With protests at ceremonial gathering held in many major cities. The group is spearheaded by teresa spence, leader of a small native band in northern ontario. She is 22 days into a Hunger Strike on victoria ireland Victoria Island just across from the canadian parliament. Other groups are demanding Better Living conditions for canadas aboriginal and theyre angry at the government of Prime MinisterSteven Harper which they accused of trying to revoke their land and sovereignty rights. In swirling snow late last month, they converged on Canadas Parliament in what became the largest gathering so far in the idle more movement. Began with four aboriginal women and a twittertag. It has grown into nationwide protests like this flash mob in toronto that brought thousands to a city center intersection. More than anything else, a Hunger Strike by three suspense galvanize the group. Now into her fourth week, she is demanding meetings with Prime MinisterSteven Harper and a representative of the British Crown which negotiated treaties with aboriginal when it was a british colony. The chief rose to prominence when there was a food and housing crisis in the icy depths of the northern winter, prompting International Media attention and a red cross rescue effort. She and her fellow protesters want an end to the often squalid Housing Conditions in canadian First Nations communities. More than that, they want autonomy and respect from canadian governments that they say have neglected them for decades. Joining me to discuss idle no more and canadian First Nations price First Nations rights is a chair for indigenous governments from ontario and an indigenous rights activist and Tar Sands Campaign to director at the indigenous environmental network. We must point out we did invite several conservative canadian mps to join the panel and all declined. Lets talk about the movement. What is it that sparked it . What is idle no more looking to achieve . The movement has been in play for a long time. The conditions of First Nations people have been deplorable for a long time. The use of our land and resources without our consent, but the spark was this legislative initiative by the harbor government which started with bill c45 and other legislation being imposed on First Nations people without their knowledge and consent. Bill c45 is unique in that its a large omnibus bill and impacts canadians and First Nations in terms of protections for navigable waters and a unilateral amendments to the indian act. You had an imminent threat, something we could have put off for negotiations for 25 years. It was rushed through the house without consultation. We have no choice but together quickly and react. Lets look at some of the grievances that have been put out there by the movement. First nations grouped First Nations groups say its a bid by harper government to change laws protecting the rights of canadas indigenous people. The changes affect all canadians. Not just First Nations. C45 amends laws that govern the waterways and our mental protections. The canadian government says its necessary to clear up red tape and protect the economy. But First Nations protesters say their lands and sovereignty rights are being eroded. Is it your never consulted when the bill was under consideration and thats a violation of canadian law. They also point out that the harbor government has repeatedly supported limits on First Nations authority despite promising not to approve any changes to the indian act. How does this infringe on land rights that had been set out and protected for so long under the canadian constitution . I think it is important to understand that canada is currently being governed by a very extremist power in the form of Prime Minister harper and his cabinet. The reality of the bill and the complete gutting of 30 years of environmental approvals and enforcement and regulatory mechanisms significantly kick open the door for International Investment in tar sands and other unsustainable and hardball harmful and devastating industries which disproportional the impact native people and our way of life. When these Industries Come into our territory and destroy our water quality, air quality, our ability to hunt and trap hunt and trap, these are Constitutional Rights in this has significant effects on our land base. We see that in the tar sands in northern alberta and we see it with the encroachment of Mining Companies across canada. You are saying this is an issue of getting to Natural Resources. The distribution of wealth the government doesnt like and is trying to recoup. Is that what youre saying . This legislative agenda of Prime Minister harper is all about kicking the door open for canada to become a place of business, a resource colony to superpowers like the United States, like china. This is one of the reasons why harper is trying to negotiate all of these bilateral free trade agreements. It is all about freemarket agenda and turning canada into a resource colony for military superpowers across the planet. The reality is First Nations peoples and northern communities are on the front line of this economic agenda and its devastating impact. Chief spence has basically said enough is enough. Is that where we are right now . Weve got the thunderstrike going on and she says i have to stop this. Idle no more started before the Hunger Strike. She is not asking for anything unreasonable. What she is saying is listen we have no running water, no sanitation, deplorable housing if any at all, lack of education, lack of employment. All of this this yeareconomic indicators have gotten progressively worse and markedly worse in the last 10 years. Not coincidentally have a conservative government. She says thats not what the treaty relationship envisions. Although the treaties are different across the country, it boils down to an agreement to share the wealth and share the lands and resources and we all live in prosperity. Only canada has lived in prosperity and not only have we not shared in the prosperity but we have received all the negative impacts. We have the polluted rivers and contaminated reserve land and the lack of food and things that go along with aggressive Resource Development done in a nonsustainable way. I find it very interesting that he said what he was trying to do with legislation is get rid of the red tape. What he is actually trying to do is circumvent