More information on Idle No More
December 29th, 2012
The Canadian Broadcasting Company reported on Dec. 21 on the ongoing work of the new movement called Idle No More.
The CBC called it a movement that is Idle No More. http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/
The CBC claims that thousands of people have rallied in small communities and big cities, and put on impromptu round dances at shopping centers.
The Idle No More movement only began earlier this month. It was apparently originated by a small group of Canada's First Nations people, almost as an exercise in social media. It seems similar to the Occupy Wall Street movement that swept the United States and the world last year.
Indigenous Canadians were frustrated with a lack of consultation on treaty problems and unilateral Canadian governmental decisions on natural resources and the environment. So indigenous peoples are saying they will no longer sit idly by while these things are being pushed through.
Only a handful of First Nations leaders have stepped up to support the movement so far.
The most prominent is Theresa Spence, the chief of the Attawapiskat in Northern Ontario. She has been on a hunger strike for over two weeks in the hope of meeting with Prime Minister Stephen Harper to address issues like the extent of poverty in First Nation communities.
Harper hasn't committed to meeting her yet.
This article states that Idle No More has grown from a group of native women in Saskatchewan, mostly lawyers and academics.
