Blockades or Breakthroughs?: Aboriginal Peoples Confront the Canadian State

by Yale D. Belanger (Editor), P. Whitney Lackenbauer

Blockades have become a common response to Canada's failure to address and resolve the legitimate claims of First Nations. Blockades or Breakthroughs? debates the importance and effectiveness of blockades and occupations as political and diplomatic tools for Aboriginal people. The adoption of direct action tactics like blockades and occupations is predicated on the idea that something drastic is needed for Aboriginal groups to break an unfavourable status quo, overcome structural barriers, and achieve their goals. But are blockades actually "breakthroughs"? What are the objectives of Aboriginal people and communities who adopt this approach? How can the success of these methods be measured? This collection offers an in-depth survey of occupations, blockades, and their legacies, from 1968 to the present. Individual case studies situate specific blockades and conflicts in historical context, examine each group’s reasons for occupation, and analyze the media labels and frames applied to both Aboriginal and state responses. Direct action tactics remain a powerful political tool for First Nations in Canada. The authors of Blockades or Breakthroughs? Argue that blockades and occupations are instrumental, symbolic, and complex events that demand equally multifaceted responses. Contributors include Yale D. Belanger, Tom Flanagan, Sarah King, P. Whitney Lackenbauer, David Rossiter, John Sandlos, Nick Shrubsole, and Timothy Winegard.

488 pages, Paperback

First published November 1, 2014

About the author

Dr. Yale D. Belanger is an assistant professor of Native American Studies at the University of Lethbridge. His doctoral work at Trent University focused on the emergence and evolution of Aboriginal political organizations in late 19th- and early 20th-century Canada.

Reviews

[Tom Oman · Rating 5 out of 5]

It’s a sad state of affairs, that a large segment of modern Indigenous Canadians feel, for reasons that are too complex to get into, that they are powerless to change their situation, and even though it was revealed that many times these actions were taken by small groups of frustrated young men who were at complete odds with the rest of their band in most cases, it still speaks to deep and fundamental issues that face the people living in native society. These protests and actions might speak to an inability to improve things or to move forward and progress in a meaningful way, and these actions may have seem misdirected or disorganized, but it’s most important to look to the roots of what’s being felt and how it is being manifest. I feel that modern native frustration might arise because they are challenged and some might say burdened by a need to preserve Indian culture and identity which can cause opposition to the idea of accepting what is the modern way of life for most people in the 21st century. It’s difficult to see themselves in a global context as their primary viewpoint is how they fit within Canada. In order to identify as something other than Canadian (which itself is a nebulous concept) then anything outside of their definition of themselves is a potential threat to their way of life. Their culture has been directly attacked with government programs designed at assimilation and cultural whitewashing. In the face of that history they have ossified into their remaining culture which I feel has been a great source of anguish. It’s an incredibly complex issue and ultimately I have no place speaking on behalf of anyone living within their context but I am very pessimistic about things improving unless a fundamental shift in mentality takes place. Part of the issue being that it’s difficult to say these things without being seen as insensitive or ethnocentric, so things are easier left unsaid, but we are all citizens of a highly connected and increasingly globalized world and I personally would not want to hang onto a tenuous sense of identity at the expense of separating my family and later generations from the rapidly improving quality of life that is being experienced worldwide. I have personally abandoned as many notions of identity as possible, being that they are all generally illusory and limiting.

In regards to my pessimism, it is very hard to imagine a time in the future when First Nations people will feel a sense of satisfaction with their situation and likewise for the Canadian populace at large. I could be completely wrong and I likely am, as I am totally removed from this situation, but based on the expressed frustration and sense injustice felt by native peoples I can only conclude as such: It was a clash of culture on a grand scale, no one should blame anyone or anything outside of your own personal responsibility, believing that your locus of control is external is the least effective or healthy way to approach life, and it automatically precludes any chance for change and therefore more hopeful future.

[Patrick · Rating 4 out of 5]

A good, balanced overview that pays particular attention to importance of the historical context for these events. Interesting read.