Wab Kinew at TRU's Storytellers Gala

Aboriginal journalist, musician and director of Indigenous Inclusion of Aboriginals at the University of Winnipeg, Wab Kinew spoke at the Storytellers Gala hosted by Thompson Rivers University's Aboriginal Collective March 14, 2013.

Courtney Dickson, roving editor at The Omega, TRUs independent student newspaper wrote about Wab Kinew's presentation in her article posted in theomega.ca.

Solidarity with Mi'kmaq, "1 in 4 inmates in federal penitentiaries today are of Aboriginal ancestry" and Sharon McIvor speaks at TRU.

Idle No More releases a statement declaring solidarity with Mi'kmaq First Nations protesters Shelley Young and Jean Sock who have been on hunger strike since March 1, 2013 in opposition to Framework Agreements between Mi'kmaq Chiefs and the Federal Government that will abolish Treaty rights.
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The Office of the Correctional Investigator tables its report on Aboriginal people and their relationship with the Justice and Correctional system and titled, Spirit Matters: Aboriginal People and the Corrections and Conditional Release Act.

“Close to one-in-four inmates in federal penitentiaries today are of Aboriginal ancestry," said the Correctional Investigator, Mr. Howard Sapers. 

The report found.

Today, 21% of the federal inmate population claims Aboriginal ancestry. The gap between Aboriginal and non-Aboriginal offenders continues to widen on nearly every indicator of correctional performance:

• Aboriginal offenders serve disproportionately more of their sentence behind bars before first release.
• Aboriginal offenders are under-represented in community supervision populations and over-represented in maximum security institutions.
• Aboriginal offenders are more likely to return to prison on revocation of parole.
• Aboriginal offenders are disproportionately involved in institutional security incidents, use of force interventions, segregation placements and self-injurious behaviour.

From Executive Summary section xiii. 
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Sharon McIvor a lawyer from Merrit, BC talks at Thompson Rivers University about Historical and Current Perspectives on the Status of First Nations Women at the Arts and Education building to a audience of about 30 people.

Topics discussed:

'82 Canadian Constitution and Charter of Rights and Freedoms.
'89 McIvor v Canada - regarding the Indian Act and Aboriginal women losing status until '85.
Bill -C-3 Gender equity in Indian Registration Act
Matrimonial property on Reserves.
McIvor's role with Federal Correction services and the Task Force on Federally Sentenced Women.
Missing and Murdered Aboriginal Women and the relationship between Aboriginal Women and the Police. 

 

Idle No More at Aberdeen Mall

“The crowd isn’t important, the building isn’t important what is important is that the Earth has rights.” said Nicole Cahoose a university student and one of the organizers for Idle No More.

A small group had begun to gather around the fireplace set beside the escalators at Aberdeen Mall.  A middle aged native man wearing a green camouflage jacket was tuning his drum.  He did this by lightly tapping the drum skin looking for the spot that would elicit the sound he wanted.  The drum measured about two feet in diameter, had a wooden frame with raw hide tightly stretched over it and all pulled together in the back by leather thongs which formed the hand grip.  

He laughed as he spoke to the women beside him. They all smiled as they spoke to one another.  Occasionally one would look up towards the gathering crowd as if looking for someone they knew. 

“As long as one or two people get interested or change the way they think then it is a success.” said Jolene Michel an arts student from TRU and organizer for Idle No More.

An old woman wearing a white headband began to speak; it wasn’t clear what she was saying.  Her words lost to the ambient noise of the mall and the open space above them.  She lifted a sign with the words idle no more written at the bottom and the picture of a native woman in traditional dress above.  The picture looked like a head with an eagle feather on top and the feather was the woman.

A young native woman stepped forward and spoke into a megaphone but she was as indecipherable as the old woman’s had been.  The young woman was Nicole Cahoose a student from the university and one of the women who organized the event. 

