I am going to open this page up to comments from people involved in the hope that even if I am unable to post updates, anyone can. I’d like to make this a place to find info easily on this issue, without having to deal with facebook-as well as it making it easier for those NOT involved to get news and info that appears to be actively being blocked by the mainstream press.
I will add posts, updates and pages to this as I am able but please check the comments to this page as well, hopefully there will be some soon;-)
Bill C-45 passes through Senate; to become law | APTN National News
http://aptn.ca/pages/news/2012/12/14/bill-c-45-passes-through-senate-to-become-law/
Bill C-45 was passed through today. The final stage is for it to become law is for the Governor General to sign the bill off. This means that little to no consultation will be done when companies activities damage water ways and the Canadian government will not be liable as well as many other things… This is the first of many bills they are trying to pass, and we can still change things to ensure that the future generations will always be recognized as the holders of our territories.
First edit-event this friday
IDLE NO MORE: Treaty 8 & Peace River Region Info Sesh & March/ Rally
Public Event · By Helen Knott and Adrienne Rachel Greyeyes
When
Friday, December 21, 2012, 10:00am – 1:00pm in PST
Where
10233 100th Avenue Fort St John Bc – Treaty 8 Tribal Association Board Room
Get Directions
Details
This day coincides with the IDLE NO MORE rally in Ottawa.
Let’s make movement in our home communities!!!
Calling all First Nations peoples of all ages, Aboriginals, Metis, Allies and Like minded individuals.
Join us as we discuss the purposed and current legislation that infringes
on our rights.
Together we can make our voices heard!
We will no longer accept enforced legislation that impacts our Treaties,
our lands, our waters, and our ability to provide for future generations.
Let’s take a stand together.
10am- 12pm: Prayer, information session, local speakers, letters of
opposition signed.
12pm: March to the conservatives office to deliver our letters
demand our voices be heard.
Bring Your Voices, Bring Your Songs. Bring Your Drums. Bring.. Your Cousins!
2nd edit
Keith Secola video-wordpress won’t post it so trying here:-/
What They Got Away With — Keith Secola — #IdleNoMore
Published on Dec 14, 2012
WHAT THEY GOT AWAY WITH by KEITH SECOLA from the album LIFE IS GRAND and the Rock Opera SEEDS. http://www.secola.com Thousands are marching across Canada under the banner #IdleNoMore. The mainstream media is not reporting this. These protests are in response to bill C-45 which not only violates treaty rights of Indigenous Peoples and threatens their way of life, it threatens all Canadians and the world community at large. It is time for a new way! #IdleNoMore (some protest images from other ongoing movements or historical events)
Spirit In Action 
December 17, 2012 at 3:47 am
Please Share…
And the Fire Keepers Shall Lead Us
This is about an epic moment in world history, begun with one small spark. If we are true, our generations
will thank us.
I understand the frustration many people feel regarding the Harper government’s antagonistic and destructive practices regarding the Indian Act, Environmental Protections and Treaty Relationships. I feel it, too.
But any substantial change won’t come from the government, it will come from those who elect the government.
If you are angry and demanding, or disruptive of the general public’s lives in a negative way, you have already lost.
Instead, reach out. Be patient and calm.
Find common ground.
We are all affected by these sweeping changes and that must be articulated clearly. In this, we are all allies.
Instead of demanding rights, work toward that which is right. The fairness and honouring of Treaties you seek will follow.
Involve your fellow Canadian, American, your fellow World Citizen. They are good. They are helpers. Don’t let the horrible and sometimes racist remarks in online comments sections cloud your vision. Most people are good people. That’s just the truth.
And they want to do good things, they just don’t always know how. They don’t want to tread where they are not welcome.
Help them feel welcome. Make friends. Be giving, forgiving and kind.
Anger hasn’t worked the past 100 years. All victories have been legal victories: talking things out.
Take a stand, join a rally, be heard.
But remember: to be respected, you must respect first.
Now, I know, that’s a tough pill to swallow for people who have faced disrespect in every corner. As if I don’t know. I’ve been detained, arrested, profiled, faced racism and prejudice too.
