Blockades Could Send Idle No More Over the Edge

Shawn Alteo has the norovirus.

Over two months since its inception, progress has been slow at a government level for the increasingly combative Idle No More movement. While mass blockades are popping up everywhere, Stephen Harper has yet to address the demands of protesters in any true policy sense and he continues to refuse to meet Theresa Spence on her terms, who is still on an island in Ottawa hunger striking (or liquid-dieting depending on your perspective). Even though Harper’s meeting on January 11th with chiefs of the Assembly of First Nations somewhat reassured national chief Shawn Atleo, right after it finished he announced a curious leave of absence due to norovirus, leaving future meetings ambiguous. Instead of urgently tackling the issue, Harper now maintains that talks with the AFN will resume when Atleo recovers or “when it’s convenient for him to do so.” In other words, native concerns might take a backseat to sorting out the F-35 mess out once parliament resumes the 28th of January.

If the rising discontent in the ranks of the Assembly of First Nations chiefs is any indication, Atleo might not be recovering from stomach flu, but healing the fresh knife wounds in his back. Not only was Pam Palmater a runner up to Atleo in the last AFN election (and an Idle No More spokesperson) she’s undermining him at every turn, along with significant opposition from the third place candidate Chief Bill Erasmus and the outspoken Manitoba Grand Chief Derek Nepinak. Disgruntled over his willingness to meet with Harper, Atleo has been likened to a traitor and Conservative lackey by chiefs who actively plot his downfall and who steadfastly believe that the governor general should be present at any negotiations.

The AFN leadership turmoil has legitimately begged the question whether these chiefs support the Idle No More movement for the betterment of aboriginal peoples, or see it as a catalyst to their own personal, political score settling. Whatever the outcome of Atleo’s current predicament, the improbable circumstance that he’s ousted could leave space for continued political inaction and would undermine the stability of his position. Love him or hate him, Harper negotiates with Atleo; the aggressive line someone like Nepinak takes would only inflame already delicate conversations with a PM not known for yielding to his opposition.

The infamous Oka Crisis.

Meanwhile, there’s continuing social unrest and the increasing frequency of rail and highway blockades. Although these peaceful actions by individuals under the banner of Idle No More are effective and non-violent, if history is any indication, native blockades often precede police standoffs. Whether beginning from the provocations of protesters or the antics of cops, prolonged blockades have a habit of inflaming tensions to a violent boiling point. Take the Oka crisis, when a court injunction to dismantle a peaceful barricade by the people of Kanesatake over the building of a golf course on their ancient burial grounds was aggressively raided by police, violent exchanges caused the death of a police officer and the severe injury of aboriginal protesters.

At the moment, continued future blockades could bring about similar scenarios if cooler heads don’t prevail. For example, just last week Ontario Provincial Police Commissioner Chris Lewis thankfully denied Judge David Brown’s wish that police start imposing his court injunction to forcefully stop a railway blockade. Commissioner Lewis didn’t believe it was the OPP’s right to take “unnecessary, aggressive action” as he says in an internal video. There’s no denying his reluctance stems from the disgraceful 1995 killing of native protester Dudley George at Ipperwash Park by the OPP, another incident that was preceded by a native occupation. Commissioner Lewis did concede that aboriginal protests had the ability to “paralyze this country by shutting down travel and trade routes,” a fact that eventually may necessitate a response in one form or another, from a Conservative government that’s worried about our delicate economy. All this is to say, in the coming months we might be one bad decision away from another Oka or Ipperwash and in those situations nobody wins.

One of the original founders of Idle No More, Sylvia McAdam, openly distanced herself from the blockades, indicating to the National Post that they were the work of chiefs and not in the spirit of her movement, with the potential to “irritate the public” rather than educate it about native issues. Although last Wednesday’s actions were altogether peaceful, there’s palpable anxiety surrounding the potential for mounting actions. There’s also been no shortage of threats from chiefs like Nepinak, who declared that Idle No More could, “bring the Canadian economy to its knees”  adding that, “we have the warriors that are standing up now that are willing to go that far…” Add to that promises from more chiefs of long blockades come spring (in particular one aimed at debilitating Fort McMurray), and the opportunity for friction to develop between local police forces and blockading natives may tempt a violent confrontation sooner or later.

At the moment, it’s imperative that Atleo recover, reassume the loyalties of the Assembly of First Nations to give it a unified image, and take at least some of the myriad interests of Idle No More activists directly to discussions with Harper. Atleo owes that much to a movement that’s been the major impetus for new rounds of discussions with the Crown. As for the blockades, those chiefs who continue to meddle with the direction of the movement risk attracting backlash that will adversely affect the goals of its main activists. Harsh actions come close to morphing Idle No More into an “us-vs-them” movement alienating non-aboriginal Canadians, which goes against one of its major strengths and founding principles: pooling supporters from across Canadian society. Palpable changes to aboriginal affairs in Canada will only come if serious demands are not only made on reserves, but in the cities surrounding them.

Wanna follow Ben on Twitter? You Should! @BMakuch

Want more coverage of Idle No More?

Chief Spence Is Clouding Idle No More with Her Problems

What Exactly is Idle No More?