Similar to Black Friday after Thanksgiving
in the States, it is the day to shop,
that is if you are a shopper,
which I am not.
people in Canada,Boxing Day is not about getting
a deal on an IPad or scoring American Eagle clothing at 80% discount.
This day is about supporting the Idle No More Movement
of the first nations people in Canada.
Today is about supporting Attawaspiskat Chief Theresa Spence's
hunger strike on Victoria Island in Ottawa, Ontario,Canada;
| Victoria Island, Ottawa, Ontario, Canada |
a fast that asks for respect and the honouring
of the treaties between the First Nations people,
the government of Canada and the Crown
(Canada is a Commonwealth country).
This fast is about land and water.
It is about poverty and education.
It is about honouring promises.
It is about wanting to sit down
with the Prime Minister and the Governor General of Canada.
It is about 4 young women who
care about the earth and are
Idle No More.
Late this afternoon, we visited Victoria Island,
where Chief Spence is on the 14th day of her hunger strike.
We walked through a wooden gate,
into a small enclosure where first nation
women were beating their drums and
chanting in front of a fire.
Sheelah Mclean, one of the founders of Idle No More
tells us that
where Chief Spence is on the 14th day of her hunger strike.
We walked through a wooden gate,
into a small enclosure where first nation
women were beating their drums and
chanting in front of a fire.
Sheelah Mclean, one of the founders of Idle No More
tells us that
"the changes they(the government) are making to the
environmental legislation is stunning in terms of the
protections it will take away from the bodies of water
– rivers and lakes, across the country".
I can't help but wonder,
| Attawapiskat Chief Theresa Spence before Parliament Building, Ottawa, Ontario |
I can't help but wonder,
thinking about the children and teachers
we lost in Newton, CT,
the latest tragedy
in a long line of tragedies in the United States,
what if, like the four young women
who founded Idle No More,
other young people stood up in the country
south of this border
and said,
Victims No More.
I can't help but wonder,
what if the President of the
county south of this border
stood up and listened
to the people and responded to
Victims No More.
"How can we not all be concerned about that?”
Sheelah Mclean
founding member of Idle No More
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