Much of western history can be described with the tripartite pattern of exploration, oppression, and colonialism. Whilst the days of Empire have ended, the colonial legacy continues to cast a shadow over many of the nations formerly placed under imperial rule. From the Rwandan genocide of the 1990s to the current imbroglio in Mali, the roots of many of the humanitarian disasters and military conflicts of the last half century can be traced back to colonialism. The pernicious divide-and-conquer colonial structure that deliberately sought to turn indigenous people against each other in particular has been responsible for much death and misery. Of late however there have been encouraging signs: successes by and recognition of indigenous peoples – standing together in defence of their cultures and rights – encompassed most succinctly in the IdleNoMore movement.
IdleNoMore – much like Occupy! – has partly garnered interest from the strength of its name, carrying connotations of vitality and vigour. Certainly, anyone with concerns about the continuing damage we bring upon our planet should sympathise with the cause. IdleNoMore was born out of the continuing failures of the Canadian government to honour the rights of the indigenous First Nation peoples who still inhabit large parts of Canada. Under the almost ubiquitous neo-conservative guise of ‘removing red tape’ thousands of lakes, streams, rivers and waterways are being stripped of federal and legal protection. In fact, of the nation’s lakes and rivers, 99% have lost their protection under the controversial Bill known as C-45 that predicated much of the indigenous opposition.
This bill constitutes not only an effective privatisation of Canadian waterways: it is also an affront to the rights, culture, and ultimately the dignity of the indigenous First Nation tribes. Unsurprisingly, a large proportion of the newly deregulated waterways pass through First Nations land. The issue of depleting natural resources in Canada has not been met with an attempt to restructure the economy around more environmentally friendly services. Instead, it is now seen as even less important to protect the human rights and uphold the constitutional agreements between the state and the First Nation aboriginal people: a recently proposed pipeline runs directly through the lands of 70 First Nation tribes.
Arguably it is precisely this arrogance exhibited by the government which has caused IdleNoMore to develop and grow at such a rate. Governments continue to believe they can belittle indigenous people, passing laws that ignore their concerns and denying them the same political access given so willingly to corporate lobbyists. Such an attitude is clearly no longer a viable option in the internet era. The instantaneous sharing of images, videos and news means campaigns like IdleNoMore and Occupy! have immediate global reach. News of the struggles of oppressed people can no longer be contained within the borders of the state.
In the case of the Palestinians, yet another oppressed indigenous people, their recent success at the UN – gaining tacit recognition as a state – shows the ineffectuality of attempts to force indigenous peoples to negotiate on terms dictated by their oppressors. Despite Israeli protestations, Palestinians have spent enough time at negotiating tables to know that any document signed is rendered a worthless insult as soon as the next settlements are built, checkpoints constructed and military raids carried out.
Crucially, this fact has been recognised by the First Nation tribes: one of the key tenets of the campaign is to work towards a fundamentally altered constitutional relationship between the First Nation indigenous people and the Canadian government. They rightly seek to create a relationship of equals, between nation and nation, doing away with the current imbalance. Already the impact of the campaign has shaken the Canadian government, who finally agreed last week to meet representatives of the tribes. It is still too early to predict what – if anything – will change, but IdleNoMore is a stark demonstration of the strength and support of indigenous peoples, not only in Canada, but across the world.
By Joe Bilsborough