More

Featuring fresh takes and real-time analysis from HuffPost's signature lineup of contributors
Tobold Rollo

PhD Candidate, Political Science, University of Toronto

GET UPDATES FROM Tobold Rollo
 

Why Idle No More Never Needed Your Sympathy

Posted: 02/04/2013 8:35 am

The Idle No More Indigenous rights movement is promising more direct action in 2013. However, a spectre is haunting the movement -- the spectre of fading public sympathy. The majority of Canadians (as well as some in the movement) believe that gaining recognition for Indigenous rights depends on effectively bolstering and sustaining public support.

Does it?

From the get go, commentators have cautioned that Indigenous peoples would be wise to play their cards right lest they squander what little patience and benevolence the Canadian public has left for Indigenous issues.

Offend those who are growing weary of your grievances with disruptive tactics like blockades, marches, or hunger-strikes and you risk alienating potential allies and thwarting your own objectives. Play nice and you might just earn the sympathy you need to make change.

Those who hold this view seem curiously unaware of how movements such as Idle No More work. Like the Civil Rights movement, these are not public relations battles; they are Constitutional struggles. They press on political and economic nerves to motivate changes to legal and political structures during times when the majority is predictably dead-set against change. Their methods have the anticipated effect of intensifying public acrimony. It's a noisy affair, but ultimately the cheers and the jeers of the masses are a side show to this brand of direct Constitutional politics.

Don't be deceived by the conciliatory vibe of the drumming and round dances. Indigenous peoples have long understood the folly of pleading for public support. They are not naive to the fact that power and economics are the main drivers of policy. Indeed, the recent history of successful Indigenous activism demonstrates that they understand the game better than most.

So, while fostering public support for Indigenous issues remains a long-term goal, it is largely irrelevant to their most pressing political concerns. There is an urgency to these problems that will not be held back by the historical 30-year-lag between political change and the eventual materialization of public support. They're not waiting.

To that end, the parallels between the Idle No More movement an the Civil Rights movement are instructive. Both are constitutional struggles by racialized minorities whose tactics are criticized and whose leaders are vilified. Recall Martin Luther King's now famous rebuke to supporters who urged against protest because of the violent reactions it aroused: "We must come to see that, as the federal courts have consistently affirmed, it is wrong to urge an individual to cease his efforts to gain his basic constitutional rights because the quest may precipitate violence."

King was fully cognizant that the movement's tactics would be disparaged and that opponents would seek to discredit its leadership. It began in 1956 when he was charged and subsequently found guilty of leading an illegal boycott of the Montgomery buses where Rosa Parks sat in protest. Later, in 1960, King was charged with inaccurate reporting on his Income Tax (State of Alabama v. ML King). He was exonerated, but not before a state audit prompted rumours that King had garnering an income of $45,000 in 1958, received on behalf of the Montgomery Improvement Association and the Southern Christian Leadership Conference. The public was outraged and detractors had a field day. How could a leader in a position of trust -- who purports to fight for the poor -- receive such a enormous salary under such dubious circumstances?

Does any of this sound a bit familiar? How about this...

In 1961, a Gallup poll showed that 57 per cent of Americans thought the movement's civil disobedience tactics were hurting it, and in 1964 the vast majority, 73 per cent, said activists had made their point and should just stop protesting already. In 1963, 37 per cent claimed to dislike Martin Luther King. By 1966, public animosity had jumped to 63 per cent (with 44 per cent claiming to hate King's guts, up from 25 per cent three years earlier). Yet during this period where polls reported plummeting public support, the U.S. passed several historic pieces of Civil Rights legislation. In other words, the constitutional struggle met with had considerable success in a time when public support was rapidly dissolving.

It would take decades for Americans to reconcile themselves with the movement. It appears that they have finally come around as of 2011, with 94 per cent of them viewing King favourably.

The 'Idle No More' Indigenous rights movement is deploying a range of practices, including civil disobedience, to push for substantive recognition of their rights as identified in Sec. 35(1) of the Canadian Constitution: "The existing aboriginal and treaty rights of the aboriginal peoples of Canada are hereby recognized and affirmed." As if on cue, rumours emerged that an audit conducted by the Federal Government's auditor-of-choice showed that one the movement's leaders, Chief Theresa Spence, mismanaged accounting on the Attawapiskat reserve. She also made too much money. Guess what? The public was outraged and the detractors had a field day.

