Idle No More Spreading Beyond Canada’s Borders

Idle No More Spreading Beyond Canada’s Borders

First Nations activists in Washington, D.C., to give interviews to American media | The Canadian Press Posted: Jan 01, 2013 5:36 PM ET Last Updated: Jan 01, 2013 8:54 PM ET | Www.Cbc.Ca

The aboriginal movement known as Idle No More continued to gain strength beyond Canada’s borders on Tuesday as activists embarked on a public relations blitz in the United States. Pamela Palmater, one of the leaders of the movement, travelled to Washington, D.C. to give interviews to the U.S. media. She said the goal of the media campaign was to raise awareness internationally and force Prime Minister Stephen Harper to act. “The idea is to put pressure on the Canadian government to pay attention and come to the table,” Palmater said by phone. “I was invited to come down and do some media about Idle No More, basically answer questions about why it’s spreading into the United States.” In addition to recent events held across Canada, rallies have already been staged as far off as Texas, Hawaii, and New Zealand with plans for more in the coming days. Palmater said Chief Theresa Spence’s hunger strike, now in its fourth week, is part of a much larger protest movement.

The initial spark was the federal government’s omnibus budget legislation but it has now become about broader issues like inequality and treaty rights, she said. Palmater noted an evolution in the form protests have taken over the past few weeks, toward increased civil disobedience. “We did letter writing and phone calls and trying to talk to MPs and, you know, we took that route and it didn’t work,” she said. “Then we had to move up to peaceful marches and rallies, and that didn’t work. So now we are doing all these flash mob round dances, which are more about working hand in hand with Canadians and keeping the focus on the media. But now you see blockades.”