Idle no more

In November 2012, four women from Saskatchewan, Jessica Gordon, Sylvia McAdam, Sheelah McLean and Nina Wilson, founded Idle No More. They opposed the federal government's omnibus Bill C-45, which amended more than 60 laws, including the one protecting navigable waters. According to its opponents, these changes made it easier to carry out major projects, such as pipelines, without rigorous environmental assessment.

The movement spread through flash-mob round dances. On December 17, 2012, a round dance formed at the Cornwall Centre in Regina; the next day, at West Edmonton Mall. These traditional dances turned places of consumption into places of gathering.

At the same time, from December 11, 2012, to January 24, 2013, Attawapiskat Chief Theresa Spence led a liquid fast to demand respect for treaties. She was not a spokesperson for the movement, but the causes converged. A year earlier, her Cree community in northern Ontario, about 1,800 people, had declared a state of emergency: families were living in tents or shacks, sometimes without running water, at −20°C.

The movement did not get the law repealed. But it taught thousands of people that protecting a river is also a matter of treaties, relationships and shared responsibilities. Its vision statement invites all people, whatever their origin, to join.