Occupy Talks: Indigenous Perspectives on the Occupy Movement

Video of John Trudell's Look at Us was shown before the talk.

Over 150 people attended the Indigenous Perspectives on the Occupy Movement as part of a series by Occupy Talks at the Beit Zatoun on January 23rd.

Jessica Yee’s article on the Occupy movement, published on Racialicious blog, sparked much debate and discussion around Occupy and the occupation of Indigenous land. Yee argues that the left often organizes campaigns using nationalist and patriotic language and fails to incorporate an anti-colonial and anti-oppression framework into their anti-capitalist project.

Tannis Nielsen, a Metis artist and the evening’s moderator, agreed with Yee’s criticism and called Occupy a re-occupation with potential.

The other speakers agreed with Nielsen and Yee’s analysis. 

Leanne Simpson, a band member of Alderville First Nation and an Adjunct Professor in Indigenous Studies at Trent University, said that Indigenous communities have been resisting the occupation of their land for the last 400 years.

She gave a historical and geographical framework of Southern Ontario and spoke of the devastating impact the Indian Act has on Indigenous people. She stressed the importance of the role of women’s leadership in the resistance against colonization.   
Clayton Thomas-Muller, of the Mathias Colomb Cree Nation and the Tar Sands Campaign Director for the Indigenous Environmental Network, spoke of his reaction to the Occupy movement when it first started, both his hopes and his concerns.

One of his concerns was that Occupy would take away energy from other campaigns that started before Occupy. He also spoke about how the Occupy movement is dominated by white males and their privilege and the importance of an anti-oppression framework.

But he was also impressed by the infrastructure that Occupy had set up. He wrapped up his talk by talking about London’s Climate Camp where they held a space, but also organized different actions each week. He felt the Occupy people were caught in the day to day work of holding the space such as dealing with conflict resolution, that left little energy for solidarity work such as the Tar Sands campaign.

Tom B.K. Goldtooth, the Executive Director of the Indigenous Environmental Network (IEN), headquartered at Bemidji, Minnesota, talked about the Indigenous protocol for communication and developing relationship with each other and the relationship to Mother Earth. He felt we need to ask critical questions such as: who are the 99% and when we say take back, who are we taking back from? 

Sponsors: Canadian Auto Workers, Canadian Labour Council, Ryerson University, Environmental Justice Toronto, Indigenous Environmental Network

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Tannis Nielsen by FTGU


Leanne Simpson by FTGU


Clayton Thomas Muller by FTGU


Tom Goldtooth by FTGU