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Policing Indigenous Movements: Dissent and the Security State
"In recent years, Indigenous peoples have lead a number of high profile movements fighting for social and environmental justice in Canada. From land struggles to struggles against resource extraction, pipeline development and fracking, land and water defenders have created a national discussion about these issues and successfully slowed the rate of resource extraction.
But their success has also meant an increase in the surveillance and policing of Indigenous peoples and their movements. In Policing Indigenous Movements, Crosby and Monaghan use the Access to Information Act to interrogate how policing and other security agencies have been monitoring, cataloguing and working to silence Indigenous land defenders and other opponents of extractive capitalism. Through an examination of four prominent movements -- the long-standing conflict involving the Algonquins of Barriere Lake, the struggle against the Northern Gateway Pipeline, the Idle No More movement and the anti-fracking protests surrounding the Elsipogtog First Nation -- this important book raises critical questions regarding the expansion of the security apparatus, the normalization of police surveillance targeting social movements, the relationship between police and energy corporations, the criminalization of dissent and threats to civil liberties and collective action in an era of extractive capitalism and hyper surveillance.
In one of the most comprehensive accounts of contemporary government surveillance, the authors vividly demonstrate that it is the norms of settler colonialism that allow these movements to be classified as national security threats and the growing network of policing, governmental, and private agencies that comprise what they call the security state.
But their success has also meant an increase in the surveillance and policing of Indigenous peoples and their movements. In Policing Indigenous Movements, Crosby and Monaghan use the Access to Information Act to interrogate how policing and other security agencies have been monitoring, cataloguing and working to silence Indigenous land defenders and other opponents of extractive capitalism. Through an examination of four prominent movements -- the long-standing conflict involving the Algonquins of Barriere Lake, the struggle against the Northern Gateway Pipeline, the Idle No More movement and the anti-fracking protests surrounding the Elsipogtog First Nation -- this important book raises critical questions regarding the expansion of the security apparatus, the normalization of police surveillance targeting social movements, the relationship between police and energy corporations, the criminalization of dissent and threats to civil liberties and collective action in an era of extractive capitalism and hyper surveillance.
In one of the most comprehensive accounts of contemporary government surveillance, the authors vividly demonstrate that it is the norms of settler colonialism that allow these movements to be classified as national security threats and the growing network of policing, governmental, and private agencies that comprise what they call the security state.
218 pages, Paperback
First published April 1, 2018
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Displaying 1 - 8 of 8 reviews
October 24, 2018
A book that every settler-Canadian should have to read. This is a systematic review of the ways in which all branches of the Canadian security apparatus converge to thwart Indigenous movements.
July 17, 2020
This is an important book, based on an analysis of information from thousands of declassified documents and hundreds of Access to Information Act requests (all available via links at the authors' web site).
The focus of the book is on how the security state (RCMP, CSIS, INAC, DND, politicians, corporations, and others) redefined Indigenous protest under the heading of the (now extremely lucrative and high-tech) War on Terror, casting Indigenous protest as “Aboriginal extremism” and coining the term “critical infrastructure” (i.e., pipelines and railway lines) to legitimize the intense surveillance and violent interventions used to suppress these movements.
As the authors put it, “An extension of settler colonialism, these practices use the labels and powers of national security to suppress efforts that challenge colonial control of land and resources. In doing so, the security state is not merely an objective or neutral policing entity but an active supporter of extractive capitalism and settler colonialism.” (p. 4)
The bulk of the book details these ideas using four case studies: a) the Algonquins at Barriere Lake, b) the Wet’suet’en First Nation and the Northern Gateway pipelines, c) the Idle No More movement, and d) the RCMP raids on Mi’kmaq anti-fracking protesters at Elsipogtog.
The first and last parts of the book outline their general analysis of these cases, and give additional information on two recent RCMP reports: a) Project SITKA, which involved profiling and tracking Indigenous activists and b) Criminal Threats to the Canadian Petroleum Industry, which characterized support for the science of climate change as an extremist ideology that is held by members of a widespread network of potential security threats.
It’s often shocking material and a real eye-opener if you know little about the detailed history of Indigenous justice movements in Canada.
The focus of the book is on how the security state (RCMP, CSIS, INAC, DND, politicians, corporations, and others) redefined Indigenous protest under the heading of the (now extremely lucrative and high-tech) War on Terror, casting Indigenous protest as “Aboriginal extremism” and coining the term “critical infrastructure” (i.e., pipelines and railway lines) to legitimize the intense surveillance and violent interventions used to suppress these movements.
