Justin Trudeau, minister of nothing and Liberal critic for "youth, post-secondary education, and amateur sport" requested a meeting with Attawapiskat Chief Theresa Spence and received one.
John Duncan, Minister of Aboriginal Affairs for the Government of Canada requested a meeting and has been ignored. #idletousefulmeetings? Currently on day 16 of her hunger strike, Chief Spence has also refused to meet with Patrick Brazeau, former national chief of the Congress of Aboriginal Peoples or government officials and their representatives.
Were this a complete blackout of all political parties it would perhaps carry substantive meaning (a condemnation of the Canadian system in its entirety) but Chief Spence has instead had no problem meeting with members of the New Democratic Party (NDP) or the Liberal Party for what appear to be little more than photo opportunities.
This is the same Liberal Party, mind you, that has had a federal majority government for the lion's share of the last quarter decade -- in other words, all of the time leading up to, and likely while, Attawapiskat was in tatters or on its way there.
#IdleNoMore has a temporary momentum, but unless it answers three basic questions its momentum has a very real expiry date:
1) What are the specific demands of the #IdleNoMore movement? Chief Spence has said that her strike is ultimately about "respect." Well, feeling respected is an emotion -- what specifics are the Idle No More movement looking to change? Repeal of Bill C-45? Removal of the Indian Act? Platitudes about "respect" require detail unless you are Aretha Franklin.
2) Why should the threat of self-harm be considered a legitimate tactic with which to obtain a meeting with the Prime Minister? If ambassadors from the Campaign Life Coalition decided to go on a hunger strike until the Prime Minister agreed to meet with them and discuss the prospect of rights for the unborn, I suspect that a large number of Canadians would be talking about "bad precedents" and "extortion." Idle No More may very well be somehow different -- tell us why.
3) Is this about improving the lives of aboriginal Canadians or using their suffering to improve the lives of aboriginal elites and score political points against the Conservative government?
There is an aboriginal poverty industry in Canada that makes money off the suffering of aboriginals just as there is an urban poverty industry in the United States that makes money off the suffering of black and brown people. Both are industries that always focus on funding or money ahead of initiatives that change behaviour or habits.
In both industries, the primary beneficiaries are bureaucrats who administer "programs" and people from poor communities who maneuver themselves into positions where they benefit from members of their community remaining poor and uneducated. If Idle No More is different, and perhaps it is, tell us why.
Conditions for aboriginals in our country must improve and the status quo is unacceptable. Including a status quo that trades on platitudes and empty words instead of concrete solutions.
Follow Ike Awgu on Twitter: www.twitter.com/IkeWeLike
Fairness, freedom, Justice and respect are rather hard to nail down to specifics.
Harper shows a toatl lack of willingness to work with or for Canadians of any but the 1% type.
Going to the rally to show my support see you there!
The reason why Spence would probably accept meetings with non-Government MPs is quite simple. The request is to the leader of the Government, which is by convention a representative of the state or the actual Queen's representative; meeting with any other government member who does not have the power of those two specific individuals creates an opportunity for the government to say, "we met, it's done", without actually doing anything substantive or engaging in a Nation-to-Nation conversation.
Chief Spence also recently asked for the Chiefs to step up and become involved in the particular activity of requesting a Nation to Nation conversation between the Queen's representative in Canada (GG) and the Government of Canada (from convention). This message has been circulating which summarizes this:
"While we appreciate the individual support we have received from Chiefs and counselors, we have been given a clear mandate by the grassroots to work outside of the systems of government and that is what we will continue to do. We are not trying to have division amongst this movement! However Cheif Nepinak stated, "we are behind the grassroots people"."
Specific demands in English: http://ipsmo.files.wordpress.com/2012/12/idlenomore_handout.pdf
In French: http://ipsmo.files.wordpress.com/2012/12/idlenomore_handout_francais.pdf
In Spanish: http://ipsmo.files.wordpress.com/2012/12/idlenomore_handout_espanol.pdf
Specific long term plan laid out in 440 recommendations by the Royal Commission on Aboriginal Peoples back in 1996:
http://apihtawikosisan.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/12/RCAP-Vol5-ApxA-2.pdf
Those who claim that Idle No More doesn't have clear goals, aren't listening.
Glad to help.
(re-posted)
As for the "poverty industry" in Canada, prior to the passage of Bill C-10, which will continue to incarcerate a higher number of Aboriginal Canadians than any other group, how about repealing that one too, until the social determinants of health & well being are dealt with, the extreme levels of poverty which lead to criminality, the low levels of education that contribute to crime...
