Category Archives: Organizing

#IdleNoMore @ Douglas College

Posted on February 21, 2013 by Stephen Petrina | Comments Off

New Westminster News Leader, Grant Granger, February 19, 2013 — The Idle No More First Nations movement arrived at Douglas College’s New Westminster campus on Tuesday.

At a rally organized by the Douglas Students’ Union, speakers called for the federal government to abandon its omnibus Bill C-45 that many First Nations leaders believe will pave the way for pipelines and other infringements on native land, native rights and the environment throughout the country.

“This act is pretty much going to erase all of our strides as aboriginal people,” Mique’l Dangeli, a UBC doctoral student doing a PhD in First Nations studies, told the gathering. “They pretty much clear the way for Enbridge to exploit our lands without consultation with the First Nations especially on our reservations.”

Dangeli grew up in Metlakalta, Alaska on Annette Island just south of Ketchikan while her husband Mike was raised a short distance away on land that straddled the U.S.-Canadian border. They now live in Burnaby.

“These huge (omnibus) bills bury the issues,” said Mique’l.

The Idle No More Movement was started in Saskatoon in November by Jessica Gordon, Sylvia McAdam, Sheelah McLean and Nina Wilson to call attention to the damage the legislation could do to First Nations rights and lands, as well as to the environment. It has spread across the country and also received international attention with solidarity protests supporting the cause in the United States, Stockholm, London, Berlin, Auckland and Cairo.

“It took meticulous reading by those four women to realize the implications,” Dangeli told the audience of about 200 in the Douglas College atrium.

Dangeli’s husband Mike, an artist, carver, dance group leader and business manager, said the legislation should concern everybody because Prime Minister Stephen Harper’s government wants to be able to make moves however the Conservative majority sees fit.

“They’re getting rid of protected lakes and streams to make way for pipelines,” said Mike, whose powerful voice and loud drum boomed throughout the cavernous atrium as he spoke, and performed a traditional song and dance. “It’s not about yes or no [to the projects], it’s about asking. How would you feel if they wanted to put it right through your backyard or your front yard for that matter?”

And it could be even in the backyard he lives in now, considering Kinder Morgan is proposing an expansion of its Alberta-to-Burrard Inlet pipeline which could mean coming right through Robert Burnaby Park, he said.

Douglas College student Sheena Wong, one of the event’s organizers, was dressed in a traditional red-and-black cloak as she rallied the crowd.

“They’re selling our land to foreign countries,” said Wong. “I will not stand by and watch him (Harper) sell our land out from underneath us.”

Organizer Madison Paradis-Woodman said the intent of the event was to educate everyone of how the changes in social and environmental policy will affect all walks of life. He estimated there were 350 people throughout the day who absorbed the positive energy of the speakers, the drummers and the singers.

“I have never felt so proud to be an indigenous person. If anything this movement is proof of the power we can receive when we stand not behind people but in front of people and stand for environmental and social justice,” he said. “Just seeing people from all walks of life come out and participate and take something out of it, that made me feel good inside.”

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Posted in Advocacy, Equity, Government, Human Rights, Idle No More, Organizing, Politics, Protests, Student Movement, Students

Tagged Equity, Government, Idle No More, Organizing, Protests, Students

Federation of Students on BC Liberals budget: Too little, too late

Posted on February 20, 2013 by Stephen Petrina | Comments Off

Canadian Federation of Students BC, February 19, 2013 — BC’s new financial aid scheme is a major disappointment for students, who say that the program cut by the BC Liberals in 2004 was more generous and more effective at increasing access to post-secondary education. Unlike the previous grant program, the new savings scheme is more likely to benefit wealthier households.

“It’s the classic reverse Robin Hood: Steal from the poor to give to the rich,” said Katie Marocchi, Chairperson of the Canadian Federation of Students–British Columbia. “It took the BC Liberal government more than eight years to come up with a replacement for the student grant program they cancelled. What was tabled today is a truly inferior program in every way.”

The new scheme—a $1,200 contribution to Registered Education Savings Plan holders—is worth less than one-quarter of one year of university tuition fees.

The “BC Training and Education Savings Program” is a one-time contribution to 6 year-old British Columbians. Successful applicants must have an RESP account and apply during a 12-month window immediately preceding their seventh birthday.

Post-secondary institutions will suffer a $45-million cut in core funding by 2015. When accounting for inflation, per student funding for BC’s post-secondary institutions is lower than 2001 levels. Eroding per student funding has driven up tuition fees and led to the largest class sizes in Canada.

“Students are paying more and getting less every year. Tuition fees are going up while class sizes increase, equipment becomes outdated, and building maintenance is ignored.” said Marocchi.

