Idle No More is a movement of First Nations people in Canada that has rapidly grown over a few weeks, started by a handful of women and Attawapiskat Chief Theresa Spence who is currently on hunger strike.
In essence, Idle No More is protesting against the Canadian government’s attempts to strip away the rights of indigenous people and get their hands on land to exploit for industrial purposes, including oil and gas mining. This puts the land, rivers and lakes at risk and the health of communities.
As one commentator put it, this is not a “Native Indian” thing – it concerns the environment and the health and future of communities across Canada.
“This is people saying we believe our future is at stake, that if we don’t act now, (aboriginals) will be taken off the map,” said Tanya Kappo, who founded the Idle No More campaign in November, according to a report in the Leader Post.
Kappo admits she never expected to start a nationwide movement when she first used the Twitter hashtag #idlenomore. The 41-year-old law graduate was organizing a conference on the Conservative omnibus budget bill when she wrote the tweet that sparked it all.
The movement is growing. December 21 was a major day of protest.
For more information, check out the following sites:
December 21 was a day of protest for the growing Idle No More movement, a movement begun by four First Nations women in Canada. First Nations people and supporters rallied in cities around Canada and small demonstrations around the world.
The movement began as a grassroots protest in Saskatchewan against the Canadian Conservative government’s omnibus Bill C-45, which, among other things, changes land designations in the Indian Act and weakens Canada’s environmental protection laws.
A hunger strike
The hunger strike by Attawapiskat Chief Theresa Spence has been a rallying point for supporters, Spence has been on a hunger strike for more than 11 days now, and vows to continue until Canadian Prime Minister Stephen Harper and Governor-General David Johnston agree to meet with Native leaders to forge a new relationship, one based on mutual respect.
Spence said she is willing to die for her and her peoples’ cause. There has been no indication that Prime Minister Harper will meet with Spence.
More than just a rights movement
The movement evolved from the rights movement of the First Nations people in Canada, one concerned about the government Bill C-45 that takes away rights of these people and removes protection from rivers and lakes. This is just as much a movement against the industrialization and privatization of Canada and the major threats posed by this government against the environment as it is an indigenous protest.
Helped by social media
Through social media, Idle No More is becoming an international movement, with rallies and demonstrations spreading to the United States, the UK, Ukraine and even Egypt.
The movement has seen peaceful blockades, flash-mob round dances, marches and rallies.
Idle No More supporters are demanding that Prime Minister Harper agree to meet with Spence and other Native leaders. Idle No More is highlighting Canada’s treatment of Native people and how, through a grassroots movement, Native people are saying we won’t sit by and watch the government continue to act as oppressors. Last winter, when Spence declared a state of emergency for her Northern Ontario community, the Harper Conservative government responded by putting Attawapiskat under third-party management.
It has been said that Bill C-45 is more than just an “Indian thing.” It is a law that all Canadians should be fighting against, because it affects more than just Native people.
A group of environmental and Native groups said in an open letter last month: “The changes proposed in this omnibus bill would further weaken Canada’s environmental laws, remove critical federal safeguards, and reduce opportunities for the public to have their say about major industrial projects that could threaten the air, water, soil and natural ecosystems on which all Canadians, and our economy, depend.”
History of Idle No More – From their website
Idle No More began with 4 ladies; Nina Wilson, Sylvia McAdam, Jessica Gordon & Sheelah McLean who felt it was urgent to act on current and upcoming legislation that not only affects our First Nations people but the rest of Canada’s citizens, lands and waters.
The focus is on grassroots voices, treaty and sovereignty, it began in the early part of October when discussing Bill C 45. All 4 women knew that this was a time to act, as this bill and other proposed legislation would affect not only Indigenous people but also the lands, water and the rest of Canada.
With the focus on the most urgent bill knowing it would initiate attention to all other legislation, the 4 ladies held rallies and teach-ins to generate discussion and provide information. They then decided a nation wide event was garnered so all could participate, thus, The National Day of Solidarity & Resurgence was called for December 10th, 2012, to oppose all legislation and to build solidarity while asserting inherent rights and nationhood while protecting our lands for all people.These colonial forms of legislation that the government expects to unilaterally impose on us has brought us together, to stand together – Jessica Gordon
“IDLE NO MORE”
(December 10, 2012)Less than three weeks ago, 4 women from Saskatchewan (Indigenous and non Indigenous) decided that they could no longer stay silent in the face of what is a legislative attack on First Nation people and the lands and waters across the country. Together, Sylvia McAdam, Jess Gordon, Nina Wilson and Sheelah Mclean started organizing ‘teach-ins’ in Saskatoon, Regina and Prince Albert to start bringing awareness to Bill C 45 Says McAdam,
“Bill C 45 is not just about a budget, it is a direct attack on First Nations lands and on the bodies of water we all share from across this country.”
The Bill brings forward changes specifically to the Indian Act that will lower the threshold of community consent in the designation and surrender process of Indian Reserve Lands. McLean reminds that bill is about everyone. She says “the changes they are making to the environmental legislation is stunning in terms of the protections it will take away from the bodies of water – rivers and lakes, across the country”. She further adds, “ how can we not all be concerned about that?”
The Idle No More efforts then continued in Alberta with an information meeting held at the Louis Bull Cree Nation. The organizer for that event, Tanya Kappo, took to Twitter and Facebook to help generate awareness on the matter as the passage of Bill C45 was imminent. Kappo says, “the people in our communities had absolutely no idea what we were facing, no idea what plans Stephen Harper had in store for us.” The events leading up to the National Day of Action have been focused on bringing awareness to people in First Nations communities and the rest of Canada. Jess Gordon says, “The essence of the work we are doing and have been doing will remain a grassroots effort, and will continue to give a forum to the voices of our people.”
When Bill C45 was brought to the House of Commons for a vote, First Nations leaders demonstrated that they are hearing these voices loud and clear. They joined the efforts against Bill C 45 and went to Parliament Hill where they were invited into the House of Commons by the New Democratic Party. However, they were refused entry. This refusal to allow First Nations leadership to respectfully enter the House of Commons triggered an even greater mobilization of First Nation people across the country. Nina Wilson says, “what we saw on Parliament Hill was a true reflection of what the outright disregard the Harper Government has towards First Nation people.”
The passage of Bill C45, Idle No More has come to symbolize and be the platform to voice the refusal of First Nations people to be ignored any further by any other Canadian government.
The National Day of Action for Idle No More will mark the point in history when the generations and centuries of the refusal to acknowledge the relationship stops.
Janice Makokis contributes her energies towards the Idle No More efforts and says, “We continue to honour our traditional ways and our ancestors and always begin our efforts in that spirit.” People across the country have mobilized in that same spirit and have taken it upon themselves to create the space for their own voices.