Idle No More: Reverse Racism Recoil

In the U.S. the one-drop rule has been around since 1662. Back then, every individual had to be classified as either black or white.  Anyone with a black ancestor, regardless of how many generations one had to go back to find that black ancestor, was automatically disqualified from being white.

How this affected the way people were listed in the American census even into the 1940s — including those who were of Native American Indian descent — was that a great many Indigenous peoples found themselves listed as black with complete disregard for any other culture or heritage that were part of who they were.

Many mistakenly believe that the law has long since disappeared into the mist of days gone by, but not that long ago, the one-drop rule was used in a legal proceeding in Louisiana.  In 1985, a Louisiana court ruled that a woman could not identify herself as “white” on her passport because her great-great-great-great-grandmother was black.

But surely in the thirty years that have passed, no one subscribes to the one-drop rule anymore.  Or do they?

Research has proven that both whites and non-whites perceive biracial individuals as being members of the lower-status group of the two races.  In other words, if someone has an African-American parent and a white parent, the child is perceived as being African-American with no acknowledgement of the child’s white heritage.

There’s been a lot of talk lately about white privilege — what it is and what it isn’t.  In cases of biracial individuals, it would seem that white privilege is disregarded by those categorizing those of mixed heritage.

And in Canada, among some First Nations peoples, it would seem that not only is the one-drop rule applied to the Métis, but the white heritage is considered to be the lower-status, and there’s nothing the Métis can do about it.

Over on social media, there’s a nasty situation brewing — one that threatens the well-being of a young mother and her children.  Some Idle No More supporters are saying that her Hallowe’en costume was racist and that she appropriated Indigenous culture.

She’s Métis.  Her children are Treaty. For Hallowe’en, she dressed as a Native.
He’s white.  For Hallowe’en, he dressed as a cowboy.

This blog entry doesn’t address what they chose to wear. This blog entry addresses the nasty comments that have been made about her heritage and her right to claim her Indigenous culture.

In Daniels v  Canada (Indian Affairs and Northern Development), the Supreme Court of Canada determined that Métis, non-status Indians, and Inuit are equal to Treaty Indians in the eyes of the law.

This means we are considered full status as distinctive rights-bearing peoples, and our integral practices are entitled to constitutional protection under s. 35(1).

In 1705 (50 years after the one-drop rule was established), the U.S. established blood quantum law for Native American Indians.  The law wasn’t applied across the U.S. until the Indian Reorganizations Act of 1934 (also known as the Wheeler-Howard Act) when the U.S. government insisted that only persons with a specific blood quantum could be recognized as Native American Indian so they would be eligible for financial and other benefits under the treaty agreements.

The Dawes Commission Enrollment Records referred to registered Indigenous peoples as “Indians by Blood” and between these two Acts, Native American Indians found themselves forced to abandon their claims to Indigenous heritage.

Native American Indians were registered in the census as black (if they had an African-American ancestor) or white (if they had a white ancestor and no African-American ancestor and were sufficiently light-skinned as to pass), causing them to lose part of their identity due to the Racial Integrity Act.  So did all their descendants.

But in Canada, there were no blood quantum laws.  There was no Racial Integrity Act. There was no Dawes Commission Enrollment Records. There was no Indian Reorganizations Act.

What we do have in Canada is the Supreme Court of Canada definition of what a Métis is, and whether the Métis are recognized as Indigenous peoples.

But it would seem that the one-drop rule that exists in the U.S. is also alive and well and living in Canada among some of the First Nations peoples.  To them, someone who is Métis has no right to claim their Indigenous heritage as the are white by virtue of being  half-bloods, half-breeds, mixed bloods, bois brûlés, chicots … Métis.

Thanks to the English and French who ruled what eventually became Canada, the Métis as an identifiable culture sprang up that drew heavily on our First Nations lineage with touches of our European  heritage.  We were not white then even though we had white blood coursing through our veins.  We are still not white even though we have white blood still coursing through our veins.  We are Métis.

                             Daniels v Canada (Indian Affairs and Northern Development)

Yes, there were attempts to eradicate our Indigenous heritage by such legislation as the Dominion Lands Act of 1879.  Our ancestors were offered scrip which was then written up on the government rolls as an Indigenous person’s agreement to opt out of Treaties.  But those who were lost their status persevered as Métis and raised their children according to their ancestors.

But the Métis existed long before the late 1800s.  When the French explorers arrived in the early 1600s, they took First Nations women as their wives and together they had children. Distinct communities with mixed-blood children of Algonquin women and European men were being raised by the late 1600s.  These communities relied heavily on their Indigenous heritage, history, and culture while blending in European traditions for flavor.

