Since I started telling people about my postcard writing campaign, I have met with some resistance. The reaction is about 50/50… half of the people I tell are curious and open to listening and half push back in some form or other. One such push back has come in the form of a question. “What do ‘they’ want?”
Before I go on a rant about how the “othering” in that question is offensive, let me offer a page torn from the Idle No More website
http://www.andyeverson.com/
CALLS FOR CHANGE
Idle No More and Defenders of the Land, a network of Indigenous communities in land struggle, have joined together to issue this common call for escalating action. Our message is clear and in accordance with the principles of coexistence and mutual respect between Indigenous and non-Indigenous Peoples. We call for Canada, the provinces and the territories to:
- Repeal provisions of Bill C-45 (including changes to the Indian Act and Navigable Waters Act, which infringe on environmental protections, Aboriginal and Treaty rights) and abandon all pending legislation which does the same.
- Deepen democracy in Canada through practices such as proportional representation and consultation on all legislation concerning collective rights and environmental protections, and include legislation which restricts corporate interests.
- In accordance with the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples’ principle of free, prior, and informed consent, respect the right of Indigenous peoples to say no to development on their territory.
- Cease its policy of extinguishment of Aboriginal Title and recognize and affirm Aboriginal Title and Rights, as set out in section 35 of Canada’s constitution, and recommended by the Royal Commission on Aboriginal Peoples.
- Honour the spirit and intent of the historic Treaties. Officially repudiate the racist Doctrine of Discovery and the Doctrine of Terra Nullius, and abandon their use to justify the seizure of Indigenous Nations lands and wealth.
- Actively resist violence against women and hold a national inquiry into missing and murdered Indigenous women and girls, and involve Indigenous women in the design, decision-making, process and implementation of this inquiry, as a step toward initiating a comprehensive and coordinated national action plan.
Here are 6 clear actions.
Some of them will require many of us to educate ourselves on the background. The Doctrine of Terra Nullus comes to mind.
Yep – if you are white folk, a settler, non-Indigenous, the burden of educating yourself on your country’s history and policies and their impact rests on your shoulders.
Maybe you aren’t ready for that. OK. Start with something that you can relate to – say – proportional representation. Trudeau ran for election on implementing this and has since reneged on this promise. Send a postcard to Justin and let him know you are paying attention and are wanting to push him in the right direction.
Being passive, being silent is supporting the status quo. It is an action that you are taking to keep the inequities of the last 150 years in place. Is that what you really want?
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