The Canadian Federation of Students-BC is composed of students from 16 post-secondary institutions across every region of BC. Post-secondary students in Canada have been represented by the Canadian Federation of Students and its predecessor organizations since 1927.

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Posted in Accountability, BC Education, Budgets & Funding, Government, Organizing, Solidarity, Student Movement, Students

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#IdleNoMore @ U Maine: Building multi-ethnic and multi-generational networks of women

Posted on February 20, 2013 by Stephen Petrina | Comments Off

“We have reached a nexus point where Indigenous land rights, environmental justice and human survival all collide.” “It is here, at this point of collision, that we have the opportunity to facilitate real change as the various collectives — like we’re seeing around this room — of effective parties are thrown together in a literal fight for human survival.” Sherri Mitchell, Director, Land Peace Foundation

The Maine Campus, Dominique Scarlett, February 18, 2013 — On Wednesday, Feb. 13, the Women’s Studies program hosted “Idle No More: Building Multi-Ethnic and Multi-Generational Networks of Women,” the third in a series of their Women in Curriculum, or WIC spring lunch lectures, in the Bangor Room of the Memorial Union.

Sherri Mitchell, the director of the Land Peace Foundation, and Maria Girouard, assistant coordinator for student development at the University of Maine’s Wabanaki Center, presented the lecture, which focused on the “Idle No More” movement, recent controversial Canadian legislation and the need for supportive allies within the movement.

“Idle No More” is a grassroots movement that protests legislative abuses to the rights of aboriginal and indigenous people in Canada, which consist of First Nations, Metis and Inuit people.

“We have reached a nexus point where Indigenous land rights, environmental justice and human survival all collide,” Mitchell said during the presentation. “It is here, at this point of collision, that we have the opportunity to facilitate real change as the various collectives — like we’re seeing around this room — of effective parties are thrown together in a literal fight for human survival.”

The movement was formed in late 2012 by a group of female activists who organized a series of “teach-ins,” a form of non-violent protest where participants engage in free discussion about a controversial topic, to protest the induction of Canada’s C-45 bill.

The activists believe the controversial bill weakens environmental protection laws — particularly those that protect navigable waterways, many of which surrounded land that belongs to the First Nations.

“We have one planet. The type of destruction that we are facing respects no boundaries, it knows no division,” Mitchell said. “Therefore, if we hope to survive, we must eliminate all divisions between us. We must be allies and work collectively to stop these archaic practices of domination in the greed-driven industry that is threatening our planet and destroying all life.”

Mitchell argued that several policy measures, led by Canadian Prime Minister Stephen Harper, violate the rights of the indigenous and aboriginal people of Canada.

“[Harper’s] goal is to completely get rid of all people that identify as indigenous or aboriginal in Canada so that nobody has that status, because there are certain protections that are afforded under the law as a result of that status,” Mitchell said.

She spoke of the implementation of a three-tier policy strategy that, through several proposed and passed policy measures, negotiates with First Nations to sign new agreements that terminate their status as First Nations, eliminate funding and remove all funding for legal consultation.

She spoke of the steps that everyone could take to become involved in the environmental, indigenous and aboriginal rights movements.

“Educate yourself about the issues, attend informational sessions, do the research, talk to people, seek advice from the group for which you’re being an ally [and] listen to their critique of what you’re doing,” Mitchell said.

UM Student union throws support behind #IdleNoMore

Posted on February 14, 2013 by Stephen Petrina | Comments Off

Winnipeg Free Press, February 14, 2013 — The University of Manitoba Students’ Union (UMSU) endorsed the Idle No More movement and pledged to provide resources and supports to local organizers, an UMSU news release said today following a teach-in at the U of M by the aboriginal student representative.

“Students recognize and understand that Indigenous people and communities continue to confront the systems of colonization and oppression established by successive Canadian governments,” UMSU president Bilan Arte said in the news release.

“As an organization committed to social justice and increasing access to higher education, it is natural for UMSU to support the Idle No More movement in its efforts to educate and inform the rest of the country on the issues facing Indigenous people in Canada.”

UMSU is the largest students’ association in Manitoba with more than 25,000 undergraduate student members.

Ryerson University professor Pam Palmater, key spokesperson for Idle No More, said in an interview with Postmedia News:. “We’re in this for the long haul. It was never meant to be a flashy one month, then go away. This is something that’s years in the making,”

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Posted in Advocacy, Campus Life, Equity, Free speech, Government, Human Rights, Idle No More, Organizing, Protests, Solidarity, Student Movement, Students

Tagged Equity, Free speech, Idle No More, Organizing, Protests, Students

U of Toronto Student Torbold Rollo on #IdleNoMore

Posted on February 9, 2013 by Stephen Petrina | Comments Off

Georgia Straight, Torbold Rollo, February 1, 2013 — IT IS SOMETIMES quipped that democracy is like two wolves and a lamb voting on dinner. This Darwinian image of vulnerable minorities falling prey to a “tyranny of the majority” is why few believe that democracy can be reduced to participation in elections. If democracy has value it is because it allows people to have a meaningful say in the rules that govern them. Anything that precludes or impairs this “voice” is anti-democratic by extension.

