Twenty Indigenous stories that shaped 2020 — a year of racism and fear, of fighting and hope
It was a staggering year, as the COVID-19 pandemic took hold of the world and disrupted our ways of life.
Along with the chaos spawned by the virus came rising conflicts between the settler nation and Indigenous Peoples.
In 2020, Indigenous Peoples across the country faced intensifying endangerment of our lands and rights and took a stand against systemic racism amidst a global Black Lives Matter revolution.
First Nations fortified their communities to shield them from the COVID-19 plague while some narrowly escaped the hazards of a tainted water supply.
Through it all, our people have continued to be resilient in the face of calamity and uncertainty. Because we always have been. We are unshakable survivors. We’ve survived and thrived from the worst attacks against our spirits and lives through colonial violence. So, it’s no surprise Indigenous Peoples are equipped with the strength it takes to live through these unprecedented times.
Here’s a look at 20 stories that made national headlines in 2020, as curated by me:
1. The Wet’suwet’en showdown
The battle between Wet’suwet’en hereditary chiefs and Coastal Gas Link (CGL), which is building a $6.6-billion natural gas pipeline through Wet’suwet’en traditional lands grips the nation in early 2020.
On Jan. 1, Wet’suwet’en traditional leadership serve CGL with an eviction notice, telling workers they are trespassing on unceded territory.
The battle to stop the pipeline has been going on for more than a decade. A landmark Supreme Court of Canada decision from 1997, Delgamuukw v. British Columbia, affirmed the Wet’suwet’en have the right to their land; however, the ruling didn’t determine what land actually belongs to the Wet’suwet’en and pressed for further negotiations.
On Feb. 6, in militaristic gear, the RCMP raid Wet’suwet’en territories, arresting several Indigenous land defenders while enforcing a court injunction obtained by CGL to remove obstructions to the construction of the pipeline.
In response, unprecedented railway shutdowns, highway blockades and other demonstrations break out across Canada, led by Indigenous Peoples and Wet’suwet’en supporters.
On Feb. 12, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau addresses the nation from Ottawa and encourages demonstrators to obey the rule of law.
An emergency debate is held in the House of Commons. The Opposition Conservatives advocate for forceful action while the governing Liberals push for ongoing dialog with backing from other political parties.
But on Feb. 21, Trudeau announces, “The barricades must come down,” calling the situation “unacceptable and untenable.” Many across Indian country say they feel betrayed by Trudeau given his strong statements on reconciliation.
More arrests are made at Wet’suwet’en checkpoints along the pipeline route as well as in allied Gitxsan territory and others in B.C. and Mohawk territories.
RCMP agree to temporarily leave Wet’suwet’en traditional territory to allow for talks between hereditary chiefs, provincial and federal governments.
Demonstrations wind down and, in May, a deal is signed with hereditary chiefs and the Canadian government outlining territorial rights; however, the deal doesn’t address the current pipeline conflict. CGL continues construction in Wet’suwet’en territory throughout the year, even during the pandemic, which has irritated Wet’suwet’en leadership. Keep an eye out for more unrest as the Wet’suwet’en land defenders continue to protect their lands and waterways in a colossal fight of sovereignty against Canada and industry.
2. COVID-19 tears into First Nation communities
The COVID-19 pandemic arrives in Canada and Indigenous communities bear down in attempts to curb the spread. Indigenous leaders express concern given the health, social and economic inequities they face. First Nations spring into action by creating custom pandemic response actions; most close the borders into reserves, incorporating strict community checkpoint systems. Many Indigenous Peoples with access to traditional territories pack up and head to cabins on the lands of their ancestors to wait out the virus. Throughout the year, the Canadian government provides more than $2 billion to help Indigenous and northern communities and organizations fight COVID-19 as well as providing millions worth of personal protective equipment.
The second wave of the virus in late fall slams First Nation communities living on the Prairies.
