GlobeDebate: 20 views on Canada's first nations

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A quick guide to the range of Globe opinion on the Idle No More movement

GlobeDebate: 20 views on Canada's first nations

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Hayden King

We natives are deeply divided. There’s nothing wrong with that

"...The point here is that while we share a lot of important traits, there is also much that differentiates us. This fact, or the fact that there are 60-odd unique indigenous nations in Canada (scattered across 600 communities) is lost on Canadian punditry, media and most of the public generally."

Here for full opinion from the assistant professor at Ryerson University

A member of the Assembly of First Nations dances at Fort York in Toronto last summer at the start of a memorial service commemorating first nations warriors who fought in the War of 1812. Galit Rodan
Richard Wagamese

To be Indian in Canada today is to know that your people’s part in the history of this country isn’t taught in schools

"...To be Indian in Canada today is to see your children suffer. ... They suffer because different orders of government dispute who’s responsible to pay or provide for a service."

Here for full opinion from the author of Indian Horse

Linda M. McRae
Naomi Klein

As Chief Spence starves, Canadians awaken from idleness and remember their roots

"... All Canadians should offer our deepest thanks that our indigenous brothers and sisters have protected their land rights for all these generations, refusing to turn them into one-off payments, no matter how badly they were needed. These are the rights Mr. Harper is trying to extinguish now."

Here for full opinion from the author and activist

People from Aamjiwnaang First Nation and supporters gather for a meeting with officials as their blockade of the CN St. Clair spur line that began Friday, continues in Sarnia, Ont., Sunday, December 23, 2012. Dave Chidley
John Ibbitson

First nations leaders need to take aim at what’s achievable

"...

Idle No More risks fading from view. First nations leaders should take a hard look at the deliverables on their agenda and work to achieve them

Here for full column

John Ibbitson
Jeffrey Simpson

Too many first nations people live in a dream palace

"...

Inside the dream palace, there are self-reliant, self-sustaining communities – “nations,” indeed – with the full panoply of sovereign capacities and the “rights” that go with sovereignty. .... Today’s reality, however, is so far removed in actual day-to-day terms from the memories inside the dream palace as to be almost unbearable...."

Here, for the full column

Jeffrey Simpson Brigitte Bouvier
Lloyd Axworthy, Wab Kinew

Canada’s future: Let’s be divided no more

"...Right now, there are thousands of young indigenous people who face much longer odds on the road to success than the average child. If we help them better fulfill their potential, they’ll eventually contribute more to our society. As the first peoples do better, we’ll all do better."

Here for full opinion
Doug Saunders

What kind of nation is a first nation? We need to decide

"...Despite these paradoxes, there is a workable path to autonomy. We’ve known it for decades. It was recognized by the 1983 Commons special committee on aboriginal self-government and the 1996 Royal Commission on Aboriginal Peoples: a new order of government, parallel to the provinces and Ottawa, run by indigenous peoples on land they legally own and control."

Here for the full column

Doug Saunders The Globe and Mail
Frances Widdowson

A ‘dream palace’ built on gas and gold won’t solve aboriginal poverty

"...The increasing fantastical character of the aboriginal rights movement, epitomized by Idle No More, is the result of the influence of the ‘Aboriginal Industry’ – the group of lawyers and consultants who benefit financially from keeping aboriginal peoples in a state of segregated dependency."

Here for full opinion by Frances Widdowson, associate professor in the Department of Policy Studies at Mount Royal University

Frances Widdowson
Ken Coates

Chief Atleo’s new model of aboriginal politics

"...

What is being played out is a momentous political and ideological change among first nations. Mr. Atleo has the thankless task of acting as midwife to the new world, while trying to manage those who sense their power ebbing.

Here for full opinion from the expert on aboriginal affairs at the Macdonald-Laurier Institute

Ken Coates
Gordon Gibson

To solve native issues, focus more on the Indians and less on the chiefs

"...If the Indian people had to rely only on the chiefs they would be in trouble. Fortunately they can also rely upon a deep well of sympathy and concern among Canadians generally, which could be the key to eventual progress."

Here for full opinion from the author of A New Look at Canadian Indian Policy: Respect the Collective; Promote the Individual

Gordon Gibson
Harry Swain

Native treaties will always intimidate governments

"...But there are other reasons why opening up historical cans of worms might be unattractive to governments in Canada."

