A response to The Sun and Kris Sims.

The situation between the Government of Canada and its First Nations people is rising as a major issue again as the Idle No More movement continues. After the liberal protest movement dragged on and its uselessness is laid bare, more and more radical elements are stepping in. The Warriors as they are called are becoming more and more aggressive with each passing unjust act committed against First Nation’s people. The Sun and it’s writer Kris Sims seems to feel these people are a “problem”. The digesting racism is palpable when one looks at the article itself.

The article paints them as a problem that pops up, so-called “extremists”. People who just refuse to co-operate with society and feel entitled to just do whatever they want. Sims writes about them in a way that portrays them as terrorists that just want to hurt people. The language used in the article attempts to make them look like Freemen-On-The-Land. See at how she describes them:

“They block roads, stop trains and fight the cops. Men and women dressed in camouflage, boots and bandanas. They come from reserves, wave red flags, set fires, tear up roads and declare sovereignty for their tribes. They are the so-called ‘Warrior Societies’ and they mean business.”

This is worded quite similar to how Freemen-On-The-Land speak. It contains pseudo-legal language and claims of sovereignty. The difference between the two is day and night. Freemen-On-The-Land merely claim section 32 of the Charter to boast that they are exempt from the law. Aboriginals on the other hand have been declared a nation. The difference here is stark. One group is a collection unaffiliated White middle-class self-indulgent crybabies who don’t want to pay taxes. The other is an oppressed people and culture that is quickly dying off under the boot of Canadian society. To make these two groups look similar in any way is a tremendous insult to the dignity of First Nations people.

Sun Media and Sims complains about the recent standoff between members of the Mi’kmaq Warrior Society and police over the rights of indigenous land. She complains that The Warriors exist, and that they do what it is they do. The truth is they have no choice. They are slowly being killed off by industry and the Canadian government. It has been a slow agonizing death for a very long time. This new development of energy resources is likely to be the nail in the coffin for these people. They have every right to stand up and defend themselves from total annihilation.

With what straight face can the public and government stand up and say these people are a terrible threat to the security of Canada? These people on the verge of death? Members of a dying people who have fatigues and some guns, as compared to the police who are among the highest paid in the world. People who go back to an upper-middle class home with expensive cars at the end of the day. This is a comparison of people who can afford to feed their child and those who can’t. Those with no social power and those who are essentially the bodyguards of the government and capitalist class. To portray The Warriors as some kind of national threat to the public is a slap in the face to anyone who has had to defend themselves. It is an insult to the dignity of any victim of aggression and abuse.

There is no choice for them but to take up arms. The lives of First Nations people are in danger, they are under serious threat. Treaties don’t preserve life; standing around in a drum circle doesn’t preserve life. Their backs are almost literally against the wall. What do you think they’re going to do?

Sources:

Our warrior problem: Militant Natives are causing trouble, and they aren’t going away, Ottawa Sun
http://www.ottawasun.com/2013/11/01/our-warrior-problem-militant-natives-are-causing-trouble-and-they-arent-going-away

Canada’s police among the best paid in the world, Globe and Mail
http://www.theglobeandmail.com/commentary/editorials/canadas-police-among-the-best-paid-in-the-world/article535381/