Still the "Inconvenient Indian"

 In the year 2000 we were living in Nova Scotia, a province where commercial fishing was an important part of the livelihood of many and the economy as a whole. It made sense then that a confrontational situation about fishing rights in nearby New Brunswick was front and centre in the news. The year before the Supreme Court of Canada had rendered what has been termed the Marshall Decision, allowing Indigenous fishers to harvest catches which weren't necessarily subject to the established quotas and rules of the Department of Fisheries and Oceans because of inherent and treaty rights. Yet when Mikmaq fishers began setting lobster traps it not only led to tensions with non-Indigenous fishers, the DFO took a heavy-handed approach to the point of violent confrontation.and arrests.

This confrontation at  Burnt Church, called Esgenoopetitj by the Mikmaq, resulted in a contingent from Christian Peacekeepers Teams (CPT) travelling there to observe what was unfolding. Members of CPT enter into situations of conflict and injustice in places around the world, At the same time Maritime Conference of the United Church was watching what was unfolding and congregations, including my own, prayed for peaceful resolution. 

Here we are again, twenty years later, with a tense and violent situation between Indigenous and non-Indigenous fishers, this time in Nova Scotia. There are a small number of Indigenous boats which are catching lobsters outside of what the DFO has established as the season. The white fishers are angry and have resorted to intimidation, violence, and destruction of property in retaliation.

This group of Mikmaq fishers refers to the Marshall Decision and ask why this is being ignored, and why the RCMP is not protecting them from harassment and violence. Indigenous commentators from across the country are asking the same.They suggest that if Indigenous people were engaged in vandalism and violence against white people it would be dealt with swiftly by authorities.

 Federal Indigenous Services Minister Marc Miller has condemned the assaults and urged police to keep the peace in the area.

As many of you will know, I'm a strong believer in sustainable harvesting of natural resources and appreciate the concerns about over-fishing. And everyone is concerned about their livelihoods here. It's been pointed out that what the Mikmaq fishers are taking is a very small percentage of the annual catch for south-western Nova Scotia. 

Is this yet another example of systemic racism against Indigenous people?  There is a saying, usually attributed to Mark Twain that :"history doesn't repeat itself, but it often rhymes."

So often it seems that the dominant culture in Canada touts respect and reconciliation until it no longer suits it purposes. When Indigenous peoples protest or assert legal and treaty rights it often elicits anger and calls for heavy-handed responses. When the Indigenous protests in solidarity with the Wetsueten people of British Columbia developed earlier this year I heard white Christians suggest that the War Measures Act be invoked and the military sent in. We may make earnest PC noises, but in the end we don't have much patient for "Inconvenient Indians" to use Thomas King's term.

We can all pay attention to what is unfolding in Nova Scotia, perhaps voicing our concerns to Minister Miller and the Nova Scotia Department of Indigenous Affairs which claims a commitment to Partnership Negotiation Direction.

And, yes, we can pray, pray, pray, for peaceful resolution.