In Moncton, we join the protest with a march on jan. 9.

spence's timing is tight. But she had no choice. Once the governor-general signs, it's a done deal. That's why Spence is trying to make it urgent. Harper will meet with them in  a few months. Of course. By then he won't have to listen to them.

As to concern for violence, we h ave to remember who set up that possibiity. It was Harper who used the omnibus bill, quite improperly, to create a deadline and to make public understanding impossible. It's an insult to all Canadians. For First Nations peoples, this new legislation gives him power to impose the final solution.

Generally, his financial and environmental approach mirrors that of the Congo. Make money  fast. Do nothing for anybody but billionaires leave the country a pillaged ruin.

That's no exaggerattion.  Harper is not a conservative. He's a smug idealogue of the gospel of greed. All that counts is now.And all that counts now is pulling out the maximum possible. Understand that and you understand what capitalism has degernerated into.

If First Natons people can't get changes within days, they're finished. As it is, they're at the mercy of a smug and arrogant bastard, and of a capitalism that is destroying itself . So are we all.

I heard Harper said yes to a meeting Jan. 11

Harper has agreed to a meeting with FN leaders on January 11. (http://www.thestar.com/news/canada/politics/article/1310549--new-brunswick-natives-stage-idle-no-more-protests) I thought I read or heard somewhere too that he will meet with Chief Spence. I don't see a reference to that this morning. She will continue her hunger strike until the meeting.

Harper hasn't really agreed to anything.

1. He's too busy to see a fasting women who's living in a tent in this weather  for six more days? Real man stuff, Steve.

2. He has deliberately avoided saying he will meet with Spence at all.

3. The leaders he will meet with are a collection of patsies who have a record of not rocking the vote.

4. Once the Governor-General signs C-45, it won't matter who he meets with. The damage is done. Getting it signed is just a phone call away.

Amazing how journalists can get all excited at a completely phoney piece of news.

You are right, Graeme. And so-called journalists across the range of media have done very little to tell people what the issues reall are: it's not JUST C-45: it's the whole outdated, cruel, colonialising, ethnocidal relationship that the Canadian Government continues to impose on indigenous nations that needs re-drafting with sincere concerns for justice, respect and compassion. Greed and appropriation have run their very ugly course and continue to do so.

And the news coverage — a massshovelling of pertinent issues under badly stained old carpets — has mostly helped Harper to fan bigotry and anti-Native racism, strengthening his hand in the estimation of an alarming number of determinedly ignorant rednecks.

At least the issue has shown us and the World that non-Native Canadians have a lot of issues to address in relation to their own mindsets, perceptions, attitudes and prejudices. 

For those following the walk, the telephones and emails have been working it seems, as United Church folks have offered accomodation and served lunch along the route from Toronto to Ottawa that some people are walking.

Thanks to Redhead for being the phone person, and getting information.

That's brilliant! Thanks Redhead!

It would have been more efficient/easier if presbyteries had facebook pages that people could subscribe to for events / updates in the area.

Many don't do Facebook... and internet can be limited in rural areas like that to dialup.

I did what I could, and big big kudos to Pinga for starting the phone tree, also kudos to Carolla for collecting the contact info, and to all who also posted on the UCC website (I could not find the posts, but I don't know how to navigate the UCC site very well)

It is encouraging to see how well it worked :)

damn dks, i am kinda tired of your responses of "many don't have internet" . 

I get that, but despite your responses of why things don't exist, when they do exist, they can be used. 

So, we used wondercafe, internet lookups, facebook groups, email, twitter, etc...and have been able to both provide news.

You are right, some peoople don't have internet access, but, you know, some do, and if one person does and uses it, then moves to another media, then things can happen.

how about learning to teach yoru voice to say "yes" instead of "no" as a new years resolution.

Redhead, we didn't use the ucc site, we used the united church of canada facebook group.

okay, that totally explains why... and makes me feel  a tiny bit better about my researching abilities... now I have to focus on reading skills, I guess ;) LOL

Good job folks.  A great example of 'Where there is a will there is a way'.  Even when 'everyone isn't using a computer' the word can quickly be spread by the few who are.  They can phone others, for example.

Ooops - I meant to add -

if anyone has photos it might be cool to share them with UCCan, CBC and other tv stations. 