The Idle No More indigenous rights movement is a democratic movement par excellence. It seeks to challenge those mechanisms of Canadian governance that preside over the lives of indigenous peoples and in this sense their demand for self-government—what ancient Greek theorists called “autonomy”, from auto (self) andnomos (rule)—is a genuinely democratic aspiration. Canadians are coming to see this more clearly as the movement articulates its recommendations. (No surprise, then, that “Idle No More” was just voted “Best Democratic Moment of 2012” in a poll conducted by the research group on democracy, Samara.)

What exactly precludes and impairs the autonomy of indigenous peoples? The Indian Act stands out as the most glaringly anti-democratic impediment to self-government. Not simply because it shatters the 60 or so original indigenous nations along with their traditional governments and traditional territories into the 614 arbitrary “bands” now scattered across Canada on tiny “reserves”, but also because band leadership has no real say in political and legislative life on those reserves. Although they are elected, chief and council have no democratic authority to govern because they are constrained from above by the Indian Act rather than from below by their people. They are replaceable managers, in essence, not law-makers. Real authority resides in the enforcement of the Indian Act by Aboriginal Affairs and Northern Development Canada. The whole arrangement is insultingly arbitrary from a democratic perspective.

#IdleNoMore alive and well, University of Alberta forum hears

Posted on February 9, 2013 by Stephen Petrina | Comments Off

Edmonton Journal, Alexander Zabjek, February 8, 1013 — The Idle No More Movement is not dead, dying, or dormant.

That was the message at a University of Alberta forum Friday that attracted more than 300 participants and nine speakers, including Chief Theresa Spence of Attawapiskat in northern Ontario.

Spence, via video link from her home community, was making her first major public appearance since ending her six-week fluid-only diet in Ottawa two weeks ago. Spence started her protest around the same time as Idle No More gained speed but the two protests were separate entities with separate tactics, although Spence often seemed to dominate headlines.

On Friday, however, Spence urged First Nations leaders to work with the Idle No More movement and other grassroots organizations. She said she was glad to be back in her home community and spoke relatively briefly, alongside Danny Metatawabin, her spokesperson during her protest,

“In retrospect, I see (she) really drew attention to Canada’s indigenous people, not just in Canada but outside Canada. People started to hear about this First Nations chief in Canada who is on a hunger strike in this country that is supposed to be such a great place to live,” said speaker Tanya Kappo, of the Sturgeon Lake Cree Nation, after the forum.

Kappo was the first person to use the Twitter hashtag #idlenomore in December and has spoken extensively about the Conservative government’s Bill C-45 and the effect it will have on laws governing navigable waterways. She addressed the crowd with personal stories of activism, including the time she explained to her young son why she couldn’t in good conscience attend Alberta’s centennial celebrations.

#IdleNoMore UNBC students in action

Posted on February 7, 2013 by Stephen Petrina | Comments Off

Rolling Stone, Brooke Jarvis, February 4, 2013— As members of Canada’s House of Commons returned to work last week in Ottawa, they found several hundred protesters waiting for them under a heavy snowfall on Parliament Hill. Many were dressed in traditional clothing of Canada’s First Nations….

Similar protests took place in Halifax, Calgary, Winnipeg, Montreal, Vancouver and other cities across Canada and in the United States. They were part of a “world day of action” organized under the banner of Idle No More – a native rights movement that has been heating up since October, when the Canadian government proposed a bill, known as C-45, that included provisions to undermine environmental protection and indigenous sovereignty.

C-45, which passed in December, changes the way that First Nations approve the surrendering or leasing of territory, making it easier to open indigenous treaty lands to development. The law also reduces the number of development projects that require environmental assessment and dramatically changes the nation’s Navigable Waters Protection Act – which, since 1882, has made it illegal to “block, alter or destroy any water deep enough to float a canoe without federal approval.” Now, only specifically enumerated bodies of water have that protection….

Shalane Pauls is a 24-year-old biochemistry student at the University of Northern British Columbia and a member of the Tsimshian and Tahltan nations. In the last few months, she has organized three Idle No More rallies. She is in the process of planning a teach-in to discuss what she calls myths about the movement, primarily claims that First Nations receive unfair government support. But the biggest myth, she said, is that water pollution only matters to native people. “It’s not just a First Nations issue,” says Pauls. “It’s a human rights issue. It’s a Canadian issue. It’s not just aboriginal children we’re looking out for; it’s the children of the nation.”

