Chief Spence's Hunger Strike

After weeks of ignoring Idle No More, Harper was finally and urgently forced to schedule a meeting with First Nations' leaders because of massive public concern for four indigenous elders and chiefs, all well into their fourth week of fasting. As noted above, the most prominent is Chief Spence who came to national attention in the winter of 2010-11 when Canadians were shocked to learn of the third-world conditions at her Attawapiskat reserve on James Bay, the southern part of Hudson's Bay. Children without a permanent school structure for 12 years; young and old sick from mould and contaminated water; families entering winter in tents and plywood shacks.

The situation was all the more appalling because the reserve sits 90 km from a $1 billion DeBeers diamond mine on traditional Attawapiskat land. A year later, there is still no school and while there have been new homes for some, other band members were evacuated for lack of adequate housing. With all the amazing bloggers from Native Net Roots and the incredible community support for supplying winter propane and supporting women's shelters, I don't need to explain the desperate conditions on reservations throughout Turtle Island.

Chief Spence's hunger strike is not only about her reserve Attawapiskat, but about all First Peoples who include the First Nations, Inuit and Métis (descendants of fur trappers and First Nations who often still speak their native languages). Well over 4% of Canada's population is indigenous, they are the country's fastest growing demographic, but they are Canada's "invisible minority." Idle No More has finally created a powerful native civil rights movement, and for the first time in history it has united Canadian First Peoples together.

Support from Civil Society

Grassroots activism and the urgency of the hunger strikes explain in part why Harper reversed his position not to meet with Chief Spence and other native leaders. But further pressure on Harper was the growing activism and support for Chief Spence and the movement throughout civil society: environmental groups, Amnesty International, unions representing millions of Canadians (Canadian Auto Workers, Canadian Union of Postal Workers, National Union of Public and General Employees, Public Service Alliance of Canada, and Ontario Federation of Labour), and churches representing over five million Canadians (United, Anglican/Episcopalian, Kairos.)

Canadian Political Context

Across almost the entire Canadian political spectrum, there were calls for Harper to meet with native leaders to address indigenous rights and poverty. The official Leader of the Opposition, NDP MP Thomas Mulcair, weighed in early asking Harper to address the situation and meet with Chief Spence. Two previous Prime Ministers - Conservative Joe Clark and Liberal Paul Martin - have met with her, as well as Justin Trudeau, the front-runner to take over leadership of the Liberal Party later this year and the son of long-serving PM Pierre Elliott Trudeau. To loosely translate this to the US political scene, it is as if Jimmy Carter, Richard Lugar, Nancy Pelosi and Ralph Nader were all actively advocating for the same outcome: meetings and consultation to address First Peoples' rights and concerns.

Harper has a majority of seats in the Parliament, but he only received 39.6% of the popular vote (the remaining ballots were split among the NDP, Liberals, Bloc Quebecois and Greens). Yet he continues to act unilaterally without proper democratic discussion, both in Parliament and with the general public, as if he had received some kind of sweeping mandate.

The Conservative party Harper leads only came into existence nine years ago, through a merger between the moderate Progressive Conservatives and the socially-conservative corporatist Alliance/Reform Party whose roots are in Alberta and its oil industry. At the time of the merger, Harper led the Alliance/Reform Party, and then was elected head of the new Conservative Party. Harper's home riding is in Calgary, the heart of the push to exploit the tar sands. So this history helps explain how Canada ended up with a far-right government that does not enjoy the support of the majority of Canadians, and why the coalescence of political opposition and public attention brought about by Idle No More is encouraging.

Right-Wing Press Encourages Racist Rhetoric and Misinformation

Traditional Canadian politics were characterized by moderation and tolerance. Canadians take pride that we are a "mosaic" of different cultures and peoples, rather than the US "melting pot." With the importation of hard-right ideology into the Canadian political environment, Canada has also seen its own versions of Fox news and Murdoch-style tabloids emerge. Like their US and British counterparts, these provide an echo-chamber for misinformation, prejudice and, in recent weeks, outright racist commentary.

All the Idle No More events have been peaceful, and there have been no arrests. So far the only violence related to this movement was the kidnapping, rape and attempted murder of an indigenous woman by two non-native men who hurled racist epithets at her and stated: "you Indians deserve to lose your treaty rights." She nearly became one of hundreds, perhaps thousands, of missing native women and girls in Canada. Left for dead in the woods, she managed to return home. Her mother immediately made a public statement:



We felt it was important for us to get the word out because we are very concerned about the safety of our women in the community. And as well we want to tell people that even though this happened to my daughter, we are not the violent ones. We want to tell people not to get angry or to be violent. Its very important that the Idle No More movement to remain peaceful.