Here for full opinion from the former deputy minister of Aboriginal Affairs

Supreme Court of Canada building in Ottawa. Dave Chan
Russell Diabo

Mr. Harper, one short meeting won’t end native protests

"...The constitutional, legal and treaty rights that first nations have brandished in these numerous but isolated victories are no fantasy, but a reality that Canada has no choice but to reckon with."

Here for full opinion from a member of the Mohawk Nation at Kahnawake

Idle No More protestors march and block the International Bridge between the Canada and U.S. border near Cornwall Ont., on Jan. 5 2013. FRED CHARTRAND
Terry Mitchell, Lori Curtis

Canada, first nations have a road map. It was the Kelowna Accord

"...What if Mr. Harper had invested in the Kelowna Accord as agreed upon by all First Ministers and Aboriginal leaders in 2005? Theoretically, we would have averted the Attiwapiskat housing crisis, we would have greater record keeping and financial accountability of First Nations, and we would have an increased number of Aboriginal children completing university and joining the labour market."

Here for full opinion from the university professors

Then-prime mininster Paul Martin applauds as then-B.C. Premier Gordon Camplbell collects the accord papers signed between the federal government and the provincial government during First Ministers talks in Kelowna on Nov. 25, 2005. Adrian Wyld
David McLaughlin

We dropped the ball on aboriginal rights. Picking it up won’t be easy

"...The courts have now become the political cockpit for furthering aboriginal rights in Canada today. Charlottetown wouldn’t have eliminated that recourse completely but it would have provided a mutually-recognized constitutional framework for progress and managing expectations. The attitudinal shift it could have engendered on everyone – leaders, bands, and Canadians – appears meaningful in hindsight."

Here for full opinion from the former chief of staff to Brian Mulroney

The Parliament of Canada. Dave Chan
Chelsea Vowel

Idle No More only sounds vague. Let’s talk specifics

"...What successive Canadian governments have repeatedly attempted is a top-down approach that puts the relationship last. Report after report shows that this approach has failed miserably."

Here for full opinion from a writer on aboriginal issues

Idle No More protestors march and block the international bridge between the Canada and U.S. border near Cornwall Ont., on Jan. 5, 2013. FRED CHARTRAND
Jeffrey Rath

Natives don’t need ‘accountability.’ Show us the money

"...The beneficiaries of treaties are literally owed tens, if not hundreds of billions of dollars. The Prime Minister wants to pretend that he does not understand what all the fuss is about."

Here for full opinion from a lawyer who specializes in aboriginal issues

Idle No More protestors march and block the International Bridge between the Canada and U.S. border near Cornwall Ont., on Jan. 5. FRED CHARTRAND
Michael LeBourdais

Dear Canada: First nations don’t want to be wards of the state

"...Not owning our land has been an economic catastrophe. ... Dependency is not our way...."

Here for full opinion from the chief of the Whispering Pines/Clinton Indian Band

First nations’ protesters listen to speeches during an Idle No More march at the Peace Arch border crossing between Canada and the U.S. in Surrey, B.C., on Jan. 5 2013. ANDY CLARK
Lawrence Martin

Another tragic chapter in Canada’s aboriginal saga?

"...

The Idle No More movement and Chief Spence’s hunger strike have served the purpose of bringing the issues to the forefront with a Conservative government they claim has been hostile to their interests."

Here, for full column

Brigitte Bouvier
Martha Hall Findlay

Native communities need more than protests

..."Mr. Harper’s apology for residential-school abuse in the House of Commons in June 2008 was impressive, emotional, and full of hope. I had a front-row seat. But it was all politics for Mr. Harper."

....

Here for full opinion from the Liberal leadership candidate

Martha Hall Findlay
David Moscrop

Chief Theresa Spence may fall victim to liberalism’s blind spots

"...

Most important, people and groups are deeply different. Some folks and collections of folks want to live differently than others, and they require alternative political and social setups to make that work."

Here for full opinion

Attawapiskat Chief Theresa Spence speaks with journalists about her hunger strike in a teepee on Victoria Island in Ottawa Dec. 27, 2012. CHRIS WATTIE