[TamilNet, Thursday, 31 January 2013, 23:05 GMT]The so-called New Nations such as the USA, Canada, Australia, New
Zealand etc., created by European colonialism bulldozing indigenous
nations, their sovereignty and territoriality in those lands, are now in
the forefront in preaching ‘multiculturalism’ of their understanding
even to the contexts of nations facing genocide in the Old World. In an
exclusive interview to TamilNet, Ms Sylvia McAdam of the Nehiyaw nation
in today’s Canada, while exposing the deception in the kind of
multiculturalism the Establishments preach, asserts the identity of
indigenous nations, their territory, their right to protect environment
and their sovereignty not ceded or surrendered. Sylvia makes contrast to
Canadian ‘multicultural’ minister avoiding the issues of genocide,
colonization, grab of land and denial of sovereignty faced by the nation
of Eezham Tamils. “My
people are called Nehiyaw, we’re referred to as the Cree Nation from
what is called Canada now, but we call it Turtle Island,” said Ms
McAdam, beginning her interview.
Referring to other such
indigenous nations in Canada, Sylvia said, “First Nations is a term
given to us by the Canadian State […] but we prefer to call ourselves in
our language.”
Explaining her visit to London, she said that it
was to tell London citizens what the Monarch [the Monarch of the UK is
also the Monarch of Canada] and the Canadian State are doing to the
First Nations.
“For the First Nations people we’ve experienced
colonialism and genocide, and part of that colonialism and genocide is
that the resources are being extracted from our lands and the Indigenous
people do not get anything– they get nothing out of that. But the
biggest issue here is the land and the resources and the waters are
getting damaged because of colonialism and the genocide that is
happening to Indigenous people,” Sylvia said.
She referred to a treaty the First Nations had with the Monarch of England and said that the treaty is not honoured.
A
part of honouring the treaty is [accepting] that “our resources and our
lands are un-ceded and un-surrendered, and that’s not what’s happening”
Sylvia said.
On the talk of multiculturalism, Sylvia said Canada’s practices don’t support what it tells the world.
“For
the longest time we were not allowed to practice our culture; we were
jailed or we were fined, and this continued until the later 1960’s,” she
said, adding that what is happening right now is Canadian parliament
passing an omnibus bill that is going to damage the waters and
environment of the First Nations and thus going to affect their culture.
Ms.
McAdam said that another reason for her visit to London was to connect
to other indigenous nations in the world facing similar situations.
“Ever
since Idle No More [the organisation co-founded by her] began, there’s
other Indigenous nations contacting us and telling us they’re facing
very similar things, so we’re learning,” she said.
When asked
what is her message to refugees coming to Canada and think that by
cooperating with the Canadian Establishment justice could be get, she
replied: “I would suggest that they get informed about the history of
the colonization in Canada and then make their own decision.”
“Because
there are good things about Canada, it does provide good things; but
there are things that are not good about it either. So they need to get
themselves all of that information and then make a decision for
themselves,” she added.
Her words to Eezham Tamils in the island
were that they should maintain the language, care for the land, and
never give up their foundations of nationhood and indigenous
sovereignty.
Diaspora activists who went through the video of
the interview commented that it should be an eye-opener to sections of
elitists in captivity in the island and in the diaspora, who try to
relay that certain fundamentals are negotiable and could be ceded or
surrendered just because some Establishments of vested interests press
for it.
Never commit the historical blunder of formally giving up
the sovereignty and territoriality of the nation of Eezham Tamils in
the island, the diaspora activists said, adding that the Eezham Tamils
should realize that the World is full of Nations sharing their plight
and they should only know how to get mobilized.
The interview
also is a message to the diaspora to consciously take care of certain
symbolic matters such as asserting to the Eezham Tamil identity and
rejecting the Sri Lankan identity even in ordinary speech, they
commented further.
* * *
Full text of the interview follows:
TamilNet:
Hello Sylvia McAdam, so let me start the interview with a very
important question to your people and your nation, a question about
identity. How do you identify yourself as?
