Idle No More Week at the University of Toronto: March 18-23

Free week of events open to the public in solidarity with the Idle No More movement

by Erin Oldynski

The Idle No More movement has arrived at the University of Toronto, where a broad student collective has organized one week of events in solidarity with Indigenous demands for sovereignty and self-determination. The Idle No More UofT Student Collective launches the week of events with a film screening of H2Oil at 7pm on Monday March 18 in the Koffler House auditorium, in partnership with the documentary film network Cinema Politica. H2Oil tells the story of Indigenous communities and allies organizing to defend water in Alberta against tar sands expansion, an industrial project that has become the largest of its kind in human history.  

 

“We have been inspired by the founders and organizers of the Idle No More movement, and acknowledge that women have taken the lead,” says Mai Taha, a PhD student at the University of Toronto and member of the Idle No More UofT Student Collective. “As treaty partners, we seek to honour treaties, Indigenous sovereignty, and the land. Furthermore, we oppose ongoing colonization in the form of attacks on Indigenous rights, including Bill C-45, Bill C-27, and the damaging resource extraction that often occurs without the free, prior, and informed consent of Indigenous peoples.”

Highlights of Idle No More Week include the following events, all of which are free and open to the public: On Tuesday March 19 from 6 – 8pm in Sydney Smith room 5017b the student collective invites University of Toronto community members to Deepening Knowledge: an introductory session about the histories of treaties and the Indian Act, pre-contact Toronto, residential schools, and current experiences of injustice and resistance. On Wednesday March 20 from 12 – 1:30pm in the 12th Floor Nexus Lounge at the Ontario Institute for Studies in Education, join the Indigenous Education Network  for UofT: A Place for Building Relationships discussion about building campus and community relationships. Following this discussion, head over to First Nations House at 2pm for an Indigenous Campus Tour delivered by the Toronto Native Community History Project. Celebrate the week of events with humour beginning at 8pm on Friday March 22 at Harvest Noon café for a by-donation Comedy Night with Drew Hayden Taylor and Tonto’s Nephews, including Lee Maracle as M.C.

 

The week of events concludes on Saturday, March 23 with the day-long event Idle? KNOW more! organized by a broad coalition of groups, including the Justina Barnicke Gallery, MUSKRAT Magazine, Idle No More Toronto, Indigenous Sovereignty and Solidarity Network, and the Indigenous Education Network.  From 10am-9pm at the Ontario Institute for Studies in Education, these groups welcome the public to join in conversations with Indigenous communities and allies about how to become involved in the Idle No More movement.

 

The Idle No More UofT Student Collectve includes activists from the Native Students’ Association, Graduate Students’ Union, Canadian Union of Public Employees Local 3902, the Graduate Geography and Planning Student Society, and the Indigenous Education Network. This student collective is inspired by those who have taken up the call to be Idle No More against an oppressive and colonial state, and fully supports Indigenous demands for sovereignty and self-determination.

 

For the Full Events Listing Visit:

www.facebook.com/IdleNoMoreUofT

 

For All Other Inquiries Please Contact:

Erin Oldynski, External Commissioner

Graduate Students’ Union, University of Toronto

erin@utgsu.ca