Then stop making suggestions for people to use resources which you use. I lived and served the church in that area for two decades. I still have family up and down #7 between Toronto and Ottawa. I know a little bit more about rural attitudes and rural internet than folks in Mississauga, where I grew up.

Things don't always happen they way you think they do, and the sooner you accept that and begin to understand others in rural Ontario you will find yourself a lot less reactive to waht I said earlier.

The moment you stop making assumptions about rural internet access and usage, sure.

DKS, you are an ass.

The way this worked was simple.  Those that had internet access reached out to those who did not.

You presume a lot regarding my knowlege of the area. My family hails from the Havelock area, and my brother lives outside of Stirling, ON.  He uses voip phones now....something that I haven't moved to..  He is rural. He is not living in the dark ages.

Yes, you are right, some don't have access, but some do.

The last that I heard, the church was about doing the best that it can to help all using all the resources available to us. 

Thankfully, there are others in that area who felt the same and rather than saying " it couldnt' be done", they made it happen.

Pinga, Carolla, Redhead and everyone that is helping along the way....Kudos!!! Good Stuff!

my apologies to those who were following the thread.  I have sidetracked it.

**************************************

Fun news was that at the blockade in Kingston they handed out cupcakes, and used a parking lot for anyone who wanted more information.

No more than you are. Here is exactly what I said.

Did I say it could not be done? No.

Did I say anyone was being unreasonable? No. I offered a one sentence caution to what you said and nothing more.

Now you owe me an apology for saying something I did not say.

I'll wait.  

Speaking of assumptions, my family is from Havelock, Peterborough and Lakefield. I served Lakefield and Blackstock. We might be distantly related,  And remember, I offered the first list of pastoral charges here.  

Your personal prejudice got in the way. You owe me an apology.

BTW, you will have to wait 36 hours because of the publishing embargo I honour with Sun Media, but I respond to the Idle No More protests in my column in the local Sun Media owned newspaper. I'll post it in the Sun Media thread on Monday. The Sun Times reaches more than 13,000 people every day. That's what I do with the resources I have.  

http://www.qmisales.ca/newspaper-sun-media/circulation/circulation-list.html

Update news I found for today:

Great Drums- flashmob at  skytrain station in  Van. Jan.3/12

 

 

Provincial police are investigating allegations made by a 19-year-old First Nations man who says a Thunder Bay police officer dropped him off outside city limits, forcing him to walk back to his residence in the city.

 

A student at Dennis Franklin Cromarty First Nation High School has alleged that the incident took place on Dec. 2.

 

 

The executive director of Northern Nishnawbe Education Council that runs the school said she's worried about the safety of students as they return to the city from their remote First Nations after Christmas.

 

Norma Keejick said the student was really “shaken up” and reported the incident to teachers the morning after it happened.

 

http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/thunder-bay/story/2013/01/04/tby-first-nations-student-police-allegations-drop-off-city-limits.html

Hi Kay, great idea re the photos.  I passed it on to the person who I saw from the United Church of Canada who both was engaged in the lunch, and a person who walked along.

It's been great to meet some new people from United Church of Canada community in Eastern Ontario.  I am sure that Redhead would say the same.

Even if it was only a bit of support, it was something.  We learned, and it shows we can do stuff.

My guess is that every bit of support is a positive thing.

I know that everyone isn't connected via computers but there are many other avenues of communication available.  To me ( a rural resident) it seems weird to keep reading complaints about rural lack of internet access.  Many people living in remote areas are more 'connected' than many in the big cities.  I recently conversed with a 30ish city resident who hadn't touched a computer since leaving High School.  I also chat regularly with a 92 year old who uses a computer for a vast range of things - including discussion forums, photoshop work and email. 

The world we live in doesn't really fit into neat, clearly defined groups any more.  I guess it never did really.

IMO,  I think that sharing any photos or stories about the UCC communities who got involved directly with the INM walkers should be for internal consumption.

Trying to share the stories with media may be perceived as tasteless self-promotion, even if that is not the intention.

The UCC communities involved did so in the spirit of faith, charity and social justice.  Not to mention good old fashioned hospitality, offering a home to stay in, sharing a meal, the breaking of bread, so to speak.

I think the Thank you posting on the FB page is quite enough recognition.

As I read this thread, I am again reminded of the connections that are here. My grandfather was raised in the Marmora, Ont area, and his cousin lived in Norwood. I've travelled that stretch of highway many times. It is nice that  a combination of Internet, FB and old fashioned word of mouth, helped to support the walkers. It restores my faith on many levels.