Sylvia McAdam: My people are called Nehiyaw, we’re refered to as the Cree Nation from what is called Canada now, but we call it Turtle Island.
TamilNet: Why do you call it Turtle Island, and why not Canada?
Sylvia: Before the Europeans came to our lands that’s what we called it, is Turtle Island; it translates into Turtle Island.
TamilNet: Now there are different terms which have been used, both by Europeans and by your own people to describe your people. Yes?
Sylvia: Yes
TamilNet:
For instance, I will just give you a very brief list of the different
terms used: Tribes, Aborigines, Minorities, and First Nations. Why have
you chosen the terms which you have chosen to describe your nation?
Sylvia: Because that is what we called ourselves before the Europeans came to our territories. That’s our traditional names.
TamilNet: Can you elaborate a bit more on that?
Sylvia:
It’s a part of our Indigenous sovereignty, to refer to ourselves, to
our Indigenous names. I cannot call other nations Nehiyaw, because
they’re distinct as well. There is the Dakato, Nakota, Lakota, the Dene,
Nakawey, the Soodo, the Ojibwe are all different nations.
TamilNet: Could you elaborate a bit more on the idea of First Nations? How is it different from the new nations?
Sylvia:
The First Nations is a term given to us by the Canadian state. So, it’s
a political term not an inherent, pre-existing, before European contact
name.
TamilNet: So the term First Nation is based on European contact?
Sylvia: Yes
TamilNet: How is it different from the European concept of nation?
Sylvia:
It’s not that different, but we prefer to call ourselves in our
language. But it is almost the same. If I wanted to translate it into
English, I guess that’s the term people will use.
TamilNet:
Now let us talk about the politics of Canada or as you would call it,
Turtle Island. Now as you know Canada is also a preferred destination
for many other refugees, especially Tamils. Some of these new refugees
who themselves have fled from genocidal regimes have tried to coopt
themselves into Canadian politics, they prefer to work with the Canadian
establishment. Do you think that is a successful strategy? They think
that by cooperating with the Canadian establishment they can win their
rights. Do you think it’s a very successful strategy?
Sylvia:
For the First Nations people we’ve experienced colonialism and
genocide, and part of that colonialism and genocide is that the
resources are being extracted from our lands and the Indigenous people
do not get anything– they get nothing out of that. But the biggest issue
here is the land and the resources and the waters are getting damaged
because of colonialism and the genocide that is happening to Indigenous
people. That is one of the reasons I am here, to tell the London
citizens what the Monarch and the Canadian state are doing. There is a
treaty in place with the Indigenous people and the Monarch of London and
that is not being honoured; and part of honouring that treaty is that
our resources and our lands are unceded and unsurrendered, and that’s
not what’s happening.
TamilNet: Yes, but what
would be your message to those refugees who think that by cooperating
with the Canadian establishment they can get justice. Do you think that
is possible, or do you think they’ll have to explore alternative
methods?
Sylvia: I would suggest that they get
informed about the history of the colonization in Canada and then make
their own decision. Because there are good things about Canada, it does
provide good things; but there are things that are not good about it
either. So they need to get themselves all of that information and then
make a decision for themselves.
TamilNet: Now,
Canada has a history of celebrating multiculturalism, for instance even
the Canadian Minister for Multiculturalism, Jason Kenney, he says that
Canada is a place where we tolerate diversity, pluralism, and all of
that. What is your opinion on the Canadian version of multiculturalism?
Sylvia:
Well, I’ll give you an example. There is something called the Indian
Act that governs the lives of Indigenous people. For the longest time we
were not allowed to practice our culture; we were jailed or we were
fined, and this continued until the later 1960’s. So for Canada to put
to the world that they are multicultural, when their practices don’t
support that…? The other thing that’s happening to Indigenous culture
right now is that there are bills going through parliament, right now,
that don’t support our culture. Our waters, there is an omnibus bill –
C45 – that has become law, and it is going to damage the waters because
the environmental assessments have been lowered. Therefore, water is
fundamental to Indigenous culture and the water and the use of the
water, when the companies come in they damage the water and the land so
that makes it difficult for Indigenous people to practice their culture
if the land and the water is damaged.
