Author: Arjun Dhanjal

In light of the acquittals of Raymond Cormier and Gerald Stanley in trials related to the deaths of Tina Fontaine and Colten Boushie respectively, the Graduate Students’ Association of the Joint Graduate Program in Communication & Culture at York University and Ryerson University feels it is incumbent upon us as educators, students and members of the academic community to speak in solidarity with Indigenous groups such as Idle No More, and the Native Women’s Association of Canada. We express our sadness and outrage at the absence of justice in these criminal cases.

These deaths did not occur in isolation but stem from colonial attitudes ingrained in the very foundation of the Canadian state and its institutions. Colonization is an ongoing process reliant on the violent dispossession of Indigenous peoples from their land. As such, Indigenous peoples in Canada experience disproportionate rates of violence, illness, and a lack of equitable supports. Despite the affirmation of the Rights of Indigenous people by the United Nations and the recent Truth and Reconciliation Commission of Canada, many Indigenous communities are continually denied access to essential resources, Indigenous ways of living, equitable funding, and fair treatment under the justice system.

During this time, when our public institutions are publicly supporting reconciliation, we endorse the open letter presented through Idle No More by Indigenous faculty and allies. It reads, in part:

“Institutional commitments to Indigenization and reconciliation cannot be achieved through the reconciliation of Indigenous experiences with those of the Canadian population when that society continues to demonstrate a marked lack of respect and concern for Indigenous lives. The establishment of relationships of peaceful co-existence and the protection of land and culture, envisioned in the numbered Treaties, requires deep systemic and structural change to existing institutions. Reconfiguring Indigenous peoples’ experiences within these institutions requires a commitment to supporting the revitalization of Indigenous systems of law, governance, education, pedagogies, spirituality, and ways of living in relationship with other living beings.”

We call upon the presidents of our own institutions, Rhonda Lenton and Mohamed Lachemi, as well as the broader educational community of students, faculty, and administration to make the structural changes necessary to support and respect the experiences of Indigenous people within these institutions.

In recognition of the recent verdicts related to the deaths of Tina Fontaine and Colten Boushie, which fail to address harm to Indigenous communities and individuals, as well as in recognition of the systemic barriers that prevent indigenous peoples across Canada from receiving equitable treatment from Canada’s justice system, and the challenges and harms that come to marginalized people that engage with those systems, the ComCultGSA is donating $250 to the Soaring Eagle’s Camp occupying the space outside of old city hall.

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For more information, contact:

Meera Govindasamy and Jie Wu
Equity Officers, ComCultGSA
comcultequityofficer@gmail.com

CC:
Rhonda Lenton — President, York University
Mohamed Lachemi — President, Ryerson University