LibGuides: Indigenous Peoples in Canada: Idle No More (2012)

Idle No More (0:30) Idle No More calls on all people to join in a peaceful revolution which honours and fulfills Indigenous sovereignty and which protects the land, the water, and the sky. Colonization continues through attacks to Indigenous rights and damage and harm to all our relations. We must repair these violations, live the spirit and intent of the treaty relationship, work towards justice in action, and protect Mother Earth.
The women of Idle No More | National Aboriginal History Month (2017) Four women from Saskatchewan: Nina Wilson, Nakota and Plains Cree from Kahkewistahaw Sheelah Mclean, Canadian Sylvia McAdam, Nehiyaw Nation Jessica Gordon, Pasqua Treaty 4 Territory They opposed changes to environmental laws proposed in the federal omnibus Bill-C-45 that was on the table in 2012 and began holding teach-ins. They coined the term Idle No More on a Facebook page.
Idle No More: A Protest for Aboriginal Rights (19:00) 2013 What began as an online conversation about native rights quickly put Canada into the international spotlight as a movement called Idle No More popped up across the country. It was prompted by the federal government introducing Bill C‐45 which would have a significant impact on the lives of indigenous peoples.
How Idle No More sparked an uprising of Indigenous people | CBC News (Dec 10, 2017) Idle No More started off as a grassroots movement in 2012, but it quickly grew into one of the biggest social movements in Canada. But 5 years later, many of the issues facing Indigenous people in Canada remain. So what did the movement accomplish?
The Legacy of Idle No More put InFocus | APTN InFocus (51:06)

With roots in the Indigenous community, Idle No More began in November 2012 as a protest against the introduction of Bill C-45 by Stephen Harper’s Conservative government. Formally known as the Jobs and Growth Act, this omnibus legislation affected over 60 acts, including the Indian Act, Navigable Waters Protection Act and Environmental Assessment Act. Idle No More activists argued that the Act’s changes diminished the rights and authority of Indigenous communities while making it easier for governments and businesses to push through projects without strict environmental assessment. The movement quickly gained supporters from across Canada (and abroad), and grew to encompass environmental concerns and Indigenous rights more generally.

de Bruin, Tabitha. "Idle No More". The Canadian Encyclopedia, 04 February 2019, Historica Canada.

Idle No More AN INDIGENOUS-LED SOCIAL MOVEMENT Idle No More started in November 2012, among Treaty People in Manitoba, Saskatchewan, and Alberta protesting the Canadian government’s dismantling of environmental protection laws, endangering First Nations who live on the land. Born out of face-to-face organizing and popular education, but fluent in social media and new technologies, Idle No More has connected the most remote reserves to each other, to urbanized Indigenous people, and to the non-Indigenous population. Led by women, and with a call for refounded nation-to-nation relations based on mutual respect, Idle No More rapidly grew into an inclusive, continent-wide network of urban and rural Indigenous working hand in hand with non-Indigenous allies to build a movement for Indigenous rights and the protection of land, water, and sky.