They were neither solely European nor First Nations.  They were Métis, and they were Indigenous peoples.

Heháka Sápa also known as Black Elk (1 December 1863 – 19 August 1950) is oftentimes quoted with regards to what it is to be an Indian.  Black Elk was the second cousin to Crazy Horse.  He witnessed the Battle of Little Big Horn in 1876, and fought in the Battle at Wounded Knee at 1890.  He traveled to Europe with the Buffalo Bill Wild West Show in 1887, and created his own Indian show held in the Black Hills to teach tourists about the Lakota culture and traditional rituals in 1934.

When asked, Black Elk said, “If you have one drop of Indian blood in your veins, then you are Indian.”

There are some First Nations peoples in 2016 who berate Métis peoples for being who they are.  They accuse them of cultural appropriation of Indigenous culture for daring to honor what they have a right to lay claim to by way of their birthright.

They tell them that because they have at least one white ancestor (the one-drop rule), they cannot say they are anything other than white.

And that, is a racist comment.

Perhaps in stretching the rubber band of political correctness so much, we are overlooking the fact that at some point that rubber band will snap.  The recoil will smart.

Perhaps it’s time to put an end to comments and beliefs that negate who each of us are as individuals.  Perhaps it’s time to be respectful of each other’s beliefs and realities.

It is definitely time to put the one-drop rule to rest, and to be accepting of who we and others are.

Elyse Bruce

SUGGESTED READING

AN OPEN LETTER TO NON-NATIVES IN HEADDRESSES
http://apihtawikosisan.com/hall-of-shame/an-open-letter-to-non-natives-in-headdresses/

DANIELS v CANADA (INDIAN AFFAIRS AND NORTHERN DEVELOPMENT): SUPREME COURT JUDGEMENT
https://scc-csc.lexum.com/scc-csc/scc-csc/en/item/15858/index.do

IS ONE-DROP RULE OVERRULED?
http://articles.chicagotribune.com/2012-05-09/news/ct-oped-0509-page-20120509_1_indian-heritage-indian-blood-dawes-commission

MEASURING BLOOD: THE AMERICAN INDIAN BLOOD QUANTUM
http://www.native-languages.org/blood.htm

PRESERVING POSITIVE IDENTITIES: PUBLIC AND PRIVATE REGARD FOR ONE’S INGROUP AND SUSCEPTIBILITY TO STEREOTYPE THREAT
http://gpi.sagepub.com/content/13/1/55.abstract

REGINA v POWLEY: SUPREME COURT JUDGEMENT
http://scc-csc.lexum.com/scc-csc/scc-csc/en/item/2076/index.do

REPORT OF THE MINISTER’S SPECIAL REPRESENTATIVE ON RECONCILIATION WITH MÉTIS: SECTION 35 MÉTIS RIGHTS AND THE MANITOBA MÉTIS FEDERATION DECISION
http://www.aadnc-aandc.gc.ca/eng/1467641790303/1467641835266

Idle No More: The Rise And Fall Of A Movement

Idle No More was a phenomenally successful grassroots movement when it exploded onto the political landscape in the Fall and Winter of 2012.  It was a movement whose time had come, and what began as a discussion among four Indigenous women in Canada became a cause heard around the world.

But as with everything, even grassroots movements have a cycle.

Idle No More succeeded beyond most people’s wildest dreams because it identified four major problems that needed to be addressed.  The movement identified and prioritized those four major problems, and focused on those four problems.  And because those four problems resonated with so many, there was a great deal of support for the movement.

No one went about recruiting followers and members for no other reason than to have large numbers to tout to the media.  The movement knew and understood their audience, and knew what would motivate them to action.  The movement didn’t ask people to get involved; the movement gave people reasons to get involved.

The movement celebrated every victory regardless of whether it was one person who successfully changed a bad situation or if it was a major success that involved a great many people.  But this is where the grassroots movement started to falter.

When a grassroots movement reaches this point, others much be trained and supported in taking leadership positions within the organization.  Instead, the movement felt that no one should be the leader of the movement, and that all people should be leaders.

Unfortunately, what happened at this point is what ultimately has damaged the movement as more and more conspiracy theorists and wanna-be Indians have taken over many of the social media groups that cropped up when INM began.

For a grassroots movement to continue to grow, they must remember to do a few things well instead of doing as many things as possible thereby doing most of them poorly.  Volunteers and advocates of the grassroots movement need tools, training, and accurate education to be effective.  The focus has to stay on building, sustaining, and expanding the volunteer and support bases.