Of course, none of this came as any surprise to Indigenous activists. Nor did it come as a shock when an Ipsos Reid poll revealed that a mere 29 per cent of Canadians approve of Chief Spence. King's approval was around 33 per cent in 1966, so she's appears to be in good company. The poll determined that as of mid-January, Indigenous protests had "a hardening effect on Canadian public opinion regarding Aboriginal issues" and had therefore "done little to build sympathy for First Nations issues." Likewise, a Forum Research poll determined that 49 per cent of Canadians did not support Idle No More and that the 'Day of Action' protests on January 11 "actually lessened support for the movement for 37 per cent of Canadians surveyed." Finally, a Nanos Research poll revealed that 54 per cent of Canadians thought that Theresa Spence's hunger strike was not advancing the cause.

And still they march on.

My guess is that the preoccupation with opinion polls probably speaks more to the media's need to gauge the appetites of its readership than to an interest in the prospects of social change. If history is any guide, the polling will continue. And so we can expect general bewilderment and frustration from the public as Idle No More pushes through in 2013. Again, if history is any guide, public support should catch up sometime in 2045.

Loading Slideshow...

  • 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 />

 
 
 

Follow Tobold Rollo on Twitter: www.twitter.com/SettlerColonial

FOLLOW CANADA POLITICS
 
 
  • Comments
  • 122
  • Pending Comments
  • 0
  • View FAQ
Comments are closed for this entry
View All
Favorites
Recency  | 
Popularity
Page: 1 2 3  Next ›  Last »  (3 total)
charley0008
89 Fans
02:02 PM on 02/06/2013
Excellent article, thank you. You are dead on they are not waiting for the Canadian public to approve or disapprove, they get how deep the underlying racism towards First Nations people run in this country they have lived with it all their lives. They have seen the government consultation process at work in BC on the matter of land claims settlement which showed the real face of Canadians better than anything else I have ever seen. The BC Liberals held a referendum with loaded questions to be sure, but the residents professed a desire to see land claims settled but in the fnal analysis they were adamant it must not include land, resources or too much money. Thats Canada!
This is going to be a constitutional battle and they know it.
Permalink  |
Donna Meness
www.findmaisyandshannon.com
224 Fans
09:05 AM on 02/05/2013
Given the current economic circumstances, all three levels of government in Canada will have to engage in significant and meaningful negotiations, or all development can be stopped, and no injunction-and-force-of-police can be used against Indigenous Peoples defending their land rights.

The alternative, as pointed out by a Senate report: Negotiation or Confrontation: It's Canada's choice.

http://www.parl.gc.ca/39/1/parlbus/commbus/senate/Com-e/abor-e/rep-e/rep05dec06-e.pdf

&

The Supreme Court just put a ban on that anyway, failing "adequate" consultation and accommodation of Aboriginal Rights by 'the Crown', and 'the Crown' regularly fails.

http://www.ontariocourts.on.ca/decisions/2008/july/2008ONCA0534.pdf

http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/story/2011/08/17/grassy-narrows-legal-victory.html
Permalink  |
Donna Meness
www.findmaisyandshannon.com
224 Fans
09:02 AM on 02/05/2013
The IdleNoMore protests bring forward issues that affect all Canadians, not just First Nations.

*****
http://www.ammsa.com/node/6811
http://rabble.ca/blogs/bloggers/making-waves/2012/10/hanges-navigable-waters-protection-act-impacts-first-nations-tre
http://niagaraatlarge.com/2013/01/04/canadas-leadership-on-human-rights-is-going-down-the-drain-how-many-canadians-other-than-our-aboriginal-people-still-care/
http://firstpeoples.org/wp/idle-no-more-protests-spread-through-canada/

History :
http://forum.stopthehogs.com/phpBB2/viewtopic.php?t=762&sid=4548633215cfd83f5b1b543f3b8d485f


http://www.policyalternatives.ca/publications/commentary/first-nations-long-shadow-assimilation

Federal and provincial governments have tried to claw back these rights using every means at their disposal: unilateral legislation and one-sided negotiations, spying on and demonizing aboriginal activists, and, when all else fails, shuttling troublesome leaders to jail.