Idle No More has been subject to many of the same criticisms as other social movements: that its purpose isn’t sufficiently clear, that tactics will turn off potential allies, that infighting and tribal mismanagement mar the message. There’s no way to tell how long its momentum will last. Still, Pauls sees the movement as a turning point in the political involvement of Canada’s First Nations. “For so long, we haven’t been heard. And so, for so long we just sat, idly. But the title in itself really wakes people up. To be like, ‘Hey, I don’t want to be idle anymore – this is what I want to see, this is how I feel.’ There’s always going to be something worth fighting for.”

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Power of #IdleNoMore movement lies in direct action, says UBC prof

Posted on February 7, 2013 by Stephen Petrina | Comments Off

Georgia Straight, Yolanda Cole, February 6, 2013 — THE IDLE NO More movement is undergoing a moment of “pause and critical reflection”, in the view of one participant.

But that pause is also accompanied by a “rise in our collective anger and frustration” with the federal government, according to University of British Columbia professor Glen Coulthard.

Speaking at an Idle No More “teach-in” event at the University of British Columbia on February 1, Coulthard addressed the potential impact of direct actions staged by the movement.

The political science and First Nations Studies faculty member argued that grassroots forms of protests such as blockades have historically led to changes on indigenous issues.

“Historically, I would venture to suggest that all negotiations, over the scope and content of aboriginal people’s rights in the last 40 years, have piggybacked off of the assertive direct actions, including the escalated use of blockades, spearheaded by indigenous women and other grassroots elements of our community,” Coulthard told a crowd of more than 300 students and members of the public at the First Nations House of Learning at UBC.

Coulthard, a member of the Yellowknives Dene First Nation, disputed what he said is an assumption that official negotiations among leadership are the “most productive means to forge real change in the lives of indigenous communities”.

“I think that there’s a latent understanding that the negotiations aren’t about making the transformative changes that indigenous peoples need in order to live healthy, cultured lives, and if you look at the history of negotiations, they’ve always come in order to placate the transformative energy that has emerged in more grassroots forms of protest actions,” he said in an interview.

In fact, he argued, inquiries such as the Royal Commission on Aboriginal Peoples and the B.C. missing women inquiry wouldn’t have occurred if sustained direct actions led by indigenous communities hadn’t brought attention to the issues.

Coulthard noted it wouldn’t surprise him if Idle No More demonstrations escalate to “more assertive” forms of peaceful protest. Idle No More actions in Ontario have included railway and highway blockades.

“I think that it’s pretty clear that the federal government is maintaining its stance on the problematic pieces of legislation that have upset indigenous peoples so much,” he stated. “And if history has taught us anything, these cycles of anger and pent-up frustration will tend to be played out in activism.”

The demonstrations were initially sparked out of opposition to federal omnibus legislation that included changes to the Indian Act and the Navigable Waters Protection Act.

Coulthard noted that the movement has gained unprecedented sustained attention from the general population.

“I think it’s because Canadians, nonindigenous peoples, are seeing their own interests perhaps better represented by indigenous peoples, especially concerning environmental sustainability and the land,” he said in an interview. “These legislative changes are also violations of nonindigenous peoples’ aspirations with respect to the integrity of the land, having it shared more equitably.”

In Coulthard’s view, movements like Idle No More “have within their sights, now more than ever” a restructuring of the relationship between indigenous peoples and Canada. But he added that changes to that relationship are a “distant, long-term goal”.

“The impacts [of the movement] will be long-term, and they will eventually compel Canada to come to the negotiating table on equitable terms, honor its treaty obligations, and correct the colonial relationship between indigenous peoples and the state,” he said.

“The inequalities and the privileges that have built up are centuries old now, so it’s not going to happen overnight.”

Red More: Georgia Straight

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#IdleNoMore Teach-In and Demonstration at #UBC

Posted on February 1, 2013 by Stephen Petrina | Comments Off

Well over 300 gathered this afternoon for an Idle No More Teach-In at the University of British Columbia. This followed a late morning and afternoon INM demonstration yesterday with 100+ in attendance at any given moment. Today’s Teach-In at the First Nations House of Learning was broadcast by CITR (101.9 FM), the student run (since 1974) radio at UBC. If you were unable to attend, I encourage all to listen to the podcast for today and view videos from yesterday’s demonstration, as these were truly memorable and significant events at UBC. On a campus that has become renowned for apathy, Idle No More is a welcome and extremely promising change of both outlook and power dynamics. If you’re on the Board of Governors at UBC, you are likely proud and anxious at this point: Proud in that students are waking up and organizing demonstrations and teach-ins such as Idle No More and anxious in that none of this bodes well for business as usual and continuos expansion into unceded Musqueam territory and lands endowed in trust about 100 years ago (Musqueam home from time immemorial to “Crown Land” in late 1800s into “Endowment Lands” in 1910). Thank you to all who organized and participated these past two days in Idle No More at UBC!