his legal duties to assault and get consent of First Nations people because he knows First Nations, aboriginal and treaty rights which are constitutionally protected, is the last best defense all canadians have to protect these lands and resources. Lets hear from chief 3 suspense. She addressed this and has been very vocal. Native groups have asked to repeatedly meet with Steven Harper and here is what the spokeswoman had to say. It is time for everyone to work together. That means the government, too. To treat us with respect and honor, that was the purpose of the treaty, to go in peace and honor each other and respect each other, to go together into the future and not go separate ways. The harper government is not listening. What is the purpose of the tree . Of the treaty . We have seen it more like a slave to the minister and not a partner. First nations people feel theyre not being consulted on this and these are changes that are going to impact not just First Nations but all canadians. Why is it there is no Public Consultation going on . We are living in a time where canada is being governed by an extremist, right wing, conservative government. You have to compare harper and his cabinet to bush and cheney, only worse. The amount of legislation and Legal Protections they have stripped away with to omnibus bills in the last half year is 30 years worth of legislation. For us, were basically rising at to put a stop to this agenda as First Nations people. It is important to understand when you look at a map of canada and a look at all of the inuit and first nation communities in this vast landscape and overlay a map of all of the most toxic and harmful and unsustainable industries, oil and gas, forestry, mega mining and make a dance, theyre all within 20 or 30 kilometers of our home communities. Environmental racism is very much a daily reality that Indigenous Peoples in canada are facing. This governments agenda is all about continuing to suppress indigenous rights to try to devolve their federal fiduciary obligations defined by the treaties and our godgiven inherent rights as the first people of this land to provincial governments. The reality of it is people need to understand canada is very much an apartheid state. It continues to be. We should remind our viewers that we did invite a spokesperson from harper government to come on and then these accusations. A decline that opportunity. They have said in various newspaper articles that this is really about a broken system, a relationship between First Nations people and the government of canada which has not been working for so long and this will modernize their relationship. When it comes to environmental issues, we will eliminate the red tape that has existed for decades and a lot of the bureaucracy that exists when it comes to this Natural Resource issues. If only that was the case. Think about the funding appropriated by parliament for for stations. Some 9 billion a year. Over onethird goes to sustain the Indian Affairs evergrowing bureaucracy. The have more and more employees making sixfigure salaries and their kids get to go to Great Schools and drink clean water and are still not. There is something wrong with that picture. When you think about this legislation, were not talking about just environmental protection. When they want to modernize the relationship, dont forget the Prime Minister almost 1 years ago promised First Nations that to be certain, our government has no grand scheme to unilaterally repeal or amend the indian act. What has he done . Introduced 14 pieces of legislation that some of them are like the act in the United States meant to break up communities so they will no longer have reserved land and no longer any special recognition. You cannot ignore a lot of the statistics which show there is a tremendous problem with poverty and substance abuse. Clearly, something is not working and needs to be addressed. Isnt some effort better than none . When you look at the correlation between harmful Extractive Industries and the destruction and desecration of sacred sites and access to fresh water and food security, and the introduction of these types of industries into traditional indigenous territories, you can directly see how harpers policies are aimed at continuing to perpetuate this ongoing, dysfunctional relationship. It all goes back to the economic agenda. 29 of canadas wealth is based on the aboriginal suffrage industry, whether taking care of the Health Epidemic issues, incarceration, you name it. All of that is directly related to the fact that this government is doing everything it can to suppress our rights and not honor the un declaration of the rights of indigenous people, which they did endorse cryptically. We do have a statement from the government although they would not appear on camera. None of the conservative mps were willing to appear on inside america. We did get a message from john dunkin. The minister and parliamentary secretary have made repeated efforts to reach chief spent to engage in discussion on the issues she is raising. We will continue to try and engage the chief another First Nations leaders to discuss how we can build on the progress we have made since 2006. I point out the government has built more than 30 new schools, renovated more than 200 schools, built over 10,000 homes, renovated thousands more and invest in Safe Drinking Water systems, increasing funding for child and Family Services by 25 in introduced legislation to protect the rights of women on reserves, selling land claims, investing in 700 projects that link aboriginal to jobtraining counseling services. We believe working together is the best way to build on this progress. The government says theyre doing their job and reaching out and working with the community. I think that is a very important point. Idle no more would not exist if they were doing their job. Look at their stated mandate they have won a mandate and that is to improve the social and economic wellbeing of First Nations in this country. Over the last 20 years, and has gotten worse. Whats the fundamental reason for this stuff . Were not talking about financial mismanagement. Were talking about chronic underfunding that has been a specific policy agenda of the government since the earliest colonial days because they only ever had one objective and that was to get rid of the indian problem. Theyve never change that policy objectives. They have been countered by their own Auditor General on all of those things. When they say we would increase funding for water, they did not. They allocated it for water but spent somewhere else. Why are we at the Canadian Human Rights commission sitting for discrimination because of the chronic underfunding of childhood Family Services. They dont even give you the facts. We cant even have a facts based conversation. Lets talk about some of these impact that can be part of the changes coming into play. How is this going to affect the First Nations community when it comes to the traditional hunting and fishing rights and resources that community has count on for generations . Buffett were a bill c45 was passed, there were 2. 