A decade of Idle No More

In November 2012, a remarkable movement began. Indigenous people across Canada pledged that they’d be Idle No More.

It was in response to proposed legislation that many believed would take the relationship between Indigenous people and Canada backwards. Bill C-45 would affect the Indian Act, the Navigable Waters Protection Act and the Environmental Protection Act. Thousands of Indigenous and non-Indigenous people took action. They used teach-ins, flash mob round dances and rallies to try and stop the bill. It was a resistance movement that shook a nation. And this year Idle No More is 10 years old.

This week on Unreserved, we talk to those who were part of the movement to find out how the drum beat of Idle No More continues to reverberate in our hearts, our communities and around the world.

Sylvia McAdam and Sheelah McLean are two of the founders of Idle No More. Along with Nina Wilson and Jessica Wilson, the four Saskatchewan women began to spread the word through social media and used teach-ins to educate people about the 400-page omnibus bill. Soon, the movement spread across the country and eventually around the world.

Idle No More called out to Indigenous people to rise and Widia Larivière answered that call. In the early days, the enthusiasm she saw sweeping the country hadn’t quite reached Quebec. So Widia set out to organize the first rally in that province and it lit a fire in her that continues in her work today with Mikana, an organization that educates the public about Indigenous realities and experiences.

On December 22, 2012, bustling Christmas shoppers at Winnipeg’s Polo Park Mall were met with a 4000-strong Idle No More round dance. People wearing ribbon shirts, skirts and regalia replaced the winter clad crowd. Drum beats overtook the carols being played over the intercom and soon both levels were lined with dancing people. Aiden Todd brought her then 6-year-old daughter Ryleigh to the round dance that day to make sure her daughter felt the strength and resistance of her community.