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#IdleNoMore Demonstration at UBC

Posted on February 1, 2013 by Stephen Petrina | 1 comment

Lee Brown Speaks wisdom to power at Idle No More Demonstration at UBC

Thank you to Idle No More student planners of the extremely important demonstration at the University of British Columbia yesterday (31 January). This was the first of many to come at a University that has grown irresponsible in its expansion throughout the unceded Musqueam territory on which it is settled. This was a refreshingly catalytic exploration of the varied and complex issues represented within the Idle No More movement for a campus waking up from a decade of messages from the University that an inactive and idle student body is the best student body.

The Idle No More Teach-In at UBC this afternoon at the First Nations Longhouse will work from yesterday’s demonstration to generate next steps for this decreasingly idyllic, but no longer idle, campus.

Most videos from the Idle No More Demonstration at UBC (31 January 2013) are accessible:

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#IdleNoMore Teach-in at UBC on Friday (February 1)

Posted on January 29, 2013 by Stephen Petrina | 1 comment

Idle No More Teach-in
First Nations House of Learning
University of British Columbia

First Nations Longhouse
Friday, Feb. 1, 2013
1pm-3pm

Distinguished Aboriginal faculty will provide a background to the movement, outline the aspects of Bills 38 and 45 that are seen as problematic and discuss ways that classroom dialogue around this issue can be incorporated in an informed and productive way.

Everyone is welcome including students, staff, faculty, TAs and community members.

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#IdleNoMore Demonstration at UBC on Thursday (January 31)

Posted on January 29, 2013 by Stephen Petrina | 1 comment

Idle No More Demonstration at the University of British Columbia
Thursday, January 31
10:30am – 5pm
meet in front of UBC’s Museum of Anthropology
for a march to the Student Union Building

The UBC Idle No More Demonstration is an educational campaign led by both First Nations and Non-Indigenous students.

We will meet in front of UBC’s Museum of Anthropology for a march to the Student Union Building for a day of music, dancing, guest speakers, and alliance building between the grassroots Idle No More Movement and the wider UBC community.

10:30 am Meeting at MOA for opening prayer with Musqueam community members and Doctor Lee Brown. 11:00 to 12:00 March around campus (route to be determined) lead by First Nations Studies students.

Drummers and Singers from the Coast Salish, Tsimshian, Nisga’a Tlingit, Haida, and Kwakwaka’wakw Nations will be sharing their songs and dances throughout the demonstration.

**We invite people from all Nations to come with their drums to join in on songs and share songs of your own**

12:00 to 4:30 Meeting in front of the SUB between Brock Hall and the Goddess of Democracy Statue

Order of Speakers

1.) 12:00/12:30 to 1:00 Professor Glen Coulthard, Yellowknives Dene First Nation
2.) 1:00 to 1:15 Karina Czyzewski (student)
3.) 1:30 Shannon Hecker (student)
4.) 1:45 Professor Charles Menzies
5.) 2:00 Professor Coll Thrush
6.) 2:30 Miles Richardson (Haida Gwaii, UBC Alumni, David Suzuki Foundation, British Columbia Treaty Commission)
7.) 3:00 Angela Code (Sayisi Dene and UBC Alumni)
8.) 3:30 Professor Bruce Miller.
9.) 3:45 to 4:30 Open Mic and performances (weather permitting).
10.) 4:30 to 5:00 Closing

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EDUCAUTION – A New Documentary on Student Debt

Posted on January 29, 2013 by Stephen Petrina | Comments Off

Dear Friends & Supporters:

I’m writing today to let you know about a great new documentary film on Student Debt called “EDUCAUTION.”

***Watch the trailer here***

EDUCAUTION is a journey documentary film created by graduate students who are concerned about the future of the American Higher Education System. By focusing on the economic issues surrounding the higher education system, the film examines the increasing concerns of many Americans regarding the continuing decrease in the quality, value, and financial return of higher education in the market place. Through interviewing fellow Americans with real stories from diverse backgrounds, the filmmakers’ goal has been to examine the current system, offer hope, and propose solutions towards preserving the American Higher Education System – a system that has been the main force behind much of the Modern World’s achievements and advances.

From the filmmakers:

EDUCAUTION, currently an Independent USC Graduate Thesis Documentary Film, will be followed by EDUCAUTION 101, a full feature documentary film, which aims at taking a more comprehensive look at the education system as a whole in America– starting from the moment of birth to college and beyond.

