week 8: Indigenous social movements

indigenous political advocacy groups (recognized by gov)

• Assembly of First Nations

• Metis National Council

• Inuit Tapiriit Kanatami

• Congress of Aboriginal Peoples

• Native Women’s Association of Canada

almost inclusively institutionalized forms of protest due to their official nature

indigenous political advocacy groups: Assembly of First Nations

• initially called the Indian Brotherhood

• Launched in 1970, following negotiations of the constitution (White Paper)

• changed from Brotherhood to AFN due to concerns of representing the goals of all Indigenous people

• work ot advance the collective aspirations of First Nations groups across Canada

indigenous political advocacy groups: Metis National Council

• priorities - broadly advancing Metis priorities, policy advancement in regards to Metis people

• controversy around who counts as Metis

indigenous political advocacy groups: Inuit Tapiriit Kanatami

• translates to Inuit are United in Canada

• Advocacy group for interests of Inuit people

indigenous political advocacy groups: Congress of Aboriginal Peoples

• focus on interests of Indigenous people who live off of reserves

indigenous political advocacy groups: Native Women’s Association of Canada

• advocacy for Indigenous women and girls

• lots of work around MMIW

importance of social networks

generating bonds with other communities with shared concerns crucial for movement success or impact

social networks create collective identity through interactions - repeated group interactions

bystander public

public that defines issues strictly from a bystander’s perspective

• bystanders serve an important legitimating function through creating the bridge between members for a movement and the broader public

generating bystander support: critical events

critical events as signalling opportunities, help build collective identity and support

• establish frames

• ex: negotiation leading up to patriation of Constitution - had implications for almost everyone in the country

• all actors affected at the same time, creates opportunities for processes of frame alignment between groups

impacts of colonial practices in Canada

• threatened Indigenous identity by outlawing cultural practices

• made organization and mobilization difficult due to resource constraints

• reserve system - isolation and separation from other Indigenous communities

  • made political organization across groups difficult

• mid 1950s - much action taking place was centred around specific local injustices that impacted a singular Indigenous group

1950s - promoting Indigenous culture

communities focused on creating social opportunities and informal meeting spaces

• sought to generate a sense of pride and connection rather than political participation

  • Indian Act amended, many restrictions on Indigenous peoples movement

• those in rural areas uprooted to urban areas - contributed to lack of connection, increased Indigenous discrimination

  • led to inception of these clubs in urban centres

1960s - state funding changes the nature of Indigenous organization

shift from emphasis on creating social opportunities to service provision, to eventual political organizing

early example - National Indian Council

• emerged from funding, overcome legal differences between Indigenous communities to represent interests of status, non-status, and Metis

• difficult due to lack of communication ability, and remoteness of Indigenous populations and isolation from urban centres

National Indian Brotherhood emerges in late 1960s for status representation only

• run almost entirely through gov grants, shift in mobilization - from participatory structure to professionalized advocacy group

• becomes difficult to criticize gov once reliance on gov funding

The White Paper (1969)

introduced in 1969, intention was to abolish the Indian act and associated legal status

• get rid of distinction, assimilate Indigenous peoples

• critical event! proposed changes that would affect all Indigenous communities at the same time

• provided a common grievance, collective action frame, aligned goals among Indigenous groups

widespread backlash - effective mobilization against it creates policy vacuum

• got dismissed within two years, very successful social movement organizing

• policy vacuum - federal cabinet changed direction to support Indigenous rights and status

Post White Paper (new focus for advocacy)

policy shift from rights termination to supporting Indigenous organization - increased funding

• but restrictions, preference for those claiming to represent all Indigenous people

resources for national mobilizing - focus from Indigenous groups on national issues, less local organizing

• professionalization from both policy vacuum and increased funding

• occurs at expense of more local advocacy work

• shift in window of political opportunity

• gov was able to wield influence to determine who got funding and what they did with it - new form of colonialism and control

organizing around treaty rights was dominant, but also included radical protest inspired by political activism in US

• Red Power movement

• multiple facets of disagreement - differences between traditional and elected leaders, rural and urban, noninstitutionalized and institutionalized forms of protest

patriation negotiations (completed in 1982)

process of negotiations (late 70s, early 80s) provided opportunity for Indigenous communities, many differences between them

• seen as opportunity for pan-Indigenous unity and action, also to gather support from non-Indigenous bystander communities

• inuit and status

• non-status - opportunity to gain recognition and status

• indigenous women - means of achieving legal recognition of equality with men

• metis - maybe be recognized federally like First Nations

concerns about who would/could represent Indigenous concerns in negotiations, coalition was short lived

• fed gov was ready to give full participation to the NIB (only status Indians at the time, exclusion of other groups

• pan-Indigenous solidarity comes to stop at this point, three groups end up lobbying independently to fed gov

Indigenous perspectives on mega-constitutional politics

sections 25 and 35 of Constitution Act further define rights

• 25 - charter rights don’t interfere with treaty rights

• 35 - Metis people recognized as fully Indigenous with status associated

• BUT constitutional language vague and doesn’t clearly define Aboriginal or rights associated with definition

lack of complete agreement with these amendments - creation of Meech Lake Accord

Meech Lake Accord

no meaningful engagement for Indigenous people or provisions for addressing existing concerns within Indigenous communities

• further, funding cut for Indigenous organizations that had been state funded

• also no recognition of Indigenous self-governance

1990 - the “Indian” Summer

organizing around the proposed Meech Lake Accord

• status Indians in Manitoba used ratification of accord to protest, accord ultimately fails

• effective moment for garnering bystander attention - grounded in country’s legal structures as conversation around constitution affected everyone

Oka Crisis

after failure of Meech Lake Accord, violent standoff between Mohawks and Quebec’s provincial police

• blockage to prevent golf course expansion into Indigenous land, police officer killed, led to 78 day standoff

• media portrayed Indigenous action as radical and illegitimate, rather than being framed as legitimate response to land encroachment

• recognition within political leaders that something needs to be done to address Indigenous issues

led to Kelowna Accord

The Kelowna Accord

series of agreements intended to close gap between Indigenous and non-Indigenous people in Canada on education, employment, living conditions, health care

• with gov, Indigenous groups, committees

• committed over $5 billion dedicated to this - sense of achieving long awaited success for Indigenous leaders at the time

HOWEVER, quickly dissipated after Accord was ultimately abandoned by conservative gov taking over in 2006

ongoing land disputes

political opportunity at the federal level, local struggle continues

• 1492 Land Back Lane a response to proposed housing development in Caledonia, Ontario

• movement for land back has spread across Canada

#IdleNoMore

protest movement inspired by Bill C-38 and Bill C-45

• Bill C-38 - designed to amend Indian Act, address inequalities within the Act

• Bill C-45 - amend criminal code, cannabis

initial organizing led to diffusion of protest on a range of issues

after #IdleNoMore

Wet’suwet’en pipeline protests

• led by traditional First Nations leadership

• ended by militarized operation by RCMP to clear site for pipeline building

• hashtag leads to diffusion of protest and solidarity action including rail protests