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Rachel Décoste

Motivational Speaker & Software Engineer / Conférencière et Ingénieure en informatique

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Should Idle No More Include African Canadians?

Posted: 01/08/2013 8:08 am

In the wake of the Idle No More movement, Canadians of all stripes have taken sides. Some denigrate aboriginals for falling prey to centuries of oppression while others feel it is time to address chronic issues once and for all. Others have simply dismissed it as yet another "Indian thing". Canadians of African descent tend to feel sympathy for indigenous peoples.

The similarities between aboriginals and black Canadians abound: both were oppressed people, both were driven/captured from their homelands by mostly Europeans. Both were dehumanized and denigrated as wild, suspicious and uncivilized. Both have suffered overt bigotry, denial of rights and opportunities during the colonial period. Enduring prejudice, profiling and over-incarceration round out the similarities.

From the very beginning, there is said to have been regular intermingling between Native Americans and Africans, which might explain why a polyglot African man, Mathieu Dacosta, was called upon to interpret and translate Mikmaq language on explorer Samuel De Champlain's maiden voyage in 1604. Today, there are large numbers of blacks in the Americas who share Native ancestry.

It was the same Europeans who forced indigenous people onto reserves that introduced slavery. In fact, for most black Canadians, the historical trajectory of their presence in the Americas begins with the transatlantic slave trade.

Unlike natives, there are no apologies, no reparations, no special recognition for the centuries of torture brought upon 12 million people. The peculiar institution erased language, religion, culture, and any lands previously associated with its victims. Even their names were forcibly replaced with Eurocentric monikers.

Yet blacks still identify with the plight of indigenous people.

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  • A native dancer looks on during an 'Idle No More' gathering on Parliament Hill in Ottawa on Monday, Jan. 28, 2013. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Sean Kilpatrick

  • Native dancers rally during an 'Idle No More' gathering on Parliament Hill in Ottawa on Monday, Jan. 28, 2013. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Sean Kilpatrick

  • Idle No More Mall Protest

    <a href="http://www.huffingtonpost.com/social/LJ_Henshell"><img style="float:left;padding-right:6px !important;" src="http://graph.facebook.com/630755180/picture?type=square" /></a><a href="http://www.huffingtonpost.com/social/LJ_Henshell">LJ Henshell</a>:<br />A First Nations Drummer plays during a protest at Intercity Shopping Center in Thunder Bay, Ontario

  • It's about the future

    <a href="http://www.huffingtonpost.com/social/LJ_Henshell"><img style="float:left;padding-right:6px !important;" src="http://graph.facebook.com/630755180/picture?type=square" /></a><a href="http://www.huffingtonpost.com/social/LJ_Henshell">LJ Henshell</a>:<br />A child protests in Thunder Bay, Ontario

  • United we stand

    <a href="http://www.huffingtonpost.com/social/Doug_Cleverley"><img style="float:left;padding-right:6px !important;" src="http://graph.facebook.com/805699678/picture?type=square" /></a><a href="http://www.huffingtonpost.com/social/Doug_Cleverley">Doug Cleverley</a>:<br />At the #IdleNoMore rally in Owen Sound (Saugeen Ojibway Nation territory), during a spontaneous round dance at the main downtown intersection.

  • Killer Whale Dance

    <a href="http://www.huffingtonpost.com/social/Courtney_Harrop"><img style="float:left;padding-right:6px !important;" src="http://images.huffingtonpost.com/twitter_profile_img/4441016.png" /></a><a href="http://www.huffingtonpost.com/social/Courtney_Harrop">Courtney Harrop</a>:<br />Idle No More actions, Coast Salish Territories, Powell River, BC

  • Idle No More #J11

    <a href="http://www.huffingtonpost.com/social/Courtney_Harrop"><img style="float:left;padding-right:6px !important;" src="http://images.huffingtonpost.com/twitter_profile_img/4441016.png" /></a><a href="http://www.huffingtonpost.com/social/Courtney_Harrop">Courtney Harrop</a>:<br />Coast Salish Territories, Powell River, BC

  • Idle No More #J11 March

    <a href="http://www.huffingtonpost.com/social/Courtney_Harrop"><img style="float:left;padding-right:6px !important;" src="http://images.huffingtonpost.com/twitter_profile_img/4441016.png" /></a><a href="http://www.huffingtonpost.com/social/Courtney_Harrop">Courtney Harrop</a>:<br />Coast Salish Territories, Powell River, BC

  • Tla'Amin Prayer Song #J11 Idle No More

    Tla'Amin Prayer song on #J11 2013 Idle No More, Coast Salish Territories, Powell River BC

  • Tla'Amin Killer Whale Dance, #J11 #IdleNoMore

    Tla'Amin Killer Whale Dance, #J11 #IdleNoMore, Coast Salish Territories, Powell River, BC

  • C45 affects all Canadians! Join the fight.

    <a href="http://www.huffingtonpost.com/social/Eleanor_Kure"><img style="float:left;padding-right:6px !important;" src="http://graph.facebook.com/840875359/picture?type=square" /></a><a href="http://www.huffingtonpost.com/social/Eleanor_Kure">Eleanor Kure</a>:<br />At the Idle No More protest in Halifax Nova Scotia. with an eco-justice article in pocket, spreading the word that Bill C45 affects every Canadian, not only First Nations. Thank you FN, for beginning this movement.

