SATURDAY,FEBRUARY22,2020 | THEGLOBEANDMAIL O OPINION | O5
W
henever major resource
projects are proposed, Can-
ada frequently encounters
Indigenous resistance. In
the case of the Wet’suwet’en Nation,
their reason is preservation of their
spiritual, cultural and social integrity
on their own lands. These have enabled
them to thrive successfully for millen-
nia.
We are faced with a clash of two very
different ideologies – one that places
high priority over harmony with nature
against one that believes that nature
exists primarily to be exploited for fi-
nancial gain. The roots of this ideolog-
ical divide go well beyond European
contact with North America. The rift ac-
tually occurs at the point of the rise of
civilization, at which time humanity
decided to dominate nature.
This was a major break from Indige-
nous ways and has led to misunder-
standings between the two sides since.
A real “meeting of minds” over such
differences has never really occurred
despite the relationships stemming
from aboriginal and treaty agreements.
The sad fact is that since non-Indige-
nous peoples arrived on Turtle Island,
Indigenous peoples have been “eco-
nomically inconvenienced.” Moreover,
their lands have been desecrated –
plants, animals and land no longer
have sanctity, but rather they are treat-
ed as mere commodities to sell or to
create the next job.
Academics and philosophers con-
cerned about the trajectory of contem-
porary society realize there needs to be
a major shift in our thinking about de-
velopment. Endless resource exploita-
tion, economic growth and population
expansion are unsustainable. Unfortu-
nately, our current systems do not seem
capable of planning for or dealing with
such challenges. Our collective failure
to deal with climate change is a prime
example.
The average mammalian species will
survive for an average span of one mil-
lion years. Modern humans have been
around for 200,000 years. That leaves
only another 800,000 years to go. As a
species that considers itself so clever,
one would think this should not be an
issue.
If compared to the lifespan of a cen-
tenarian, we are like a know-it-all, self-
centred 20-year-old who has decided to
live recklessly and take everything now.
We can well guess where that type of
individual ends up.Today humanity lacks spiritual in-
sight and maturity, which Indigenous
peoples possessed and could keep
them on track to survive a million
years.
A recent newspaper article states
that “reconciliation means making
one system compatible with another,
not Indigenous law trumping Cana-
dian law at the behest of some self-
appointed aristocrats.” However, rec-
onciliation is elsewhere defined as
“the action of making one view or be-
lief compatible with another.” The in-
sinuation is that Canadian law, the way
it is conceived, is clearly superior to
Indigenous ways.
In questioning who speaks for FirstNations, the article concludes “one
would hope that whatever structure
evolves is based upon universal suf-
frage and democratic principles, rath-
er than some form of feudal genealo-
gy.”
Indigenous societies have one of the
most democratic of systems. They
learned respect for themselves and
their environment through their spiri-
tuality. They knew that it was wrong to
damage nature and realized that fol-
lowing their beliefs was the best way to
nurture peace and prosperity. Elected
band officials are there to interface with
dominant society andits government,
but the elders remain our moral lead-
ers.
I heard many biblical stories while in
Indian residential school. We prayed a
dozen times a day as this was a central
tenet of the schools. Churches in charge
of running these places viewed us as
“savages” in need of a good dose of
Christianity.
I recall the story of Adam and Eve
who were told by God that they could
eat of any tree in the Garden of Eden
except for one – the Tree of the Knowl-
edge of Good and Evil. For if they did so,
“You will surely die,” God said. One of
the first elders whom I learned from,
Ernest Tootoosis, told me, “We lived in
the Garden of Eden, and we never
abused the gifts of the Creator.”
I have concluded that innumerable
Indigenous peoples lived in the Garden
of Eden prior to Adam and Eve. They
never violated God’s command to not
think they were in charge and could do
as they wished with creation. Indige-
nous peoples, such as the Wet’suwet’en,
are still trying to continue to live in
their Garden of Eden. And numerous
non-Indigenous allies support that. But
modern civilization and its constant
imperative to generate the almighty
dollar will not leave them alone to do
that.
The only time reconciliation will be
achieved is when mainstream society
recognizes Indigenous wisdom, includ-
ing respect and caring for nature. There
are numerous avenues available – one
need only look at the United Nations
Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous
Peoples. I hope it is achieved, one day.Thedeeperreason
behindIndigenousresistance
topipelineprojects
Wearefacedwithaclashoftwoverydifferentideologies–onethatplaceshighpriorityover
harmonywithnatureagainstonethatbelievesthatnatureexistsprimarilytobeexploited
Ta’KaiyaBlaneyofTla’aminNationinBritishColumbiaspeaksinVancouverin2011atasigningceremonywithotherFirstNations
againsttheNorthernGatewaypipelineproject,whichwasrejectedbytheLiberalsin2016.JOHNLEHMANN/THEGLOBEANDMAILThesadfactisthatsince
non-Indigenouspeoples
arrivedonTurtleIsland,
Indigenouspeopleshave
been‘economically
inconvenienced.’