Indigenous Services Canada data shows on-reserve cases have quadrupled since the end of summer.
The Shamattawa First Nation, a remote fly-in community 745 kilometres northeast of Winnipeg, makes headlines when one third of its 1,000-person population tests positive for the virus. By November, the highest positive cases of COVID19 on-reserve are in Alberta, at 440 cases.
As of Dec. 18, Indigenous Services Canada releases COVID-19 stats on reserves:
-7,024 confirmed positive
-2,784 active cases
-300 hospitalizations
-4,176 recovered cases
-64 deaths
3. Slaying of Métis hunters turns spotlight to Prairie racism
Two Métis hunters were shot to death in Alberta on March 28. Jacob Samson 39, a husband and father of three along with his uncle, Maurice Cardinal, are found dead outside Samson’s truck after a hunting trip near Glendon. Police allege there was an argument between Samson, Cardinal and Roger Bilodeau and his son Anthony Bilodeau, both of Glendon. The Bilodeaus are eventually arrested and charged with second-degree murder. Both accused remain in jail to await their trial, which is scheduled for October 2021. Meanwhile, the heartbroken families of the victims are left to make sense of what’s happened. Sarah Samson, Jacob’s wife, is now raising the couple’s children alone and says she still cries herself to sleep at night due to the loss of her “soulmate.” At first, Sarah was unsure if racism may have played a part in their deaths, however, over the many months since they were killed, she has learned of the rampant racial tensions that exist in the Glendon area, between settlers and Indigenous Peoples. She and other members of Samson and Morris’s family now say they believe the two would still be alive, had they been white.
4. Funding finally arrives for care homes
After years of advocating for help, the Grassy Narrows First Nation in Northern Ontario, and the nearby Wabaseemoong First Nation finally receive $19.5 million each from Canada to build two separate on-reserve care homes for those suffering the effects of mercury poisoning.
Residents of both First Nations live with devastating effects of mercury poisoning, which can include impaired peripheral vision, muscle weakness, impaired speech, hearing and cognitive function and numbness or stinging pain in the extremities and mouth. The contamination started in the 1960s when a paper mill dumped 9,000 kilograms of mercury into the English-Wabigoon River system – a waterway on which the Grassy Narrows and Wabaseemoong depended.
In December, the Liberal government announce it’s upping the amount for both communities to a total of $200 million up to the fiscal year 2024/25, along with an ongoing $300,000 to support the operation of the treatment centres. Grassy Narrows Chief Randy Fobister said in a recent interview he dreams the treatment centre will provide hope, if not for this generation, than future ones, “When the fish are healthy, the land is healthy, and maybe, maybe then the youth, 50 years from now, they’ll have good health.”
5. Police in Winnipeg kill 3 in a matter of days
Eishia Hudson, 16
Winnipeg police shoot and kill a 16-year-old First Nations girl, Eishia Hudson, on April 9, sparking outcry from across Canada. She was shot in a vehicle she was driving after fleeing a reported liquor store robbery with four other teenagers and, according to police, a “hit and run with a fence.” Her devastated family say they’re struggling to comprehend why police chose to kill her instead of using non-lethal measures. Eishia’s father, William Hudson, organizes a vigil and local demonstrations attend by the hundreds to protest the police killing her.
Jason Collins, 36
Less than 24 hours later, Winnipeg police shoot and kill 36-year-old First Nations man Jason Collins, who happens to be a good friend of Eishia’s father, William. Police say they shot Collins after a confrontation in which they had responded to a domestic violence call. Collins was a father to three children.
Stewart Kevin Andrews, 22
Then, 10 days after Eishia was killed, Winnipeg police fatally shoot a 22-year-old father of three, Stewart Keven Andrews. Police say officers responded to a gun call from a resident who was putting out his garbage. The resident said he was confronted by two armed men who he said tried to rob him. He was assaulted but able to run away. Then police received another call from an area resident that windows were being broken at an apartment building on the same block. Officers arrived, searched the area, and found Andrews, along with a 16-year-old boy. Police then fired. Andrews died and the teenager was taken to hospital where he recovered. Andrews’ sister, Alexcia, told the CBC her brother was more than a statistic. “He wanted a future that involved him being in his son’s life … he wanted a future with his family, to grow old with his sons and daughter.”
