Indigenous Sovereignty Week builds community-based resistance
By Greg Macdougall | October 26, 2009
In November of last year, Indigenous activists and allies from across Canada came together in Winnipeg to form Defenders of the Land, a network of Indigenous communities and activists in land struggle across Canada.
Out of this network came a call for a pan-Canadian event, Indigenous Sovereignty Week, which is now upon us. Close to 30 cities and communities across Canada (and even a few in the United States) will be holding public events from Oct. 24 to Nov. 1.
The purpose of this week is to build local relationships between groups and individuals, disseminate ideas and generally contribute to building a cross-Canada movement for Indigenous rights, self-determination, and justice that is led by Indigenous communities but with a broad base of informed support.
Activities throughout the week include: speakers, panels, workshops, films, community tours, feasts, and performance art, music, and spoken word. A wide range of issues will be covered, but relate to four main themes: Struggles for Indigenous rights and self-determination; Indigenous knowledge, culture and identity; Indigenous peoples and the environment; history of Indigenous-Canadian relations.
Arthur Manuel is an Indigenous activist who will be part of the ISW speakers tour, visiting different communities on different days to help educate people and spread the word.
Manuel is from the Neskonlith Indian Band of the Secwepemc Nation (in British Columbia), and is leader of the Indigenous Network on Economies and Trade, which works with people on the community level and also internationally towards recognition of Aboriginal title and treaty rights.
Having been in the struggle his entire life and generations before (he's the son of George Manuel, one of the first presidents of the National Indian Brotherhood, which later became the Assembly of First Nations), Manuel has become involved with Defenders of the Land and Indigenous Sovereignty Week because he sees the importance of activists standing up to the government and educating the public, "I believe that establishment Indian organizations, [through] the courts and all that, we've actually pushed the system as much as we can through establishment mechanisms."
Manuel adds, "We've won the past 20 years: constitutionally, judicially, internationally [United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples -- UNDRIP], economically [WTO ruling on Aboriginal title and treaty rights], but we haven't been able to get recognition on the ground" on issues such as mining, the tar sands, and the development of ski resorts.
Manuel feels that community-based resistance is what is needed, "That's where the real pressure is, for pushing the government -- through action." For examples of effective action, he cites the examples of Kitchenuhmaykoosib Inninuwg (KI) protests (in Northern Ontario) against platinum drilling (which led to jail time for six KI leaders and then an overturning of their sentences) and also the resistance to the Sun Peaks Ski Resort in Secwepemc Territory, just outside of Kamloops, B.C.
He also emphasizes education and outreach, and stresses the position of the Canadian government in not signing the UNDRIP nor respecting Aboriginal rights:
"The real question is, 'do Canadians really accept what Canada is doing? They're undermining Canadians' credibility regarding human rights. You can't cherry pick: if you believe in human rights, you believe in them across the board. Accepting the UNDRIP is a question of maturity: are we a mature country of settlers and Indigenous people sitting down to deal with these issues?"
Arthur Manuel has a clear idea of where real change with respect to Indigenous rights is going to come from.
"The real people who are going to raise those questions are activists. Establishment organizations are not being taken seriously because they literally are taking too much [political] money from the government."
Greg Macdougall is active in Ottawa with IPSMO (Indigenous Peoples Solidarity Movement Ottawa). He is also a member of Common Cause, the provincial anarchist organization and runs the EquitableEducation.ca project.
Source: rabble.ca/news/2009/10/indigenous-sovereignty-week-builds-community-based-resistance
Indigenous Sovereignty Week by community
General Callout for Organizing Committees for the first annual Indigenous Sovereignty Week
Defenders of the Land, a cross-Canada network of First Nations in land struggle, fighting for Indigenous rights, is issuing a call to like-minded Indigenous people and groups in communities and cities, as well as non-Native supporters, to cooperate in organizing a cross-Canada week of educational events on Indigenous Rights and Indigenous struggles, from October 25-31, 2009.
We have in mind that this work will reach different audiences: Indigenous people living in communities, urban Indigenous people, and non-Indigenous people living in cities and towns. Events may take place on campuses, in community centres, in schools, or other locations.
The purpose of this week is to build local relationships between groups and individuals, disseminate ideas of Indigenism, and generally, contribute to building a cross-Canada movement for Indigenous rights, self-determination, and justice that is led by Indigenous communities but with a broad base of informed support.
There will be a range of events, including speaking events, cultural or arts events, and ceremony where appropriate. Speakers will include activists and leaders of struggles, elders, Indigenous intellectuals, and supporters.
Based on the direction of the first gathering of Defenders of the Land in Winnipeg last year, the following have been highlighted as questions to bring forward:
Struggles for Indigenous Rights and Self-Determination
- Overview of the history of Indigenous organizing
- Sharing histories and examples of struggle, successes, and challenges.
- Hearing from local struggles
- Current legal frameworks - UNDRIP, Section 35, court rulings; the concept of aboriginal title
- Who bears Indigenous rights? Who determines who is Indigenous?
- What does/would Indigenous sovereignty look like, practically? What would be the relationship to the Canadian state? What are viable models of cohabitation?
- What is solidarity? How to do solidarity work in a good way, learning from past successes and mistakes. Hearing from specific experiences.
Indigenous Knowledge, Culture, and Identity
- The importance of the relationship to the land, living on the land.
- Oral stories and histories
- The status of Indigenous languages
- The role of ceremony
- Documenting and maintaining traditional knowledge
Indigenous Peoples and the Environment
- Environmental racism and environmental justice
- Impacts of developments on Indigenous peoples and cultures - specific examples and campaigns
- Biodiversity and cultural diversity
- Traditional understandings of stewardship
History of Indigenous-Canadian Relations
- The period from contact to the historic treaties
- The history of the treaties and treaty-making
- History and impact of the Indian Act
- Residential schools and other policies of genocide and their impacts
- What's wrong with the poverty and service-dollars approach to Indigenous issues - the horizontal framework of cradle-to-grave dependency
- The government's current agenda: extinguishment of title, replacement of collective rights with individual rights, cash payouts, and assimilation. How to name this and resist it.
Other elements to include, where possible and appropriate
- Ceremony
- Drum + song
- Community feast with traditional foods
- Indigenous language programming
- Arts programming
- Youth-focused programming
What does "appropriate" mean in this context? Appropriate means if it is done under the leadership of Indigenous people, for Indigenous people, involving the participation of mostly Indigenous people.
If you are interested in organizing an Indigenous Sovereignty Week in your area
If you are interested in organizing educational events in your community during this week, please contact us by email at defendersoftheland@gmail.com. We will establish a list to cooperate on developing and organizing this event. Communities can plan their own programs according to their needs and capacities--the purpose of a joint organizing list is to share resources and coordinate speakers' itineraries for example. You can find out more about Defenders of the Land at our website (which will be up soon).