  • Piyesiw Awasis

    <a href="http://www.huffingtonpost.com/social/mizzren"><img style="float:left;padding-right:6px !important;" src="http://images.huffingtonpost.com/twitter_profile_img/3183681.png" /></a><a href="http://www.huffingtonpost.com/social/mizzren">mizzren</a>:<br />Thunderchild First Nation @ Lloydminster Flash Mob. January 16, 2013

  • <a href="http://www.huffingtonpost.ca/2013/01/16/idle-no-more-queen-elizabeth-2-highway-blockade-alberta_n_2490009.html">Idle No More supporters jump onto a truck</a> as they are pushed by a driver trying to pass, as the protesters block Highway 2 as part of a planned national day of action, in Edmonton, Alberta on Wedneday January 16, 2013.

  • Aboriginal protesters march down Huron Church Road towards the Ambassador bridge in Windsor Ontario, Wednesday, January 16, 2013. About 1000 demonstrators disrupted traffic to the country's busiest border crossing for several hours.

  • Aboriginal protestors pray at the end of their blockade of a CN railroad track just west of Portage La Prairie, Man., on Wednesday, January 16, 2016. They ended their protest without incident.

  • Aboriginal protesters demonstrate at the base of the Ambassador Bridge in Windsor Ontario, Wednesday, January 16, 2013. About 1000 demonstrators disrupted traffic to the country's busiest border crossing for several hours.

  • Idle No More demonstrators block a CN east-west track just west of Portage La Prairie, Manitoba Wednesday, January 16, 2016.

  • Mississaugas of the New Credit support INM

    <a href="http://www.huffingtonpost.com/social/Vicki_King_Jamieson"><img style="float:left;padding-right:6px !important;" src="http://graph.facebook.com/750500023/picture?type=square" /></a><a href="http://www.huffingtonpost.com/social/Vicki_King_Jamieson">Vicki King Jamieson</a>:<br />New Credit Youth supporting INM

  • Montreal Idle No More

    <a href="http://www.huffingtonpost.com/social/Caillum"><img style="float:left;padding-right:6px !important;" src="http://s.huffpost.com/images/profile/user_placeholder.gif" /></a><a href="http://www.huffingtonpost.com/social/Caillum">Caillum</a>:<br />Thousands of people, both Native and Canadian, show their support at an Idle No More protest in Montreal on January 11th, 2013.

  • #Denendeh #J11 #IdleNoMore #YZF #NWT Yellowknife "Northwest Territories"

    Video of the Global Day of Action rally in downtown Somba K’e (Yellowknife)on the Akaitcho territory of the Yellowknives Dene First Nation in Denendeh (Northwest Territories).

  • #IdleNoMore March and Round Dance in Yellowknife Denendeh NWT

    "Today (Friday, December 21, 2012) in Denendeh and across the globe, we made an impact, a statement for true justice to be brought forward and acknowledged. But it will not stop, for the 8th fire has been lit and will only grow. Mahsi for all who showed up and united, we felt the support....we felt the fire!! And there's more to come in the new year." On Facebook By Lawrence Nayally, Melaw Nakehk'o and Eugene Boulanger https://www.facebook.com/events/112403725595655/

  • Attawapiskat Chief Theresa Spence, wearing a headdress, takes part in a drum ceremony before departing a Ottawa hotel to attend a ceremonial meeting at Rideau Hall with Gov. Gen. David Johnston in Ottawa, Friday January 11, 2013.

  • Attawapiskat Chief Theresa Spence, centre, departs a Ottawa hotel to attend a ceremonial meeting at Rideau Hall with Gov. Gen. David Johnston in Ottawa, Friday January 11, 2013.

  • Prime Minister Stephen Harper meets with First Nations leaders in Ottawa on January 11, 2013.

  • Prime Minister Stephen Harper meets with First Nations leaders in Ottawa on January 11, 2013.

  • Attawapiskat Chief Theresa Spence makes a brief statement on Victoria Island near Parliament Hill Friday January 11, 2013 in Ottawa. Spence is speaking out for the first time about how her reserve spends government money, saying most of what flows to her isolated James Bay reserve actually gets spent outside the community.

  • Aboriginal Chiefs stand at the main gate to Parliament Hill during a protest Friday January 11, 2013 in Ottawa.

  • Idle No More protesters listen to speakers during a rally on Parliament Hill Friday January 11, 2013 in Ottawa.

  • Gordie Odjig of Wikwemikong stands at the west gate to the Langevin Block during the aboriginal meeting in Ottawa on Friday, January 11, 2013.