The journey to make this film started in Southern California, home to one of the best university systems in the world. After starting the film in Los Angeles, the filmmakers’ journey in exploring this issue has taken us to Northern California, Texas and Washington D.C. Additionally, we have interviewed activists and experts from numerous regions of our country including New York, Michigan, and Alaska. After talking to hundreds of students, teachers, parents, administrators, activists, experts, economists, politicians, and interviewing more than 40 individuals, we would like to say hello by sharing our first teaser.

Please be sure to check out the trailer and then share it on Facebook & Twitter today!

Thank you, as always, for your continued support!

Sincerely,

Robert Applebaum

Co-Founder & Executive Director
StudentDebtCrisis.org

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#IdleNoMore World Day of Action

Posted on January 28, 2013 by Stephen Petrina | Comments Off

Today (January 28) is the first #IdleNoMore World Day of Action, with events and protests planned around the globe and in at least 30 Canadian cities.

This day of action will peacefully protest attacks on Democracy, Indigenous Sovereignty, Human Rights and Environmental Protections when Canadian MPs return to the House of Commons on January 28th. As a grassroots movement, clearly no political organization speaks for Idle No More. This movement is of the people …

INM urges the government of Canada to repeal all legislation; which violates Treaties, Indigenous Sovereignty and subsequently Environmental Protections of land and water.

INM is grateful to many leaders who have supported this vision and the movement of the grassroots people. “The Treaties are the last line of defense to protect water and lands from destruction,” stated Oren Lyons, Faithkeeper Turtle Clan, Onondaga Nation Council of Chiefs.

Here in Vancouver, the rally and Gathering of Nations will begin at 12:00 at the Aboriginal Affairs and Northern Development Canada Department office, near the intersection of Melville and Thurlow (1138 Melville st).

At the University of Mannitoba, Buffy Sainte-Marie will speak at the University of Manitoba Tuesday from noon to 2 p.m. about the momentum of the movement as part of the university student union’s annual Week of Celebration. Students and youth from First Nations in Manitoba are walking this weekend along Highway 59 to rally at the Manitoba Legislative Building on Monday at 5 p.m. Sainte-Marie is expected to join the rally and round dance at the Manitoba Legislative Building today. Read more: Winnipeg Free Press

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Judith Sayers on #IdleNoMore: ‘A real need to join the people’

Posted on January 21, 2013 by Stephen Petrina | Comments Off

Globe and Mail, Rob Mickleburgh, January 21, 2013 — As a former chief of the Hupacasath First Nation, a past executive member of the First Nations Summit and currently a visiting professor of business and law at the University of Victoria, Judith Sayers has long been one of B.C.’s most prominent natives, with a reputation for seeking solutions over confrontation. But there she was last week, part of the Idle No More highway blockade near Victoria. Afterward, Ms. Sayers talked with The Globe and Mail about her support for the burgeoning movement, and her unhappiness with current native leadership.

How was the protest?

I didn’t plan to go, but I was checking Twitter and felt a real need to join the people. It’s such a good feeling to be with people of one mind, walking, hearing the drums and the singing, and just listening to people.

What brought you to Idle No More, which is very much outside the formal channels you’re used to?

Well, those formal channels aren’t getting us anywhere. I have always said we need leaders who are going to put our issues on the front page, make them election issues. None of us, including myself, have been able to do that. I see this movement able to do that. It’s amazing. Our people have never really taken this kind of initiative before. It’s across the ranks. All of the issues have come to a boiling point.

Students and young people behind #IdleNoMore

Posted on January 20, 2013 by Stephen Petrina | Comments Off

What’s behind the explosion of native activism? Young people

JOE FRIESEN
The First Perspective

The First Perspective, Joe Friesen, January 20, 2013 — Erica Lee is a 22-year-old Cree woman raised by a single mother in a rough part of town. She’s the first of her family to finish high school, the first to go to university and, as an organizer of the Idle No More movement, she represents a sea change in Canadian life and politics.

When she was in high school in Saskatoon, Ms. Lee’s history teacher was a woman named Sheelah McLean, one of the four founders of Idle No More. Together they embody one of the movement’s most intriguing aspects: It has been led and organized almost entirely by young, university-educated women. But Idle No More is also shaped by a collision of demographic and historic forces: a very young population, rising levels of income and education and a community that has suffered decades of injustice. It reads like a recipe for a resistance movement.

So why is it taking off now and not five or 10 years ago? A critical mass of educated young people.

“One of the things I look at is the number of aboriginal students in university and college. In the early 1970s, the number was counted in the low hundreds. If you look now, you’ll find the number is around 30,000. It’s a staggering number, a wonderful indication of a major transformation,” said Ken Coates, Canada research chair in regional innovation at the University of Saskatchewan.