6. Canada delays MMIWG action plan
Crown and Indigenous Relations Minister Carolyn Bennett announces that the long-awaited action plan from the federal government on Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women and Girls (MMIWG) is to be postponed. She cites COVID-19 as making it “impossible” to complete work with Indigenous frontline workers and stakeholder groups for the action plan. A year before, at the June release of the National Inquiry’s final report, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau had committed to doing whatever it took to create and implement an action plan on what was named a genocide by the inquiry.
The government comes under extreme criticism for not having prepared an action plan despite having almost nine months before the pandemic arrived. Advocates for the families of MMIWG decry the stalling of the action plan, saying the pandemic is worsening violence against Indigenous women.
7. A ‘dehumanizing and violent act’
On June 1, an online video of Nunavut RCMP hitting an Inuit man in Kinngait (Cape Dorset) with their truck goes viral. This comes days after the death of George Floyd in the United States.
The Inuit man is seen stumbling when the RCMP truck pulls up. An officer opens the driver’s door while the vehicle is still moving and knocks the man to the ground. The incident garners national attention and Indigenous groups demand an investigation. Indigenous Services Minister Marc Miller calls it a “disgraceful, dehumanizing and violent act.”
In October, the RCMP announce a pilot project for some of its officers in the territory to wear body cameras.
An independent external investigation done by the Ottawa Police Service concludes on Dec. 1 that the actions of the RCMP officer were not criminal.
8. Mental health check turns deadly
On June 4, police in Edmundston, New Brunswick, respond to a request for a wellness check on Chantel Moore from her boyfriend who lives in Toronto. Moore, 26, had recently moved to New Brunswick from British Columbia to be near her mother and six-year-old daughter. Police say that when they arrive they encounter Moore holding a knife and that she lunges at an officer who opens fire.
Moore’s family is blindsided by her death. Her grandmother, Grace Frank, is still looking for answers. Frank views her body when it is returned to B.C. and says she counted seven bullet holes. “Her face was bruised, her right eye sunk in,” Frank said during an interview in the fall. “There’s something going on here.”
“The family and community of Chantel needs answers as to why she was shot on a health check by the police,” the Nuu-chah-nulth Tribal Council, which represents 14 First Nations in Vancouver Island said in a statement. “Justice must not wait, and every power must be exerted to ensure that justice is served in an appropriate, immediate and respectful way.”
Eight investigators with Quebec’s independent police watchdog group are reviewing the death, a process that could take months to complete.
9. A violent arrest and a chief who fought back
On June 6, Fort Chipewyan First Nation Chief Allan Adam holds a press conference in Fort McMurray to reveal a brutal encounter he had with police in March. Adam says he was “tag teamed” by two RCMP officers after leaving a local casino. He says he was accosted over an expired licence plate and aggravated to anger by the RCMP who he thought would harm his wife.
Dashcam footage of the incident shows Const. Simon Seguin running toward Adam as he is about to be handcuffed by another officer. Seguin bulldozes Adam to the ground, punches him and puts him in a chokehold. The two RCMP officers then put him in a police car. Graphic photos released by the prominent chief and his lawyer show his face swollen, bloody and bruised after being held in a jail cell overnight. Adam insists he was targeted because he is Indigenous and calls for reform and accountability within law enforcement. Charges against Adam are later dropped and Alberta’s police watchdog launches an investigation into the incident that Premier Jason Kenney says left him “deeply disturbed.”