  • Idle No More at UBC Vancouver

    <a href="http://www.huffingtonpost.com/social/Randall_Gray"><img style="float:left;padding-right:6px !important;" src="http://graph.facebook.com/100001602753648/picture?type=square" /></a><a href="http://www.huffingtonpost.com/social/Randall_Gray">Randall Gray</a>:<br />

  • Idle No More at UBC Vancouver

    <a href="http://www.huffingtonpost.com/social/Randall_Gray"><img style="float:left;padding-right:6px !important;" src="http://graph.facebook.com/100001602753648/picture?type=square" /></a><a href="http://www.huffingtonpost.com/social/Randall_Gray">Randall Gray</a>:<br />

  • Los Angeles Rally In Solidarity with First nations

    <a href="http://www.huffingtonpost.com/social/hp_blogger_Melinda Gopher"><img style="float:left;padding-right:6px !important;" src="http://www.huffingtonpost.ca/contributors/melinda-gopher/headshot.jpg" /></a><a href="http://www.huffingtonpost.com/social/hp_blogger_Melinda Gopher">HuffPost Blogger Melinda Gopher</a>:<br />Brock Conway, Blackfeet activist, with Saulteaux Actor Adam Beach and companion. Photo: Morning Star Gopher

  • Native protesters march up Wellington Street in Ottawa on Friday, January 11, 2013.

  • Four-year-old Phoenix Sky Cottrelle,from Aamjiwnaang First Nation, holds a sign as aboriginal protestors gather on Victoria Island before they march to Parliament Hill in Ottawa on Friday, January 11, 2013.

  • Aboriginal protestors hold signs as they march from Victoria Island to Parliament Hill in Ottawa on Friday, January 11, 2013.

  • Gordie Odjig, an aboriginal protestor from Wikwemikong, shouts as he marches from Victoria Island to Parliament Hill in Ottawa on Friday, January 11, 2013.

  • Woman's Voices

    <a href="http://www.huffingtonpost.com/social/Courtney_Harrop"><img style="float:left;padding-right:6px !important;" src="http://images.huffingtonpost.com/twitter_profile_img/4441016.png" /></a><a href="http://www.huffingtonpost.com/social/Courtney_Harrop">Courtney Harrop</a>:<br />Idle No More event Dec 30th,2012. Tla'Amin Nation Coast Salish Territories Powell River, British Columbia.

  • Idle No More Edmonton

    <a href="http://www.huffingtonpost.com/social/AUPELOCAL6CHAIR"><img style="float:left;padding-right:6px !important;" src="http://images.huffingtonpost.com/twitter_profile_img/4411530.png" /></a><a href="http://www.huffingtonpost.com/social/AUPELOCAL6CHAIR">AUPELOCAL6CHAIR</a>:<br />Planned overnight and what a turn out!

  • IdleNoMore March, Dauphin, Mb

    <a href="http://www.huffingtonpost.com/social/Phyllis_Racette"><img style="float:left;padding-right:6px !important;" src="http://graph.facebook.com/1354341984/picture?type=square" /></a><a href="http://www.huffingtonpost.com/social/Phyllis_Racette">Phyllis Racette</a>:<br />#IdleNoMOre Dauphin, Mb

  • Chicago Idle No More @ the Canadian Consulate

    <a href="http://www.huffingtonpost.com/social/Jolene_Aleck"><img style="float:left;padding-right:6px !important;" src="http://graph.facebook.com/644015258/picture?type=square" /></a><a href="http://www.huffingtonpost.com/social/Jolene_Aleck">Jolene Aleck</a>:<br />Chicago's Idle No More 1.5.2012 rally @ the Canadian Consulate

  • VancouverC Jan 2 2013

    <a href="http://www.huffingtonpost.com/social/gerrybates"><img style="float:left;padding-right:6px !important;" src="http://s.huffpost.com/images/profile/user_placeholder.gif" /></a><a href="http://www.huffingtonpost.com/social/gerrybates">gerrybates</a>:<br />Idle No More at Waterfront Station, Vancouver, BC

  • A man waves a flags as aboriginal protesters and supporters in the Idle No More movement block the Blue Water Bridge border crossing to the United States in Sarnia, Ont. on Saturday, January 5, 2013.

  • VancouverA Jan 2 2013

    <a href="http://www.huffingtonpost.com/social/gerrybates"><img style="float:left;padding-right:6px !important;" src="http://s.huffpost.com/images/profile/user_placeholder.gif" /></a><a href="http://www.huffingtonpost.com/social/gerrybates">gerrybates</a>:<br />Idle No More at Waterfront Station, Vancouver, BC

  • VancouverB Jan 2 2013

    <a href="http://www.huffingtonpost.com/social/gerrybates"><img style="float:left;padding-right:6px !important;" src="http://s.huffpost.com/images/profile/user_placeholder.gif" /></a><a href="http://www.huffingtonpost.com/social/gerrybates">gerrybates</a>:<br />Idle No More at Waterfront Station, Vancouver, BC

  • VancouverD Jan 2 2013

    <a href="http://www.huffingtonpost.com/social/gerrybates"><img style="float:left;padding-right:6px !important;" src="http://s.huffpost.com/images/profile/user_placeholder.gif" /></a><a href="http://www.huffingtonpost.com/social/gerrybates">gerrybates</a>:<br />Idle No More at Waterfront Station, Vancouver, BC

  • VancouverH Jan 2 2013

    <a href="http://www.huffingtonpost.com/social/gerrybates"><img style="float:left;padding-right:6px !important;" src="http://s.huffpost.com/images/profile/user_placeholder.gif" /></a><a href="http://www.huffingtonpost.com/social/gerrybates">gerrybates</a>:<br />Idle No More at Waterfront Station, Vancouver, BC, January 2, 2013.