Prof. Coates describes Idle No More as part of a revolution of rising expectations. The number of aboriginal university graduates increased by a third between 2001 and 2006. Over that same period, incomes rose and employment grew. Forty-four per cent of those 25 to 64 now have some form of postsecondary credential. More and more young aboriginal people are connected to the mainstream economy, and more communities are finding some measure of prosperity through economic development. There’s a long way to go to achieve equality with the rest of Canada, but there are signs of progress.

“The whole balance in the first nations community is radically different than it was before,” Prof. Coates said. “They have companies, they have success, they have graduates. All these elements, which Canadians are not used to seeing, have made it so that first nations people are saying, ‘Why shouldn’t we aspire to more?’ ”

Ms. Lee is a fourth-year student in political philosophy at the University of Saskatchewan. She has been active in Idle No More since its first rally in a Saskatoon community centre, where she spoke to a humble gathering of 100 people. At the time, she thought it was no different than the other political activities she’d taken part in. The crowd was familiar, many of them veterans of the local activist scene, and there were no signs that this time was different. But within weeks, the movement started to take off.

Dalhousie University Student Activism & Teach-In @ #IdleNoMore

Posted on January 17, 2013 by Stephen Petrina | Comments Off

Dalhousie University Teach-In videos, by Solidarity Halifax:

Idle No More Teach-In at Dalhousie University Jan. 10, All Parts, Full Video

“An evening of education, action and ceremony, teachers share information and analysis on the economic and political structures that have and continue to shape a colonial relationship between First Nations and Aboriginal peoples and the Canadian state. The upsurge in parliamentary legislation in the form of Bill C-45 and other proposed bills is a recent manifestation of this relationship.”

See More: Halifax Media Co-op

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Posted in Academic freedom, Advocacy, Campus Life, Equity, Ethics, Government, Organizing, Protests, Solidarity, Student Movement, Students

Tagged Equity, Idle No More, Organizing, Protests, Students

Patricia Doyle-Bedwell : : #IdleNoMore A Movement for Change

Posted on January 17, 2013 by Stephen Petrina | Comments Off

Dal News, Misha Noble-Hearle, January 18, 2013 — Thirty years ago, Patricia Doyle-Bedwell sat in Dalhousie’s Student Union building with four other aboriginal students discussing issues such as class, racism and indigenous rights. She would never have guessed that 30 years later, more than 400 people would be packed into the Scotiabank Auditorium in support of, or simply eager to learn about, the same issues.

“I am overwhelmed with joy for the support of Idle No More,” says the Dalhousie professor and director of the Transition Year Program, speaking about the teach-in event held on campus last week.

Growth of a movement

Idle No More is a grassroots movement that began as an email exchange between four aboriginal activists in Saskatchewan last fall. Their discussions focused on Bill C-45, a 400-page bill passed in December 2012 by the Canadian government that made changes to the Indian Act, the Navigation Protection Act and the Environment Assessment Act, among others.

Worried how these changes would affect them and their treaty rights, the activists organized a rally in Saskatoon peacefully protesting the bill. Since then, the movement has caught fire, spreading rapidly and prominently around the country.

With live tweets during events and more than 75,000 “likes” on Facebook, Idle No More is powered by social media as well as the inaccuracies of mainstream media, says Howard Ramos, a faculty member in the Department of Sociology and Social Anthropology and an expert in Canadian Aboriginal mobilization and issues of ethnicity and race.

“The movement spread not just through social media, but when the media got it wrong,” says Dr. Ramos.

Often, Idle No More has been portrayed in affiliation with Attawapiskat Chief Theresa Spence’s hunger strike. After declaring that her First Nations band in Northern Ontario was in a state of emergency due to severe economic issues, she began a liquids-only diet on Dec. 11, 2012, demanding a meeting with Stephen Harper and Governor-General David Johnston. This media coverage sparked interest in Idle No More, merging the two separate movements, but Idle No More is about a lot more than one hunger strike.

The protection of Aboriginal Rights and environmental concerns are high on the to-do list of Idle No More organizers and supporters, but the movement also provides a platform for social learning and “unlearning,” an idea that Erin Wunker, English professor, explained at the January 8 event. She defined unlearning as the act of acknowledging something we thought was true as not being the truth.

“I am part of a population that has learned that I have always had a right to be here, and that is untrue,” said Wunker, identifying herself as a descendant of European-Canadian settlers. “We need to learn each other’s stories and unlearn the dominant discourse of them.”

Sparking a dialogue

Idle No More promotes education about issues that affect not only Aboriginal Canadians, but all Canadians, say those who are following it closely.

