Harper targeted First Nations for
increased surveillance, fears Native “unrest,”
newly released government documents show
Money for housing on reserves slashed,
money for surveillance of Natives increased
For
immediate release: June 13, 2011
Newly exposed internal
documents from Indian Affairs and the RCMP show that shortly
after forming
government in January of 2006, Prime Minister Stephen Harper had the
federal government
step up intelligence gathering on First Nations to anticipate and
manage First Nations
political action across Canada.
Information obtained
by the First Nations Strategic Bulletin through Access to
Information requests
reveals that almost immediately upon Harper’s taking power in
2006, the Department
of Indian and Northern Affairs Canada (INAC) was given the lead
role to spy on First
Nations. The goal was to identify the First Nation leaders, participants
and outside
supporters of First Nation occupations and protests, and to closely monitor
their actions.
To accomplish this
task, INAC established a “Hot Spot Reporting System.” These weekly
reports highlight
all those communities across the country that engage in direct action to
protect their lands
and communities. They include Tsartlip First Nation, the Algonquins
of Barriere Lake,
Six Nations, Grassy Narrows, the Likhts’amsiyu Clan of the
Wet’suwet’en First
Nation, Tyendinaga Mohawk Territory, and many more.
“Rather than
listening to the needs of First Nations communities Harper is making plans
to use force to
stifle the dissent that inevitably arises from chronic poverty and
dispossession in
Native communities,” said Russell Diabo, Mohawk policy analyst, in
response. “First
Nations education and housing is chronically under-funded, but policing
and surveillance of
legitimate Indigenous movements is always a priority.”
The documents reveal
that First Nations are a closely monitored population who are
causing a panic at
the highest levels of the Canadian government.
Says Gord Elliot of
Tsartlip First Nation, “Obviously trust and good faith are expected
when working with
INAC, the RCMP and other agencies of the Government. We are
outraged to discover
these same Ministries are spying on us. We were identified as a
‘hotspot’ because we
had a roadblock demonstration to voice our concerns about the
Treaty process and
non-acknowledgment of Section 35 Constitutional Rights and Title.
We felt we had no
choice because the Canadian Government won't acknowledge our
Constitutionally
protected Aboriginal Rights and Title.”
For more information
and to obtain original documents, contact:
Shiri Pasternak,
media spokesperson: 647-227-6696 begin_of_the_skype_highlighting 647-227-6696 end_of_the_skype_highlighting
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Media Spokespeople:
Russell
Diabo, editor and publisher, First Nations Strategic Bulletin: 613-296-0110 begin_of_the_skype_highlighting 613-296-0110 end_of_the_skype_highlighting
Gord
Elliot, Councillor, Tsartlip First Nation: 250-883-3970 begin_of_the_skype_highlighting 250-883-3970 end_of_the_skype_highlighting
Shawn
Brant, Tyendinaga Mohawk Territory: (613) 813-2057 begin_of_the_skype_highlighting (613) 813-2057 end_of_the_skype_highlighting
