What is the Indian Act?

The Indian Act is a law first passed by Canada in 1876. It imposed government control over all Natives, covering many aspects of daily life. It focused on 3 main areas, however: band councils, reserves, and status (membership). Its primary purpose was (and is) to control Natives & assimilate them into Canada. It was always intended as a temporary set of laws until Native peoples were successfully assimilated.

What is a Band Council?

“With the exception of several cancelled trains & a few thousand inconvenienced motorists, Friday’s national day of action by the Assembly of First Nations was more one of inaction.”
(“Protests interrupt traffic,” Mark Brennae, Vancouver Sun, June 30, 2007)

Canadian Forces Target Aboriginal Recruitment

“I went to war because there were no jobs on the reservation.”
Wilson Keedah Snr., WW2 Navajo ‘code-talker’
(Warriors: Navajo Code Talkers, p. 56)

“The Conference Board of Canada predicts that 920,000 First Nations people will be of working age in 2006… More & more are awakening to this realization, and are taking steps to recruit, train and retain First Nations people…”
(The Canadian Forces & Aboriginal Peoples, Special Edition, Winter 2003, p. 3)

What is a Warrior Society?
A warrior society is a group organized to defend their people, territory & way of life.

Functions

Traditionally, most warrior society’s carried out 3 main functions: military, police & social. Their military function involved armed defense of people & territory. Their police function involved punishing anti-social crimes, & overall security of the village. Their social function involved feasts, camaraderie, and ceremonies. Many warrior society’s were also secret and/or ceremonial society’s.

Book Review by Warrior Publications

Wasase; indigenous pathways of action & freedom
By Taiaiake Alfred
Broadview Press, Ontario, Canada 2005

Whenever I hear or read Taiaiake’s thoughts on Native peoples & our struggles, I think of a quote by the Chinese word-lord and all-around wise-guy, Lao Tzu: “The wise leader knows that the true nature of events cannot be captured in words. So why pretend? Confusing jargon is one sure sign of a leader who does not know how things happen.”

Introduction

Insurgency is an organized revolt against a government or foreign occupation force. It is a mass movement arising from the civilian or Indigenous populations as a whole. Although insurgencies involve the organization of combat forces (usually guerrillas), these forces would be quickly isolated & destroyed without support from the population.

Insurgency is the only form of warfare to have defeated two super-powers: the US in Vietnam (1962-73) and the Russians in Afghanistan (1979-89).

The FBI's Domestic Counter-Insurgency Campaign (1960s-70s)
The FBI's infamous Counter-Intelligence Program (COINTEL-PRO) should serve as a chilling reminder of the length to which our enemy will go to crush our resistance. This is especially true since veterans of this time are still with us, & many remain in prison to this day as a result (inc. Leonard Peltier, Mumia Abu-Jamal, etc.).

Indigenous Resistance & Survival into the 21st Century

For all of you who've slept on the issues, here's an update on the real world:

Globalization & the Assault on Indigenous Resources

Indigenous Resistance & Survival into the 21st Century

Today, the global system is in decline. It is suffering from industrial pollution, resource depletion, war, and increasing social conflict. The greatest potential danger, however, lies in the damage done to the earth's ecosystem.

In 1999, a UN report entitled Global Environmental Outlook, warned that "Earth will face more & bigger hurricanes, floods & tornadoes, caused by a warming climate in the century to come... Natural disasters appear to be becoming more frequent and their effects more severe.

Land Reclamation Sparks Police & Settler Attacks, Year Long Standoff

"What I'm nervous of now is the Ontario Provincial Police going in with guns. The natives don't make me nervous at all; it was all peaceful until this morning." (Kathy Maher, Caledonia resident, Globe & Mail, Friday, April 21, 2006)