So far such ongoing and repeated calls for peaceful action have prevailed in the Idle No More movement. But a great deal of education will be required to correct the rhetoric and misinformation presented to the public by the tabloid press.

First Nations Have Legal Standing to Stop Pipelines and Tar Sands Development

In recent weeks, many Canadians have been writing about why Idle No More Is Not Just an "Indian Thing" (and not just a "Canadian Thing" either): "Aboriginal people may be the canary in the coal mine. If we overlook one section of the constitution does that mean others are in similar jeopardy?... [I]ndigenous environmentalism is significant since the crown has a duty to consult with Aboriginal people before natural resource projects proceed...First Nations are Canadians' last, best hope of protecting the land, water, sky and plants and animals for their future generations as well."

Another recent article, A Settler's Guide to Idle No More, states:



Although the aboriginal issues are at the start of the movement, the ... exploitation of the Tar Sands, for instance, threatens First Nations, Canadians and the world as a whole. NASA scientist James Hansen said recently: "Canada’s tar sands, deposits of sand saturated with bitumen, contain twice the amount of carbon dioxide emitted by global oil use in our entire history. If we were to fully exploit this new oil source, and continue to burn our conventional oil, gas and coal supplies, concentrations of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere eventually would reach levels higher than in the Pliocene era, more than 2.5 million years ago, when sea level was at least 50 feet higher than it is now. That level of heat-trapping gases would assure that the disintegration of the ice sheets would accelerate out of control. Sea levels would rise and destroy coastal cities. Global temperatures would become intolerable. Twenty to 50 percent of the planet’s species would be driven to extinction. Civilization would be at risk.” (May 9, 2012)"

I know this is not new information for Kossacks, but we have watched in despair as global leaders have remained idle in the face of catastrophic climate change, when even an 11-year-old child can see the consequences for our future. Canadian First Nations have the legal standing to stop the pipelines, which must pass through native reserves, and the tar sands, which are on traditional First Nation lands and therefore require consultation and consent under Canadian and international law.

Last month the Mayor of Vancouver, environmental groups and 130 First Nations reaffirmed the Fraser Declaration that "bans tar sands pipelines and tankers, as a matter of Indigenous law, from First Nations territories forming an unbroken chain from the U.S. border to the Arctic Ocean -- and spanning the entire length of B.C. from north to south.

While there have been some First Nations who initially welcomed resource projects, even communities that have seen new jobs are growing disillusioned. These mines and oil projects in the Canadian north are generally temporary "fly-in" sites, and do not contribute to capacity building in the local communities. Here's an overview of the problems, relating specifically to Chief Spence's Attawapiskat reservation with its third world conditions next to a $1 billion DeBeers diamond mine, but also more generally applicable: Unless these fundamental issues are addressed, it is unlikely if not impossible for mining development in Ontario’s “Far North” to contribute significantly to community development of remote First Nations.

In addition to the lack of long-term economic development, another reason for such disillusionment is the environmental impact. The Athabasca Chipewyan First Nation, downstream from a tar sands project, has seen an alarming rise in cancer rates and in deformities among the native fauna. “We live a very traditional life; we live off the land and the water. We have been told again and again that contaminants are naturally occurring, yet in the last 40 years we have seen the health of our community decline due to cancers and illness that we didn’t see before.”

The Upcoming Meeting between First Peoples and the Canadian Government

By observing the news and the twitter feeds, one can see that all sides recognize the historic significance of Friday's meeting, and the dangers should the meeting fail. All stakeholders also agree on the one core issue: the current relationship between First Peoples and the government is hopelessly broken. For decades, both Liberal and Conservative governments have produced endless commissions and recommendations and reports, but until now there was no political will for the hard work of implementing major systemic reform in full partnership with First Peoples. Harper tried to legislate change without consultation and consent, but Idle No More provided a wake-up call to the Conservatives and the Canadian public that their voices need to be heard.

The grassroots have pledged to continue until dialogue and consultation lead to new policies respecting First Peoples' rights and the environment. By the time the meeting occurs, Chief Spence will be well into the fifth week of her hunger strike. Much rides on the outcome of Friday's meeting for all the people of Turtle Island, and around the world.