Six portraits of Indigenous resistance, from the Constitution Express to Idle No More
On Nov. 28, 1980, Wenecwtsin – also known as Wayne Christian – arrived in Ottawa by train to confront Pierre Trudeau’s government over ignoring Indigenous rights as it began patriating the constitution from Britain.
“I had the opportunity to meet with Willy Brandt [former chancellor of West Germany], a friend of Trudeau’s,” he said. “Mr. Trudeau was going around the world talking of a north-south dialogue and what was being done to help poor countries. That was Canada’s stance in the world all the time. And I just told Willy Brandt about all the riches of Canada that had come from our lands and our resources and how they’ve been taken and stolen from us by the process of colonization.
The 78-day standoff had begun when the Sûrete du Québec , using concussion grenades and tear gas, moved in on the roadblock constructed by the Kanehsatà:ke Mohawks to halt development on land that has been claimed by them since 1761. As police pushed against the barricade, a brief gunfight broke out and SQ corporal Marcel Lemay was killed.
On the evening of Sept. 26, 16 women, six children and 30 men left the facility, taking the army, which had been anticipating forewarning about a surrender, by surprise. In the ensuing confusion, a soldier stabbed Ms. Horn-Miller, who was holding her sister, in the chest with a bayonet. When four women organized a teach-in at the community centre 20 Station West in Saskatoon in November, 2012, they had no idea that the initiative they called Idle No More would inspire a viral hashtag, and an international movement.
For Ms. McAdam Saysewahum, who is now a law professor at the University of Windsor, addressing the crowd flanked by chiefs and other Indigenous speakers that day remains unforgettable. “By the end of the walk, my feet were just frozen. I couldn’t get warm enough. But there were thousands of people there and the one thing that I remember the most is how quiet it was. There were so many grassroots people and it felt like a collective prayer.
“She was in and out of group homes, and she got mixed up with a bad crowd,” recalls Ms. Komaksiutiksak, who refers to Ms. Michaels as her sister because they lived together since birth. “And someone was, like, pimping her out and had her hooked on crack cocaine and she just spiralled out of control.
Calls for Justice to address the continuing crisis. For her part, Ms. Komaksiutiksak started Tunngasugit, a front-line organization helping Inuit transition to the city so that, she says, they can “feel a sense of community, a sense of belonging – something I never had growing up.” “I had a heightened sense of perception that day, and I could feel the energies of not only the people behind the lines, those that had locked themselves down, but all the supporters and land defenders that were behind at [Unist’ot’en Camp] as well. I felt the energy and I sent out a prayer to the world through the camera lens.”
remains active in B.C. as an activist on the front lines of the land defence. “We’re doing this for the protection of our children and their children. And that means protecting mother Earth.”
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