Don’t let life intimidate you from doing the right thing.
Always do the right thing. Even if you miss the mark, get back up and try.
The difference I see about these recent actions, about Idle No More, and Theresa Spence (who is on Day 6 of her hunger strike at the time I write this), and all the great women leaders who are taking the time to educate all of us is this:
It is the women who are standing up. It’s the women who are leading.
The Fire Keepers are rising.
They are reminding us of who we are, of what civilization and culture mean.
They are directing our energy in positive ways.
They are reminding us of the Great Law of Peace.
Follow their lead.
hai hai.
——-
If you are wondering what happens Dec 21, 2012, it’s the start of a Global Awakening led by Canada’s Indigenous and all willing partners. A New World in the New World. The prophecy of the South meeting the Prophecy of the North.
The Eagle and the Condor.
The beginning of the 8th Fire.
——-
http://www.aaronpaquette.net/?p=1295
December 27, 2012 at 1:49 am
CALL TO ACTION!!
Flagstaff IDLE NO MORE rally 10:00 AM January 8 on the lawn of the Flagstaff City Hall.
Native people and supporters are rising up across Turtle Island and this week the owners of the Snowbowl with the forest service in tow desecrated the mountain with their sewage over our pleas and lawsuits. They have no heart. No more playing patty cake with the devil. Make them hear us inside the walls of the city council chambers. Bring your drums and bring your friends and relations.
Now is the time to rise up. IDLE NO MORE!
December 28, 2012 at 3:57 am
I’ve been trying to post this as an article since about 5pm on the 27th. I am not sure why wordpress won’t let me post articles(only reblogs or comments) but at least if I post it as a comment it can be seen! Will post as article as soon as it lets me.
This event on facebook has lots of informative comments too-so please check it out for more info on solidarity actions and such.
A friend of mine, Ian Ki’laas Caplette. created this on facebook. The link to it is at the bottom of this post. I find his description so inspiring and beautiful that I wanted to share it with you here. Please check out the event on facebook if you use facebook, and share it with everyone you know.
We truly are the ones we have been waiting for-the time is now for the old order to end, and we are the ones who will begin the change to a wiser and more heart centered world. Join with us wherever you are-and stand up in whatever way you are inspired to. Create art, have a march or a dance, post signs, print this out and make into bookmarks and leave in books and magazines-there are as many ways to begin as there are people to do them!
No one is coming to save us, no one is kicking out the bad guys and retooling our governments, no one is giving away buckets of free money-it’s up to US!
Luckily we have so many leaders who are already starting things, all we have to do is join in, tell others, keep things moving and singing and the changes WILL come.
This is not the time to sit it out and wait any more, get up, stand up-stand up for your rights!(To paraphrase Peter Tosh;-)
Colonial No More – Turtle Island Chapter
Many have been awakened and become active through Idle No More. We have come a long way in a short time and it is necessary to confront the causes of the genocide against Indigenous peoples globally.
Colonial borders and structures have been erected over our rights, our lands, and our spirits and we have taken the full force of colonization for generations. Our lands have been poisoned, our peoples have suffered torture, murder, kidnapping, forced relocations, and systemic assaults on our cultures and societies.
We have had enough.
Indigenous peoples have not been idle but we have been mired in a colonial relationship with the Crown, the Commonwealth State of Canada, the “republic” of the United States of America, and other legacies of genocide masquerading as “democricies”. This has not been of our choosing as deceptions from the colonial governments since contact have used lies, biological weaponry, forced indoctrinations of our children through residential and boarding schools, installed puppet governments through the Indian Act and other genocidal policies aimed at “civilizing” Indigenous peoples, and the denial of wrongdoing with no willingness to address this fundamental injustice.
The colonial relationship is not only an attack on Indigenous peoples of Turtle Island (North America). It is an assault on Settlers to these lands, Indigenous peoples globally, and to the biosphere as the force of colonialism is not only directed against Indigenous peoples, but the global population and the environment as well. Large-scale extractive industries are destroying ecosystems and oceans around the world and many of the lands they are destroying are the ones Indigenous peoples rely on for their sustenance and cultural survival. We are acting as the early warning system. In fact, we have been doing so for a very long time.