Moreover,theirlands
havebeendesecrated–
plants,animalsandland
nolongerhavesanctity,
butrathertheyaretreated
asmerecommoditiestosell
ortocreatethenextjob.BLAIRSTONECHILD
OPINIONProfessorofIndigenousstudiesatFirst
NationsUniversityofCanadawhohas
workedwithIndigenouseldersformore
thanfourdecades.Hislatestbook,Lossof
IndigenousEdenandtheFallofSpirituality,
willbepublishedinthespring.
P
rotests against the RCMP’s at-
tempts to remove Wet’suwet’en
traditional leadership from their
homeland gained steam this
week, with First Nations and allies set-
ting up blockades on railways, bridges
and public buildings across Canada.
As the civil disobedience grew and
began to affect urban Canadians, many
of whom found themselves inconve-
nienced in this way for the first time, a
new refrain began. Politicians and some
media demanded that the “rule of law”
be enforced. The rule of law, we are told,
is threatened by protesters blocking rail-
ways and defying injunctions.
At best, these voices treat the rule of
law as if it is a neutral, amorphous thing,
swooping in like a superhero to “do jus-
tice” when the law demands. But law is
not neutral. This is never more true than
when it affects Indigenous peoples, who
Canadian and British law have spent
centuries oppressing.
The invocations of the rule of law are
not simply innocent pleas to neutrality
and lawfulness; they’re self-serving calls
to once again disenfranchise Indige-
nous people so that settlers won’t have
to be inconvenienced.
Throughout this history of Canada
and British North America, the rule of
law has been used by colonialgovern-
ments to renege on their treaty obliga-
tions.
Until 1951, the rule of law prohibited
First Nations from hiring lawyers to pro-
tect their rights.
Until 1951, the rule of law required
First Nations people to get permission
from the local “Indian Agent” if they
wanted to leave their reserve or get a
job.
From the late 1950s until well into the
1980s, the rule of law enabled the feder-
al and provincial governments to steal
an estimated 20,000 Indigenous chil-
dren from their families, sometimes to
be sold (yes, sold) to white families in
urban centres.
Until 1994, the rule of law mandated
that many Indigenous people be sent to
residential schools, where many were
beaten, abused and had their language
and culture stolen from them.
In 1988 and 1995, the rule of law led to
police killing J.J. Harper and Dudley Ge-
orge – just two of the countless Indige-
nous people killed by police in Canada’s
history.
In 2018, the rule of law allowed Cana-
da’s youth jails to be filled with nearly 50
per cent Indigenous children, despite
Indigenous children only being 8 per
cent of the population.
Today, the rule of law is being used to
justify ignoring the laws of the Wet’su-
wet’engovernment and to crack down
on protesters across the country ex-
pressing their concern with the federal
government’s conduct.
Governments of all stripes love to talk
about reconciliation and moving for-
ward from the abuses of the past. Few
things will get a politician moving faster
than a photo opportunity at an event
where they’re seen to be providing sup-
port to First Nations. But when the time
comes to take action and give meaning
to the various apologies, reports and
commitments, those same politicians
seem to be stuck, like a broken record,
constantly repeating the same plati-
tudes, while continuing to deploy the
same colonial laws in the same colonial
ways.
When First Nations try to use the law
to benefit themselves and their commu-
nities, the Crown pushes back, insisting
on holding them to the bare minimum,
or outright breaching the rule of law
themselves.
When Cindy Blackstock and the First
Nations Child and Family Caring Society
went through the proper procedures
and succeeded in having the Canadian
Human Rights Tribunal declare that the
federal government had discriminated
against First Nations children, the gov-
ernment didn’t respect the ruling; it
didn’t honour the rule of law that its
own tribunal had laid down.
Indeed, four years and nine non-com-
pliance orders later,the federalgovern-
ment continues to ignore the rule of law
and discriminate against First Nations
children.
The rule of law is a convenient weap-
on for governments to use, as they’ve
done for more than 150 years, when In-
digenous peoples assert their rights and
try to hold Canada accountable. Far
from a neutral, universal good, it has
been turned against the very people it
was meant to protect.
Until Canadians and ourgovern-
ments start seeing the rule of law
through the lens of colonialism and rec-
ognize the lopsided, inequitable and
hypocritical ways in which it has been
deployed, there will be no justice for In-
digenous peoples and no peace for Can-
adian’s colonial institutions.Wemust
stopusing
the‘ruleoflaw’
asaweapon
COREYSHEFMANOPINIONLawyeratOlthuisKleerTownshendLLP,
representingIndigenouspeoples,persons
andorganizations