Hateful anti-Israel camps disrespect our lands
By Harry LaForme and Karen Restoule, Published by National Post
We are Anishinaabe Zionists. We reject using the words 'colonizer,' 'settler' and 'decolonize' to justify terror, violence, kidnapping and rape
Karen Restoule
Harry LaForme
As Anishinaabe, we strive to adhere to our traditional values. The Creator placed the distinct races of humankind upon Mother Earth and gifted each with unique knowledge to be used for their benefit and to be shared for the benefit of all humankind. The Seven Sacred Teachings were given to us so that we may learn how to live and move forward together in a good way.
Indigenous peoples welcomed the settlers to Turtle Island. Our original relationship was based upon mutual respect, honour, equality, peaceful coexistence, and the sharing of the land; its resources and wisdom. Treaties of Peace and Friendship were signed that codified these intentions and stressed peaceful and equal coexistence. In the mid 1700s, Britain unilaterally decided to govern the interior of North America by its own rules and ignored agreements negotiated through alliance and treaty. In 1763, Chief Pontiac led a coordinated attack of Indigenous groups on British forts in Upper Great Lakes Region and unsettled the British reign. Chief Pontiac was not trying to run Europeans out of the region but to restore the terms of alliance and treaty. Chief Pontiac’s military successes lead to the Royal Proclamation of 1763 and the 1764 Treaty of Niagara; the original relationship was reaffirmed.
Tragically, in the early to mid-1800s Canada ignored the treaties and abandoned the original relationship. Canada developed policies and laws that disenfranchised, oppressed, and marginalized Indigenous peoples as exemplified by the Indian Residential School System, the Indian Act and the common law adoption of the false Doctrine of Discovery. Indigenous peoples were made “wards of the state” and faced assimilation and cultural genocide. In 1910, Deputy Superintendent General, Department of Indian Affairs, Duncan Campbell Scott, responding to the appalling high death rate of children in Indian Residential Schools, stated, “this alone does not justify a change in the policy of this Department, which is geared towards the final solution of our Indian problem.” The Nazis aggressively deployed the term “final solution” in a manner similar to Canada.
Today, throughout our Treaty Lands are campus signs and chants that include the following: “There is only one solution Intifada revolution.” The phrase Canada used in the 1910s and the Nazis in WWII has been carefully adapted and callously adopted. Any Indigenous person and non-Indigenous Canadian aware of our shared history should shudder to hear it chanted and see it on our campuses. As Anishinaabe, we find the term, in all of its iterations, offensive, hateful and racist. It takes us back to a dark chapter in our shared history here in Canada; marked by the death of more than 6,000 Indigenous children. It also reminds us of the tragic loss of six million Jews across Europe during, and in the period leading up to, the Holocaust. These calls for the death of Jewish people are unequivocally anathema to The Seven Sacred Teachings.
Nevertheless, the Europeans arriving on our shores were welcomed to Turtle Island and the Treaties of Peace and Friendship reflect this truth. Indigenous and early European inhabitants lived together in accordance with them for centuries and they continue to be in effect today. To us, reconciliation is returning to the original intention of the treaties and restoring the original relationship between Indigenous and non-Indigenous people in Canada. We are all treaty partners and signatories to the Treaties of Peace and Friendship. The values embodied in these treaties govern the relationships that all of us have with each other. They apply to universities and to the broader society.
The Honour of the Crown and the goal of reconciliation are central to the Crown’s relationship with Indigenous peoples. Canada recognizes that: “All relations with Indigenous peoples need to be based on the recognition and implementation of their right to self-determination.” Universities say they recognize Indigenous self-determination, and respect their rights and the Treaties that govern these Lands.
As Anishinaabe, Mother Earth is our first Mother. The Land has spiritual essence and we are its custodians. Indigenous people have a constitutional “say” in how our Treaty Lands are used. Canada and the provinces have a “duty to consult” with us when our Treaty Lands are going be used. Universities have willingly assumed this duty to consult.
Six universities reside on the Treaty Lands of the Mississaugas of the Credit First Nation (MCFN). Land acknowledgments and adoption of the Truth and Reconciliation Commission 94 Calls-to-Action are displayed on their websites. Universities recognize the Indigenous peoples whose territories they sit on. Land acknowledgments express gratitude to the land for the water and food that sustains us, trees to shelter us and paths to connect us. Land acknowledgements are today’s flavoured refrain. At public events, universities display their fidelity to reconciliation with Indigenous peoples and commit to “make space” for Indigenous knowledge and culture in their policies and governance. They express awareness of Indigenous presence and land rights but too often the statements seem rote and fall short of respecting the Treaties that govern our lands.