  • VancouverF Jan 2 2013

    <a href="http://www.huffingtonpost.com/social/gerrybates"><img style="float:left;padding-right:6px !important;" src="http://s.huffpost.com/images/profile/user_placeholder.gif" /></a><a href="http://www.huffingtonpost.com/social/gerrybates">gerrybates</a>:<br />Idle No More at Waterfront Station, Vancouver, BC

  • VancouverE Jan 2 2013

    <a href="http://www.huffingtonpost.com/social/gerrybates"><img style="float:left;padding-right:6px !important;" src="http://s.huffpost.com/images/profile/user_placeholder.gif" /></a><a href="http://www.huffingtonpost.com/social/gerrybates">gerrybates</a>:<br />Idle No More at Waterfront Station, Vancouver, BC

  • VancouverG Jan 2 2013

    <a href="http://www.huffingtonpost.com/social/gerrybates"><img style="float:left;padding-right:6px !important;" src="http://s.huffpost.com/images/profile/user_placeholder.gif" /></a><a href="http://www.huffingtonpost.com/social/gerrybates">gerrybates</a>:<br />Idle No More at Waterfront Station, Vancouver, BC

  • Flag Planting

    <a href="http://www.huffingtonpost.com/social/seawaytoday"><img style="float:left;padding-right:6px !important;" src="http://s.huffpost.com/images/profile/user_placeholder.gif" /></a><a href="http://www.huffingtonpost.com/social/seawaytoday">seawaytoday</a>:<br />Akwesasne Idle No More att Cornwall, ON

  • Dec 21st 2012 Idle No More Ottawa: Berdine

    <a href="http://www.huffingtonpost.com/social/Gail_Chicky_Gallagher"><img style="float:left;padding-right:6px !important;" src="http://graph.facebook.com/535670179/picture?type=square" /></a><a href="http://www.huffingtonpost.com/social/Gail_Chicky_Gallagher">Gail Chicky Gallagher</a>:<br />

In an interesting evidence of relations between Indians and African Americans, as it were, is found in the account given by escaped slave Josiah Henson of his flight in 1830 with his wife and family, through Ohio into Upper Canada.

The fugitives were kindly received and entertained in an Indian camp. Henson would go on to establish the Dawn Settlement in Upper Canada "for the alone purpose . . . of Education Mental Moral and physical of the Coloured inhabitants of Canada not excluding white persons and Indians"; commemorated today at Uncle Tom's Cabin Historic Site in Dresden, Ontario. In the West coast, the Father of British Columbia, a black immigrant named Sir James Douglas, took a wife of Cree ancestry in 1828, forging an alliance in accordance with customs of the epoch.

While our history books feed the Euro-centric narrative of constructs such as Savage vs. Civilized, Indian vs. Conqueror, or Black Slave vs. his Master, the full spectrum of these relationships begs to be rediscovered.

As #IdleNoMore started on Twitter, the medium continues to be a focal point for the movement. The Twitter thread is peppered with references to legendary activist Rosa Parks, who refused to give up her seat in a segregated bus, quotes from Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., a central figure in the quest for African-Americans' civil rights in the 1960s, and excepts from Bob Marley's defiant anthems. Perhaps there is room for a renewed kinship there.

Unfortunately, the thread also refers to non-indigenous Canadians as "settlers", in an "us VS them" ideology which is a disservice to the movement.

2013-01-08-02.png

Rosa Parks wanted to sit alongside her fellow citizens, to erase the racial divisions of the day. Martin Luther King's unifying message resonated with people of all races and creeds, and drew allies far beyond the African-American community. Martin Luther King took the high road at every opportunity, refusing to mirror the toxicity thrown in his path.

An individual has not started living until he can rise above the narrow confines of his individualistic concerns to the broader concerns of all humanity.
~Martin Luther King, Jr.
2013-01-08-04.png

The term "settler" promises to puncture the circle of tolerance, inclusiveness and fairness which endows aboriginal culture -- an ethos which forms the cultural inheritance upon which Canadian memes are intricately seeped.

There is a small but vocal fringe in the Idle No More movement which advocates for the deportation of said "settlers". This unfortunate sentiment has turned potential friends into foes -- especially in the black community where it's a chilling reminder of the first time Africans were forced to traverse the Middle Passage.

Somewhere along the line, some have forgotten that protection of waterways is of concern to every living person, that all Canadians fancy a long-term solution to the chronic problems highlighted by Chief Spence, and that respect is a two-way street.

While the African and aboriginal ancestral drums differ in dimension, they may strike matching rhythms. The ties that bind needn't be eradicated; formed under duress, they can be forged anew. Here's to the powwow that makes room around the circle for everyone, where all can feel welcome alongside Canada's aboriginals.