Shoppers in the mall slowly started taking notice of the thirty Native people gathered around the fireplace.  Several, thought it was a musical group and stopping for a few minutes to listen and then moved on when the group paused to speak about their cause.   A group of teens walked through the crowd closest to the group talking loudly about why people were making a big deal of this and walked on.  Some stayed and listened.

Between the songs individuals stepped forward from the group to address the crowd.  A young man wearing a blue shirt who was one of the drummers spoke.  He said that Idle No More wasn’t about getting more money from the government or more land it is about ensuring their children have a place to live in the future. 

     

“These people here today are the only people standing between you and complete destruction of the earth.” said Michelle Good a local lawyer and organizer of Idle No More.  We have a right to a clean environment and a right to a way of life.  As Good’s speech became more politically charged people who had gathered to watch began to wander away.  

After an hour the group packed up and the crowds dispersed.  Saturday shoppers returned to their business as though nothing had happened here but perhaps some will carry the sound of drums and the song of idle no more with them. 

Society of Law Students Hosts Arthur Manuel and Harsha Walia at Access To Justice, Still? Conference.

“There has to be a re-carving of Indigenous Rights in Canada.” Arthur Manuel.

Arthur Manuel at SLSTRU Conference

“It's only through Idle No More, only through political action at the community level that you can get him to doggone move.” said Arthur Manuel, referring to Prime Minister Stephen Harper’s reluctance to meet with First Nations.  “It is only through political action only through on the ground creating economic uncertainty that you can really create that kind of change.  I am really inspired by idle no more.”

Arthur Manuel is a former Chief of the Neskonith Indian Band, Chairman of the Shuswap Nation Tribal Council and a lead proponent of Aboriginal and Treaty rights in Canada.  He and Harsha Walia a UBC Law graduate and activist sat on the closing panel of Thompson Rivers University's, Society of Law Students first conference on Friday February 8, 2013.  This final panel was attended by about 25 people. The two day event was held at the Brown House of Learning and explored different concepts of justice.

Manuel spoke about Indigenous economics.  How Federal and Provincial governments are developing the Nation’s resources without Indigenous involvement.  How organized First Nations groups which accept funding from the government have reached the extent of their usefulness.  That these organizations have become an Industry to manage Native poverty.  Only through grassroots and community political action can First Nations move forward.

Harsha Walia, SLSTRU Conference

Harsha Walia address the forum and talked about her experience in Downtown East Side of Vancouver and the issues of poverty, selective policing, criminalization of a community, criminalization of poverty, colonialism, aboriginal rights and how the legal system affects social activism.

"The law and justice are totally different," said Walia "there is a difference between what is legally right and what is morally right."

“There is an increasing reliance on criminalization as a tactic to deter activism.” said Walia. An example is Bill 78  passed by the Quebec government as an attempt to restrict student protests.  

(Quebec Bill 78 included these measures:

• rules against preventing students from entering an educational institution;[4]
• requirements for organizers of public demonstrations to give police advance notice;[5] and
• penalties for people who offer encouragement to protest.[6]

Judy Feng, Legal Perspectives on Bill 78 – Quebec’s“Emergency Law” to Quell Student Protests)

However, Quebec students ignored the provisions in Bill 78 and continued their protest in defiance of Bill 78. Students continued to march by the hundreds and thousands which made enforcement of the Quebec’s anti-protest law unenforceable. Leading to tuition hikes to be frozen and Bill 78 to be repealed in September, 2012 by Pauline Marois.

(Bill 78 was repealed by Parti Québécois Leader Pauline Marois on her 1st day in office.)

Governments and the courts have other methods of affecting social activism. Contempt of Court, Obstruction of Justice, Trespass, Libel, Defamation and Slap Suits are legal mechanisms in place that can affect activists. Surveillance and Infiltration are another set of court sanctioned means used to monitor First Nations and activist groups.

Walia was arrested pre-emptively, before the G20 because they thought she may pose a threat to the meeting but those charges were quickly dropped.  This is one example of the sweeping arrests made before the G20 and the increase surveillance that was authorized to quell protests of the summit.

