, we are speaking about our largest trading partner, and about a country that creates massive worldwide ripples no matter what they do. We're not exactly a disinterested third party, but it's not the same kind of power dynamic.

Well said.

There is a difference in saying I wish the Chief well and hope her health stays with her and telling her what is good for her health.  She is surrounded by advisers who actually know her state of health and the strategy and issues she wishes to raise. I am sure see doesn't need some white guy to tell her what is best.

Coon Come is a fellow Chief and equal in the AFN. Mulcair is a white settler politician telling a FN's leader what her strategy should be and which FN's leaders stand out and are worth supporting.  I certainly see a difference.

"The naive INM participant" lumped together with judges and reactionaries, NDPP?

Seems to me that judge and many of those crackers would be more than happy to see this decay into violence.

The woman who is one of the founders of Idle No More that was interviewed on QP today said there will be a WORLDWIDE day of action for Idle No More on January 28.

Hard to keep up with everything that's going on. I've heard (Friday) that January 16 is a major day of action, and today one of the founders of Idle No More said an international day of action for INM will take place of January 28.

With 600+ First Nations in this country, if all of them are going to be involved in INM - and I hope they will be - that will almost effectively shut the country down, and force Harper to do some serious negotiating - such as going back to C-38 and C-45, which his puppet John Duncan said will remain as they are - and directly contradicted Matthew Coon Come, who came out after the meeting Friday and said Harper would look at those again under the "duty to consult".

The cultural importance of Idle No More

For Canadians caught in Idle No More traffic snarls over the past month, as indigenous groups march across bridges or block railways, this movement may seem like "just another" native protest.

But for those struggling to understand this movement on a more cultural level, it may be helpful to remember that traditionally, amongst many aboriginal people, the cold days and long nights of winter were a time for storytelling.

Four-year-old Lily Mervyn holds a sign at an Idle No More demonstration near Surrey, B.C., earlier this month. A teachable moment? (Darryl Dyck / Canadian Press)

And, putting aside the politics and the posturing, storytelling is at the heart of Idle No More, at least as many of those on the inside of this movement see it.

I know this is old news for many, but I found the article to be a valuable read. A lengthy quote, I know...yet it's only an excerpt...

Quote:

But what about the Nunavut food crisis? What about the missing and murdered Aboriginal women from all across the country? What about the recent report on the Missing Women Commission & Inquiry, that stated loud and clear for the entire world to hear, that the Vancouver Police (whose salaries are paid with tax dollars) failed all 49 women whose remains were found on the Pickton farm?...What about the recommendations the indigenous communities themselves offered to the Truth & Reconciliation Commission, so that the rest of Canada has some direction on how to work towards reconciliation with indigenous communities? What about all the people who took their own lives after telling the TRC their stories? What about all the indigenous teens living on reserves who have made attempts on their own lives, because they are living in conditions of unbearable poverty? What about all the health risks the Canadian government has either knowingly or deliberately exposed indigenous peoples to, since the formation of this country? Smallpox? Tuberculosis? Forced sterilizations? Depriving supplies of hand sanitizer from reserves during the flu pandemic, knowing that a majority of those same reserves didn’t have clean water with which to practice hand-washing...What about Raymond Silverfox and Frank Paul? To name just two Aboriginal men who died unnecessarily while in custody of either the police or RCMP, who refused to provide access to medical treatment (i.e., in the case of Frank Paul, they just threw him outside in the cold behind the detachment; and in the case of Raymond Silverfox, they dragged his body by one ankle through his own sick, like he was nothing more than a dirty rag). What about “starlight tours”, which we all know have been going on for a long time...What about the apathy of police when dealing with violence within indigenous communities, especially towards indigenous women in urban areas? What about that Highway Of Tears billboard, warning indigenous women not to hitch-hike along the highway where so many of them have mysterious disappeared? I could keep going...

An Open Letter To Jessica Gordon & Sylvia McAdam

..from oakland.

Idle No More Short Documentary – GROUNDED NEWS

http://getgrounded.tv/2013/01/idle-no-more-short-documentary-grounded-news/

The #Ottawapiskat hashtag is great by the way. The idea being, what if all of Canada were one large reserve named Ottawapiskat, and we reported its governance the same way the media is reporting on FN reserves?

e.g.

@urban_su #Ottawapiskat Chief refuses to talk to media.

@m_melody: Have you seen #Ottawapiskat on Canada Day? They all gather in a tribal celebration and they drink so much!

@RRH_123: No accountability from #Ottawapiskat Chief and Council, a pass and permit system should be implemented

@acoyne: In #Ottawapiskat, vast sums of money are centrally controlled by the chief, who doles them out to his cronies and favoured interests.

@SettlerColonial: People. I'm starting to question whether #Ottawapiskat should even exist.

@danminkin: Secretive #Ottawapiskat chief prevented collection of detailed demographic data on reserve.

@druojajay: #Ottawapiskat leaders place great importance on maintaining their culture and traditional songs. pic.twitter.com/zqdJ5C47 {photo of Harper with dude from Nickelback}

@deejayndn: Chief of #Ottawapiskat cuts $27 M in healthcare but spends $28 M on a recreation of the war of 1812. I want accountability.

Mulcair has been a disappointment in my eyes on this whole file. It's a shame, really, because there has been a great opportunity for him to walk in solidarity with the Idle No More movement, right from the beginning. I think Jack Layton would have been talking face-to-face with Chief Theresa Spence every day of her hunger strike, and certainly would have been more visible than Mulcair has been. And I say this as someone who wasn't Layton's biggest fan.

@ BoomBoom

That was one of the things INM founder Sylvia McAdam said at the University of Regina yesterday. It was reported this morning, and is now on the CBC website:

http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/saskatchewan/story/2013/01/14/sk-idle-no-m...