From the Basques to the Maori, from the Hawai’ians to the Mayans. From Chiapas to Palestine, from Kanesatake to Ireland. We have suffered from colonial domination and genocide of our cultures and murders of our peoples at the hands of our oppressors. Our experiences have shown us that even our own leadership is capable of becoming agents for the state, facilitating the destruction of our lands and weakening our societies for profits and power. Some are working right now to undermine our collective abilities to be Indigenous in our own lands, citing “progress”, or “self-governance” with colonial definitions.
We have also seen the constant gendered violence against Indigenous women, primary targets of state genocide and patriarchal ideologies forced into our societies, maintained by colonial structures while perpetuated by unhealthy men and enabled through racist and sexist policies of disempowerment.
We say no more to this.
We say no more to being subjected to colonial domination.
We say no more to colonial leadership, no matter their origins or their “race”.
We call out to the global community to form alliances between our groups for the purpose of active liberation from colonial domination and an end to the assault on the biosphere.
We call out for reciprocal support from all peoples everywhere to end imperialism.
We call for a disruption to the flow of capital, extractive industries, shipping by land, sea, and air, and for the defense of our lands, our peoples, and our futures by any means necessary.
http://www.facebook.com/events/466684460057831/
January 11, 2013 at 2:34 am
#IdleNoMore Sunshine State Solidarity Rally January 11th 5pm-6pm at the base of the St Pete Pier (2nd Ave North on the waterfront.) This is next to the “Cathedral Bathrooms” and just before the St Pete History Museum on the Pier approach.
We will meet at 5, bring signs if you can! This is an open ended gathering just to show Solidarity and hopefully raise awareness of #IdleNoMore and connect with other #IdleNoMore supporters locally.
(Apologies for the last-minute organizing, I was waiting to hear from our local AIM chapter in case they had something else planned, and lost track of time.)
January 11, 2013 at 2:39 am
http://www.j11action.com/
Listing of events worldwide-please copy and share widely!
January 18, 2013 at 5:19 am
Hunger Strike – Day 38
Pleas to Top Canadian Officials Urged on Chief Spence’s Behalf
Levi Rickert, editor-in-chief in Native Challenges. Discussion »
VICTORIA ISLAND, OTTAWA, CANADA – In what may be the beginning to a tragic end of life for Attawapiskat Chief Theresa Spence, information coming from an unnamed source tells Native News Network that Chief Spence is experiencing low blood sugar, dizziness, a slow heart beat and chest pains.
Attawapiskat Chief Theresa Spence on December 26
Chief Spence has been on a sacrificial hunger strike since December 11, 2012. Today marks Day 38 of her hunger strike.
People across Canada – and elsewhere – are being asked to send prayers for Chief Spence and to write or call Canada’s Prime Minister Stephen Harper and Governor General David Johnston’s offices to plea with these two top Canadian officials to grant Chief Spence her wishes for a meeting with both of them and First Nations chiefs.
“Since the beginning of my journey in this hunger strike, I’ve remained consistent in my request for a meeting between all parties to Treaty. This would include Chiefs, the Governor General and the Prime Minister,”
commented Chief Spence in a news release earlier this week issued by the Attawapiskat First Nation.
“Chief Spence is physically not doing too well so we must united as First Nations people and keep the momentum of the movement going strong… Time is precious. We CANNOT let her die,”
stated Angela Bercier, Ojibwe.
“Chief Theresa Spence is getting weaker every day and time is running out,”
said Claudia Julien, Metis-Wabanaki Confederacy.
“Please take a moment to send a letter to the prime minister and governor general. This is the future of our children and grandchildren.”