Every grassroots movement has to do a yearly assessment of the impact of their efforts.  The difficult questions to answer have to be answered and quantified.

What did the movement accomplish?
What unexpected roadblocks were encountered?
What unexpected successes were achieved?
What issues were overlooked?
What issues were misidentified?
How can we do better moving forward?

With leadership, most movements have a short lifespan of between 8 and 10 years.  INM is almost 4 years old, but without leadership, it has fallen into chaos and the movement has lost its way.

The original intent of the movement was to assert indigenous sovereignty (Nation-to-Nation relationships), to enforce indigenous rights, to respect the treaties, and social and environmental sustainability.

Much of the focus has shifted since the beginning with conspiracy theories abounding from how the Illuminati are in control of the world to how GMOs will kill people and vaccines cause autism.  In some social media groups, it’s gotten so bad that the Admins are not only buying into lunacy and bad science, but promoting it as well.

The Idle No More movement we once knew is long gone, and a poser movement has taken its place using the INM banner.  The saddest part of all this is that Idle No More was the best chance we had at changing things for the better, and that chance is gone forever now.

Elyse Bruce

Idle No More: Off The Reservation

Far too often, non-Indigenous peoples say Indigenous peoples need to get over the claim that white people reference and frame Indigenous life and lifestyles in negative ways.  The problem is that it’s a fact that white people reference and frame Indigenous life and lifestyles in negative ways.

For those of you who doubt it, how do you explain away Hillary Clinton’s recent comments while campaigning?  Don’t take my interpretation as gospel.  Take a look at how CNN reported her comments.

Hillary clarified her comments about men “off the reservation” by stating that she wasn’t going to “deal with [men’s] temper tantrums or their bullying or their efforts to try to provoke [her].”

If you aren’t familiar with this common phrase, you should know that it’s a reference to the Indigenous peoples of North America who were restricted to reservations created by the Canadian government (in Canada) and the American government (in the U.S.).

In the 1800s, when the term “off the reservation” was used, it was with contempt and hatred for Indigenous peoples who refused to stay on the government-created reservations. In fact, it was believed that an Indigenous person who wasn’t “on the reservation” was out to wage war on Americans.

“The acting commissioner of Indian affairs to-day received a telegram from Agent Roorke of the Klamath (Oregon) agency, dated July 6, in which he says: ‘No Indians are off the reservation without authority. All my Indians are loyal and peaceable, and doing well.” (Baltimore Sun, July 11, 1878)

Yes, if Indigenous peoples were “off the reservation” they were supposedly hellbent on putting white people in peril for their lives.  Those who were “off the reservation” were allegedly rogue Indians who were the scourge of the continent.

It’s bad enough when the media uses the term, and it’s bad enough when everyday people use the term, but when someone hoping to win the Presidential nomination for their party uses the term, it’s time start asking what kind of President would that person make if elected into power.

American voters, before throwing your support behind one candidate or another, ask yourself if the candidates who use racial slurs are the kind of candidate you would like to see representing your country.  If the answer is “No” then it’s time to start paying attention to what candidates are saying, and peek underneath those comments to see what’s hiding within their agenda.

Elyse Bruce

SUGGESTED READING

CLINTON: EXPERIENCE WITH MEN ‘OFF THE RESERVATION’
http://www.4029tv.com/politics/clinton-experience-with-men-off-the-reservation/39283900

CLINTON:  I’M VERY EXPERIENCED WITH MEN WHO GO ‘OFF THE RESERVATION’
http://www.politico.com/blogs/2016-dem-primary-live-updates-and-results/2016/04/hillary-clinton-men-reservation-222645

HILLARY CLINTON: I HAVE EXPERIENCE WITH MEN ‘OFF THE RESERVATION’ LIKE DONALD TRUMP
http://www.cnn.com/2016/04/29/politics/hillary-clinton-donald-trump-off-the-reservation/

HILLARY CLINTON:  I HAVE EXPERIENCE WITH MEN ‘OFF THE RESERVATION’ LIKE DONALD TRUMP
http://www.kitv.com/story/31850620/hillary-clinton-i-have-experience-with-men-off-the-reservation-like-donald-trump

SHOULD SAYING SOMEONE IS ‘OFF THE RESERVE’ BE OFF LIMITS?
http://www.npr.org/sections/codeswitch/2014/06/29/326690947/should-saying-someone-is-off-the-reservation-be-off-limits

Idle No More: White Privilege Revisited

Recently, an online acquaintance posted a comment about forgetting to park his white privilege at the door.  In his case, his life has been neither easy nor hard when it comes to opportunities and avenues of employment.  He enjoys a life that isn’t perhaps filled with impressive financial compensation, but he is doing what he likes doing, so his professional career hasn’t been without its own perks.