 

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DeannaBrown
3 Fans
08:27 PM on 01/10/2013
We are fighting a common enemy, for the rights of our people to continue to protect the overall environment that we all live in. There are only a few of our own people who are calling for deportation of "settlers," a term coined by the non-native allies themselves. I’m someone who realistically can’t see deporting everyone who has descended on the soils of Canada. They speak out of anger because everyone has benefited from colonialism in Canada except First Nations. The majority of the people fighting for support with the INM movement want to work with Canadians to mend a highly broken relationship. We call for unity and solidarity, not just in our own communities, but with all Canadians. You can also understand our frustration, and a lot of times people will react out of anger. I don't say this to discount their anger, they are valid in their feelings. But anger will only get us so far, a rationale approach is what we are all striving for. Ask an INM activist, join in, you will be surprised with the openness to answer questions or address a concern you may have.
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Foltbolt
5 Fans
10:45 AM on 01/09/2013
You know, I am a first-generation Canadian of European descent, and the constant use of European/Euro-centric to describe the oppressors in Canada makes me very uncomfortable. I am of a people who, in Europe, were denied the right to self-determination for literally a thousand years. A people who were systemically oppressed and assimilated since the beginning of the rise of Nationalism and who fell under Nazi and then Communist control.

My parents had to risk their lives to escape the Iron Curtain, and they came to this country to experience freedom. And they still experienced discrimination here: my mother nearly died from blood poisoning because a doctor gave her a needle in a hallway instead of a hospital room because she was an immigrant who was therefore "dirty."

Nonetheless, the country has come a long way, and my family thoroughly believes in and supports the principles of equality and freedom that we, as a Canadian nation, strive to achieve.

And yet, simply because we are of European-descent, we are lumped in with the perpetrators of oppression and discrimination and slavery of years past. I don't understand why this is so. There are many European peoples who experienced discrimination in Europe and many of them came here to be free, not to control. Please don't lump us in with the British aristocracy, who are the main perpetrators of the crimes in North America.
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HUFFPOST SUPER USER
teeleecee
I'm not who I think you think I am.
76 Fans
02:30 AM on 01/11/2013
"Somewhere along the line, some have forgotten that protection of waterways is of concern to every living person, that all Canadians fancy a long-term solution to the chronic problems highlighted by Chief Spence, and that respect is a two-way street." I don't think it's an issue of whether or not African-Canadians should be invited to stand alongside NP in INM. As you clearly state, it's an issue of everyone unifying around land protection and government/corporate takeovers that affect everyone.
Permalink  |
Donna Meness
www.findmaisyandshannon.com
224 Fans
02:46 AM on 01/09/2013
http://www.omfrc.org/newsletter/issue3-march-2009.pdf

" The Buxton Liberty Bell "

&

A Bit of History
Spencer Alexander was kind enough to provide us with this little known fact.
When most people are asked, “Who were the first settlers to remain on the
continent of North American after the First Nations people?” they will answer the
Europeans. This is not true.
In the summer of 1526, 500 Spaniards along with 100 of their Black slaves founded
a settlement near the mouth of the Pee‐Dee River in present day South Carolina.
Disputes with nearby Natives and disease caused many deaths in the early months
of the settlement. In November the slaves rebelled, killed some of their masters,
and escaped to the Indians. By then only 150 Spaniards survived; they retreated to
Haiti, leaving behind their Black slaves, who merged with nearby Indian nations.
This would make them the first people after the First Nations people, to settle and
remain in North America.

http://www.omfrc.org/newsletter/jan10.pdf

( mind you Spencer forgets the Vikings settlements in the 10C of the east coast..& Baffin Island cough cough..DM)



Most people are unaware of the rich history shared by Blacks and the aboriginal peoples of North America. If you have the opportunity, visit the Buxton National Historical Site and Museum to find out more.

For more information visit http://www.buxtonmuseum.com/
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markinthedark
81 Fans
09:29 AM on 01/09/2013
Re: the vikings. I think that's why Spencer specifies "settle and remain". The vikings did not remain in North America (Newfoundland or Baffin Island) for long. The prevalent theory is that these were not permanent settlements but rather trading posts. If there were any permanent Norse residents in north america, they did not settle properly: they withdrew in less than a generation and left no descendants behind... as far as we know, that is.
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Rachel Decoste
Motivational speaker + | Conférencière ++
210 Fans
 
12:14 PM on 01/09/2013
How fascinating! Thank you for bringing this forward!
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Donna Meness
www.findmaisyandshannon.com
224 Fans
10:25 PM on 01/09/2013
no problemo.. I worked in the best PUBLIC specialized  "Treaty & Aboriginal Rights Library in Canada..& been giving cultural presentations since grade 4..some 40 yrs. now..
 
I been on the www since 2007..I'm KINDA liking it..sorta..
 
politically I wish that the Fifth Estate still had honour..alas reporters are now only repeaters..sigh
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Donna Meness
www.findmaisyandshannon.com
224 Fans
02:04 AM on 01/09/2013
RCAP

"In the southeastern region of North America, the Cherokee were organized into a confederacy of some 30 cities - the greatest of which was nearly as large as imperial London when English explorers first set eyes on it.

In northern North America, Aboriginal cultures were shaped by environment and the evolution of technology. The plentiful resources of sea and forest enabled west coast peoples to build societies of wealth and sophistication. On the prairies and northern tundra, Aboriginal peoples lived in close harmony with vast, migrating herds of buffalo and caribou. In the forests of central Canada, Aboriginal peoples harvested wild rice from the marshes and grew corn, squash and beans beside the river banks, supplementing their crops by fishing, hunting and gathering. On the east coast and in the far north, the bounty of the sea and land - and their own ingenuity - enabled Aboriginal peoples to survive in harsh conditions.

