Vancovuer, January 25, 2013 – The Idle No More movement has galvanized First Nations people of every generation in all parts of the country. Launched as a Twitter tag by four women in Saskatchewan, it has spread from coast to coast and inspired solidarity actions in many countries around the world.
Provoked by the devastation to environmental protection wrought by Stephen Harper's omnibus bill C-45, the movement is much bigger than just a political protest. It has been described as the long-awaited awakening of First Nations, a new tide of the Indigenous resistance that has ebbed and flowed but never stopped since the beginning of colonization. It is a grass-roots movement with a broad goal of re-asserting First Nations sovereignty and stewardship on the continent they call Turtle Island. Their call to respect nature as sacred and assume the responsibilities of stewardship should be a wake-up call for every Canadian.
Gyasi Ross, an activist, attorney and author from the Blackfeet Nation recently wrote: First and foremost, the Idle No More Movement is about protecting the Earth for all people from the carnivorous and capitalistic spirit that wants to exploit and extract every last bit of resources from the land. Therefore, anybody who cares about this Earth should be interested in the Idle No More Movement. Read his full article here.
The organizations and activists that came together under the banner of Defend the Coast to stop tar sands pipelines and tankers stand in active solidarity with our First Nations sisters and brothers of Idle No More. First Nations communities are often the front-line communities impacted most directly by industrial pollution and unsafe resource extraction but the natural world knows no borders. Their struggle to protect the earth and build a sustainable future is our struggle as well.
Idle No More is also a movement for fundamental rights. For First Nations this means the implementation of the right to free, prior and informed consent over decisions that impact them and their traditional territories. For non-First Nations it is the defense of the democratic principles callously undermined by the current federal government; omnibus bills such as C-38 last spring followed by C-45 in the fall are just the most recent examples.
This is why recognition and realization of First Nations rights and title will be a positive development for all of us. Provincial governments' jurisdiction over the environment is increasingly being limited by international trade agreements while federal powers have been abdicated to the prerogatives of the global fossil fuel industry. First Nations sovereignty is therefore an important third foundation for stewardship of the earth and the protection of the interests of the many against the greed of the few.
We urge all supporters of Defend Our Coast to support the Idle No More movement by speaking up for First Nations rights and title with their neighbours, friends and family and joining with First Nations in the marches, rallies and round dances that are the public expression of the movement.
Together we will stop the tar sands pipelines and tankers; but more than that we will together build a better country – a better world.
There is a huge amount of information on the Internet about Idle No More, here are just two suggestions:
http://cm.grassriots.com/t/j-l-jrulyhd-yutivkiu-y/
http://cm.grassriots.com/t/j-l-jrulyhd-yutivkiu-j/