Attawapiskat Chief Theresa Spence’s protest may have ended, but the Idle No More movement is going strong, with hundreds of people participating in demonstrations across Canada on Monday.
The protesters are joining forces with other activists to oppose Prime Minister Stephen Harper’s changes to environmental oversight and urge action on Aboriginal rights.
But is anyone listening, and are these demonstrations – some of which involved blocking roadways, railways, and bridges – effective?
The Vancouver Sun believes they have “the opposite effect.”
“First Nations issues are Canadian issues. But threats to undermine the economy or disrupt the lives of other Canadians will contribute to an us-versus-them dynamic that will make progress harder to achieve.”
The Niagara Falls Review also pointed out the drawbacks, saying “First Nations are using innocent Canadians as blackmail” with the blockades.
“To their credit, most of the demonstrations have been peaceful. Listen to the words of some militant leaders, however, and there is a sense that it could change.”
Some of the reaction to Idle No More has gotten ugly – especially online. It led Toronto Star columnist Heather Mallick to ask, “Is Canada more racist than we think?” adding, talk of the movement “attracts racists the way a wet lawn calls out to worms.”
Barrie, Ont. radio station Rock 95 announcer Mike Mcdonald is Ojibwe, and says he has been subjected to racism and ignorance his entire life. He is shocked at “the sometimes violent nature of some (online) comments…”
“According to one gentleman we heard from today – I’m on welfare. And so is everyone in my family. Good thing he told me – I wouldn’t have known otherwise.”
Two weeks ago, the Calgary Sun was forced to defend itself against claims of racism. The allegations triggered a protest of more than 100 people outside the newspaper’s offices.
“While we welcome their protest – in fact, we would defend their right to do so until the last barrel of ink went dry – we cannot do so without defending our paper, our staff and our company. We are not racists. Period. Full stop.”
“Our columnists may at times disagree with First Nations leaders such as Theresa Spence or Derek Nepinak. But disagreeing with or criticizing a person of a different race does not make someone a racist.”
A similar protest was held in front of the Toronto Sun. Part of the accusations stem from some reader comments on its website.
But Camosun College student Simka Marshall told the Victoria Times Colonist she hopes Idle No More eliminates the stereotypes.
“We need to end social stigma, which is really damaging,” the 19-year-old said. “I would just like indigenous people to be recognized and respected, and for others to start to treat us like people.”
“There’s so much generalizing,” she added.
While most Canadians have likely heard of Idle No More, many Canadians apparently haven’t bothered to properly educate themselves about what exactly it is. In an interview with Global News on January 15, Idle No More spokesperson Pam Palmater said Canadians are “not getting the kinds of detailed information, background, and context.”
“My plea to Canadians is to give Idle No More a chance. Ask questions. Self-educate. Start understanding what are the root causes of these problems.”
Nanton News multimedia editor Sheena Read agrees, saying, “It’s a complicated issue, and it hasn’t been made any easier with an extremely polarized and narrow amount of information that is being supplied to the public.”
“Maybe the average person doesn’t study these things – obviously that is the case with the dismissive attitudes to the Idle No More protests. Unfortunately, bills written in government-ese running more than 400 pages is too time-consuming for the vast majority of us, but we’re reducing far too many issues into 20-second sound bytes and believing remarks on Facebook as facts. We need to educate ourselves more.”
Michael Harris of iPolitics.ca believes the media are missing the point with Idle No More.
“Sadly, crusading has never been the rage in newsrooms. It is less so now, thanks to a corporate death grip on vast swaths of this profession. As Lewis Lapham put it, ‘The big media identify themselves with wealth and privilege and the wisdom in office. They preserve the myths that society deems precious… By telling their audience what they assume they already know, the news media reflect what the society wants to believe about itself.”
The leaked audit of Attawapiskat – which detailed how the band council had not properly tracked how it spent $104 million, earmarked for housing, sewage, and education; and how the media ran with the information – didn’t help either, according to Harris.
“The Attawapiskat angle was so much more tabloid-friendly than history. It was character assassination by dull razor blade.”
The Province says Idle No More can’t afford to become a demonstration filled with a bunch of people whose message isn’t clear.
“We agree with Ontario Superior Court Judge David Brown that ‘no person in Canada stands above or outside of the law’ – and that illegal native blockades of roads, railways and other public infrastructure should not be tolerated. But we also think it’s high time that Canada finally engaged in a full, frank and productive discussion about aboriginal issues that have been papered over for far too long.”
“The Idle No More protests, in other words, must not be allowed to become just another whiny protest movement. They must serve as a catalyst for fundamental change.’
With a file from The Canadian Press
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