Being White Is Just As Hard As Not Being White

This is where many misunderstand what white privilege really is.  They assume the term to mean that white people can’t possibly understand what it’s like to be born disadvantaged or to struggle to achieve goals or to rise above their humble beginnings.  It’s not that white people can’t have hard lives.  It’s that being white doesn’t make their lives any harder.

It’s A Little Like Being Tall

Being tall is a bonus in society.  Tall people are thought of as leaders.  The English language even extolls that concept by saying that people of exceptional calibre are “head and shoulders above” their peers.

Studies have proven that the taller a person is, the more money that person can expect to earn in business.  In fact, when spread out across a person’s career, the tall employees can earn, in some cases, hundreds of thousands of dollars more than their shorter colleagues, even if their education and work fall below that of their colleagues.

It’s Also A Little Like Being Thin

Being overweight — even if it’s just a few pounds — works against people.  The more a person weighs above what the charts claim is acceptable, the more that person is perceived as being lazy and unhealthy.  If a person is perceived as being lazy and unhealthy, they are also thought to be less intelligent.  Why?  Because a smart, motivated person would be living a healthy lifestyle and keeping those extra pounds at bay.

In fact, studies have proven that overweight women are less likely to be hired or promoted to higher-wage positions, and they earn less money compared to average size women and all men regardless of a man’s weight.  Over the course of a career, the overweight woman earns hundreds of thousands of dollars less than her average size female colleagues, and her male colleagues of any size.

And It’s A Little Like Being Young

In the U.S., employees are supposedly protected by Federal law when it comes to age discrimination if you’re forty years of age or older.  But some employers (or potential employers) have creative ways to make sure they aren’t going to be on the receiving end of a formal complaint.

It’s Sort Of Like Being Able Bodied

There’s a reason the U.S. has the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) to protect employees from discrimination based on a disability.  It’s because those with a diagnosed disability are discriminated against, even with the ADA in place.

The Misperception America Was Built On

White Europeans landed in the Americas with set beliefs about those who were not white Europeans.  Blacks were slaves.  Asians were cheap labor.  Indigenous peoples were savages.  And religion told them that God had made them the superior race.

Regardless of what class a white person was born into, that white person was still “head and shoulders above” any Black, Asian, or Indigenous person, not matter how well a Black, Asian, or Indigenous person did for himself or herself .  Yes, being white made that person better than anyone who wasn’t white.  And while many claim that this is no longer the case, unfortunately, if that was the truth, there wouldn’t be any need to include race as a grounds upon which a person cannot be discriminated against.

Final Note

The bottom line is that if a person is born a tall, average size, healthy, white male, they already have the inside track according to society’s biases.  Imagine how disheartening that is for someone who is short, overweight, disabled, and a minority female.

So yes, for those of you who insist that there is no such thing as white privilege, you are mistaken.

You may not have asked to be born white, but if you’re white, that’s what you were born.  You may not see or understand the privilege that your light skin brings you, but rest assured, society as a whole does whether subconsciously or consciously.  That’s just the way life is.

The next time someone asks you to check your white privilege at the door, please do so — not because you’re being asked, but because it’s the right thing to do.

Elyse Bruce

SUGGESTED READING

DISABILITY DISCRIMINATION IN THE WORKPLACE
http://www.nolo.com/legal-encyclopedia/disability-discrimination-workplace-overview-of-30123.html

DISABILITY DISCRIMINATION IN THE WORKPLACE
http://www.independentliving.org/docs5/EmployDiscrim.html

JOB DISCRIMINATION AGAINST THE DISABLED: NOT JUST AN ACADEMIC ISSUE
http://knowledge.wharton.upenn.edu/article/job-discrimination-against-the-disabled-not-just-an-academic-issue/

(THE) LONG AND SHORT OF HEIGHT DISCRIMINATION UNDER THE ADA
http://www.businessmanagementdaily.com/35885/the-long-and-short-of-height-discrimination-under-the-ada

OVERWEIGHT WOMEN LOSE IN THE LABOR MARKET
http://news.vanderbilt.edu/2014/10/overweight-women-labor-market/

TOO BIG TO COCKTAIL?
http://nation.time.com/2013/07/26/too-big-to-cocktail-judge-upholds-weight-discrimination-in-the-workplace/

(THE) TROUBLE WITH TALL PEOPLE
http://www.cbsnews.com/news/the-trouble-with-tall-people/

(THE) UGLY TRUTH ABOUT AGE DISCRIMINATION
http://www.forbes.com/sites/lizryan/2014/01/31/the-ugly-truth-about-age-discrimination/#1196b6a11f1e

Idle No More: A Few Good Men (and Women) Needed

Yesterday, Paul Okalik announced his resignation.  If you don’t recognize the name, he’s the MLA for Iqaluit-Sinaa.