10. RCMP commissioner falters on question of systemic racism
On June 10, the head of the RCMP, Commissioner Brenda Lucki, says she’s unsure if systemic racism exists within the force. She tells The West Block’s Mercedes Stephenson she believes there’s an “unconscious bias” among RCMP members, however she is “struggling” with the definition of systemic racism and how it applies to the institution of the national police force. Criticism and correction from prominent political leaders, including Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, Indigenous Peoples and peoples of colour follow. Indigenous Senator Lillian Dyck and others call for Lucki to resign or be fired. Lucki soon apologizes and backtracks on her comments.
11. Mi’kmaq man shot by New Brunswick RCMP
On June 12, the Indigenous community again finds itself reeling after learning of the shooting death of Metepenagiag Mi’kmaq man Rodney Levi. The 48-year-old was gunned down by New Brunswick RCMP who say they responded to a call about an unwanted person at a residence. When RCMP arrived at the home of Levi’s pastor, Brodie MacLeod (where he had been invited to dinner) they say Levi was carrying knives. RCMP attempted to subdue Levi with a taser, which failed. An officer then shot him. Levi died in hospital shortly after. The near back-to-back killings of Moore and Levi prompt demonstrations across the nation coinciding with racial justice protests worldwide.
“He (Rodney) wasn’t in the right state of mind at that point of time. He wasn’t a violent person, so basically, to me, what it says is that if you’re mentally ill and you have a bad day, the cops can kill you for it,” said Metepenagiag Mi’kmaq Chief Bill Ward during a Facebook event after Levi’s death. “I want to preserve his memory and not let people twist the story to justify what they (RCMP) did. … He wasn’t some monster that they’re going to try to paint him to be.”
A coroner’s inquest into Levi’s death was announced by New Brunswick in July and will begin after investigations into his death are complete.
12. Supreme Court denies Indigenous appeal of TMX approval
The Supreme Court of Canada announces on July 2 it will not hear the appeal from First Nations in B.C. opposed to the state-owned Trans Mountain Pipeline (TMX) expansion.
The ruling upholds a decision by the Federal Court of Appeal in February that Ottawa’s June 2019 approval of the project was sound. Natural Resources Minister Seamus O’Regan said the government had worked hard to hear and accommodate concerns the communities have with the project and welcomed the court’s decision. Representatives from the Squamish Nation, Tsleil-Waututh Nation, the Ts’elxweyegw Tribes and Coldwater Indian Band, which have been battling the expansion for years, pledge to continue their fight.
“The Union of BC Indian Chiefs (UBCIC) strongly disagrees with the Supreme Court of Canada’s decision to dismiss this application and deny Indigenous Nations their right to free, prior and informed consent,” stated Grand Chief Stewart Phillip, president of UBCIC. “The Crown has failed to adequately consult with Indigenous peoples on the TMX project, and the court has today failed to hold the Crown accountable to its constitutional duties.”
13. 1492 Landback Lane Occupation
Six Nations Land Defenders mobilize a reclamation camp called 1492 Landback Land to stop a housing development project McKenzie Meadows, which borders the town of Caledonia, Ont. The land defenders assert the land belongs to the Haudenosaunee as per the Halidmand Treaty of 1912 and the Silver Covenant Chain of Peace and Friendship, which outline a tract of land for the Haudenosaunee. The land includes the unceded McKenzie Meadows development. Foxgate Developments, the company behind the housing project, obtains a temporary injunction on July 19 to have the land defenders removed. The injunction is enforced by the Ontario Provincial Police (OPP) on Aug. 5 and nine land defenders are arrested. This triggers roadblocks and protests from Landback Lane supporters across Canada.
Things escalate on Aug. 6 after OPP officers shoot a rubber bullet at and use tasers on land defenders after, the police force says, rocks are thrown at them. More than two dozen land defenders, supporters and even journalists covering the conflict have since been arrested and charged with various offences.
A judge grants a permanent injunction against the camp in favour of Foxgate Developments. Clashes between the OPP and Landback Lane land defenders heighten.
