04) SUPPORT INDIGENOUS LAND RIGHTS!

 

People's Voice Editorial

 

Canadian governments often act as though they can erase basic human rights by a vote in Parliament or even just a signature on a piece of paper. Perhaps the most fundamental examples concern the nature and structure of the country we call Canada, starting with the forced colonization of Aboriginal peoples. From the time of Confederation in 1867, politicians and corporate interests have argued that the formation of the Canadian state signalled that all the land and resource base, except for some reservations, belonged entirely to the European majority.

 

            But the original peoples of this country have never surrendered their inherent national rights. They maintain to this day that the Royal Proclamation of October 7, 1763, outlining the relationship between the British Crown and the nations in Turtle Island/North America, remains a valid document which legally mandates Canada to recognize indigenous land rights. It was therefore highly significant that on October 7, the United Nations Special Rapporteur on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples, Professor James Anaya, began an official visit to Canada to examine the human rights situation of the indigenous peoples of the country.

 

            Inspired by the Idle No More movement, more than fifty events were held on Oct. 7 to mark the 250th anniversary of the Royal Proclamation. Together with the recent Reconciliation Walk which brought tens of thousands of Aboriginal peoples and allies into the streets of Vancouver, these actions prove that inherent indigenous rights are not going to be put into a museum as a dusty relic of the past. Despite the pretensions of governments and corporations, these rights remain valid and binding today, and the struggle for inherent Aboriginal national rights will continue to advance

 

(The above article is from the October 16-31, 2013, issue of People's Voice, Canada's leading communist newspaper. Articles can be reprinted free if the source is credited. Subscription rates in Canada: $30/year, or $15 low income rate; for U.S. readers - $45 US per year; other overseas readers - $45 US or $50 CDN per year. Send to People's Voice, c/o PV Business Manager, 706 Clark Drive, Vancouver, BC, V5L 3J1.)