I’m in the midst of some amazing and emotional youth work up here in northern British Columbia that I’ll fill you in about later, but for now I want to refer you to a tasty sample of the incredible, barrier-busting voice of Native youth.
May 29th was the First Nations National Day of Action, called for by the Assembly of First Nations to show our discontent with federal treatment of Aboriginal Peoples.
Many events took place around the country, but I picked up on this story about Ojibwe youth in North Bay, Ontario who are actively educating their peers about the long-standing oppressive effects of the Indian Act, and switching it into modern terminology for today’s generation to understand.
“Section 1: All Whites must carry a card identifying that they are white.”
“Section 3: No White is allowed to leave the reservation for longer than six months or else he/she will no longer be White … regardless if the White has gone to fight in World Wars, found work off the reservation or going to university, they will lose their status.”
Imagine if that was really the case. What would it look like?
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Thanks for the post Jessica! In that article, students Jesse Cornthwaite and his cousin Falcon Sky McLeod-Shabogesic point out the ridiculousness of calling a treaty a formal and ratified document between two equal and sovereign nations when the document is written in a language that is totally inaccessible to one nation while that nation's people are in a hostage situation! Many Aboriginal Peoples didn't even sign agreements, meaning that the land was never ceded. No agreement, no land. And white settler culture wonders why there are blockades when the legal system, based always on European property rights, can't acknowledge that?
Posted by piKe
June 5, 2008, 10:40 AM
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