Idle No More protests C-45 reserve land grab

First Nations and supporters organize flash mobs, protests, from coast to coast to coast.

from Idle No More

Idle No More began with four women — Nina Wilson, Sheelah Mclean, Sylvia McAdam and Jessica Gordon — sharing a vision of bringing together all people to ensure we create ways of protecting Mother Earth, her lands, waters and people.  

The women began discussing the possible impacts that some of the Bill C-45 legislation would carry if people do not do something.  It became very evident that the women must do something about the colonial, unilateral and paternalistic legislation being pushed through the Government of Canada’s parliamentary system.  They began with Bill C-45 because it attacked the land base reserved for Indigenous people.

The women decided that they would call a rally to inform the public that this bill intended to give the minister of indian affairs power to surrender the lands reserved for First Nations peoples, without the First Nations people's consent. They felt that this would ultimately make room for oil, nuclear and gas industries to tear up the land for profit.  

From this rally they also informed the public about other legislation that affected and ignored the Crown Treaties — and also the waters, land and people that would be harmed in many ways.

The women then helped other communities to coordinate efforts to hold similar rallies with the same goal in mind: Stand up and speak up against undemocratic and internationally illegal government acts.  These rallies took place all across the country.

The women saw that there were many other communities that needed to come together in an act of solidarity and resurgence to assert their inherent rights as a sovereign Nation. Thus they called The National Day of Solidarity and Resurgence for December 10, 2012.  This was an enormous event that saw many more nations and diverse groups of people come together than ever before in history.  

These events and acts have continued to grow and — judging by the talk from the grassroots — show no signs of slowing down.  The group called Idle No More have witnessed these events spreading out internationally — with groups in the United States as well as the United Kingdom sharing in helping to support our opposition to the government’s actions as well as supporting our assertion of our Nationhood.

normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">The women will continue and remain in a position to help amplify grassroots voices by:
 

• Supporting and encouraging grassroots to create their own forums to learn more about Indigenous rights and our responsibilities to our Nationhood via teach-ins, rallies and social media.
• Building relationships and create understanding with allies across Canada.
• Taking steps to contribute to building relationships with international agencies such as the UN to raise awareness to the conditions Indigenous people have been subjected to and assert our sovereignty in the international arena.
• Acknowledging and honouring the hard work of all grassroots people who have worked, and continue to work towards these goals.

 

They are the inspiration for Idle No More.

© Copyright 2012 Idle No More, All rights Reserved. Written For: StraightGoods.ca