Links - 23rd May 2020 (2) (Canadian Indigenous Issues/Pipeline Protests)

70 per cent of murdered aboriginal women killed by indigenous men: RCMP - "RCMP Commissioner Bob Paulson has confirmed assertions by Canada's Minister of Aboriginal Affairs that 70 per cent of the aboriginal women who are murdered in Canada meet their fate at the hands of someone of their own race.Mr. Paulson's decision to back up statements by Bernard Valcourt comes after several chiefs said the minister should be fired for blaming aboriginal men for the tragedy, a position they dismissed as unsubstantiated and demeaning. Mr. Paulson wrote on Tuesday to Bernice Martial, the Grand Chief of Treaty Six in central Saskatchewan and Alberta, who was among the native leaders to express concern, saying the RCMP has not previously released information on the ethnicity of the offenders in the spirit of "bias-free policing."... Despite Mr. Paulson's statistics, Ms. Martial is unconvinced that responsibility for the tragedy can be pinned on native men... Mr. Valcourt said the deaths and disappearances came down to a lack of respect among aboriginal men on reserves for aboriginal women, and urged chiefs and councils to take action... Chief Bernard Ominayak of the Lubicon Lake Nation said in an e-mail on Thursday that the opinion of the RCMP commissioner is irrelevant to demands for a national inquiry, and the statistics he presents "are useless without the documentation that backs up his claims.""
Of course, it's "racist" to engage in "victim blaming"

The Ultimate ‘Concept Creep’: How a Canadian Inquiry Strips the Word ‘Genocide’ of Meaning - "In ancient Rome, genocide was seen as an acceptable military tactic if it was directed at indigenous peoples... But even into modern times, genocide often was justified as the cost of “progress.”... the killers believed that these genocides presented a net benefit to the civilized world. Hitler, who slaughtered six million Jews, thought that the entire planet one day would lionize him for ridding the world of what his diseased and evil mind conceived as a uniquely destructive pestilence upon humanity... The idea of “genocide” even has been stretched to include the idea of “cultural genocide”... This Canadian desire to confront our past is laudable and well-intentioned. Unfortunately, as I wrote in Quillette, the resultant tendency to apocalypticize every policy discussion surrounding indigeneity now has created a sort of social panic that afflicts much of the intellectual class... For those of us who prefer to reserve the word “genocide” for such acts as throwing human beings into ovens and mass graves, as opposed to the borrowing of artistic styles among painters, this cheapening of language feels very wrong... The government of Canada recognizes five genocides—corresponding to Armenia, Rwanda, Ukraine, Bosnia and the Nazi Holocaust. The average fatality count for these genocides was about three million. The total number of Canadian MMIWG killed over the last half century is about one thousandth that number... MMIWG are dying in 2019—which is not by pogrom or rampaging militia, but by the same ordinarily horrible way that most homicide victims meet their end: domestic violence and street crime. Nor is there statistical evidence to suggest that Canadian constabularies as a whole don’t take these crimes seriously... “In 2014, a higher proportion of homicides of Aboriginal victims were solved by police compared with non-Aboriginal victims (85 percent versus 71 percent)”... The homicide rate for Aboriginal females in Canada, measured in 2014, was 4.82 per 100,000 population. This is about 30 percent less than the homicide rate for the entire U.S. population (6.2). So the statistical implication of this week’s report from the National Inquiry into Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women and Girls (to cite the body’s full name) is that the entire United States exists in a daily state of permanent genocide... Since about 70 percent of MMIWG are killed by Indigenous men, the effect of this week’s declaration is to present Canada’s Indigenous peoples as genocidaires of themselves. Despite this, many Canadians seem anxious to embrace the report, as it affirms the simple narrative that the challenges faced by Canada’s Indigenous peoples are largely the result of white racism, and so can be solved if Canadians simply awaken to their own collective bigotry... In the long run, the effect of this will be not only to erode the moral force of the term genocide, but also to hurt indigenous people by encouraging the terrifying and condescending conceit that their status in Canada is akin to that of Tutsis in 1994 Rwanda or Jews in 1939 Germany."
More on the "myth" of the slippery slope

Trudeau, majority of Liberal MPs vote against ISIS ‘genocide’ motion - "Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and the majority of Liberal MPs have voted against a Conservative motion declaring that the violence perpetrated by the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIS) constitutes genocide... Ambrose responded to Trudeau by accusing the Liberals of tarnishing the Canadian reputation as a protector of human rights."