Manuel offered encouragement to the youth in the final comments of the conference. The conference closed with a prayer from a local elder and a traditional song from Aboriginal students at TRU.

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Material of Interest:

The National Post ran a story Police violated civil rights, acted illegally, says scathing report on G20 Summit.  Where the Office of the Independent Police Review Director found that police violated the rights of approximately 1000 people during the G20 Summit.

Russell Diablo and Shiri Pasternak write about government monitoring of First Nations groups in the First Nations Strategic Bulletin a newsletter published by Russell Diablo.
“Russell Diabo (Kanienke’ha:ka) from Kahnawake is the Policy Advisor for the Algonquin Nation Secretariat & Wolf Lake First Nation, and is the Editor & Publisher at First Nations Strategic. Bulletin”Indigenous Waves.

Flashmob and Round Dance at TRU as Idle No More participates in the Global Day of Action a few days early.

Natives, non-native, teachers and students came together at Idle No More at Thompson Rivers University today at 12:30 in front of the Campus Activity Centre.

 Today's flashmob and roundance was organized by Jolene Michel, Nicole Kahoose, Rhoda Tom Shania West and Michelle Ikwumonu.

 The event attracted over a hundred participants who participated in the round dancing and listened to various speakers, including Elders, Professors, Students, Student Union representatives and guests..

 

After each speaker drummers in the center of the circle sang and participants danced around them.  One of the last songs was a woman's song.  The women present stood in the center of the circle and sang while the men stood at the outside to show their support for them.

 

The purpose of Idle No More TRU is to bring awareness of the issues surrounding Bill C-45 to campus. And while not everyone took part in the event, Idle No More made its presence felt at TRU.

Justin Trudeau at Thompson Rivers University gives his opinion of Idle No More

Justin Trudeau came to Thompson Rivers University today to promote his intention to run for the leadership of the Federal Liberal party.  He stopped this morning to talk to Shelley Joyce of CBC's Daybreak.
Trudeau arrived at Thompson Rivers University just before 6 Pm and the hall was packed, standing room only as Trudeau addressed the crowd.
His speech was similar to most campaign speeches filled with promises to help a suffering and cynical middle class that is distrustful of the current government. 
The one notable point that Trudeau made was that beginning this Spring the Federal Liberal party will be allowing anyone who is not affiliated with another Federal political party to vote for the leader of the Federal Liberal party.

The following is a transcription and audio from the question period following Mr. Trudeau's speech on the question of Idle No More.

WOMAN:  My question is on Idle No More.[murmuring]  So with Aboriginal issues becoming more on the Canadian conscience the next election it might actually finally be a hot topic.  What are the sort of plans you have if your government comes to power?

TRUDEAU: Well, first of all when people look at.  A lot of people, politicians look at a movement like Idle No More they look at it as a problem.  I'm looking at it as an extraordinary opportunity.  The fact that we have so many grassroots First Nations, Metis, Aboriginal and Inuit activists coming together and saying you know what it's time to get something done.  It's time we fulfill those promises that have been made time and time again and not fulfilled.  It's time we started working together, especially since like I say the largest percentage of young people in this country are in our aboriginal communities.  We need to get this right not just because of a moral imperative that we should feel shamed for.  What we have done in the past as a country which we absolutely should but because if we want to get our future right we're going to need these young people and whats more we're going to need the solutions and values that come from the traditions that have successfully thrived on this land for millennial.  The idea of thinking long term, the idea of caring for the land that in return cares for us.  The idea that we do not inherit the land from our parents but that we borrow it from our grandchildren. [applause] These are the things we need to start thinking about. [applause]... that means starting a relationship based on respect and partnership and shared goals that is the starting point. That's where we go from here.  Thank you.

Kamloops Daily News published a story on Trudeau's visit to Kamloops.  However, leaves out Trudeau's comments about Idle No More.