On July 1st at 2:00 pm, Indigenous organization IDLE NO MORE is hosting its 2nd annual Cancel Canada Day gathering at The Vancouver Art Gallery plaza. This is a call to action for both Indigenous Peoples AND Allies to come together in solidarity to peacefully disrupt this Canadian national celebration in honour of the Indigenous lives lost to the Canadian Government, including the lives of hundreds of children in the Residential School system. Together with dozens of similar gatherings across Canada, we will convene as a community to heal, grieve, and take steps to introduce systemic change while honouring Indigenous sovereignty and working toward securing protection of the land, water, and sky.
Over 1M people have gathered under the Idle No More banner since 2012. Hundreds of local Indigenous-led groups have self-organized around the world under the hashtag #IdleNoMore. The Cancel Canada Day gathering holds firm in its public refusal to sit idle while Canada’s violent history is blindly celebrated. This collection of powerful voices will assemble to support MMIWG2S, to commit to ending land extraction and devastation, child welfare, birth alerts, forced sterilization, Police/RCMP brutality, and all of the injustices that the settler-state has normalized on these lands. It will promote growing calls to action for all of the residential schools to be investigated, holding the Canadian Government and Catholic Church accountable.
Organizers, entertainers, and thought leaders such Rueben George, Kukpi7 Judy Wilson and Dawn Johnson, Audrey Siegal, JB The First Lady, Tonye Aganaba, Quanah Style, Kimmortal, Sparkle Plenty, Sara Cadeau, Dakota Bear, Jaye Simpson, Butterflies in Spirit, Rex Smallboy, DJ Skylar, Sewkanee and $Bake, Miss Christie Lee, Lady Sincere, Ndidi Cascade and Xhalida will be among those compelling voices leading the charge of this peaceful revolution. This is an open call for those who have been touched by the recent horrific truths revealed about the Indigenous history in Canada to join in allyship, seeking Justice as we work toward a peaceful future together.
www.idlenomore.ca/cancelcanadaday
https://www.instagram.com/cancelcanadaday/