Is Interest in Idle No More Dwindling

Idle no more originally started to protest omnibus bills C-38 and C-45 has changed to include a number of Aboriginal centric issues.  Including opposition to bill C-27 First Nations Transparency Act, First Nations Education Reform and Mi'kmaq Framework Agreements. They have also posted the Ally Bill of Responsibilities by Dr. Lynn Gehl on their official website that in part asserts that the needs of the supporters of Indigenous people are secondary and must take a backseat to Indigenous people.

As Idle no more shifts away from its original focus and issues statements filled with political rhetoric, traffic to its website has seen a steady decline.

A search on Alexa.com an Internet traffic monitoring site shows that Idle no more's official website has seen a large decrease in traffic.

Daily global Internet users has decreased by -69.77% in the last month from its three month high of +4000% which equals 0.00037% of Internet users to 0.00017% this month. (statistical data from March 14, 2013, refer to Alexa.com for current stats)

This equals a traffic rank of 794,177 which is a rank lower than the previous 402,344.  Indicating a significant drop in visitors to their website.

The decline of Idle no more was acknowledged by Phil Fontaine a former Chief of the Assembly of First Nations at a talk at the University of Winnipeg and reported in an article by the CBC where he suggests that Idle no more must change their direction to restart their movement.

Krystalline Krause in her article Activist Communique: Idle No More still breathing. March 5, 2013. from Rabble.ca said right wing media has declared Idle no more dead however the movement is still alive. March 20 to 22, 2013 have been declared as Global Days of Action for Idle no more.

However, with the change in focus and media wrangling it appears that the environment has been forgotten.  Federal changes to environmental laws have not changed.  The issues surrounding the omnibus bills have not gone away.  But, people's interest and it appears the interest of Idle no more have moved on to other things.

Perhaps March will see a grassroots movement return to its own roots.

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.

Left wing posting seems at odds with Idle No More's platform.

Jessica Gordon a founder of Idle No more posted the "Ally Bill of Responsibilities" written by Dr. Lynn Gehl a self described Indigenous Human Rights Advocate for 27 years February 1, 2013 in the 'Get Involved' section of Idle No More's Official website.

This poster prepared by Dr. Gehl outlines what is expected from First Nations Allies.

Main points (summarized):

Allies, oppose oppressive power structures out of interest not guilt,
Allies, recognize they are secondary to Indigenous people and their needs take a back seat to them,
Allies, are fully grounded in their own history and culture,
Allies, are aware of their privileges and discuss them,
Allies, reflect on their ignorance of the groups oppression and hold this ignorance at the forefront of their mind,
Allies, need to use critical thought versus subjectivity to understand the larger power structure of oppression,
Allies, must ensure the needs of the most oppressed are looked after these being: women, children, elderly, young teenage girls and boys and the disabled.  Any other action is inadequate and serves to promote the structures of oppression,
Sometimes Allies are chosen to further an agenda that isn't in line with Indigenous people and people should act accordinglyAllies, do not take up space, resources or anything that an oppressed group uses.
Allies, do not take up time at meetings or events, they must listen more than they speak.

Allies realize that they do not understand the extend of oppression as much as the oppressed group does, and
Allies, accept that learning is a responsibility to being an effective ally.

To read the full text, the link is posted on the Idle No More's official website.

I e-mailed Jessica Gordon on February 2 after reading this poster with the following questions.

Text of the e-mail with headers removed. 
The numbers refer to specific headings in the "Ally Bill of Responsibilities"

"My questions are:

Is Idle No More endorsing a document that classifies every other citizen of Canada who is not First Nations as secondary to First Nations as stated in point #2 of the document?
That all those who are not First Nations are ignorant as stated in point #5?
Points #7 and 8 are unclear are you able to clarify the meaning for me?
That according to point #10 even if First Nations members who are male are given any support that this aids to promote oppression?
And in points #12 that Non Native leadership is invalid?
Point #15 are Non-Native people expected not to have a voice in community meetings or events?
Is this the direction that Idle No More is headed?
How do you think Idle No More supporters will react to this document?
Thank you for your time Mrs Gordon, I look forward to hearing from you."

Mrs. Gordon has not responded to my questions.

On February 5, 2013, Windspeaker issued an article by Sylvia McAdams another of the founders of Idle No More, "Creative resistance" continues battle with "dangerous" policies. 

In this article McAdams explains the origin, methods and aims of Idle  No More.

“I think this is where people are mistaking Idle No More as an Indigenous movement; really, it’s a grassroots movement for all people. It’s an energetic movement, and it’s bound to inspire all walks of life. It’s a beautiful movement and people want to be a part of it. It’s inspired grassroots people to be creative in their resistance. When we speak of water and the protection of water and land, of course it’s going to motivate and inspire people to want to protect that for our children and the generations to come.”

Conclusion.

“If you’re thinking about joining this movement, whether you’re Indigenous or non-Indigenous, I ask that you put the past injustices aside, and join Idle No More for the love of our children, and for the love of all of our lands and our waters. That’s what we ask.” Windspeaker, Volume 30, Issue 11, Year 2013.

McAdam's again states that Idle No More is a grassroots movement that is not only about First Nations, how the issues will affect all Canadians and how everyone should cooperate to protect the lands and waters.  However, the "Ally Bill of Responsibilities" posted on Idle No More's site demonstrates a stance that puts First Nations ahead of even their supporters.

To clarify Idle No More's position, I again e-mailed both Mrs McAdam and Mrs Gordon.

They have not responded to me.

Idle No More's Working document outlining its future strategies

Idle No More released a working document outlining its strategies for Idle No More, grassroots and supporters January 23, 2013.

"We intend to accomplish these goals by, immediately,

• Implementing leadership  structure and councils -  Council of women
• Taking training in; coordinating rallies, media, messaging, safety issues, identifying- provocateurs, misinformation shills, propaganda etc.
• Placing key spokespeople and connecting with experienced experts in different areas; i.e. treaty research, Indigenous rights and governance, environmental activism, writers, international spokesperson, national etc.
• Creating chapters across Turtle Island under umbrella of main INM.
• Requesting regular meetings with First Nations leadership to have ongoing discussions regarding 3rd party agreements between Government of Canada and industry corporations"  

          From Idle No More's Official Website.