U Fraser Valley (UFV) #IdleNoMore educational forum

Posted on January 16, 2013 by Stephen Petrina | Comments Off

University of the Fraser Valley (UFV) #IdleNoMore Educational Forum

17 January
1:00 – 3:30
Aboriginal Gathering Place at the Canada Education Park campus in Chilliwack

The University of the Fraser Valley (UFV) will host an Idle No More educational forum on January 17 from 1 to 3: 30 p.m. at the Aboriginal Gathering Place at the Canada Education Park campus in Chilliwack.

Speakers include:

Joanne Gutierrez (Xwiyolemot, Sto: lo/ Cree woman) who will talk about indigenous government and Idle No More capacity building
Sakej Warden (Master of Indigenous Government degree from University of Victoria Member of Warrior Societies Alliance) who will talk about indigenous nationhood
Hamish Telford (UFV political science instructor) who will talk about omnibus bills and Bill C-45
Robert Harding (UFV social work instructor) who will talk about media representation of the Idle No More movement and the context of the representation of aboriginal peoples and issues in the media

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Posted in Advocacy, Campus Life, Equity, Events, Government, Human Rights, Idle No More, Organizing, Solidarity, Student Movement, Students

Tagged Equity, Government, Idle No More, Students

#IdleNoMore at U Victoria: Where do we go from here?

Posted on January 16, 2013 by Stephen Petrina | Comments Off

#IdleNoMore at U Victoria: Where do we go from here?

Teach-In and Public Forum

A town hall and public discussion co-sponsored by the Faculty of Human and Social Development and Indigenous Governance examines the Indigenous Peoples’ movement that is generating debate from coast to coast.

Panelists include:
Dr. Taiaiake Alfred (Professor, Indigenous Governance, UVic)
Janet Rogers (Victoria Poet Laureate, INM Victoria Organizer)
Mandee McDonald (MA Student, Indigenous Governance, UVic, INM Victoria/Denendeh Organizer)
Special Guest: Wab Kinew (Media Personality, Director of Indigenous Inclusion, University of Winnipeg).

What: “Idle No More: Where do we go from here?”
When: Wednesday, Jan. 16, from 7 to 9 p.m.
Where: First Peoples House, UVic

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Posted in Advocacy, Campus Life, Equity, Government, Human Rights, Idle No More, Organizing, Politics, Protests, Solidarity, Student Movement, Students

Tagged Equity, Idle No More, Protests, Students

Category Archives: Organizing

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#IdleNoMore Demonstration at UBC

#IdleNoMore Teach-in at UBC on Friday (February 1)

Idle No More Teach-in
First Nations House of Learning
University of British Columbia

First Nations Longhouse
Friday, Feb. 1, 2013
1pm-3pm

#IdleNoMore Demonstration at UBC on Thursday (January 31)

Idle No More Demonstration at the University of British Columbia
Thursday, January 31
10:30am – 5pm
meet in front of UBC’s Museum of Anthropology
for a march to the Student Union Building

12:00 to 4:30 Meeting in front of the SUB between Brock Hall and the Goddess of Democracy Statue

EDUCAUTION – A New Documentary on Student Debt

#IdleNoMore World Day of Action

Judith Sayers on #IdleNoMore: ‘A real need to join the people’

Students and young people behind #IdleNoMore

Dalhousie University Student Activism & Teach-In @ #IdleNoMore

Patricia Doyle-Bedwell : : #IdleNoMore A Movement for Change

Growth of a movement

Sparking a dialogue

U Fraser Valley (UFV) #IdleNoMore educational forum

University of the Fraser Valley (UFV) #IdleNoMore Educational Forum

#IdleNoMore at U Victoria: Where do we go from here?

#IdleNoMore at U Victoria: Where do we go from here?

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Idle No More Teach-in First Nations House of Learning University of British Columbia

First Nations Longhouse Friday, Feb. 1, 2013 1pm-3pm

Idle No More Demonstration at the University of British Columbia Thursday, January 31 10:30am – 5pm meet in front of UBC’s Museum of Anthropology for a march to the Student Union Building

12:00 to 4:30 Meeting in front of the SUB between Brock Hall and the Goddess of Democracy Statue

Growth of a movement

Sparking a dialogue

University of the Fraser Valley (UFV) #IdleNoMore Educational Forum

#IdleNoMore at U Victoria: Where do we go from here?

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Top Labor News

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Idle No More Teach-in
First Nations House of Learning
University of British Columbia

First Nations Longhouse
Friday, Feb. 1, 2013
1pm-3pm

Idle No More Demonstration at the University of British Columbia
Thursday, January 31
10:30am – 5pm
meet in front of UBC’s Museum of Anthropology
for a march to the Student Union Building