Amid the throng of flag-waving Canadians wearing red and white on Parliament Hill on 1 July 2017 was a solitary teepee. The Canada Day bash – which featured U2’s Bono, the acrobatics of Cirque du Soleil, a dazzling fireworks display and Prime Minister Justin Trudeau as one of the MCs – was the biggest in a year-long celebration that has cost half a billion dollars. The event being commemorated was the 150th anniversary of confederation, when former British colonies united to form the country we know today as Canada.
The teepee dwellers were indigenous activists there to camp and practise traditional ceremonies on unceded Algonquin territory, never given up to the Canadian government. They had faced a five hour stand-off with armed police to defend these rights. Their presence forced Canadians – whom the activists refer to as ‘settlers’ – to consider another narrative, one of national shame rather than pride embedded in Canada’s foundations.
