Chief Spence ends fast as AFN national chief Atleo returns

Chief Spence (in red toque) and the media circus in Ottawa.

By Laura Payton, CBC News, Jan 24, 2013

First Nations leaders vowed Thursday to keep up the pressure on the federal government, as Shawn Atleo returned to work following medical leave and Theresa Spence left hospital following her six-week hunger strike.

Fledgling AIM Winnipeg chapter ‘committed to action.’

By Jorge Barrera, APTN National News, Jan 23, 2012

Train blockade at Portage la Prairie, Manitoba, Jan 16, 2013. AIM flag in background.

The American Indian Movement is in the final stages of sanctioning a chapter in Winnipeg  that is prepared for “direct” action to extract “justice” from Canada, members said Tuesday.

Fasting Elder Raymond Robinson grapples with nephew’s murder

By Jorge Barrera, APTN National News, Jan 22, 2013

Raymond Robinson, on right carrying pipe, during fast with Theresa Spence.

Elder Raymond Robinson, who has been fasting with Attawapiskat Chief Theresa Spence, lay on the floor of an Ottawa hotel room Sunday and wept after hearing the news his nephew was dead.

Oily Chiefs, Idle No More, and the AFN

by Zig Zag, Warrior Publications, January 17, 2013

To fully understand the phenomenon of Idle No More, you must imagine two parallel universes. In one, INM is comprised of good-hearted grassroots Native people responding to a call to oppose Bill C-45 and to protect the land and water of their traditional territories. In the other, however, are chiefs using the mobilization to achieve their political & economic agenda, an agenda that includes partnering with corporations seeking to exploit oil and gas resources on reserve lands.

Native protesters stall railways, highways, on national day of action

5-hour blockade of railways between Toronto, Ottawa and Montreal

Train blockade in Portage la Prairie, Manitboa, on Jan 16, 2013.

CBC News, Jan 16, 2013

First Nations demonstrators stopped passenger railway traffic lines between Toronto, Ottawa and Montreal today, while others stalled major highways and rail lines in parts of Manitoba, Alberta, New Brunswick and Ontario as part of the Idle No More Movement’s national day of action.

Cross-Canada Indigenous Blockades Highlight Idle No More Tactics’ Tensions

David P. Ball, Indian Country Today, January 16, 2013

Grassroots warriors at Idle No More rally in Ottawa, Dec 21, 2012.

Today’s plans for cross-country blockades to disrupt Canada’s economy and infrastructure are revealing tensions within both the Idle No More movement and aboriginal leadership in the country, sparking debate over what tactics are appropriate in the quest for Native self-determination and who gets to police that line.

AFN’s fault lines magnified by Idle No More movement, Attawapiskat Chief Spence’s protest

By Jorge Barrera, APTN National News, Jan 15, 2013

AFN grand thief Atleo with his benefactors, First Nations-Crown Summit, Jan 2012.

Moments after Assembly of First Nations National Chief Shawn Atleo announced he was following his doctor’s orders and taking a temporary leave of absence, emails started to fly between some First Nations leaders and political staff discussing whether it was time for him to step down.

The Economics of Insurgency

Thoughts on Idle No More & Critical Infrastructure

Six Nations, 2006.

by Shiri Pasternak, The Media Coop, January 14, 2013

News reports are ablaze with reports of looming Indigenous blockades and economic disruption. As the Idle No More movement explodes into a new territory of political action, it bears to amplify the incredible economic leverage of First Nations today, and how frightened the government and industry are of their capacity to wield it.

Peaceful Protests Profit from History of Militant Resistance

by Zig Zag, Warrior Publications, January 12, 2013

Warrior at Oka, 1990, standing on top of abandoned & over turned police car.

“Unbelievable how chicken the police are to remove these people from blocking the railway. If it was anybody but natives they would have been arrested a week ago.”

Letter posted by Gerry, Jan 2, 2013, “First Nation blockade in Sarnia coming down,” Canadian Press, Jan 2, 2013

Any time there is a significant Native blockade or occupation, there are demands for its immediate removal by angry citizens. During Oka, 1990, and Six Nations 2006, for example, mobs of non-Natives rallied and sometimes rioted demanding that the military intervene to end the disputes.

Chief Spence vows to continue hunger strike after GG meeting

PM’s meeting with AFN chiefs said to ‘move the goalposts’

Indian Act chief Theresa Spence, in headdress, meets with Governor-General, Jan 11, 2013.

CBC News, Jan 11, 2013

Attawapiskat Chief Theresa Spence vowed to remain on a hunger strike, shortly after she and about 100 other chiefs attended a ceremonial event with the Governor General at Rideau Hall in Ottawa.