I'm inclined to agree with redhead's post above. I'm thinking the story is the walkers' to tell, not the churches'. As she said, it was hospitality and social justice, and not necessarily suitable for what would be considered self-promotion.

*this post was written from a computer on the Alaska Highway, a somewhat remote corner of the country where some access the Internet by satellite, or dial-up.

UPDATE:  the KI walkers (aka INM walkers) are expected to make it to Ottawa this evening !

Thanks for the update, Redhead.

I don't know if this story from today's Toronto Star  exactly fits the theme but I doubt anyone wants a new  thread.

Its so shocking I can't resist. We all remember the floods last year in Winnipeg. The floods  were diverted from the downtown areas ( if I'm correct) by being pushed onto the Lake St. Martin reserve north of the city. The residents living there were later offered housing in a northwest area  of Manitoba   that is known by the gov't  for annual garter snake migrations. Only 13 families lived there due to finding snakes in their homes. A fence was built to keep out the snakes. It was ineffective. I'm reading this story in disbelief....!!!!

Another story is of a diabetic man in his 40's  being placed in a hotel in downtown Winnipeg. His benefits have been cut. He receives $4. a day from Provincial Emergency Social Services to cover food, clothes, and all of his  general expenses.  The evacuees prior to this had been receiving $23. daily  a day for food, clothes  and expenses other than rent.

 The story about the floods and  snakes: see next post

Toronto Sunday Star : Jan.6,2013

Reserve Flood Evacuees to Winnipeg  given land with snakes on it:

Sinclair is one of more than 1,400 people who were evacuated to Winnipeg from the reserve in the spring of 2011, when the provincial government decided to divert throught their land flood waters that were headed for the capital.

The flood swallowed the land she grew up on, the land her ancestors lived on for decades. Nearly two years later, she and hundreds of other members of the reserve are stuck in limbo, caught in a dispute between the band council and provincial government as to where the reserve will be resurrected.

Chief Adrian Sinclair, who is Diane Sinclair’s brother, says they saved the city of Winnipeg by allowing their community to be destroyed. Now his people tell him they are called “freeloaders” and their elders have been physically assaulted and yelled at.

“And the suicides,” he continues, shaking his head. He swipes at his eyes with his large hands, embarrassed to be crying.

“The first casualty we had was my niece (Alexis). That was really hard. She told me once, she said, ‘Uncle, I want to go home. I don’t want to stay out here.’

Alexis, who had a baby daughter, hanged herself in the garage of the house her mother rented in the wake of the 2011 flood. Her family buried her in a white dress because she had dreamed of getting married.

She was laid to rest in a coffin with a fibreglass casing, so that the water that caused her community so much pain could never touch her again.

Her daughter, Danielle, is being raised by Diane.

“That hurt, putting your niece away, as a leader. That really tore me up inside.”

Since then, Chief Sinclair says 16 other evacuees from Lake St. Martin have committed suicide — and he fears that number will continue to grow.

Sinclair is tired of fighting, but his people say they don’t want him to settle for the land the government bought. He will battle on for a site the band council has found and hope the residents of Lake St. Martin will stay strong in the meantime.

“This is a wicked world, the city. It’s no place for my people,” he says.

Manitoba was negotiating with Sinclair when he walked away from the deal in late 2011, saying the government ignored the plans he wanted for the temporary homes. He says he and his community wanted to build interim homes with the help of a private company and was told that would happen.

Sinclair says the government then gave the building contract to someone else without his consent, leaving him and his people with little input into how to build their community.

Ultimately, only 13 families/households chose to live at the radar base site, Sinclair says.

The reason people were no longer interested living there, he says, was because snakes were being found in the homes.

The Manitoba government acknowledged the site was known for annual garter snake migrations, and put snake fencing around the site at the First Nation’s request.

Sinclair says the fence has not been effective, and that families living at the site have found snakes in their homes. The province denies these claims.

http://www.thestar.com/news/canada/article/1311110--first-nation-flood-evacuees-in-limbo-in-winnipeg-as-housing-squabble-continues

http://www.cbc.ca/news/politics/story/2013/01/07/pol-attawapiskat-audit-monday.html

The left is using Spence's hunger strike as a stick to beat Harper. But it is becoming clear that this woman (who looks a lot more white than native) and her white boyfriend (who was managing money for the reserve) are guiltly of gross mismanagment if not actual theft of money that was meant for the natives on the  reserve.  

