The case against #IdleNoMore cofounder Sylvia McAdam and her brother Kurtis was dismissed in yet another costly, stressful and unnecessary legal process that pitted the assertion of indigenous land rights against settler state intransigence. In this instance, the sibling had moved onto ancestral lands occupied by a Saskatchewan provincial park, and were then charged under the Parks Act with trespass. They faced fines and jail time.
Provincial governments are making indigenous peoples fight over every square inch of land, and increasingly they are losing. There are similar disputes #Unist’oten territory in northern B.C. and the #Alton Gas battle on Mi’kmaq land in Nova Scotia, according to Hayden King at the Yellowhead Institute.
Details of the case, calls to action and calls to send money to support the pair in their legal battle have been trending on twitter this week as the two entered a settler courtroom in Prince Albert. We can support the hard and good work of all these people standing up for their rights and many shared interests by following their actions and campaigns on twitter.
Love the Law Lady, one of the Founders of #INM! I recall watching her either on FB or Twitter when she first moved onto those lands and set up camp. While I am not happy about the long drawn out court cases, which are mostly make work for petty #bureaucrats --- I am so glad that these cases are being dismissed more and more in our #courts.