The Americas were not, as the Europeans told themselves when they arrived, terra nullius - empty land."

"Whereas it is just and reasonable, and essential to Our Interests and the Security of Our Colonies, that the several Nations or Tribes of Indians, with whom we are connected and who live under Our Protection, should not be molested or disturbed in the Possession of such parts of Our Dominions and Territories as, not having been ceded to or purchased by Us, are reserved for them, or any of them, as their Hunting Grounds... "

Royal Proclamation of
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AcunningDisguise
magnus gigas caput
241 Fans
09:09 PM on 01/08/2013
Idle no more should include Canadians! I make no distinction as to type, group, color or smell!
Well maybe smell...
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DerrickS
0 Fans
02:38 PM on 01/08/2013
I'm black and I feel absolutely no sympathy with Idle No More. I think it's a ridiculous movement, and frankly if I were an American I'd be insulted at the comparison as my ancestors were SLAVES and the victims of real, not imagined or "cultural", mass genocide and slaughter. I should be lobbying for the government to give me free education, no taxes, and free housing. Native Canadians by comparison have it pretty good.

I'm tired of the left lumping us all into groups and making blanket generalizations, and arguing we're all "kinsmen" against the "white man" based on events centuries ago. Who gives a damn about an 1830 escaped slave? Why should I care, nearly 200 years later?
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HUFFPOST SUPER USER
Charles the Great
Canadian/Israeli Goy in Alert,Nunavut
137 Fans
08:25 PM on 01/08/2013
I'm part Mi'kmaq and yes I never cared anyway. They make up lies as they go along one is Natives can not live off reserve is one and some are saying Canada is no different to Apartheid in South Africa.
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Donna Meness
www.findmaisyandshannon.com
224 Fans
01:26 AM on 01/09/2013
South Africa came to Canada to find out how to impose colonial rule..

http://www.rcinet.ca/english/archives/column/the-link-africa/TruthandReconciliationCanadaSouthAfricaResidentialSchoolsAbuses/

&

http://globalizationstudies.ca/?page_id=24

"It is important to consider that the Apartheid system of South Africa is in some ways modeled after sections of the Indian Act of Canada. Officials of the Indian Affairs Department actually traveled to South Africa to discuss some of the sections of the Indian Act which were then enacted by the apartheid regime, particularly concepts of keeping people in villages, giving them passes in order for them to leave the village, and setting up town councils like band councils. "

&

ABORIGINAL PEOPLE:/HISTORY OF DISCRIMINATORY LAWS*

This paper will outline the history of federal and provincial laws applicable to aboriginal people.

There has been relatively little discussion, however, of the discriminatory provincial legislation and the joint impact of federal and provincial discrimination on the basic human rights of aboriginal people. This paper does not attempt to identify exhaustively every instance of statutory discrimination and its implications. It will, however, review the history of this issue and examine both federal and provincial strands of legislation.

http://publications.gc.ca/collections/Collection-R/LoPBdP/BP/bp175-e.htm
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Donna Meness
www.findmaisyandshannon.com
224 Fans
09:32 AM on 01/09/2013
I imagine that if you had historic rights to YOUR OWN LAND..


In May 2005, the Queen, during a visit to the First Nations University of Canada in Saskatchewan, presented a piece of Balmoral granite engraved with the ciphers of Queen Victoria and herself. The gesture behind the gift was outlined in the Queen's words:

"This stone was taken from the grounds of Balmoral Castle in the Highlands of Scotland — a place dear to my great-great-grandmother, Queen Victoria. It symbolises the foundation of the rights of First Nations peoples reflected in treaties signed with the Crown during her reign.

http://www.themonarchy.ca/en/monarchy/firstnations.shtml

&
"As a historian, one is struck by Elizabeth’s choice of July 4/2010 as a date to commemorate the 300-year relationship between the British Crown and the Mohawk Nation. Further, given the contentious, sometimes even bloody, relationship between the Canadian state and the Six Nations since Confederation, the import of the Queen’s decision to pay such homage was not lost on the Mohawks present, or on attentive observers of indigenous-settler relations in Canada. The silver bells that Queen Elizabeth presented on July 4 are engraved with the words The Silver Chain of Friendship 1710-2010; according to notes provided by the government of Canada, they “are symbolic of the councils and the treaties that originated between the English colonies in North America and the Iroquois Confederacy.”


http://activehistory.ca/2010/07/the-queen-among-the-mohawks/
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HUFFPOST SUPER USER
Charles the Great
Canadian/Israeli Goy in Alert,Nunavut
137 Fans
02:36 PM on 01/08/2013
The problem Canada never had mass African Slavery as the Americans, Caribbean and in South America did and in Canada is was only done in Quebec or at Louisbourg but was never used as labour .