Canada's Epic Rail Crisis Offers the World a Cautionary Tale on Indigenous Mantras - "the functionality of modern societies (Indigenous and non-Indigenous alike) depends on some predictable and unified understanding of property rights... land-acknowledgment rituals that have become fashionable in Canada... convey the idea that Indigenous peoples retain a real—if vaguely defined—moral ownership over the entire country, not just the areas that they control through treaties or other legal instruments. Sometimes, the soaring language used in acknowledgment ceremonies can blur into a sort of religious ritual, through which audience members are invited to cleanse “Turtle Island” (i.e., Canada) of settler contamination. During the prelude to one conference I attended, an Indigenous elder instructed participants to rise from their seats, turn to face the four cardinal directions in sequence, and then bend down to touch the ground as an homage to natural spirits.These are cast as purely symbolic acts. But as this week’s chaos in Canada indicates, the associated ideas have real consequences. Having spent years solemnly acceding to Indigenous moral authority over every field and tree, and repeating a liturgy of white predation within “unceded” lands, politicians now find themselves paralyzed by groups of Indigenous-led or -inspired protestors who are invading rail lines, bridges, legislatures and highways in opposition to pipeline development. This includes Justin Trudeau, whose Liberal government is urging a resolution to the growing crisis, but seems to have already ruled out any use of force. We are now witnessing the largest service disruption in the modern history of the Canadian National Railway, with the tally of blocked cargo already well into the billions. Yet Canada’s largest newspaper, the Toronto Star, tells us we’re not even supposed to use the term “protestor” to refer to the activists blocking the rails, despite court injunctions to the contrary. According to “experts,” the Star informs us, “land defenders” is the preferred team. How can government enforce the rule of law once we have conceded the idea that formal property rights are a fiction, and that protestors of a certain bloodline are always to be regarded as the land’s true “defenders”? The victims here include not just millions of affected Canadian commuters and businesses, but also Indigenous groups themselves. The current round of protests was initiated in solidarity with the Wet’suwet’en, one of more than a dozen First Nations whose traditional lands will be traversed by a new gas pipeline in British Columbia. But the construction process was preceded by lengthy consultations, through which the elected Wet’suwet’en leadership formally approved the project (and its associated economic benefits). By contrast, the pipeline opponents are hereditary Wet’suwet’en dissidents who, having had their views rejected within their own community, are playing to an audience of white environmentalists and like-minded Indigenous protestors in other parts of Canada. Since the easiest way for the federal and provincial governments to appease these protestors will be through negotiated dividends and payouts of some kind, the likely effect will be to weaken band governance: The spectacle proves that any Indigenous dissident now can bypass elected local leaders, and even become celebrities in the leftist Toronto press, simply by mobilizing a mob."
"Minorities" only count when they support a left wing agenda
So much for the "myth" of the slippery slope

We have become our own worst enemy. - "As a former First Nation elected councillor for the community of Lax Kw Alaams, I don’t know what to make of how irrational protests have become over the last few years around the development of BC’s resources.I am beginning to think it doesn’t matter what type of project is proposed or approved.People will protest anything, and I worry that they are making these decisions based on what they see and read on social media alone, instead of taking the time to become informed and educate themselves on the issues around development and who and why people are protesting.The personal attacks and misinformation on social media toward those who are pro-development is horrific, outright degrading and defamatory in nature... I hear from some of our people that we need to go back to our old ways – do we even know what that means?Life for the most part in the majority of our communities was extremely difficult. There is no going back. There is only one way and that’s forward by learning from the past... People want to blame our Governing Councils, or the White Man, or the Corporations that are trying to work with us for the benefit of our Communities.I ask: when all the protestors have gone back to their jobs and their lives, and have taken our opportunity with them, who is going back into your household and taking care of you?... The general public needs to understand that this isn’t about the environment, nor is it just about Indigenous rights.It is about money and control, and who wants to be considered the decision makers in our respective communities and territories.If we do not come together as a Community and as a People, we will always find ways to blame others, take no responsibility for our actions and continue to hurt those closest to us. We will continue to rely on a system that continues to fail us."

