CANADA 150 CONTROVERSY

‘There’s nothing to celebrate’

Sheelah McLean won’t watch the Canada Day fireworks this weekend.

The Idle No More cofounder is part of the “Unsettling Canada 150” action, which aims to educate people about the fact that indigenous people have lived in Canada for much longer than 150 years and have suffered since it became a country on July 1, 1867.

“There is nothing to celebrate until we acknowledge the history of violence towards indigenous people. There’s nothing to celebrate until lands are given back to indigenous peoples that have been stolen. There’s nothing to celebrate until indigenous people have self determination and sovereignty,” McLean said.

She is encouraging people to boycott activities such as fireworks, which are planned in communities across the country to celebrate Canada’s 150th birthday. Some people are also planning protests or similar activities.

In Regina, people are encouraged to meet at the downtown public library on Saturday morning to hand out educational pamphlets about Canadian colonialism. McLean said actions may take place in Saskatoon as well, but plans for them would be “under wraps.”

Erica Lee, a First Nations activist who has also been heavily involved in Idle No More, said Canada 150 has been a good opportunity for indigenous groups to share their message about the inequality they still face and the work that remains to be done on the Truth and Reconciliation’s calls to action.

While many people “don’t feel like celebrating” on July 1, Lee said she won’t be surprised if some partake in weekend celebrations for their own reasons.

“We can still like fireworks, but it doesn’t mean that we like colonization. Summer’s still a time to celebrate and there’s a lot that we’re celebrating as well. But we just all do it differently,” she said.

“Some people protest, some of us will boycott and blockade and some of us will just celebrate in our own way and all of those are sort of a testament to the diversity of indigenous people.”