As the authors put it, “An extension of settler colonialism, these practices use the labels and powers of national security to suppress efforts that challenge colonial control of land and resources. In doing so, the security state is not merely an objective or neutral policing entity but an active supporter of extractive capitalism and settler colonialism.” (p. 4)
The bulk of the book details these ideas using four case studies: a) the Algonquins at Barriere Lake, b) the Wet’suet’en First Nation and the Northern Gateway pipelines, c) the Idle No More movement, and d) the RCMP raids on Mi’kmaq anti-fracking protesters at Elsipogtog.
The first and last parts of the book outline their general analysis of these cases, and give additional information on two recent RCMP reports: a) Project SITKA, which involved profiling and tracking Indigenous activists and b) Criminal Threats to the Canadian Petroleum Industry, which characterized support for the science of climate change as an extremist ideology that is held by members of a widespread network of potential security threats.
It’s often shocking material and a real eye-opener if you know little about the detailed history of Indigenous justice movements in Canada.
October 28, 2020
It was a little academically dry in parts (this was likely also exacerbated by my complete inability to focus during the early days of the pandemic), but the arguments were well articulated and supported, with the bulk of the primary evidence coming from INAC [Indian and Northern Affairs Canada, now Crown-Indigenous Relations and Northern Affairs Canada + Indigenous Services Canada] ATIP [Access to Information and Privacy] requests (I wondered throughout if someone who had been in the department longer than a couple of months would recognize a name or two)
One of the identified trends in policing – classifying something as “critical infrastructure” to justify stronger law enforcement – has proliferated further since the time of publication; Alberta’s Bill 1 Critical Infrastructure Defense Act, which received royal assent in June 2020, is a primo example of this extreme policing policy in action.
The interconnectedness between police agencies, surveillance and private sector energy companies was particularly chilling to read about – in one of the more recent of the 4 case studies it was recommended that the disputed area be reassigned as Crown land so that unauthorized presence on the land could be criminalized and would permit arrest – thankfully the federal government declined this suggestion to fabricate a crime to facilitate the arrest and removal of citizens, but the fact that task forces comprised of police, intelligence and private corporations are submitting memos to the federal government on how to CREATE a crime to better support their goal of arresting and removing protesters is hella unethical.
One of the identified trends in policing – classifying something as “critical infrastructure” to justify stronger law enforcement – has proliferated further since the time of publication; Alberta’s Bill 1 Critical Infrastructure Defense Act, which received royal assent in June 2020, is a primo example of this extreme policing policy in action.
The interconnectedness between police agencies, surveillance and private sector energy companies was particularly chilling to read about – in one of the more recent of the 4 case studies it was recommended that the disputed area be reassigned as Crown land so that unauthorized presence on the land could be criminalized and would permit arrest – thankfully the federal government declined this suggestion to fabricate a crime to facilitate the arrest and removal of citizens, but the fact that task forces comprised of police, intelligence and private corporations are submitting memos to the federal government on how to CREATE a crime to better support their goal of arresting and removing protesters is hella unethical.
August 3, 2020
The book presents memos, emails, slide decks and internal reports from highly organized groups of provincial and national security agencies along with the private resource extraction companies they work with to surveil and police Indigenous movements and publicly misconstrue their struggle for treaty rights and autonomy as criminal activity.
Extremely well researched and very accessible. A must-read for settlers who only see the result of that organized surveillance when media present prepared statements from security agencies during protests and blockades.
Extremely well researched and very accessible. A must-read for settlers who only see the result of that organized surveillance when media present prepared statements from security agencies during protests and blockades.
November 5, 2020
Unpacks the situation very well.
July 16, 2019
An important piece of work but not approachable for the common reader. I enjoyed learning new things about this issue but found it really hard to read because the tone is exclusively academic and very dry.
January 14, 2024
Extremely well researched. Well written and most importantly very important arguments and analysis. I highly recommend to anyone interested in furthering understanding of settler colonial violence happening right now.
March 1, 2019
This book hit close to home. As a Native American, I've see the ways in which police and the American government have tried to silence Native voices and movements. This book gives a good background on these movements and how Indigenous protests have been shaped by the outcomes past events.
Displaying 1 - 8 of 8 reviews