Mely: the audit criticises documentation not spending and certainly not theft. It's "leaking" is timely for Harper. Read ithe report with a half-open mind. It's an audit report not a criminal charge.

As for your remarks about Theresa Spence's appearance: that is racism, plain, vile and simple.  

red herring alert

Agreed

My column in today's local Sun Media newspaper with the headline:

"We can demand our government consult with First Nations"

I read the Twitter from a friend about 12 hours too late. It announced that there would be an Idle No More protest gathering at the four corners at Springmount. Everyone was welcome. The gathering would last about an hour or so.

If you haven’t been watching, Idle No More is the latest cycle of First Nations protests over their relationship with the Government of Canada.

The issues involved are many and varied. There is the hunger strike by Chief Theresa Spence of the Attawapiscat First Nation. There are objections to the government’s current budget omnibus bill, which makes changes in the was First Nations can locally regulate land use, among other things. It also reduces or abolishes environmental protection to enhance the ability of companies to develop resources.

If there is one word which captures all of this, it is the word consultation.

That is, at the core, what this protest is about.

The problem is, everyone has a different definition of what consultation means.

To First Nations people it means a respectful, mutual dialogue. It is part of a larger conversation

.

To a non-First Nations person it may mean an agenda, negotiation and a mutually agreed result.

Often the two are mutually exclusive or a dialogue of the deaf.

Overlaying this are decades of racial stereotypes. Our local MP reflected that when he was asked about the idle No More protest in December here in Owen Sound. According to the Sun Times, Larry Miller "... scoffed at the call for more consultation, saying "It's not about consultation, in my experience. It's about how big the cheque is.""

I find that astonishing (well, not really) given that corporations like Bruce Power and most of the municipalities in Grey and Bruce counties, including the City of Owen Sound, have consultation agreements with the Saugeen First Nation. The agreements say that they will talk about matters of mutual interest and concern.

That’s not rocket science. It is common sense. Consultation costs nothing but time. Surely our government has time to talk to people with whom is has various treaty obligations? And don’t we, as voters, have a responsibility to say to our elected representatives, "Enough. This is a priority issue."

It was done once before. Much consultation happened around the Kelowna Accords. But those were never implemented for any number of reasons, including partisan politics.

And what of Chief Spence? Is her hunger strike nothing but political theatre?

Both United Church of Canada and the Primate of the Anglican Church have written to the Prime Minister asking him to meet with Chief Spence. Their letters are signed, not just by church bureaucrats, but by First Nations members themselves who form congregations and who are church leaders. This is First Nations people speaking through the church.

Archbishop Hiltz concludes his letter by saying "We prayerfully stand with Chief Spence and the many First Nation voices that respectfully and urgently plead with you to provide the leadership of grace and vision that will bring us forward. In meeting with Chief Spence, in meeting with First Nations leaders towards a reconciled and just relationship, you will make real your apology of 2008. Without such a beginning, if we do not walk through the door that this crisis has opened, there is certainly no viable or moral way forward for Canada. We will all be diminished."

If consultation is not started now, then Archbishop Hiltz is right. We will all be diminished. And I do not believe that is what anyone wants. Consultation costs nothing but time. Purposeful consultation takes effort and integrity. Let’s hope all parties involved have both qualities.

Well put, DKS.

Thanks for sharing.

Even most of the commontators on the CBC website think Spence is a fraud.  You guys are really hardcore.

I came across this anonymous comment and it made me think of this forum:

"Liberalism is a religion. Convincing them that anything is incorrect about their beliefs is like trying to convert Iranian mullahs to Unitarianism."

I thank God the Idle No More movement is happening. At least someone has concerns about the Omnibus legislation that Harper seems to love so much. We need to evaluate these bills much better. I thought that Harper was going to lead an open and accountable government. Thank goodness I am not holding my breath on that one.

Thank you DKS for your well thought out post. We need more critical thinkers involved with this movement. I know our community has some very awesome First Nations leadership. Young women in particular who are well educated, hard working and passionate.

Maybe because we have had interactions with First Nations people over the years? Interactions which are not stereotypical? And in the interest of full disclosure, I own a cottage and lease land on a First Nation territory. I have been directly affected by some of the proposals C-45 is trying to "fix". The "fix" proposed by the government is, frankly, nonsensical.

