Just my own personal ‘what’s on top for me right now’ rant.
1. Ongoing abuse of indigenous peoples by coloniser Canada on that Great Turtle land.
We know this here.
2. Ongoing resistance by those indigenous nations to maintain their sovereignty and responsibility over their lands and peoples. They have never been idle.
We know this here.
3. Canadian colonising government and Bill C45 – latest smack in the face that again oversteps indigenous authority over their lands.
We know this here.
4. Four wahine of that land stand to protect our earth Mama against slaughter and call for indigenous authority. So begins Idle No More.
We have seen such stands here.
5. Chief Theresa Spence of the Attawapiskat Nation begins a hunger strike until Prime Minister Harper agrees to meet with indigenous leaders properly.
We have seen sacrifice here.
6. Today on day 24 of Chief Spence’s commitment, Harper agrees to meet with ‘First Nation Leaders’. We celebrate that for Chief Spence and her peoples. Her solid stand is inspiring, but we are also wary. Because we have seen how those in power do not like to share it.
We know how that works here.
Any opportunity to shine an internationally strong and bright torch on the same issues that our people have been fighting for generations, is an opportunity worth pouring my own energy into. So I am happy to lend my own voice to it, and support others who wish to do so.
A big mihi to our people fighting extraction industries to protect our whenua and our wai. A big mihi to our people revitalising our reo rangatira. A big mihi to our people trying to restore our struggling whanau to their tupuna base which nurtures our mokopuna as the taonga they are. A big mihi to Tuhoe resistance. A big mihi to our gardeners, our songwriters, our poets, our performing artists, our truth academics, our truth researchers and our activists. A big mihi to our ahi kaa back home on all our marae, keeping it warm for us to belong to. A big mihi to our kuia and koro who walked the back of our Mama to parliament, who took the beatings for speaking their Mama tongue, who showed us we have never been idle.
I am livid. I am proud. I am hoha. I am inspired. I am powerless. I am brave. I am angry. I’ am thankful. I feel ripped off. I have aggression in me. I am also in love – with my people here today, those who are gone and the ones yet to arrive. I am in love with my people who have always been strong, awake and feisty.
Time for better humanity. Tama tu Tama ora, Tama noho Tama mate.
Marama Davidson (Ngapuhi/Te Rarawa/Ngati Porou peoples)
#idlenomore
Te Wharepora Hou 
Greetings From Canada. Nice Post!
Words like these bring so much strength. As a Cree woman, knowing our struggles are shared by those on the other side of the world is sad, and yet the strength that comes from that knowledge brings me hope. We fight the same battles and share our victories as one people, with one heart. Thank you for sharing
Kia Ora!
Thank you from my spirit…your solidarity reaches Idle No More across the oceans and water we are defending…from my heart to yours and all Maori people, thus we have huge hearts and tremendous inspiration and yes, aggression however this energy is being put to good use as we unify and remain IDLE NO MORE!!!
Much love and respect
Morningstar Mercredi
If we keep indigenous issues in the mainstream, in front of the majority culture’s eyes, it’ll become a normal, everyday occurrence to see indigenous “things” around. It’ll become normal to see proud indigenous peoples. As it is, we still have a very implicit, and at times explicit, racism seething beneath the surface of the majority culture. Any time that indigenous peoples are targeted by Government, we see the majority culture basically saying, “You deserve nothing. You are getting only what you are worth.” Let us always remember that the majority culture fears us for our strength, our resolve, our pride, and our never-ending struggle. Ka whawhai tonu matou, ake ake ake!
Empathetic, impassioned, celebratory yet wary ~ Once again, you cover all the bases with your sublime consciousness. And you weave a nest of support in the Southern hemisphere which is deeply appreciated in the northern!
Your words are so powerful, tears flow. Thank you.
In Unity & Solidarity, we are all Idle No More!
thank you so very much for your support, I’m one of the four founders of Idle No More. Please add me on facebook or email me so we may connect with you if you wish. Again thank you.
Greetings wahine of Tewhareporahou. I’m so gratified to read this blog post and I look forward to feeding my spirit with the many other posts here. I think this blog be a wonderful source of learning & inspiration for me. I’m a humble Idle No More supporter based in Toronto and am coming to Aotearoa to visit next month. I’m looking to connect with Maori folks, communities & organizations. Specifically I’m able to offer FREE Workshops if that’s of any interest. Or we can just visit. Please check me out at http://www.swallowsongs.com/. You can also google me. If you have any interest I’d be honoured to connect while I’m on your land. zainab@swallowsongs.com.
YES!!!!!!!
Ka pai e te tungane. (Marama)