Five of the six universities on the MCFN Treaty Lands have pro-Palestinian encampments on them. Not one consulted the MCFN about encampments being set up on our Treaty Lands. Not one consulted the MCFN about the manner in which encampment occupiers and pro-Palestinian protesters behave on our Treaty Lands. No consultation took place about excluding Jewish and Zionist students and faculty from any part of our Treaty Lands or limiting their use and enjoyment of our Treaty Lands. Exclusion, bigotry, harassment, antisemitism, lawlessness, and hate are being permitted on and throughout our Treaty Lands. All of which is contrary to The Seven Sacred Teachings, the Rule of Law in Canada, and disregard the duty to consult and the essence of land acknowledgements.
As Anishinaabe, we are troubled by the expressions of hatred against Jews and Zionists, and the disappointing ignorance, fuelled by misinformation coming from universities. Ignorance about the indigeneity of the Jewish people in the region that is Israel. Ignorance about the values that Israel, as a democracy, stands for — as imperfect as it is. Ignorance about the rights and responsibilities Israel has as a nation state and member of the United Nations. Ignorance about Zionism — its compatibility with Palestinian self-determination, a two-state solution, and the fact that the vast majority of Jewish people identify with Israel. Ignorance about the current reconciliation efforts of Indigenous and non-Indigenous Canadians. Ignorance about our shared history and the intentions of our original relationship. And how quickly the sadistic savagery of Hamas’ invasion of Israel and its promises to repeat October 7 again and again and again are forgotten.
Erroneous false narratives are coming out of universities about current reconciliation efforts led by Indigenous peoples to justify divisive hateful conduct that overwhelmingly targets and isolates Jewish and Zionist Canadians. The use of sacred ceremonies such as the lighting of a Sacred Fire, smudging, drumming, and others, by activists in encampments on university campuses are not appropriate. It is cultural appropriation and historical distortion of the worst kind.
Some have suggested correlations between Hamas and Israel in the Middle East and the reconciliation work led by First Nations here in Canada in the West. We hear the words “colonizer,” “settler” and “decolonize” to justify terror, violence, kidnapping, rape and targeted civilian massacres. These words are used to assert revolutionary violence “by any means necessary” and that “all forms of resistance” are justified. We unequivocally reject these assertions and any allyship with those who hold such views.
Indigenous and non-Indigenous people found ways and continue to find ways to peacefully resolve their differences mostly through dialogue grounded in The Seven Sacred Teachings. But little respectful dialogue is heard. Instead, we see hate, antisemitism, and weak leadership on university campuses. Pro-Palestinian supporters violate the Treaties with Indigenous peoples and The Seven Sacred Teachings. Allegedly they seek to resolve a crisis in the Middle East by means that disregard Indigenous peoples, the Treaties, our Sacred Teachings, and our relationship with Canada. Equally dreadful are the measures that target Jewish and Zionist students and faculty — people who are welcome on our Treaty Lands and are deserving of the rights and freedoms enjoyed by all Canadians.
Our Land, the Treaties, our values, and our hospitality are being abused. Leaders of universities, government, and law enforcement — all considered to be Treaty Partners — are allowing this to happen. University codes of conduct and Canadian laws are not being enforced. It appears that all protest activity is treated as “free speech” by those who carry responsibility for the public. The focus is on whether the “speech” is free and protected, rather than on whether the conduct or speech aligns with the Treaties or The Seven Sacred Teachings.
We, as Anishinaabe Zionists, are made to feel unwelcome on our Treaty Lands by treaty scofflaws and encampment occupiers, who self describe as part of the current colonial regime that marginalizes and oppresses Indigenous peoples — us. Perhaps, they should begin an examination of the illogic of their own activities on our ancestral Treaty Lands.
A modern-day Chief Pontiac is needed who respects all and fears none.
Our Treaty partners must enforce the law and codes of conduct on campuses and communities across the country. Codes of conduct consistent with the Treaties and The Seven Sacred Teachings should be developed. The International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance working definition of antisemitism must be applied by all who fall within areas of federal oversight, influence, and authority. Indigenous people should be consulted with about how Treaty Lands will be used. Universities must stop the false narratives. Facts, reality, truth — not fiction, feelings and ideology — should be taught.
The preceding is Harry Laforme’s and Karen Restoule’s written submission to the Parliamentary Standing Committee on Justice and Human Rights’ Study of Antisemitism.
LaForme is a member of the Mississaugas of the Credit First Nation (MCFN), a retired appellate court judge and practicing lawyer. Restoule is a member of the Dokis First Nation. With a law degree from the University of Ottawa, Restoule specializes in public affairs and is currently a vice president with Crestview Strategy. Ms. Restoule is also an honourary witness to Israeli suffering arising out of the Hamas October 7 attack.