Thank you. Some of the First Nations women I know are also bright, hard-working and passionate. But their communities have to overcome some huge issues. As one First Nations person said, "Give us ten years..."

Do you all remember Harper hiring an audit/accounting  firm called "Deloitte" to figure out ways to help the gov't save money?  It was almost a joke because of the cost. This is the same firm that has done the audit on First Nations books. I wonder how much that has cost First Nations? 

2011
Many Canadians will have heard by now that the federal government is hiring the firm Deloitte and Touche to do a review of its operations and look for ways to save money. The Opposition has expressed outrage at the amount being spent – $19.8 million for seven months of work, which apparently works out to about $90,000 a day.

http://www.huffingtonpost.ca/2011/09/20/harper-budget-cost-cuts-deloitte...

I believe chief spence is doing the absolute bare minimum (tea and fish broth is not food, it's flavoured water with slight traces of vitamins and minerals which is not even remotely close to the required daily intake) to keep herself alive long enough to have a discussion with the PM.  She could die doing this the longer it goes on. She can't do it forever, her health will give out,  but  she's willing to. Why are some people so heartless?

I worked in a First Nations' community for a couple of years, and also have many FN friends and colleagues. The community where I worked does have the usual selection of social problems you would expect. It also includes some of the smartest, hardest working people I have met. I was also honoured to be part of some of their community dinners and celebrations. Pretty fabulous hospitality.

I have also been honoured to hear the stories of residential school survivors, and to have heard Judge Murray Sinclair speak. I have seen the numbers of FN children who are still in the care of child welfare authorities. More than what was ever in residential schools. Yes, systemic racism and oppression are alive and well in Canada.

I have heard that it will be the women of the communities who bring the healing. I believe it.

Edit to my post above.

I forgot to add the link re Deloitte and Touche FN audit. It must have been very expensive. Re the   $90,000. per day spent by Harper I mentioned  to save gov't money it is of course not one person/party working but a team of people.

http://www.aadnc-aandc.gc.ca/eng/1357569740663/1357577006214

Northwind

I was reading here awhile ago. I thought it was very  informative and well done.

In the opening episode of the four-part series 8TH Fire, host Wab Kinew, from the Ojibways of Onigaming First Nation in Northern Ontario, and now a Winnipeg-based TV journalist, invites us to come "meet the neighbours". It's about time, since many Canadians say they have never met an Aboriginal person.

This vibrant kaleidoscopic hour, introduces se cast of Indigenous characters living in the cities. They are united in a shared bond as Canada's First Peoples and in their determination to reassert their culture within a wider population of non-Indigenous Canadians.

http://www.cbc.ca/doczone/8thfire//2011/11/indigenious-in-the-city.html

Stardust; Deloitte and Touche is a huge firm and is one of the few that is large enough to do such a large project.

Whether or not the project was adequately scoped and managed for savings is not relevant to if the financial audit was done approproately

Noted; I have worked with D & T in various aspects for many years to varied outcomes

Pinga

That's fine. I was just very surprised at the time regarding  what it cost Harper to save money!...so when I saw they had also done the FN audit I thought......"O man..........!!".....

The idle no more movement like the occupy movement seem like a people with an empty destiny. Like many other people are looking for a reason for living.

They want power but have nothing to control. They want to be heard but have nothing to say.

So they block highway and rail roads, but for what reason. For a short time they have power over that section of the earth but as soon as the leave everything is back to the way it was. If they remained there for a period of time the world would soon find a way around them.

They protest on parliament hill.  The only thing the government has to give them is money. They say they are not after money. Then what are they after? What can the government give them to fulfill their need.

If they want dignity or the answer to why are they here, they are looking in the wrong place?

The Occupy movement and Idle No More have plenty to say to those who would listen.

I don't think that the only thing the government has to give them is money.  It seems to me that the government (and all of us, as citizens) should be giving them more respect - more appreciation for the land they 'gave' us. 

It seems long passed time for us all to DO something about the way aboriginal women are treated, and that is just a starter issue.

It isn't just aboriginal people who are outraged at the way they, and this land, water and air, are being raped and destroyed.

It is time for some honesty and decency to be shown by our elected officials.  Time to LISTEN to HEAR to ACT with empathy and openness.