Mike Myers: Settler regimes overthrew indigenous governments

As many Indigenous territories throughout North America once again enter the settler imposed election cycles it might be a good time to revisit the meaning of democracy as we understand it.

Both settler regimes decided to abolish and overthrow original Indigenous governments, Canada in 1924 and the U.S. in 1934. Each created laws proscribing what they would consider to be acceptable forms of Indigenous governance and methodically imposed these systems on nearly all Indigenous territories. Each maintained a tight leash on what they had created by insuring that these entities could not take any actions without the approval of the federal governments.

In 1966, the UN passed two international laws, the covenants on civil and political rights and on social, economic and cultural rights. Both came into force in 1976. Article 1 in each covenant states: “All peoples have the right of self-determination. By virtue of that right they freely determine their political status and freely pursue their economic, social and cultural development.”

Both of these important pieces of international legislation remain largely unknown or understood within Indigenous nations and amongst peoples, except for those who are active in the international arenas. Our ignorance of these laws makes the settler regimes happy because it means that we won’t be drawing upon them as the international support we need to accomplish de-colonization and re-establishment of our original nations. Our ignorance of them keeps us within the trap of settler imposed laws, regulations, and policies as though these were legitimate forms of oppression just because they say so.