DemocracyNow.org – A new campaign for indigenous rights and environmental justice is spreading across Canada. The “Idle No More” movement began as a series of protests against a controversial government budget bill, but has since expanded into a nationwide movement for political transformation. Aboriginal and environmental activists are calling on Prime Minister Stephen Harper to honor treaties with aborigines; open dialogue with environmentalists; and reject tar sands pipelines that would infiltrate First Nation territories. We go to Toronto to speak with Pamela Palmater, Chair in Indigenous Governance at Ryerson University and spokeswoman for the “Idle No More” movement. “We, First Nations people, have been subsidizing the wealth and prosperity and programs and services of Canadians from our land and resources,” Palmater says. “And that’s the reality here that most people don’t understand.”

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