“Every Day is a Day of Action”

	North Winter / Night White Eagle: Strength and Pride Bear: Earth Unity, Humility
West Fall / Evening Red Dolphin: Connection, Friendship Raven: The Messenger		East Spring / Morning Yellow Hawk: Recovery, Courage Deer: Life’s Abundance
	South Summer / Afternoon Blue Owl: Wisdom, Intelligence Snake: Sensitivity to Earth

The ignorant reaction of many Canadians to the First Nations’ National Day of Action last Friday was predictable and disgraceful: They insist the First Nations people are to blame for their own poverty. They say no Canadians deserve special status, and First Nations people should integrate into mainstream Canadian culture. They claim that the price paid when First Nations land was expropriated by the colonists was a fair price at the time, and should not be renegotiated now. They allege that First Nations’ record of self-government is a history of failure.

These arguments are so ignorant of the facts, and the worldview they reflect is so entrenched and so distorted, that it is pretty fruitless to debate it. If you don’t know the facts, and want to know them, Chris Corrigan has a brilliant summation of some important ones here, and the title of this post is a quote from his article.

The colonialist worldview pervades the majority affluent-nation perception of the plight of all struggling nations, not just the First ones, of the reasons for global poverty and why struggling nations are struggling. I grew up with the colonialist propaganda, the “occupier’s narrative”, and it took me half my life to realize it was all a lie. When I have urged those looking for models of sustainable Natural Communities to study the way of life of aboriginal peoples, I am accused of harboring romantic fantasies about the ‘noble savage‘. In truth they knew and know, and could still offer us if we were prepared to listen, a better way to live. They hold a mirror up to us so that we can reflect on our civilization’s terrible truths.

If I were among those directly afflicted by the genocide, paternalism, exploitation, theft and abuse committed every day by colonial invaders, in almost every nation on the planet, I would be consumed by rage. I salute Canada’s First Nations people for their extraordinary restraint, patience and tolerance, last Friday and every day they wake up to cope with the mess we have made of their land, their lives and theirculture. We should be ashamed of ourselves.

If we only knew what they know, we would join them in solidarity, and make every day, for all of us, a Day of Action.