We had some African Slavery but not as the scale in the United States. Colour of someone skin was never a base for slavery period. In the United States, Caribbean and in South America ,Africans were targeted simply because the plantations needed slaves to grow certain crops for example sugar or in some cases rice since slaves from different regions of Africa knew how to grow certain crops. Also the idea behind ''race superiority'' never started here and began in South America in the Mid Sixteenth century. I would have to say no and just basing it on history. Also African Canadian rights are enforced by the government and native rights such as treaties are a very different matter.
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Donna Meness
www.findmaisyandshannon.com
224 Fans
08:11 AM on 01/09/2013
1608 French introduce Black slavery into Canada.

1629 French bring first African slave from Madagascar into New France.

1709 Intendant Jacques Randot issues a proclamation making slavery legal
in French Canada.

1763 Treaty of Paris marks the end of the Seven Years War and through
this treaty France cedes Canada to Britain.One effect of this transfer in power is the legal
strengthening of slavery in Canada. At this time, 1500 Black slaves
have landed in Canada.Under the Treaty of Paris, a clause is
included by which “British law collude[s] with French law to further
the enslavement of African people in Canada.” Furthermore,
whereas under French law Black enslaved people were recognized as
human beings, under English law, they were regarded as chattel.It is
important to note however, that this does not mean that the French
treated Black enslaved people any better than did the English.

• Slave- owners include high officers of state, politicians, and
judges. ( see image #2)Enslaved woman and son advertised for auction sale
by owner Peter Russell, member of Executive Council of Ontario


1784 Race riot in Shelburne and Birchtown, Nova Scotia: A mob destroys
Black people’s property and drives out of the townships.



1900s The Immigration Branch of the Federal Department of the Interior
overtly informs immigration agents in the U.S. that the Canadian
Government is “not particularly desirous of encouraging the
immigration of negroes.”

http://www.vsw.ca/Documents/RRTimelineJune10thFINAL.pdf
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HUFFPOST SUPER USER
Charles the Great
Canadian/Israeli Goy in Alert,Nunavut
137 Fans
02:36 PM on 01/09/2013
If you got my point it was never at a scare to that in South America or in the United States. Sorry we never had plantations in Canada that required slaves on a massive scale.  
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Rachel Decoste
Motivational speaker + | Conférencière ++
210 Fans
 
01:02 PM on 01/09/2013
what's with the incessant historic myopia that makes you think slavery was any less of an institution in this country?
Denial tactics won't work anymore.
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HUFFPOST SUPER USER
Charles the Great
Canadian/Israeli Goy in Alert,Nunavut
137 Fans
03:36 PM on 01/09/2013
I wasn't saying that just point out is was not on a massive scale.
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iamflatoutbetterthanu
1 Fans
01:53 PM on 01/08/2013
As far back as I can remember FN leadership across Canada has called for mutual tolerance and respect amongst all peoples in this country. I also remember that this was necessarily the case as FN peoples didn't hold to the concept of private property in the same way as the Western European settlers. Thus, the emphasis was always on expanding the circle of community. If there is talk about sending people back to their homelands, I don't think it exists at the level of the political leadership. But perhaps you could prove me wrong.

From my own personal experience, I have come across bigotry by some FN individuals towards blacks, but I've also experienced the opposite as well. If this is an issue which you think is a widespread one, perhaps you could address this in one of your blogs.
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Donna Meness
www.findmaisyandshannon.com
224 Fans
02:07 PM on 01/09/2013
As noted by RCAP:

"In what follows, we consider some important aspects of Aboriginal traditions of governance, drawing on testimony in the Commission’s hearings, briefs and studies. These aspects are

• the centrality of the land
• individual autonomy and responsibility
• the rule of law
• the role of women
• the role of elders
• the role of the family and clan
• leadership
• consensus in decision making
• the restoration of traditional institutions."

&

"Aboriginal people cannot go elsewhere if they find Canada not to their liking. This is their home. Representatives of Aboriginal nations entered into solemn agreements with representatives of the British and French Crowns and with their successors, agreements that enabled Europeans and others to establish themselves in this country with minimal violence and confrontation.

These agreements were and are the mechanism for affirming collective rights and obligations on both sides, for sharing the land and its resources, and for agreeing to live in harmony and partnership."

Note: There are far more P& F Treaties than land treaties btw..DM
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markinthedark
81 Fans
12:24 PM on 01/08/2013
"There is a small but vocal fringe in the Idle No More movement which advocates for the deportation of said "settlers"."

Really? This is the first I hear of it. When I google "Idle no more" and "settler", the first article that pops up is this one. Among all the hits, this article is the only one to make a claim about the deportation of settlers. There are even less relevant hits when I add the word "deportation" to the search query.

So did you actually write an article whose entire premise rests on a false claim you invented yourself? I mean, that's pretty sad.
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Rachel Decoste
Motivational speaker + | Conférencière ++
210 Fans
 
12:58 PM on 01/08/2013
MarkInTheDark,
Your online moniker suits you perfectly.
Inconvenient truths dismissed as fabrications? Please.
It's all over twitter. But stay in the dark if that's where you're more comfortable.
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markinthedark
81 Fans
02:18 PM on 01/08/2013
Other than the two tweets you highlight in your article, nothing turns up on a twitter search either (other than your own responses to those tweets, of course). If by 'small and vocal fringe' you mean two tweets then I guess you are right, but you are making a mountain out of a molehill. If I had written a similar article criticising Canadian federalism based on the actions of Richard Henry Bain, you would probably be the first to ridicule me, and rightly so. 
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Donna Meness
www.findmaisyandshannon.com
224 Fans
12:22 PM on 01/08/2013
on a related issue:

Charges have also been leveled that Canada went beyond the efforts of other countries in its attempts to derail the declaration.During a press conference a week before the final vote, the African Indigenous Caucus co-ordinator accused Canada of trying to turn African countries against the declaration in exchange for aid dollars.