Parliament will soon debate a bill that would break up reserves – still, mostly, collectively held – into individual private property that can be purchased by non-native speculators. The undeclared agenda of government policy is the same as it was a century ago: "

read the rest...

http://www.guardian.co.uk/commentisfree/2012/dec/20/canada-first-nations-new-alliance

***********

Note:Never mind that Alberta's Long Lac project uses the equivalent of 11,000 olympic-sized pools per yr..@ 28,000 cubic ft.of water
Permalink  |
Donna Meness
www.findmaisyandshannon.com
224 Fans
08:57 AM on 02/05/2013
Consultation is the "Rule of Law" and MUST be complied with.

Notification is not consultation. According to the Supreme Court "consultation" means formal and official notification, negotiation, accommodation and reconciliation. So until all those aspects can be demonstrated, regardless if one party is not fully engaged, "consultation" has not taken place.

The point of consultation is to identify and ameliorate any issues that either may have an effect on the livelihood of First Nations (i.e. hunting, fishing and harvesting), or that interfere with other rights and freedoms they have as an aboriginal right, or as a right acquired by the way of lands claims or other settlement. On unceded lands First Nations people have a right to the self-government and management over the land and resources, as well as themselves. On ceded lands, they have a right to be fully consulted and to benefit from the activity if it interferes with any traditional practice.

So no mining company or forestry company, or industrial or commercial corporation have the right with a licence or not, to proceed unless and until all the aspects of full consultation have been concluded.

That is the law.

Whether you agree or not, compliance with the law is not optional. The very premise of our social contract begins here in the Charter of Rights and Freedoms:

"Whereas Canada is founded upon the principles that recognize the supremacy of God and the rule of law: "
Permalink  |
Donna Meness
www.findmaisyandshannon.com
224 Fans
08:50 AM on 02/05/2013
Georges Erasmus wrote in the forward of DRUMBEAT: Anger & Renewal in Indian Country - ISBN#0-929091-03-5 ( page1):

"As people of the First Nations of Canada we have a vision of the sort of country we want to live in & to build in collaboration with other Canadians. It is certainly not the sort of country we have now... To do so we have to go back to the agreement made in the Two-Row Wampum Treaty signed between First Nations & the newly arrived Europeans in 1664. All across North America today First Nations share a common perception of what was then agreed: we would allow Europeans to stay among us & use a certain amount of our land, while in our own lands we would continue to exercise our own laws & maintain our ouw institutions & systems of government. We all believe that that vision is still very possible today, that as FN we should have our own governments with jurisdiction over our own lands & people. WE SHOULD DECIDE ABOUT AND BENEFIT FROM THE TYPE OF DEVELOPMENT WE WANT IN OUR OWN TERRITORIES, NOT HAVE SUCH DEVELOPMENT FORCED ON US TO SERVE OUTSIDE INTERESTS."
Permalink  |
Donna Meness
www.findmaisyandshannon.com
224 Fans
08:47 AM on 02/05/2013
See: Royal Proclaimation:

Calloway, Colin. The Scratch of a Pen: 1763 and the Transformation of North America. Oxford University Press, 2006. ISBN 0-19-530071-8.

John Borrows, “Wampum at Niagara: The Royal Proclamation, Canadian Legal History, and Self-Government,” in Aboriginal and Treaty Rights in Canada, ed. Michael Asch. (Vancouver: UBC Press, 1997)
Douglas R. Francis, Richard Jones and Donald B. Smith, Origins: Canadian History to Confederation 6th ed. (Toronto: Nelson Education Ltd., 2009)

ack Stagg, Anglo-Indian Relations In North America to 1763 and An Analysis of the Royal Proclamation of 7 October 1763, Indian and Northern Affairs Canada, Research Branch, 1981
Permalink  |
Donna Meness
www.findmaisyandshannon.com
224 Fans
08:46 AM on 02/05/2013
ETBetween 1899 and 1921 Canada negotiated Treaties 8 through 11 with Dene and other nations in response to the desires of southern economic interests for access to the resources of the northern boreal forest. Mining and commercial fishing were becoming increasingly important in these regions. Again, as with the first seven numbered treaties, the aftermath of treaty-making was disappointment, because Canada did not honour all its promises, especially the commitments to respect gathering rights.