Aaron Gunn on Twitter - "With police cracking down on distracted driving this month, now's your chance to ask an officer what you can and can't do behind the wheel. Reply below to have them answered on CHEK News at 6."
"Can I blockade key highways and bridges whenever a democratically-elected government does something I disagree with? Also, are they sure they are allowed to hand out tickets without a court injunction? I think those are required now to enforce the law."

STOP THE BLOCKADES! - "The protesters who set up the illegal blockade face no punishment, while Canadians who are just trying to get to work get arrested for taking it down. Canada is becoming a laughingstock"

Laurissa Sill - "I grew up in poverty as a Wet'suwet'en member. All I knew growing up was that we were only used as a capacity number by the hereditary chiefs and left to provide for ourselves by any way possible. We were not taught our language or culture and traditions by any hereditary leader, we had to learn that on our own wherever we could... Our band does not follow the hereditary system as a political governing system. The only time family members practice the hereditary system is when we lose a loved one to support the family through the potlatch system.Our band is governed by a custom election code which allows us to elect selected individuals to represent the Skin Tyee community, and speak for the entire band membership.When I was on the band Council for the Skin Tyee Nation, we had the opportunity to consult with our band membership in regards to the CGL pipeline and act upon the decision the membership made in supporting the signing agreement to give the 98% approval for beginning work within our traditional territory. Our band council is charged with acting upon consensus with the majority of our bands memberships opinions, as a whole.Our band was one of the first to sign the agreement, not because of greed but because of the opportunity that was never offered to our community in the past. I respect the land, the people and most of all our Creator. The decision I supported was for the ability to provide a better future for generations still to come and their children's children. Where there is a will there will always be a way. We have band members trained and qualified to work on the pipeline to bring further accountability and insurance that the job is done right, with care and respect for the environment and the land... (Joseph Skin, a proud Skin Tyee member, @SkinTyeeJr via twitter)"

Quebec premier tells Trudeau to set deadline to end rail blockades - "Legault went on to describe the nationwide protests as an illegal action that is threatening people’s livelihood. He has also claimed that the province is on the verge of facing a shortage of goods, including propane... The House of Commons held an emergency debate over the rail blockades on Tuesday night, with members criticizing Trudeau during the debate and calling for action."

Protesters try to derail and set fire to train rolling through Tyendinaga Mohawk Territory - "NDP leader Jagmeet Singh anticipated the guerilla arson, warning Canadians that taking police action against protestors would only escalate the situation... With counter-protests now gaining momentum across Canada, tension over the railway blockades is escalating at a concerning speed."
Apparently the way to deal with terrorists is to give in to their demands

Indigenous chief says some anti-pipeline protestors are getting paid - "The President of the National Coalition of Chiefs, Dale Swampy has claimed that some anti-pipeline protestors are being paid by environmental activists groups... Swampy also intimated that not only do the majority of pipeline protesters have no connection to any First Nations people, they may also be getting paid to protest by environmental groups... Swampy claimed people were promised $300 per day and up to $500 if they wore a headdress. “They choose people who are disenfranchised, who have no job, no education, are in poverty, collecting welfare,” he said. “It’s a real concern for us that these corrupt environmentalists are taking advantage of our poor people, putting them in front of RCMP.”... The vast majority of anti-pipeline protestors don’t speak on behalf of the Wet’suwet’en people despite themselves, and many media outlets claiming otherwise. There are 634 First Nations in Canada. Swampy said, “We believe there are as many as 400 chiefs across the country that want to work with the natural resource industry–including alongside the CGL pipeline right-of-way”"