Contact information for Prime Minister Stephen Harper is:
Stephen Harper
Office of Prime Minister
80 Wellington Street
Ottawa, Ontario K1A OA2
Fax 613.941.6900
email pm@pm.gc.ca
Contact information for Governor General David Johnston is:
Governor General David Johnston
Rideau Hall
1 Sussex Drive
Ottawa, Ontario K1A 0A1
email info@gg.ca
posted January 17, 2013 5:50 pm est
January 18, 2013 at 6:22 pm
Chief Spence Releases Letter to First Nations Chiefs and Grand Chiefs
Levi Rickert, editor-in-chief in Native Challenges. Discussion »
VICTORIA ISLAND, OTTAWA, CANADA – Attawapiskat Chief Theresa Spence on Tuesday, Day 36 of her hunger strike, released the contents of the a letter she sent to First Nations Chiefs and Grand Chiefs.
Attawapiskat Chief Theresa Spence
The letter seeks to clarify her reason for continuing her hunger strike in the wake of last week’s meetings that took place between First Nations chiefs and top Canadian officials.
In the letter, Chief Spence responds to those who have asked her to end the hunger strike she has been on since December 11.
“Our exit or to end this hunger strike will be on our own terms. We ask all of you to respect that and ask you to refocus on the spirit and the intent of this movement,”
she writes.
While she never mentions National Chief Shawn Atleo by name, she asks the chiefs to disregard any talk of his removal.
“We call on all of you not to waste any more energy on determining the future of our National Chief – for what took place for the past month is beyond us all as individuals,”
Chief Spence admonishes the chiefs.
Given the gravity of the Canada’s current First Nations crisis and particularly Chief Spence’s continued hunger strike, Native News Network is publishing the letter from Chief Spence to the First Nations chiefs in its entirety:
Victoria Island, Ottawa, January 15, 2013
Att.: All First Nations Chiefs and Grand Chiefs
Re: Status of Hunger Strike and National Leadership Situation
Dear Chiefs and Grand Chiefs:
Today marks the 36th day of my hunger strike, 35th day for Mr. Raymond Robinson of Manitoba and yesterday Mr. Jean Sock from New Brunswick was his 28th day and his last. We owe a great depth of gratitude to Jean for his support by joining me and Raymond in our protest. In return we extend our full support and we respect his decision to end his hunger strike to attend to his ailing mother, and also to be with his youth who are struggling to comprehend our cause. We pray for his complete recovery and we send prayers to his mother, his family and to have a safe journey home.
With this letter, I want to make it clear once again the purpose of our hunger strike as well as to inform all of you the state of my health and Raymond. We also wanted to take this opportunity to express our position of the events leading to the meeting of January 11, 2013 and the current situation we are in.
As I stated from the beginning, something had to be done to bring our Nations immediate needs, treaty implementation issues among many other issues to the brought attention of the prime minister along with the Crown in meeting on Nation to Nation basis at the earliest time possible.
Now, that the meetings with the prime minister and the governor general have taken place, despite the fact that the Chiefs met with them separately, like many of you the confusion has yet to subside as I continue to wait for the details in what was actually achieved. It is without a doubt, the events leading up to the meeting of January 11, 2013 with the prime minister and the evening with the governor general, as well as the communication breakdown that day and into that night truly tested our unity once again.
Along with Mr. Raymond Robinson, Mr. Jean Sock and I, we call on all of you not to waste any more energy on determining the future of our National Chief – for what took place for the past month is beyond us all as individuals. We all began with a purpose, we had a plan, we need now to refocus and stick to the original plan to propose and follow our own agenda. This is our best chance to settle the struggles our Nations have had to endure for far too long.
We need the National Chief as much as we need each other. With the challenges ahead, we need to spend less energy fighting amongst ourselves; instead we must focus on finding a common ground, a common understanding and respecting each other’s goals and objectives. We must stand united, strengthen our unity and agree on an agenda that works for all of us and not just the few. The politics within our camp can wait and work itself out on its own time.
What we have endured here at the island is a small price to pay compared to what our ancestors, our own mothers and fathers endured. Putting aside the real purpose of our hunger strike, this was our way to pay tribute to our ancestors who have forgone some of the harshest periods in our history, to honor those among our Nations who continue to struggle for the basic standard of living to this day, as well as to raise new hope among our youth and to protect our future generations.