October sees camp members burning wood pallets and tires while excavating the road with heavy equipment and lighting an electrical power pole on fire to block access.
According to a CBC report, the Six Nations elected council states that, according to Ontario court decisions, there is no requirement for a private entity such as a developer to accommodate Six Nations for developing lands that were taken illegally in the 1800s. Yet, the council says, Foxgate has transferred 17 hectares of land and $352,000 to Six Nations for accommodation.
14. Walking with our Angels
Tristen Durocher arrives in Regina on July 31 after walking 639 kilometres from his home in Air Ronge with hopes of convincing the provincial government to reconsider legislating a suicide prevention plan.
In June, Saskatchewan MLAs voted down a suicide-prevention bill brought forward by the Opposition NDP.
Upon arrival, Durocher starts a ceremonial hunger strike, in protest of the down vote, drinking only tea and water, and taking vitamins and a potassium supplement to support cardiovascular health. He erects a teepee on the west lawn in front of the Saskatchewan Legislative Building and camps there day and night, garnering national attention. Durocher names the protest Walking With Our Angels in memory of those lost to suicide.
He says he’s tired of losing Indigenous family members and friends the suicide epidemic, which affects First Nations males six times more than non-Indigenous males.
Then in August, Durocher is served with a notice of trespass. The Saskatchewan government and the Provincial Capital Commission (PCC) sought a court order to remove Durocher’s teepee from the park, arguing the structure is not in compliance with local bylaws.
On Sept. 11, Justice Graeme Mitchell rules that Tristen Durocher will be allowed to “complete his ceremonial fast and vigil without further incident.”
After 44 days, a number representing the 44 Saskatchewan MLAs, Durocher packs up his teepee and heads home. He says he’s disappointed by the lack of engagement from the province and how it points to a lack of willingness to move forward with reconciliation.
Durocher adds what the province needs is a new government that isn’t “indifferent” or “heartless” and vows to continue raising awareness about suicide.
15. Quebec hospital incident lays bare ‘the worst form of racism’
Joyce Echaquan, an Atikamekw mother of seven – the youngest child just seven months old – dies on Sept. 28 in a Joilette, Que., hospital after facing severe racism from staff.
Echaquan travelled from her home in the Manawan First Nation to Joliette seeking treatment for severe stomach pain. According to family members, Echaquan suffered from a heart condition and had a pacemaker. Two days later, her pain had worsened, and she began live-streaming on Facebook as she pleaded for help from her hospital bed.
The now viral video shows Echaquan writhing and shouting in pain while hospital staff taunt and degrade her, calling her a “f— idiot” and telling her she is only good for sex.
Speaking in her Atikamekw language, Echaquan asks for someone online to help and to “come see me.” According to family members, Echaquan says she was over medicated and had been administered morphine, despite being allergic to it. In the seven-minute video, a nurse and health-care aide are heard telling Echaquan, in French, that she is “stupid as hell” and would be “better off dead.” “You made some bad choices, my dear,” one of them says. “What are your children going to think, seeing you like this?”
Alluding to the fact that taxpayers were paying for Echaquan’s treatment, one of the women asks: “And who do you think is paying for this?”
Echaquan dies soon after. Her devastated husband and family members travel to Ottawa in the days following her death to plead with government officials for answers.
Quebec Premier François Legault condemns the medical staff’s treatment of Echaquan and calls them “racist”. But he denies systemic racism had any involvement in her death.
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau calls the incident “the worst form of racism.”
Cries for justice ring out across Indian country and some of Canada’s non-Indigenous citizens join the chorus in outrage. The hospital staff involved are fired, the province promises an investigation and the premier announces an apology. The Quebec coroner’s office confirms on Sept. 29 it will be investigating the circumstances of Echaquan’s death. The hearings are expected to begin in 2021. The local health authority, CISSS de Lanaudière, also has launched its own investigation. Echaquan’s family is taking legal action as well.