"By approaching Africa, which had so many problems, and trying to use aid as a tool, Canada was committing a crime. Many poor countries did not have the ability to negotiate, because they were dependent on aid from developed countries," said Joseph Ole Simel, according to notes on the press conference posted on the UN Web site.

"Canada had tried to use any kind of 'sweet language' for the declaration to be blocked. However, the African countries ... refused to 'go the Canada way' and (took) independent position on the matter," he said. "

http://www.shunpiking.com/ol0406/0406-IP-TS-canadacondem.htm


&


Ole Simel, of Kenya, suspects the real root of opposition can be traced to the lucrative timber, minerals and other deposits that are on or beneath disputed lands.

Jennifer Preston, program co-ordinator with the Quaker aboriginal affairs committee, has watched the process unfold for the last six years.

read the rest..sigh
http://www.cbc.ca/news/world/story/2007/09/06/aboriginal-un.html

&

http://www.dialoguebetweennations.com/adopt_history_statements.html
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fallyn fleur
It's not about left or right.....
104 Fans
11:15 AM on 01/08/2013
I believe that the heart of the movement is for all of us (black, white, indigenous, asian, et. al. ) to live better and healthier lives without the blindness of materialism. Materialism that causes people to destroy our environment for money and materialism that blinds most of the population from recognizing said destruction.
The indigenous seem to have a stronger connection to the Earth and have the ability to stop our corporate sponsored government legitimately, by recognized constituional law.
peace and love to #idlenomore
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skizziks
31 Fans
 
12:46 PM on 01/08/2013
.....so we can stop sending them money ??
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jarnakak
fava beans and sweet breads are for sissies
164 Fans
03:15 PM on 01/08/2013
so you've been sending money? to whom?
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Donna Meness
www.findmaisyandshannon.com
224 Fans
11:04 AM on 01/08/2013
Chelsea posted:Those who claim that Idle No More doesn't have clear goals, aren't listening.

Glad to help


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

.

& I'm happy to repost...grin
DM
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Liviu
I support the right to arm the bears.
220 Fans
10:31 AM on 01/08/2013
"captured from their homelands by mostly Europeans"

This is not exactly true.

The African slaves were captured by Africans, then being sold in the slave markets.
Also, slavery and servitude was a common system throughout Africa.
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North of Toronto
183 Fans
08:00 PM on 01/08/2013
and also the fact that First Nations were often at war with each other prior to the arrival of white explorers and settlers...fanned and faved.
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Rachel Decoste
Motivational speaker + | Conférencière ++
210 Fans
 
09:06 PM on 01/08/2013
How the hell does that constitute an excuse?
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Liviu
I support the right to arm the bears.
220 Fans
11:37 AM on 01/09/2013
I just pointed out some facts, that I felt needed to be stated. I'm not excusing anybody, but I fiirmly believe that if you don't learn from history you're doomed to repeat it.Divide et impera - It's a very, very... VERY old maxim, and yet...
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HUFFPOST SUPER USER
logicanada
Blogger, radio co-host, writer, editor, voice-over
1841 Fans
 
10:14 AM on 01/08/2013
Under the Harper Reign all Canadians are feeling oppressed.
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brianpape1
14 Fans
02:59 PM on 01/08/2013
Really, are you not just anti Conservative.
I dont feel oppressed. Certainly not as much as when I sat across from Trudeau and Chretien.
Seems to me this is just a need to make decisions and Harper has been more pro-active in making decisions than former leaders.
Look at the aboriginals that are succesful and maintaining all their needs in a modern society. They are leaders.
Spence and her ilk simply are not capable of leadership, just conversation or consultation, which lead to nowhere.
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sillyblueness2
84 Fans
 
09:36 AM on 01/08/2013
While I agree it is time to address chronic issues for once and for all, the part of the movement that is calling for deportation of all settlers will be received (by myself and many other Canadians) as a divisive and ridiculous notion only promoted to cause discord. While I understand the reasons for anger, this will not further the cause and will only cause a loss of support.
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fallyn fleur
It's not about left or right.....
104 Fans
11:08 AM on 01/08/2013
Some try to cause conflict to divide the movement and make it weak, because they are scared of it and how it will affect them financially. Ignore them.
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sillyblueness2
84 Fans
 
01:06 PM on 01/08/2013
Good point!
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markinthedark
81 Fans
03:15 PM on 01/08/2013
I think that the "part of the movement" calling for deportations appears to be composed entirely of the two tweets mentioned in this article. Decoste I feel is drawing attention to these two tweets in order to deliberately misrepresent Idle No More as being more divisive - even nasty - than it actually is.
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