First Nations chief blasts ‘condescending’ UN anti-racism directive that called for pipeline to be shut down - "A Canadian First Nations chief is slamming a recent directive from a United Nations anti-racism committee after the organization called for the shutdown of an Indigenous-backed pipeline only to later admit that it did not seek Aboriginal views toward the project... The project has signed benefit agreements with 20 Indigenous communities along its 670-kilometre route.But in an interview with Reuters published Thursday, CERD chair Noureddine Amir admitted that the committee did not study First Nations views toward the project, saying he “did not know” that most communities supported it... Haisla Nation Chief Crystal Smith, whose community has signed a community benefit agreement with Coastal, told the National Post, “I frankly find it condescending to the work the 20 nations have done in the past six or seven years to get the project to where it is today.”... The Coastal gas pipeline is opposed by some Indigenous people, most notably the hereditary and non-elected chiefs of the Wet’suwet’en, whose five clans reside near the end of project route."
Essentialism by assuming natives are pre-modern is good when it "protects minorities" - even when it's not what minorities want

U.S. foundations funding Canadian anti-pipeline protests: fair or foul? - "The debate about the impact of American money on the Canadian anti-pipeline movement continues fiercely with a pair of energy industry influencers taking calls from across Alberta on the subject... various U.S. funders have contributed in the neighbourhood of $40-million in recent years to hundreds of Canadian environmental and Indigenous groups. The goal is to help them spread a message about the need to land-lock Alberta crude through protests against the construction of new pipelines. Krause believes those American dollars are financing a message that has turned the conversation around, adding topics like pipeline development have become toxic."
Funding is only a problem when it funds anti-liberal causes

Wet’suwet’en supporters should stop distorting law to promote protest agenda - "The UN Charter, for example, begins with the value to encourage “respect for human rights and for fundamental freedoms for all” — not just for Indigenous groups that oppose the proclamations of, to borrow from the opinion piece, “Canadian settler governments.”Our founding Constitutional Act establishes the relationship of our branches of government — including of our judicial branch to interpret the law and for the Crown to enforce the law. Our Charter “guarantees the rights and freedoms set out in it” for all Canadians, while the rights of Indigenous peoples are similarly “recognized and affirmed.”"

Second Wet’suwet’en hereditary subchief speaks out against protest leaders - "“These five so-called hereditary chiefs, who say they are making decisions on behalf of all Wet’suwet’en, do not speak for the Wet’suwet’en,” Gary Naziel said. “They are neither following nor abiding by our traditional laws. They are changing them to suit their own purposes, to benefit themselves”... In doing so, Mr. Naziel adds, many hereditary chiefs and matriarchs are being disrespected, bullied and targeted. This echoes what Rita George, a hereditary subchief and expert in Wet’suwet’en law, said on Thursday. Mr. Naziel, from the Laksilyu (Small Frog) Clan who was groomed for leadership from birth, says the Wet’suwet’en name “is being dragged through the mud and used by other First Nations across Canada to wage their own battles.”... A growing movement of hereditary chiefs is considering taking action against the five men, possibly by blockading the Office of the Wet’suwet’en... All 20 elected band councils along the route, including five elected Wet’suwet’en councils, reached benefit agreements with Coastal GasLink. Those councils were created under the Indian Act and have authority over federal reserves, the small land parcels set aside under the act... “Our governance system is in the feast hall. These five chiefs are making decisions at the OW office. They do so without consulting their hereditary [subchiefs]. This makes them dictators.”Customary law stipulates that they “must take direction from their subchiefs and their matriarchs,” Mr. Naziel said. “They do not. That is not our system of governance.”“I have taken direction from my matriarchs and my clan in coming forward. I only speak for my clan. I cannot speak for other clans.”Others share Mr. Naziel’s concerns... “We are losing our cultural traditions over this pipeline battle. They are not following our traditions. They are not practising our real ways," she says of the five hereditary chiefs. "They are blending their own, modern perspectives, trying to fast-track the naming process. You have to earn your name.”Mr. Naziel further says that lineage bars three of the five men from assuming the leadership roles they hold on behalf of the Wet’suwet’en... Mr. Naziel also disputes the way that two of the men – Warner Naziel, who is his cousin, and Mr. Alec –assumed their leadership roles.In 2015, Gloria George (Smogelgem), Darlene Glaim (Woos) and Theresa Tait-Day (Wi’hali’yte) helped form the Wet’suwet’en Matrilineal Coalition. They said they wanted to bridge the gap between hereditary governance and elected band councils. All three were subsequently “feathered” and stripped of their titles.Last year, Mr. Alec replaced Ms. Glaim as Woos, head chief of Grizzly. In 2016, Warner Naziel replaced Ms. George as Smogelgem.“They did not get their names the proper way. They took them”"
Democracy is only for white people

