Nonviolence and the people of the First Nations.

To my mind, a crucial point in the relations between Canadians and the native peoples was the Oka Crisis, during the summer of 1990, when the struggle by Mohawks in Kanesatake to prevent burial ground from becoming part of a local golf course exploded onto the front pages of newspapers. The incident got top billing in the national and international media for over two months. This incident has now been deeply etched in the minds of many people and perhaps is seen as a model of action to follow by some. I know that while visiting several native communities and attending various gatherings of First Nations people following Oka it was quite common to see jackets or T-shirts bearing the "warrior symbol," especially among young people. Five years later, in the summer of 1995, three other violent confrontations took place, at Gustafsen Lake, Shushwap territory (in British Columbia); Ipperwash, Ojibway territory (in Ontario); and Micmac territory (in Nova Scotia).

These events reflect the deep frustrations among aboriginal people in Canada concerning the many injustices they have suffered. From a nonviolent perspective, one may not agree with violent tactics, but at the same time one can understand the sense of frustration underlying their use.

Yet Oka did not begin as a violent protest. The first organizers of the barricades intended them to be peaceful. It was only later, sometime in May, that "warriors" from Akwesasne and Kahnawake came with their guns and took over and the "pacifists" left. This, to my mind, changed the tone of the confrontation. Whether the nonviolent tactics used in the beginning would have succeeded in protecting the land in question remains unknown. One thing was clear, however: Mohawks were divided on the issue.

Nonviolent strategies

All around the world, recent history has proven that active nonviolence works, even though it is not easy. Nonviolence can also be found within native traditions.

As the former Grand Chief of the Assembly of First Nations, Ovide Mercredi, explained in an interview with Metta Spencer in the October/November 1996 issue of Peace Magazine, although he has visited India to study Gandhian ideas, his own nonviolent approach is rooted in native culture: "Actually, Gandhi did not give me my ideas about nonviolence. My culture did. My parents did. My hero is over there in that picture - Chief Poundmaker, a Cree chief, a chief of nonviolence."

Iroquois Confederacy 

Important nonviolent principles can be found in the traditions of the Iroquois Confederacy, for example. At the beginning of this article, I mentioned the armed struggle practised by the "warriors" during the Oka Crisis. To have a more complete picture of Iroquois tradition, we have to examine the story of the Peacemaker. About a thousand years ago, before the arrival of the Europeans, the Peacemaker came to what we know as Iroquois territory, where five nations - Seneca, Cayuga, Oneida, Mohawk, and Onondaga - were in a bitter war among themselves. One by one he "straightened out their Minds." He established a system of law and principles called the "Great Law of Peace," or "Iroquois Constitution," whereby these five nations were to live in peace. A new system of government was formed, the Iroquois Confederacy. Another nation, Tuscarora, who were forced to move north from the Carolinas due to colonization, later joined.

The Confederacy was the first of its kind in human history. It brought nations together under one law. Its political and spiritual centre is Onondaga, where the Grand Council meets and the fire burns continually. The Great Law of Peace has been promulgated through many generations by oral tradition and the wampums. This body of principles influenced the formulation of the American Constitution.

One of the enduring symbols left by the Peacemaker is the Tree of Peace, the white pine, which can be identified by its clusters of five pine needles. Each needle represents one of the original five members of the Confederacy. The tree represents the Great Law, its branches, shelter, and its four roots, the extension of the Law of Peace to the four corners of the earth. On top of the tree is the Eagle who watches to ensure that the Law of Peace is kept. At the roots is buried the tomahawk symbolizing war, never to be used again.

Another symbol should also be mentioned: the Two-Row Wampum. It explains the agreement under which the Iroquois welcomed the White Peoples to their lands. "These two rows will symbolize vessels, travelling down the same river together. One will be for the original people and the other for the Europeans. We will travel the river together, but each in their own boat. And neither will try to steer the other's vessel." The design is made up of a background of white beads representing a river and two rows of purple beads representing the two canoes. This agreement was first made with the Dutch and later with other nations.

Nonviolent struggles

We cannot speak of peace and nonviolence regarding Native Peoples unless we include their current struggles, of which at least five are good examples of nonviolent tactics: the Cree of Lake Lubicon in Alberta, the Algonquins of Barrier Lake in Quebec, the Innuat of Labrador/Quebec, the James Bay Cree, and the Haida Gwai of the Queen Charlotte Islands, British Columbia. They all have two things in common: a fight to protect the land and the use of nonviolence. For the sake of brevity, I will focus on the Lubicon Cree, the Innuat, and the Haida Gwai.

The Cree of Lake Lubicon

The struggle of the Lubicons goes back one hundred years when the federal government forgot to include them in Treaty 8. They were recognized as a band in 1940. Even though a territory was promised, they still do not have a land base. They now live in a hamlet called Little Buffalo in very poor conditions. When oil was discovered in the 1950s, the provincial and federal governments lost the political will to arrive at a just settlement. The community could take no more when in 1988 Alberta signed an agreement with the giant Japanese paper company, Daishowa, to clear-cut on their traditional lands. The Lubicons have used negotiations and road blocks in the territory, and have made their case known nationally and internationally. Road blocks, for example, forced Alberta to sign the Grimshaw Accord in 1988, an agreement in principle which included land and monetary compensation. The fight continues.

The Innuat and low-level flights

The Innu struggle to stop low-level flights over their land, Nitassinan, is a classic example of nonviolent resistance. Their campaign began in the early 1980s. Without further explanation, let's hear the words of Elizabeth Penashue, an Innu elder who spoke at a peace assembly organized by le Centre de ressources sur la non-violence (CRNV) October 1994:

Yesterday, a Mohawk man came to talk to me. He said, "We have so much respect for the Innu People because when they protest they use no violence at all. When we have meetings, we sometimes mention the Innu and say we should do this. This is how the Innu did this." They have a lot of respect. This made me feel good.

When we go protesting, we never use violence. When we go on the base, even if we are close to the jets, none of our children or elders go up to smash the jets.... When the police take us away on the bus, the only thing we tell them is that we won't walk to the bus. They have to carry us. ...

Before we go on the protests, we always get together to talk about what we are going to do. We tell the children, "Don't touch anything. ... Don't be rude. Just go straight in and sit down. Hold your signs."

The Haida Gwai

The Haida Gwai campaign took place from November 1985 to January 1986. Their two main goals were to stop the logging of virgin forests and to establish jurisdiction on their territory. The campaign had three parts: long preparations, nonviolent actions, and follow-up afterwards. It was successful. Let's hear the words of an elder, Ethel Jones, who describes her civil disobedience action:

They fixed a place up for us. So we just sat there and waited for the loggers to come in. And then came six RCMPs, and they told Allan that he was going to arrest me. We never talked, we never smiled, we just sat there like "a dumb Indian," you know.

The nonviolence of the campaign was a major factor in its success. In 1992, the Haida campaign became the subject of a CBC Radio "Ideas" episode, entitled "Gwai Hannas: How Non-Violence Works."

The ultimate place of nonviolence in First Nations' struggles remains to be determined. But recent successes, as well as long traditions, suggest that nonviolence is an appropriate strategy for the native peoples to pursue, just as it has been for so many other people worldwide.

Gerry Pascal works on native issues at le Centre de ressources sur la non-violence (420, rue St-Paul Est, Montreal, Quebec H2Y 1H4, phone: [phone], e-mail: [e-mail]). In 1994 CRNV organized Skennen Enkatharakhen (Peace Assembly), a conference on native peace traditions featuring speakers from six of Quebec's First Nations. A transcript of the talks will be available for purchase from the Centre this fall.