From the beginning, the support and prayers from all of you, from our grassroots, elders, women and particularly the youth brought us comfort and assurance that we are all in this together. This must continue.
Many of you have asked me directly or called on us indirectly to stop our hunger strike, but as we stated before, our exit or to end this hunger strike will be on our own terms. We ask all of you to respect that and ask you to refocus on the spirit and the intent of this movement.
Together, meaning the Idle No More movement, as hunger strikers, others who are fasting for the same cause with the support of our grassroots, our protesters, you the leaders, we have all been part of something historic which brought in all of us a sense of pride; our people have come together in solidarity for a common cause. The citizens of this country have also taken notice and we have their attention. Soon the rest of the world must to be informed and this Government along with the Crown must accept that the only way forward in this country is a renewed relationship with First Nations, but that it must begin within a meeting with both the PM and Governor General present.
We are honored to be able to contribute to raising awareness of our Nations pressing issues, past and current struggles, as well as the challenges ahead. As more protests are being scheduled, we hope that the peace be maintained and ask all of you to encourage your members to remain peaceful and respectful.
Furthermore, we acknowledge and respect the Idle No More movement, their founders and spokespeople for promoting awareness of the controversial omnibus bills recently passed in the Senate. Our fights may be different, but our dreams and hopes for our people are common.
We will assess carefully our next steps in the coming days and will continue to remain optimistic. Our spirits are up, but we are growing weaker by the day but we do our best to maintain our health. We ask you to respect our choices and to leave us the decision when and if this hunger strike should end.
My fellow Chiefs, on behalf of Mr. Robinson and Mr. Sock, we thank you for your continued prayers and support. We ask you now to focus on the task at hand and please do not to worry about us; our people and our youth deserve real change and nothing more. May the Creator guide us through the challenges up ahead.
Gichi Meegwetch,
Chief Theresa Spence
Attawapiskat First Nation
posted January 16, 2013 8:10 am est
http://www.nativenewsnetwork.com/chief-spence-releases-letter-to-first-nations-chiefs-and-grand-chiefs.html
January 18, 2013 at 6:23 pm
Queen declines to intervene in Chief Spence’s protest
Buckingham Palace says chief should appeal to federal cabinet
The Canadian Press
Posted: Jan 17, 2013 5:15 PM ET
Last Updated: Jan 17, 2013 9:42 PM ET
Attawapiskat Chief Theresa Spence speaks during a news conference in Ottawa on Dec. 6. Spence is now six weeks into her liquids-only protest. (Sean Kilpatrick/Canadian Press)
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The Queen has rejected an appeal to intervene in Chief Theresa Spence’s liquids-only protest, but says she is taking “careful note” of concerns for the chief’s health.
In a letter dated Jan. 7, obtained by The Canadian Press, Buckingham Palace tells a supporter of Spence that the chief should deal instead with the federal cabinet.
“This is not a matter in which The Queen would intervene,” says the letter.
“As a constitutional Sovereign, Her Majesty acts through her personal representative, the Governor General, on the advice of her Canadian Ministers and, therefore, it is to them that your appeal should be directed.”
The letter also says the Queen understands the concerns about the welfare of Spence, who is now well into her sixth week of protest, surviving on fish broth and tea.
“Her Majesty has taken careful note of the concern you express for the welfare of Attawapiskat First Nations Chief Theresa Spence who is currently on a politically motivated hunger strike in Canada.”
Spence supporter wrote appeal to Queen
The response is addressed to Jonathan Francoeur, a small businessman in British Columbia who took it upon himself to write to the Queen on Dec. 15. It is signed by Miss Jennie Vine, deputy to the senior correspondence officer.
A spokesman for Spence said he believed the letter to be a fake, but he also said he did not know Francoeur. He did not respond to questions about why he believed the letter was not genuine.
Francoeur said he wrote the letter on his own initiative and not in an official capacity. There is a long Facebook trail starting Dec. 15 describing the process he went through to write the letter, decide the content and post it. Francoeur received the response earlier this week and said there was absolutely no reason to believe the response was a fake.