6 million lakes and streams to canadas three oceans that were protected under the navigable waters act. Today, post passage of the bill, there are 87 lakes, streams and coastal areas protected. Now under federal legislation. Most of them being in the riding of key conservative players in harper government. The reality of it is is that canada has kicked open the door to private Sector Oil Companies like exxon, like shell, bp, to the Mining Sector to come in and ravage our most presses for a resource, our water. When we look at the connection Indigenous Peoples have to the sacredness of mother earth and our First Nations women particularly who are leading the idle no more movement i am honored to share this panel with a doctor and speak in support of chief 3 suspense and the young women who started the social media campaign. Because of the fact that our most sacred and precious resource, that water, is something our First Nations women hold within themselves to create life. That is fundamentally what is at stake here with the agenda of the government sacredness of our land is under threat and our people are getting sick of the result of it. When we look at the tar sands and the cancer rate to the communities where you have over 100 people have died from cancer and other auto immune deficiencies in 10 years, this is a community of 1200. If the river that flows through the tar sands flowed south through edmonton and calgary instead of north to the arctic ocean, there would be tens, if not hundreds of square blocks of debtor dying citizens because but because it is a small, sleepy native village affected by the tar sands with the same story and a hundred other communities beside Toxic Industries and because it is native people getting sick from these industries, it is swept under the rug by this government. We have to understand there is a lot of work to be done and idle no more is the coming together of a lot of little fires into one large fire that is going to redefine the relationship between native people and non native folks in canada from now on. Right now, we have chief spence continuing this thunderstrike. Her health is deteriorating. She still has not gotten the meeting she is looking for with the Prime Minister, although the Aboriginal Affairs minister, john duncan, has expressed concern for health and encourage her to stop this. Where is this headed . Think about john duncan says he has tried seven times to contact her. He tries to contact her by fax or by letter and she is in a teepee on Victoria Island. Everyone in the world knows where she is and everyone in the world has gone to go visit her. Its like saying want to talk to my son and sam going to send a letter and Smoke Signals but not actually go to his room and talk to him. What happens . Chief terry suspense is not alone. This idle no more movement and activists and First Nations leader is all working in tandem. If canada does not come to the tables and, you are going to see a coordinated, National Effort in very short order because of three suspenses weakening condition that will make them reconsider just how important we are in this country and how many canadians will stand beside us. This impact canadians and americans. Is a Hunger Strike the way to achieve those goals . She is also doing a sacred fast. This part of our culture and tradition. It is one of the ways to highlight the issue. Keep in mind what Hunger Strike is every day she does not eat, she is slowly dying. That represents whats happening to First Nations in this country every day. We have up to 20 years left of a life span because of a purposeful, chronic underfunding and the theft of our lands and resources. What she is doing symbolizes what is happening to First Nations. If there is one way to speak to canadians, maybe it is that way. Is this a relationship that can be turned around and repaired . By all appearances, it seems broken. Absolutely. I would refrain the question. I dont think the relationship between First Nations and the harbor government is going to go anywhere. This movement is part of a global, social movement that is taking a look at the neo liberal free market economic agenda of governments like the current canadian government and saying we want another world. With catastrophic climate change, issues of guilt loss of Natural Capital to sustain our ridiculous economic system, the end of the year of cheap energy, the world sees the correlation between these types of neo conservative policies and this never ending war for energy that has been going on for the last generation. What is happening here in canada, being led by First Nations women with the support of our warrior societies and elected officials, everyday citizens on the street native and non native, we are living in a time of reconciliation. Whether this government is on our side of history or going to stay on their side, theyre going to get left in the best buy what is the emergence of the Worlds Largest and most powerful social movement. I know that the viewers all across the globe watching al jazeera know what im talking about and they want that same world as well. Is this a turning point . It is. I believe in the power of our people. The fact we came together with the politicians, no money, no organization, this came together from the true spirit of our people. That is what will sustain it. We are all nations connected and tied to this land. I have no doubt this change is coming and they cannot stop it. We appreciate you talking in lending your viewpoints. Thank you. That is all from our team in washington d. C. For now. Thank you for watching inside story america