Following Treaty 11 territorial treaty-making stopped for half a century.

http://scaa.sk.ca/ourlegacy/treaties_miller
Permalink  |
Donna Meness
www.findmaisyandshannon.com
224 Fans
08:46 AM on 02/05/2013
Since 1973, Aboriginal rights have expanded to include a broad range of economic, social, cultural and political claims. At the root of these expanded claims lies the demand for legal recognition as, at best, sovereign nations, at worst Aboriginal title, which includes the inherent right to self-government because of historic occupation of North America.

Therefore, a separate land base within a separate political jurisdiction is fundamental to Native self-government .
Permalink  |
Donna Meness
www.findmaisyandshannon.com
224 Fans
08:44 AM on 02/05/2013
The Charter of Rights and Freedom contained in the 1982 Constitution Act created a new level of appeal for Native People in terms of violations of Aboriginal rights, the Supreme Court. Prior to 1982, appeals could be made only to the House of Commons, the very body who set the sanctions in the first place!

In 1973, the terms, "Land Claims" and "Aboriginal Rights" first appeared in a landmark Supreme Court ruling. British Columbia's Calder Case (named after Nishga’a Leader, Frank Calder) asked the Supreme Court to review the existence of "Aboriginal title" over lands historically occupied by the Nishga’a. In a split decision, the Supreme Court acknowledged the existence of some inalienable Aboriginal rights (meaning, something that may not be taken away or transferred) although they did not agree that title continued to exist in British Columbia. Their decision was based on two points:

1) That territorial rights of Native peoples existed under the Royal Proclamation of 1763;

2) That territorial rights existed because of ancestral occupancy of these lands.

The Government of Canada, had up to this time completely rejected any suggestion that Native people had any rights at all....

This forced the both levels of government back to the negotiating table.
Permalink  |
Donna Meness
www.findmaisyandshannon.com
224 Fans
08:42 AM on 02/05/2013
DIAND's site:

http://www.aadnc-aandc.gc.ca/


for history of the Indian Act/ Aboriginal Law/ Landclaims­­/ Constituti­­on/ TREATIES

http://www.bloorstreet.com/200block/brintro.htm
&

Royal Commission on Aboriginal Peoples ( took 5 yrs. )
http://www.aadnc-aandc.gc.ca/eng/1307458586498/1307458751962


everything you asked for is listed treaties etc..”

or

http://www.collectionscanada.gc.ca/aboriginal-heritage/020016-1000-e.html


Introducti­­on
The Resources: An Aboriginal Perspectiv­­e
By Frank Meness
This essay provides a brief overview of the historic Red and Black Series and Indian Treaties, Surrenders and Agreements­­. It highlights­­, from an Aboriginal perspectiv­­e, their importance to contempora­­ry historians and researcher­­s.
Red and Black Series
Treaties, Surrenders and Agreements
Importance of the Historical Record
Accessibil­­ity and Efficiency
Research Applicatio­­ns
Permalink  |
Donna Meness
www.findmaisyandshannon.com
224 Fans
08:33 AM on 02/05/2013
You know Canada is still implementing the 1969 White Paper - stealthily - mind you - it's CANADA's "official covert" policy... even if they "officially" disavowed it.


Then:

http://eaglescholar.georgiasouthern.edu:8080/jspui/bitstream/10518/3825/1/pinkins_carlyn_n_201105_ma.pdf


Now:

http://intercontinentalcry.org/harper-launches-major-first-nations-termination-plan-as-negotiating-tables-legitimize-canadas-colonialism/

****

http://indigenouswaves.com/tag/bill-c-27/
Permalink  |
Donna Meness
www.findmaisyandshannon.com
224 Fans
08:28 AM on 02/05/2013
"When in 1969 Canadian Prime Minister Pierre Trudeau issued the White Paper, a government policy document which announced Canada's intention to dissolve Indian nations and promote the "assimilation of Indian people into Canadian society."