16. Mi’kmaq lobster fishermen face violence from settler fishers
Mi’kmaq fishers in Nova Scotia come under attack for exercising their treaty right to fish lobster that stems from a 1999 Supreme Court of Canada ruling on “moderate livelihood fishing.”
The fall sees the Sipekne’katik First Nation begins its own fishery.
White settler fishermen are furious that the Mi’maq are fishing off-season and say they’re worried about the sustainability of lobster populations, even though the Mi’kmaq are harvesting just one per cent of lobster from the ocean to feed their families and sell a fraction for profit.
Non-Indigenous fishers ram Mi’kmaq boats and block access to processing plants. A mob of 200 force a Mi’kmaq fisherman and his niece to barricade themselves in a lobster processing plant; light his van on fire; and hurl insults. Later, a plant is burned to the ground. One settler physically attacked Sipekne’katik First Nation Chief Mike Sack.
On Dec. 11, after facing widespread criticism for failing to properly protect Mi’kmaq fishers, the Nova Scotia RCMP announces the arrest of 21 people in relation to the violent acts at the lobster pound.
In an ironic twist Premium Brands Holdings Corp. and a group of Mi’kmaq First Nations announced on Nov. 9 they are partnering to buy Clearwater Seafoods for $1 billion — the largest investment in the seafood industry by a Canadian Indigenous group.
In essence, the non-Indigenous fishermen would now sell their catch to the Mi’kmaq part owners of Clearwater Seafoods.
17. Trickster debuts — to plaudits and controversy
Trickster Premieres on CBC Television on Oct. 7 and is promoted as a supernatural drama that’s “Unlike anything you’ve ever seen before.”
The six-episode TV drama-meets-coming-of-age-meets-supernatural-thriller is based on Haisla author Eden Robinson’s 2017 Scotiabank Giller Prize finalist and 2020 Canada Reads nominee, Son of a Trickster.
The series follows an Indigenous teen struggling to keep his dysfunctional family in check and stars a stellar all-Indigenous cast. It’s embraced with rave reviews from Indian country and beyond. Playback names Trickster the Scripted Series of the Year. The U.S.-based CW Television Network acquires the U.S. broadcast rights for the series.
But, on Dec. 21 the future of the series is put in limbo after Trickster producer Michelle Latimer resigns her role following a CBC news story about the authenticity of her Indigenous background. Her two co-producers on the show also resign.
The award-winning filmmaker/producer has spent 20 years claiming Indigenous ancestry.
Questions around Latimer’s Indigenous identity claims first came under scrutiny after a National Film Board news release says she is of “Algonquin, Métis and French heritage, from Kitigan Zibi Anishinabeg (Maniwaki), Que.,” an Algonquin First Nation in Quebec about 120 kilometres north of Ottawa.
The CBC News exchanged emails with Latimer over a two-month period asking her to explain the roots of her identity claims. Latimer declined repeated requests for an interview, according to CBC.
Latimer says in the emails that she had believed she had a legitimate connection to Kitigan Zibi, but was mistaken, and prematurely claimed a link without first doing the proper research to back up her belief. However, prominent elders from Kitigan Zibi denied knowing Latimer when contacted by CBC journalists.
On Dec. 22 the National Film Board announces it is withdrawing Latimer’s directed documentary Inconvenient Indian from all film festivals and distribution.
18. Nestantaga evacuation
In November, the entire First Nation of Neskantaga in Northern Ontario is evacuated and its members taken to Thunder Bay as a result of unsafe water. Hundreds of people are displaced, including men, women, children and elders, who spend weeks in hotels. The Neskantaga Nation has been under a water boil advisory for more than 25 years — an entire generation has grown up not being able to drink water from their taps.
On Dec. 18, Neskantaga members return home to their fly-in community, however the community’s public health officer says the boil-water advisory will remain in place because of lingering problems with the water plant’s performance — problems the community warns could grow worse without more help from the federal government.