Joanne Charette, spokeswoman for Rideau Hall, also said the letter looked genuine.
A spokesperson for Buckingham Palace said they would not comment on personal correspondence.
“I was reading a (Facebook) post and it was explaining the cause,” Francoeur said in a telephone interview, when asked why he wrote to Buckingham Palace.
“It said to support the cause, it would be good for somebody to write the Queen and the prime minister.”
Francoeur said he was at home nursing a broken toe and had time on his hands to compose the letters. He has not yet heard back from Prime Minister Stephen Harper, so now he has written to the Queen a second time.
“I can’t communicate with the prime minister,” he said. “I wanted her to know.”
Spence is camped out on Victoria Island, within sight of the Parliament Buildings, where she says she will continue to protest until the Governor General and the prime minister meet all chiefs on the plight of First Nations people.
She announced last week she would boycott a meeting between the Assembly of First Nations and Harper because the Governor General would not be attending.
“We have sent a letter to Buckingham Palace, requesting that Queen Elizabeth II send forth her representative, which is the Governor General of Canada,” Spence said in a statement on Jan. 9.
By that day, the response from the palace to Francoeur was already in the mail. The Queen’s response was circulated among chiefs and Spence supporters this week.
Letter signals Harper’s responsibility
While the letter may remove the palace from any official role in the controversy, it does send a signal to the prime minister that he bears great responsibility for the lengthy protest by Spence, said Isadore Day, chief of the Serpent River reserve near Elliot Lake, Ont.
“The prime minister needs to have a little bit of moral reflection,” Day said.
‘We think she’s done her part, done her job. We don’t want anyone to die.’—Grand Council Chief Patrick Madahbee
The fact the Queen wrote back at all is telling, he said.
“What I hear in that letter is a recognition and a concern for her health. That message should get through to the prime minister.”
A growing list of political leaders and chiefs has begged Spence to give up her protest in order to maintain her health and lead her people. On Thursday, chiefs from Ontario who have been among her most ardent supporters echoed that message.
“We think she’s done her part, done her job. We don’t want anyone to die,” said Grand Council Chief Patrick Madahbee of the Union of Ontario Indians.
Spence did not speak to reporters Thursday, nor did her spokespeople return messages. But Michele Audette, the president of the Native Women’s Association of Canada who has grown close to Spence, says the chief was feeling “lively” on Wednesday night.
Potential ‘backlash’ if Spence dies
Chiefs are reluctantly beginning to contemplate what could happen if Spence or her co-protester Raymond Robinson die from their hunger protests.
“We have no idea about what this would trigger. So we’re scared about that,” said Madahbee.
Many chiefs are hoping that elders and people with cultural ties to Spence will be able to appeal to her to eat solid food again.
But Spence has indicated she will persist until the prime minister and Governor General hold a meeting with a broad array of chiefs.
There’s a small chance there could be a meeting Jan. 24, but Harper’s officials have said that it would be a one-on-one with National Chief Shawn Atleo, currently on sick leave because of the flu and exhaustion from dealing with political crises.
“I really think there will be a huge backlash of some sort” if Spence actually dies, said Judith Sayers, a University of Victoria assistant professor with decades of experience working with First Nations.
So many First Nations people are newly engaged in daily politics these days because of the Idle No More protest movement, and they are upset about the way meetings last week between Harper and the AFN took place, Sayers said.
“I think it could be mayhem.”
Letter from Buckingham Palace to Jonathan Francoeur. (Canadian Press)
© The Canadian Press, 2013
http://www.cbc.ca/news/politics/story/2013/01/17/queen-chief-spence-appeal.html
January 18, 2013 at 6:27 pm
Commentary
Chief Spence Begins 6th Week of Hunger Strike: Do Harper or Johnston Care?
Levi Rickert in Native Condition. Discussion »
Last Friday was a big day among First Nations in Canada. Thousands of First Nations peoples arrived at Parliament Hill in the bitter cold in Ottawa to give support of the “Idle No More” peace movement that has swept Canada for the past two months.