The problem for commentators like Ike Awgu is they are ignorant about the day to day reality for many Aboriginal people in Canada, and simply don't understand social movements. People have been naming very clearly for years the problems in Canada's Aboriginal communities, studies have been done & shelved, agreements have been struck - Kelowna Accord - and then broken, so what we are seeing now is a grassroots outpouring saying enough is enough.
If Ike Awgu is a bit uncomfortable about the undefined parameters of this incredible movement, he'd better get used to it. Just like the women's and civil rights movements, it's about much needed social change. And #IdleNoMore is saying get on with it.
Respectfully, it sounds to me like you need to educate yourself about the reality of life in Canada for Indigenous people.
But let us turn to another type of response.
Our report will be questioned by those who hold a strict 'equal rights' view of society that different treatment for people with different needs or histories is simply wrong. This is not a perspective we share, particularly in light of the historical record, but it is worthy of serious debate.
First, to suggest that Aboriginal people's rights should be no different from those of other Canadians denies history. It ignores the original agreements by which this land was opened up. Those agreements confirmed rights and obligations and agreed to respect differences.
These agreements cannot now be disregarded in the name of equal rights any more than can the agreements governing the accession of various provinces to Canada that conferred differing rights and benefits on their citizens be reneged upon.
Second, it must be said that to deny the reality of a different Aboriginal culture and world-view is to display, at the very least, a lack of knowledge. To say Aboriginal people should accept assimilation and the loss of their cultures and identities is unjust and unworkable, as we now know.
Others, however, use 'equal rights' language and references to apartheid and race-based government to mask their prejudice. Today, we ask Canadians to examine the objectives of those who engage in the tactics of fear and consider whether such attitudes are consistent with the values of justice and honour that we believe characterizes our country.
This country is woefully ignorant, on a grand scale, and we will never succeed in rebuilding relationships until we address that ignorance. I can't stress this enough...without education, there can be no justice. And until there is justice...there will be no peace.
http://rabble.ca/blogs/bloggers/apihtawikosisan/2012/12/idle-no-more-no-justice-no-peace
My purpose here was to introduce people to the RCAP, both as a starting point for further investigation into the many issues faced by native peoples in Canada, and also as proof positive that practical solutions have been suggested. That latter part is important, because people need to stop believing that there is no other way 'out' besides just assimilating us once and for all. It might seem so much simpler to just legislate us out of existence, make us all 'the same' to satisfy liberal notions of equality,...
Can't imagine, eh Ike?
What do you know about settler-First Nations relations over the last 500 hundred years?
If you are like the average Canadian, you don't know bubkus about that history, and nothing in your scree indicates you are anything but average in this regard.
Canada is a profoundly racist country in regard to First Nations. The comments on sites such as this are evidence. I suggest you try reading your own article substituting a certain word for 'aboriginal' to see what I mean.
Study of the law, by the way, has nothing whatsoever to do with the study of justice.
thing is that for so many years, the first nations figured that if they complied with what the government asked of them, it would work in their favour... i remember when phil fontaine was the national chief of the afn and one year when the budget came down and nothing was in their favour and none of what they had asked for was met, he sucked it up and said they would keep trying, keep playing by the rules. but turned out that the rules were one sided... and so, we finally have the straw that broke the camel's back.
maybe its not the ideal way to get a meeting with the prime minister, but after so many years of compliance and good faith, with little change and racism still rampant at every level of society and government, what can you do? what would you do?
Too much time in law school.
In French: http://ipsmo.files.wordpress.com/2012/12/idlenomore_handout_francais.pdf
In Spanish: http://ipsmo.files.wordpress.com/2012/12/idlenomore_handout_espanol.pdf
Specific long term plan laid out in 440 recommendations by the Royal Commission on Aboriginal Peoples back in 1996: http://apihtawikosisan.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/12/RCAP-Vol5-ApxA-2.pdf
Those who claim that Idle No More doesn't have clear goals, aren't listening. Glad to help.
http://ipsmo.files.wordpress.com/2012/12/idlenomore_handout.pdf
And they're making these calls outside of the usual political representation of the Assembly of First Nations (AFN) - a government funded organization representing Canadian First Nation indigenous people, but not the Inuit or Metis.
RCI's Wojtek Gwiazda spoke to Dr Taiaiake Alfred a professor at Canada's University of Victoria, about the source of the protests, the constitutional rights of Canada's indigenous nations, and the crisis of dependency created by the relationship between the indigenous nations and the federal government. Professor Alfred teaches in the Indigenous Governance Program at the university.
http://www.rcinet.ca/english/daily/interviews-2012/15-56_2012-12-17-indigenous-rights-a-crisis-of-dependency-and-political-options/