Blockades and indigenous rights protesters spark a legitimacy crisis for Trudeau - The Washington Post - "Since much of the moral indignation fueling the Canadian indigenous rights movement is rooted in opposition to an enormous historical fact — the conquest of North America by non-indigenous peoples — it’s easy for them to reach an equally enormous conclusion: The land should be given back.Taken literally, the idea is obviously impossible. Canada’s 35 million non-indigenous citizens (the “settler” community, in indigenous rights parlance) cannot be patriated back to their historic homelands. But what if the Canadian “settler state” were dismantled instead? What if, over time, the nation state of “Canada” ceased to be, and all of its present power were restored to an indigenous political authority?There’s much to suggest this project of post-colonial dissolution is the path Canada’s currently on... Though the pipeline has been approved by numerous democratically elected Wet’suwet’en councils, critics say such councils are illegitimate, since they’re creations of settler laws regulating indigenous governance. True authority rests with the Wet’suwet’en’s hereditary chiefs, who represent pre-colonial authority. It’s not clear if the Wet’suwet’en chiefs care that much about the pipeline per se — they proposed their own route for it at one point. What matters is that their power be recognized. The Wet’suwet’en chiefs contest the authority of Canadian law. Their supporters have behaved in kind, illegally blockading train tracks and bridges across the country, causing widespread economic disruption.In response, those opposing the protests have demanded Canadian authorities “uphold the rule of law.” But whose law? As protester Sarah Rotz, who is also a professor at York University, told the Canadian Broadcasting Corp., “When we use terms like the rule of law, we’re ignoring Indigenous legal systems and we’re assuming that the colonial legal system is the only legal system.”... Trudeau’s timidness personifies a Canadian political class increasingly unsure whether their own power is legitimate. Indian treaties were formally granted the supremacy of constitutional law in the 1980s, and since the 1990s, the Canadian judiciary has been chipping away at the idea that the Canadian state should always prevail when it collides with indigenous assertions of authority... the British Columbia parliament accelerated things when it unanimously passed the UN Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples, which affirms that indigenous people possess a right to exercise political authority independently from the states they inhabit. Trudeau’s government plans to entrench the declaration in federal law, too... the indigenous rights cause now unifies a broad coalition of Canadian activists, including those involved in climate change, social justice and anti-capitalism.This only makes sense. A movement that believes it is desirable to severely weaken, or even dissolve, the state in order to achieve some larger goal, whether it’s a socialist utopia or green one, will naturally latch onto any movement with shared objectives. This is why it is unpersuasive when conservatives complain, with performative empathy, that “non-indigenous activists” have hijacked the cause of the Wet’suwet’en, or whoever. The more important question is why this cause is so easily hijacked in the first place, and whether it was wise for Canada to have accepted the existence of an independent indigenous political authority without establishing clear parameters around it. The present crisis is another example of how the Canadian state has embarked upon a remarkable social experiment of gradually devolving its responsibility to uphold the broad national interest — particularly the approval of economically critical natural resource projects — to anyone who claims to speak for Canada’s 1.7 million indigenous residents... it should never be forgotten that the Canadian state is only as powerless as it chooses to be.Why has Canada chosen this?"
Also posted as "The movement to end Canada"