TamilNet: Your movement speaks a lot about preserving Indigenous cultures and traditions, how do you do that?
Sylvia:
You see there is this idea out there that Indigenous people do not have
laws, but we do, we have laws and those laws tell us to protect the
land and the water. And part of protecting the land and the water
protects the animals, the trees, all these different environmental
things. Because Indigenous people we still eat from the land, our
medicines are growing from the land, there are certain medicines that
are picked and used by water – fresh water that comes from the ground.
The animals are needed for our ceremonies; there are some ceremonies
that we cannot do without having animals, the food, the meat and
different things like that. As well as our drums, our ceremonial items,
they are made from animal skins and animal bones, so our culture is
integral to the land and the water.
TamilNet:
Do you connect to other oppressed Indigenous communities and other
oppressed nations which are facing similar overt forms of oppression?
Sylvia:
We’re trying now. We’re trying. Ever since Idle No More began there’s
other Indigenous nations contacting us and telling us they’re facing
very similar things, so we’re learning. That’s one of the reasons why I
am in London as well, to connect with other Indigenous people.
TamilNet: Let us talk about Idle No More. What are the primary and secondary goals of Idle No More?
Sylvia:
The primary goal of Idle No More is the resurgence of Indigenous
sovereignty and the protection of land and water. The secondary, is to
resist those bills that are going through Parliament that are
devastating to the land and to the water, that is the immediate,
immediate effect and impact of those bills.
TamilNet: You are one of the co-founders of Idle No More.
Sylvia: I am.
TamilNet: How did you start from a group of women to such a large grassroots mobilization?
Sylvia:
Three of the women are Indigenous, and the other one is a white woman
she is part of our group. We tell people, we tell them, we don’t want
them to join our movement – we don’t want them to join this movement –
out of guilt or anger or feelings of not being peaceful. We want people
to join this movement for the love of the land and the water, and for
the love of all children. Every child deserves clean water and land that
is safe for them to go to. That’s what we tell people, and so far it
seems to be working.
TamilNet: What is your strategy for such large scale mobilizations which has been very successful?
Sylvia:
We do what we call teach-ins, and I am going to be doing that right
away here. We teach people, we provide information: what is bill C-45,
how is it going to impact people. Immediately it’s going to impact
Indigenous people and Canadian citizens in Canada, but on a bigger scale
we all share the same water. If the water in Canada becomes
contaminated – and it has the biggest fresh water bodies of water and
waterways – if those become contaminated it is going to effect the whole
world.
TamilNet: As a last question, the Eelam
Tamils are a nation who are facing a protracted genocide in their
homeland, which is currently occupied by the Sri Lankan military. Now
one of the aspects of this genocide is a corporate-military nexus, which
is robbing the resources of the Eelam Tamils and involving in
environmentally unfriendly activities: deforestation, land grabs, and
building up of business resorts and tourism resorts. This is changing
not only the demography of the Tamil homeland, but also the ecology of
the Tamil homeland. What is your message as a representative of the
First Nations, who has suffered genocide, to these people?
Sylvia:
Maintain your language. Care fore your land. Teach your children your
songs. Teach your children your ceremonies. Talk to your land, nurture
it and heal it through your ceremonies and through your songs, and
through your language. Go to your elders and understand the laws of your
land, understand the laws of your ceremonies, because those are the
ones that are the foundations of your nationhood, and the foundations of
your Indigenous sovereignty. Never give those up. And always maintain
your peace, because the trees, the land, the medicine, they all have a
spirit; and if you attend to them and nurture them in a peaceful way,
your lands will begin to return to you.
TamilNet: Thank you very much Sylvia McAdam, it was a pleasure having you here.
Sylvia: Thank you.
Chronology:
