Idle No More
The exclusive focus on resource extraction and export as the definition of The Economy continues to devastate our capacity to feed ourselves. One can only assume that Harper & Co. ignore the contamination of land and water, the pollution and loss of animal and fish species, and diseases affecting pollinators – all results of industrial agriculture (GMOs) and industrial ‘development’ of the other extractive industries (mines and oil & gas) – because they assume that the population can be nourished by synthetic foodstuffs.
Scientists have used imaging tests to show for the first time that fructose can trigger brain changes that may lead to overeating. Fructose, and particularly the synthetic high-fructose corn syrup which saturates the North American diet, is linked to obesity because, unlike glucose, it does not trigger the brain function that makes people feel satisfied and therefore stop eating. – G&M, 3/1/13
The emergence of the Idle No More movement, started by four Indigenous women in November in opposition to Bill C-45, the federal government’s 2012 fall budget implementation act, has forced a national focus on a wide range of federal policies affecting indigenous Canadians. These include the violation of First Nations treaty rights, in particular the right to consultation regarding changes to laws protecting the environment, and attempts to assimilate them through legislation affecting their finances and internal governance. It has also sparked a nationwide movement to oppose the provisions in Bill C-45 and its predecessor, C-38, which (among much else that is objectionable) slashed measures to protect land and waterways. Reflecting Harper’s contemptuous attitude (his government was formally found in contempt of Parliament in March 2011), both bills were rammed through the house by Harper’s Conservative majority with minimal debate permitted.
[Bill C-45] contains provisions that facilitate large-scale resource-extraction such as the widely known Tar Sands Project. The legislation scales back federal protection of oceans, waterways systems, and fishing habitats opening the door for corporations to exploit the waters, minerals and natural resources, including those in the aboriginal and treaty lands of Indigenous Nations. In addition, almost 3,000 environmental assessments were cancelled, as new rules were put in place to ensure that there would be fewer (and less comprehensive) environmental assessments in the future.
Dr. Debra Harry, Executive Director for the Indigenous Peoples Council on Biocolonialism, said “The legislation resonates with Indigenous Peoples around the world who have endured similar injustices historically and in contemporary times, including here in the Great Basin of the USA, the homelands of the Numu, Newe, and Wa-she-shu Peoples.” She added, “Indigenous Peoples are concerned about our right of self-determination, land, water, and treaty rights. That is why we are seeing this movement grow locally and internationally.” – http://electricnevada.org/eNews/IdleNoMore
While many Canadians have been seething with frustration at the moral corruption of this government, conditions on remote Reserves have gone from bad to worse. A typical case is Attawapiskat, on the shores of James Bay, which has watched immense profits extracted from a De Beers diamond mine on their territory while the community continues to live in utterly inadequate housing. Chief Theresa Spence finally began a hunger strike, subsisting on fish broth and medicinal teas, demanding that the Prime Minister and Governor General meet with Indigenous leaders on treaty rights.
A meeting did happen between some Assembly of First Nations leaders and the Prime Minister, and the Governor General hosted a dinner for the chiefs, but the result was simply a promise to “stay engaged” with no firm commitment to any real change. Arthur Manuel, spokesperson for Defenders of the Land and the Indigenous Network on Economies and Trade, and former Chief of the Neskonlith Indian Band, Secwepemc Nation, commented that the process does not offer any guarantee that Harper’s unilateral policies will be reversed or replaced with policies supportive to Aboriginal and Treaty Rights. “The Harper government does not recognize Aboriginal and Treaty Rights on the ground. Indigenous Peoples believe in Aboriginal and Treaty Rights on the ground,” he said. “That is the fundamental difference. Harper must recognize Aboriginal and Treaty Rights on the ground before we can engage. . . . on how do we divide up decision making regarding ‘access and benefits’ to our Aboriginal and Treaty territories. To try and engage and negotiate with opposite differences on ‘recognition’ and ‘extinguishment’ is dangerous and will go nowhere.”
Building on the movement to stop the pipeline proposed by Enbridge, which brought indigenous and settler people together on the basis of the threat to the environment, the Idle No More movement has galvanized aboriginal women and youth to stand up and take leadership, and has spread across Canada and around the world. While differences of opinion and approach of course continue, there are two important new developments as a result: First, the recognition that the relationship between people and the natural world is spiritual as well as physical; second, under the motto “we are all Treaty people”, that the task of decolonization here in Canada is one for all of us to take up.
As Food Secure Canada said in its statement of support for Idle No More:
We stand with and respect indigenous leaders. With sadness and outrage we recognize that those currently on hunger strikes follow generations of Indigenous mothers who have gone hungry for the sake of their children. Indigenous peoples are literally starving for justice.
The food insecurity and disease that Indigenous communities struggle against every day are symptoms of a deep and tragic dysfunction that rests squarely on the shoulders of Canada’s colonial policies of forcible assimilation and resource appropriation. To remove Indigenous People’s traditional means of life and livelihood, undermine their rights to foster traditional food practices such as hunting, gathering and fishing, destroy the land and contaminate the water that have sustained them since time immemorial, and blame them for their resultant poverty and disease, are tragic abuses of human rights, dignity and justice.