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Frustrated by the racist
double-standards being applied to our people across Canada, our assembly decided that the time
had come to move to direct action. This was not an idle threat, but a solemn decision to
create the kind of pressure that we hope will bring Canadian governments back to the
negotiating table.from the introduction by Georges Erasmus -
National Chief, The
Assembly of First Nations The front pages of the nation's newspapers have never been the same since June 1, 1987, when the Assembly of First Nations decided upon a confrontational course of direct action. All across the country, Indian bands have taken to blockading roads, setting up picket lines and occupying government-held propertires in an attempt to publicize their dispute and to get governments to respond. In Drumbeat: Anger & Renewal in Indian Country, prominent native leaders and editor Boyce Richardson tell the history of the relations between eight Indian bands and the Canadian federal and provincial governments. These are histories of betrayal, double dealing, and racism, and finally, of the native people's rising anger and determination to claim what has been denied them, and to forge a new and powerful role in Canadian society. |
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