There's something happening in Canada, perhaps the beginnings of a broad Indigenous movement. It's getting almost no coverage in mainstream Canadian media, and zero or subzero attention here in the U.S. But social media are on fire over nationwide protest events today, and some Tweeps and bloggers are saying that this, as we head into winter, could be the start of a Native Spring.
Poster Art by Dwayne Bird - twitter: @DwayneBird
âpihtawikosisân has a good post up explaining what the "Idle No More" movement is all about.
Today, in cities and communities all across the country, indigenous peoples are rallying together to speak out against a rash of hastily shoved-through pieces of legislation created without First Nations consultation. Legislation that promises to have serious implications for aboriginal rights. However, that is not the sum total of the issues being addressed. The ongoing and unhealthy colonial relationship Canada has with indigenous peoples is at the root of this, and finds expression in so many problems from environment to health to incarceration to suicide to education to violence and so on.
Rallying under the cry of “Idle No More“, this truly grassroots movement is swelling as people take to social media in a way I can honestly say is unprecedented. If you’re looking for one unified message, you’re not going to find it…unless it’s “hey Canada, you need to start taking our concerns seriously.”
There's an
Idle No More website that is acting as something of a communications umbrella, and Nora Loreto offers some suggestions for non-Indigenous allies at
her blog but to really find out more about what's happening at the dawn of Native Spring, get yourself over to Facebook or, better, Twitter and dig into #IdleNoMore.
Poster Art by Dwayne Bird - twitter: @DwayneBird
9:03 PM PT: Just a quick update to point out that there are those who would love to see Idle No More become an international movement:
...and one final, quick update: As Govinda suggested in the comments, I'll continue to post on this topic, but I really can't approach what âpihtawikosisân is doing on her blog. I highly recommend
The natives are restless. Wondering why?
.