Attawapiskat Chief Spence on Victoria Island
Inside a large government building on Parliament Hill, some 20 Assembly of First Nations chiefs met with Prime Minister Stephen Harper. The meeting was significant because the prime minister had completely ignored the Idle No More peace movement and the hunger strikes of several First Nations people, most notably Attawapiskat Chief Theresa Spence all during the holidays and beyond.
On that day, Chief Spence was in Day 32 of her hunger strike that began on December 11. She did not attend the meeting with the prime minister and had decided she would not attend the “ceremonial” meeting with the governor general, the Crown’s representative to Canada.
By late afternoon, word trickled out that Chief Spence had changed her mind and decided to attend the “ceremonial” meeting with Governor General David Johnston. As the afternoon turned to evening, darkness fell upon Ottawa. I began to get messages inquiring about Chief Spence. People wanted to know if she would end her hunger strike.
Strangely, the inquiries did not center on what happened in the meeting between the chiefs and the prime minister. People wanted to know about Chief Spence.
One would suspect that First Nations aboriginals up in Canada and their American Indian relatives in the United States already knew how these meetings go and realized in the darkness there would be no major announcements. Native people really don’t expect much positive governmental action when it comes to improving the lives of our people. There would be no breakthroughs.
How can you reverse over 140 years of oppression of First Nations peoples with a single afternoon meeting?
Non–Native leaders tend to enjoy these meetings because they get caught up in the pomp of the ceremonial smudges that our elders so freely and graciously administer at the beginning because non-Natives enjoy the ritual of smudges – even if they understand the implications of cleansing. Furthermore, in these meetings, these same non–Native leaders listen and take what they hear under advisement.
One wondered if perhaps the cleansing of the smudge would render compassion from the hearts of two men who had ignored the hunger strike of Chief Spence and others who had shown sheer determination to bring attention to the unjust legislation of Bill C–45 that was passed without First Nations input.
There was no such evidence of compassion from Prime Minister Harper or Governor General Johnston. They would not grant Chief Spence the joint meeting with her and the other First Nations leaders as she had requested.
Accused of changing the line in the sand, she reacted subsequently in a news release:
“Since the beginning of my journey in this hunger strike, I’ve remained consistent in my request for a meeting between all parties to Treaty. This would include Chiefs, the Governor General and the Prime Minister,”
stated Chief Spence.
Today is Day 36 of Chief Spence’s hunger strike. One wonders: Do Prime Minister Harper or Governor General Johnston care?
Today begins her sixth week of living in a teepee on Victoria Island, within eyes view of Parliament Hill in Ottawa. She lives in frigid weather, surrounded by fire keepers and care takes who ensure she lives as comfortably as she can. She sustains herself with water, herbal teas and fish broth. But, most important, she sustains herself with prayer.
To First Nations peoples in Canada, American Indians in the United States and indigenous peoples around world, Chief Spence is quickly becoming legendary as a woman warrior, who is willing to stand up against injustice for her people. This is leadership in its most exemplary fashion.
Chief Spence needs all of prayers. She needs them now – especially now – that the two most powerful men displayed that the smudging they received last Friday did not work. They have shown their lack of compassion for Chief Spence. Their words fall to the ground with sheer emptiness.
posted January 15, 2013 10:20 am est
http://www.nativenewsnetwork.com/chief-spence-begins-6th-week-of-hunger-strike-do-harper-or-johnston-care.html
January 25, 2013 at 6:24 pm
Idle No More California State Rally
January 26 at 1:00pm
California State Capitol – North Steps
https://www.facebook.com/events/401237959953883/?ref=ts&fref=ts
March 29, 2015 at 11:35 am
My description of Pam Palmaters talk on all the anti-FN laws brought in by Harper tucked away in huge, u debatable omnibus bills. Response to your invitation… Thanks! https://mightyturk.wordpress.com/2013/04/05/using-buckshot-legislation-to-decimate-first-nations-rights/