His resignation wasn’t done to avoid a scandal.  It wasn’t done to get around any legal proceedings.  It was done for good reason.

As the Minister of Health and Justice as well as the Minister responsible for the Human Rights Tribunal, the Labour Standards Board, suicide prevention, and immigration, he felt an obligation to do right by those who elected him to office.

He has been a voice in the wilderness as he called for alcohol treatment programs that would provide supports and services to his constituents — in smaller communities with strong Inuit traditions already entrenched among its residents instead of in the capital alone.

Yesterday when he resigned, the legislature was discussing opening a beer and wine store in Nunavut’s capital without consideration for balancing the picture with treatment centers that would provide proper supports and services to those in need of them.

Some politicians in the legislature were of the opinion that a liquor store would lessen bootlegging and binge-drinking by providing a legal outlet where alcohol could be purchased.

While it’s true that the foundation work is in place to bring addiction treatment centers into smaller communities, the liquor store — set to open in 2017 — will be in place long before the treatment centers are.

Finance Minister Keith Peterson said, “We have heard all the pros and cons.  There are people who are quite concerned, going back 40 or 50 years maybe, that alcohol has been bad for Nunavut and causes a lot of social problems.  We believe, through the task force and all our consultations, opening a beer and wine store would offset binge drinking and would reduce profits to bootleggers.”

But is offering the lesser of two evils — a liquor store versus bootlegging — really going to put a stop to binge drinking?  Studies have proven that binge drinking is going to happen regardless since an alcoholic doesn’t care about where alcohol comes from as long as the addiction is being satisfied.

Some might say that Okalik is grandstanding but he isn’t.  He’s a man who understands what addiction is and what addiction does to an addict.

Paul Okalik is a recovering alcoholic who has walked the straight and narrow path of recovery since 1991.

Iqaluit last had a liquor store in the 1970s but this hasn’t stopped those suffering from addiction to be waylaid by alcohol.  Greater accessibility will only worsen the current problem, especially with no supports or services in place to assist those who want to move towards recovery.

What’s more, when addicts come out of a treatment program and return to their communities, without proper supports and services in place, the chances of falling back into addiction is overwhelming.

In an interview with CBC News following his resignation, Okalik stated that, as a minister, he couldn’t live with the principles or decisions of the cabinet when it came to the liquor store.

Okalik is a man led by his principles and his compassion towards others.  The world of politics could use more than a few more good men like Paul Okalik.

While it’s laudable that he resigned in light of the situation, it’s unfortunate that it had to come to this.  Instead, more politicians should aspire to be more like Paul Okalik and take a stand for what is in the best interests of their constituents.

Elyse Bruce

SUGGESTED READING

FORMER PREMIER QUITS NUNAVUT CABINET OVER BEER-WINE STORE
http://www.nunatsiaqonline.ca/stories/article/65674gn_mum_on_future_of_iqaluit_beer_and_wine_store/

MLA SAYS HE CAN’T SUPPORT ALCOHOL SALES, CITES LACK OF TREATMENT CENTRE
http://www.nunatsiaqonline.ca/stories/article_print/48277/

NUNAVUT HEALTH MINISTER QUITS OVER PLAN TO OPEN IQALUIT LIQUOR STORE
http://www.metronews.ca/news/canada/2016/03/04/nunavut-minister-quits-his-post-over-contentious-plan-to-open-liquor-store.html

NUNAVUT MINISTER QUITS OVER LIQUOR STORE PLAN
http://www.theglobeandmail.com/news/national/nunavut-minister-quits-post-over-contentious-plan-to-open-liquor-store/article29034426/

PAUL OKALIK RESIGNS OVER NUNAVUT ALCOHOL-SALE PLAN
http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/north/paul-okalik-resigns-as-nunavut-cabinet-minister-1.3474673

PREMIER ACCEPTS MINISTER OKALIK’S RESIGNATION
http://www.premier.gov.nu.ca/en/news-releases/premier-accepts-minister-okaliks-resignation