19. Justice for Barbara
Brayden Bushby, 21, of Thunder Bay is found guilty on Dec. 14 of manslaughter in the killing of Barbara Kentner. (Bushby had earlier pleaded not guilty to manslaughter but guilty to aggravated assault.)
Kentner, a 34-year-old Anishinaabe mother, was walking on a sidewalk in Thunder Bay with her sister in January 2017, when she was hit in the stomach by a metal trailer hitch. Kenter’s sister heard someone yelling from a vehicle, “I got one!” She required emergency surgery for internal injuries and died a little over six months later. Police then charged Bushby, with second-degree murder. But this past September the charges were downgraded to manslaughter and aggravated assault.
Grand Council Treaty #3 Grand Chief Francis Kavanaugh says he welcomes the guilty verdict in Thunder Bay’s Brayden Bushby case.
“I was relieved to hear the guilty verdict because far too often our people are let down by the justice system and sadly we have become accustomed to it,” Kavanaugh tells a news conference.
“It was painful to follow this case as the defence relied on victim blaming as though Indigenous Peoples need to justify their humanity. My thoughts and prayers are with the Kentner family and the community of Wabigoon Lake during this heartbreaking experience.”
20. Five years into Truth and Reconciliation … and yet
Finally, it has been five years since the release of the Truth and Reconciliation Commission’s final report and recommendations.
TRC commissioners say the federal government hasn’t done enough to implement their report’s recommendations.
A statement published on Dec. 15 and written by Truth and Reconciliation Commissioners Sen. Murray Sinclair, Chief Wilton Littlechild and Dr. Marie Wilson, says that, “Five years ago today, we stood together with residential school survivors to present the final report of the Truth and Reconciliation Commission of Canada. Canadians from all walks of life embraced the Calls to Action with a sense of urgency, purpose, and unity.”
“Today, we are concerned by the slow and uneven pace of implementation of the Calls to Action.”
There’s reason for the concern they express.
It’s been 12 years since Canada apologized to victims and survivors of the horrific treatment of the Indian residential school system. It was a system that sought to assimilate, oppress and commit genocide to the bodies, spirits and souls of Indigenous children. It left a remnant of intergenerational trauma, brokenness, and dysfunction.
Then came the work for the Truth and Reconciliation. It took years to accomplish its goal of truth telling and gathering the gut wrenching stories of survivors.
But soon, the bonds of hope and commitment began to fade. Clean drinking water crisis on reserves, which Trudeau promised to eradicate by March 21, are unresolved. Indigenous children are systemically stolen from their homes and placed into an overburdened child welfare system getting rich off of battered families fighting to heal.
States of emergency are regularly called for a suicide crisis sweeping our communities-Indigenous suicide rates in Canada are some of the highest in the world.
Our women continue to disappear and show up dead- meanwhile the federal government postponed a national action plan to address this on-going genocide when it was promised six months ago.
Prisons overflow with Indigenous Peoples. There is no justice for Indigenous nations in this country. Violence, and racism roam freely like a plague.
Indigenous land defenders and supporters shut down Canada in March over a natural gas pipeline being forced through Wet’suewet’en lands. Canada stood behind Coastal Gas Link and disregarded the rights of Indigenous sovereignty.
Violent arrests of the land defenders and railway/highway blockades, which were ordered by Trudeau, saw the divisions grow wider.
Mi’kmaq fishermen in Nova Scotia were violently attacked for exercising their Treaty right to fish.
I could certainly go on about what’s transpiring in what’s supposed to be an era of truth and reconciliation.
We’re in trouble, Canada.
Our people are tiring of the process. Where do we go now? Do we pull the plug on reconciliation? Or is there hope – and if so, will we see it come to pass in this generation? We start with truth – and the truth telling is never ending: The truth of the past of this country and the sovereignty of the Indigenous nations that signed Treaty to establish it.
Relationship and reconciliation takes enormous effort, so don’t give up yet.