Trudeau's White Paper was the last straw for Chief Manuel. His years spent trying to reform Canadian government policies had failed. "Canada was dead set on wiping out Indians once and for all," George recalled later. Collecting what he called the "best and the brightest Indian people I could find," George Manuel sought and won the Presidency of the National Indian Brotherhood in 1970. With the added power and resources of a country-wide organization and his "best and brightest," he set his mind and the whole of Indian Country in Canada to a strategy to defeat "Trudeau's White Paper." In countless speeches, meetings, interviews and strategy sessions, he beat the drum of resistance to Canada's assimilation policy. He urged the mightiest to turn the policy around and he pushed for more community political organization in the reserves.

"If we didn't fight then," he recalled later, "Trudeau would have destroyed all the Indian people in Canada."

http://cwis.org/manuel.htm

For more info:

http://www.afn.ca/article.asp?id=1425

http://www.emp.ca/downloads/er/er-3-32.pdf
see: http://en.allexperts.com/e/h/ha/harold_cardinal.htm
http://www.absoluteastronomy.com/topics/Harold_Cardinal#encyclopedia
Permalink  |
Donna Meness
www.findmaisyandshannon.com
224 Fans
08:19 AM on 02/05/2013
as noted "Finally, a Nanos Research poll revealed that 54 per cent of Canadians thought that Theresa Spence's hunger strike was not advancing the cause."**




So what do these Numbers really mean?

ABSOLUTELY NOTHING!!!
However, as pollsters have been forced to admit, they're challenged to capture anyone who hasn't a landline - which is the case for vast majority of youth and, increasingly, large pockets of the middle class.So again be wary of polls. They range from inaccurate, or in the case of Nanos, seemingly fraudulent.

http://www.nanosresearch.com/election2011/20110426-BallotE.pdf

Damn pollsters and their games.

http://www.winnipegfreepress.com/special/federal-election/national/up-down-no-change-conflicting-election-polls-confusing-headache-inducing-120291704.html






“Constitutions do not create our rights; they recognize and codify the ones we already have, and provide for their protection.”
- Michael Ignatieff,
The Rights Revolution -
Permalink  |
J SEVER
33 Fans
11:56 PM on 03/08/2013
Very well said, good information to learn from. TU
Permalink  |
photo
Dionysius101
105 Fans
04:40 AM on 02/05/2013
Dr. ML King B.A., B.D., Ph.D. was an educated man and should be recognized as one.

Throughout history, as the English dominated and colonized the world, they forced assimilation on each and every culture they came across by dehumanizing, stripping culture and religious beliefs and of course genocide to leave no other choice. They learned with each conquering, they did not need more than a couple of generations to convert humans into their 'subjects'. The English citizen was the very first people to be assimilated into the controlled slavery as they still to this day do not realize they are just that and not even "humans" in the Monarch's definition (Monsters). The best slaves are the ones who don't realize they are.

These crusades still ride today although have taken other forms and means.

I therefore challenge every person who is of lineage from any society that has been assimilated by this or previous Monarchs to realize, you have become the very people who your ancestors loathed to the point of fighting, killing and dying to not be assimilated. You don't even realize it because you live inside a "colonized mind".

I am not a "child" regardless of what their laws say.
I am not a "subject" of theirs.
I am not a follower of their "faith" nor are they "keeper's" of it.
I am not collateral nor a commodity.

I am also... Idle No More.
Permalink  |
photo
AcunningDisguise
magnus gigas caput
241 Fans
11:27 PM on 02/04/2013
If taken from a leadership position this admonishment "Why Idle No More Never Needed Your Sympathy" would not be necessary.
Permalink  |
photo
HUFFPOST SUPER USER
arachne646
No more hurting people--Peace
476 Fans
09:58 PM on 02/09/2013
Whose leadership?
Permalink  |
photo
AcunningDisguise
magnus gigas caput
241 Fans
10:50 PM on 02/09/2013
They have the reins yet they seem to look to others for justification we look to them for cause. Canadians need a rally point.
Permalink  |
Page: 1 2 3  Next ›  Last »  (3 total)