"As we approach the 200th year since the great Shawnee leader Tecumseh was killed in battle, by American forces on the River Thames in North America, on October 5, 1813, a tremendous wave of activism by the Original Nations and Peoples of Turtle Island has suddenly swept across the geographical region now commonly as Canada.

The powerful activism we are seeing exhibited is a continent-wide campaign known as “Idle No More.” It is most significantly highlighted by the courageous hunger strike by Chief Theresa Spence of Attiwapiskat. As of the time of this writing, she is on her 22nd day of fasting, and getting much weaker now.

Chief Spence’s hunger strike is part of her demand to meet personally with Canadian Prime Minister Stephen Harper, and with “His Excellency the Right Honorable David Johnson, the United Kingdom’s Governor General of Canada.” She wants to meet with these two men, as government representatives, to discuss pressing issues for her people and for other Original Nations and Peoples of the continent, such as treaty and inherent rights."

Get the Story:
Steven Newcomb: The Colonial Doctrine of Discovery and Idle No More (Indian Country Today 1/4)

Related Stories:
Steven Newcomb: Taking Indian land away from Indian people (12/31)
Steven Newcomb: A cruel history in conquest of Native people (12/3)
Steven Newcomb: Fear and loathing of history on Thanksgiving (11/23)
Steven Newcomb: Russell Means was one of great Indian leaders (11/9)
Steven Newcomb: Canonization in context of spiritual conquest (10/22)
Steven Newcomb: A 1993 open letter to then Pope John Paul II (10/18)
Steven Newcomb: Obama ignores consequence of colonization (10/15)
Steven Newcomb: Indian law just another form of domination (10/8)
Steven Newcomb: Anti-Indian federal law lacking in legitimacy (9/28)
Steven Newcomb: Colonizing language adopted by Indians (9/14)
Steven Newcomb: No justice with domination of Indian nations (8/30)
Steven Newcomb: Tracing the origins of federal Indian policy (8/23)
Steven Newcomb: Civilized Indians are just really dominated (8/20)
Steven Newcomb: Book takes on Native genocide in California (8/10)
Steven Newcomb: Examining the new state of federal Indian law (7/30)
Steven Newcomb: 'Normalcy' in U.S. looking like totalitarianism (7/19)
Steven Newcomb: Military drones to descend upon border tribes (7/11)
Steven Newcomb: Conspiracy in treatment of American Indians (6/26)
Steven Newcomb: Dehumanization of Indian people in California (6/20)
Steven Newcomb: Rethinking notions behind federal Indian laws (6/8)
Steven Newcomb: California tribes still not treated with respect (5/30)
Steven Newcomb: Anti-terror law threatens indigenous rights (5/1)