Last Updated on November 9, 2010
As you may have heard by now, Canada may be going through a bit of a change next week. The Liberals, New Democrats, and Bloc Quebecois have signed an accord to vote down Canada’s minority Conservatives and form a coalition government led by the Liberal Party.
If all goes according to plan, they will hand down a vote of no-confidence on Monday, at which time Governor General Michaelle Jean will decide whether to call a new election or let the Liberals try and govern.
If she chooses the former, the coalition says it will implement a multibillion-dollar plan to stimulate the troubled Canadian economy — their response to the Conservatives utter failure to come up with a plan of their own.
First Nations have also been mentioned as a priority in the coalition’s proposal. “They are on the record as saying they want to see improvements for First Nations on-reserve and urban Aboriginal communities across Canada,” reports Bob Kennedy for Turtle Island News.
“Especially promising, is the idea of bringing back the Kelowna Accord – [which] promised billions of dollars and a plan for a timetable that would improve the standard of living for Aboriginal Canadians.”
Of course, the effective removal of Stephen Harper and the conservative government means far more to Indigenous people than a chance to finally get some “return” (for the trillions of dollars that Canada has stolen over the years). It may also mark a fundamental shift in aboriginal policy.
The way it stands now, Indigenous People are subjected to a revolting and shameful form of paternalism – where they are denied the right of consent, excluded from having a say in matters that effect them, threatened for speaking up for themselves and punished for acting in self-defense.
The shift, at least according to the election promises of the Liberals and New Democrats — is that a new relationship will be formed. In the very least, it must be one where indigenous people are treated as adults — and not as Canadians, but as separate and distinct people with primary rights.
It’s even possible that the United Nations Declaration of Indigenous Rights, which does not contradict the Constitution as the Conservatives proclaimed last year, will finally get ratified.
In all honesty, it’s hard to imagine any of this is possible. All the more reason that it must happen.
But, whether or not it does, indigenous people must continue with their work… creating our own initiatives to resolve the problems in our communities; building our own independent system of production, distribution, and consumption (an economy!); and most of all, by carrying ourselves as truly sovereign Nations. Not as Nation states with the power to crush our friends with impunity – but as self-sustaining communities, like our ancestors did for generations before us.
Across the world right now, Indigenous peoples are facing a renewed assault on their lands, rights, and ways of life.
From extractive industries pushing deeper into ancestral territories, to governments rolling back hard-won protections,
the threat is global—and it is growing.
What makes this moment especially dangerous is how little attention it receives.
Stories like this are disappearing in real time. Mainstream media
barely covers it and the coverage is fragmented. The public is left without the context
needed to understand what is truly at stake.
That is exactly why IC Magazine exists..
For more than 20 years, IC has reported on Indigenous struggles worldwide — consistently, independently, and without compromise.
We don’t follow news cycles; we trace patterns. We don’t sensationalize; we provide context.
And when the world looks away, we stay focused.
But this work is increasingly difficult to sustain.
We refuse to lock our reporting behind a paywall. We don’t sell access through subscriptions.
And we don’t answer to advertisers. IC Magazine survives solely because readers like you choose to
support independent Indigenous journalism.
Please donate today if you can. Every contribution helps us to continue this crucial work.
Thank you,
John Ahni Schertow
Founder and Editor in Chief
