Elder Raymond Robinson – Hero to some, well-intentioned grandstander to others

Hunger striking Indigenous people have gained international headline-grabbing prominence since the birth of the Idle No More movement, thanks to a six-week fast by Attawapaskat’s Chief Theresa Spence and Cross Lake Elder Raymond Robinson that coincided with the movement’s explosion this winter.

The age-old starvation tactic has since been employed by a Downtown Eastside Vancouver activist, a jailed Inuit elder protesting a Labrador dam, and a Cree woman in Quebec.

Many observers, however, raised their eyebrows when Robinson launched a second fast on April 3–this one without food or water–vowing to starve if Prime Minister Stephen Harper didn’t meet again with First Nation leaders and repeal controversial changes to bands’ funding agreements. Robinson, however, called off the hunger strike five days later.

“I decided at that point to thank Creator for answering my prayer; now I want to stand down,” Robinson explained in an interview with Windspeaker the day after ending his strike. “I have done my part ... never again.”

The Manitoba Cree Elder said his hunger strikes were both deeply emotional experiences, and the spark is lit for healing the Canadian-Aboriginal relationship. Despite appealing for legislative changes, he insisted his actions were spiritual not political and inspired many.

“Vigils were held in major cities all over world ... countries I didn’t even know existed,” Robinson said. “We’ve reached the whole world.

“It was overwhelming. It made me cry that our prayers were being answered, that Creator was answering our prayers. He was creating a new change throughout the world; he’s planting seeds.”

The former soldier–from a family of veterans–said he learned the value of sacrifice and service in the military, and believes actions motivated by those values, and by the First Nations sacred teachings, lead to real social change.

“The people of Canada, the U.S., and all over the world are waking up, too,” he said. “I was praying that the First Nations leadership and the government of Canada will finally, in this crucial moment of time, come together and start having an open and fair dialogue with each other, based on mutual respect, trust, honour, humility, honesty, and the courage to forge new relations.
“Here we are in 2013 still living in Third World conditions. Many reserves still don’t have running water, economic development, social stability, proper medicare or medical technology to take care of our sick, or proper education. We are overcrowded, our houses are run down, and we don’t have the dollars to repair them.”

Though some critics questioned the effectiveness of Robinson’s second hunger strike, it did achieve a face-to-face meeting with Aboriginal Affairs Minister Bernard Valcourt.

“The meeting was frank but positive and focused on the need to work together to make progress on the treaty relationship and living conditions on reserve, particularly in the areas of education, housing and economic development,” Aboriginal Affairs stated afterwards. “The minister acknowledged Grand Elder Robinson’s commitment to raising awareness of First Nation issues and encouraged him to consume food and water, stressing that real progress will only happen when the parties work together.”

Robinson gave Valcourt “credit” for what he said was “a lot of hope” for positive change in reserve conditions. But the Grand Elder also took offence with the minister for, as he recalled, “laughing at” his suggestion of talks based on a nation-to-nation understanding, as recommended by the Royal Commission on Aboriginal Peoples.

“He said, ‘Raymond, I’ll make a deal with you: If you end your hunger strike now, I’ll visit you on your reserve. How’s that?’”
Robinson recalled. “What good was this visit to my reserve going to be, to see me? Is he going to bring his magic wand and ‘Poof! Here’s a hospital; Poof! Here’s business infrastructure; Poof! My reserve’s got running water and hydro.’

“Many ministers have come to reserves across Canada. They go visit, and put it all over the paper. That’s a good story, ain’t it? But nothing changes. It’s just a photo op. Kind words, full of optimism and hope, but an empty box.”

One critic who was decidedly unimpressed with Robinson’s hunger striking is Ernie Crey, senior policy advisor for Sto:lo Tribal Council in B.C. Crey has been outspoken in his desire to see the Idle No More movement become more organized, strategic, and engaged in Canadian politics.

“These dramatic, grand gestures – ‘I’m going to starve myself to death unless the Prime Minister agrees to talk to us’ – are not going anywhere,” said Crey. “They won’t bring about the change people want.

“Where Raymond is concerned ... it was an effort to prompt a meeting that’s already taken place, and the Prime Minister has agreed to hold yet another meeting with First Nations leaders. I’m not trying to disparage him, but let’s get serious here. If you want to do something to improve the lives of Aboriginal people, these dramatic gestures ring hollow to me.”

While there were conflicting reports about why Robinson ended his recent fast–failing health or successful pressure from Assembly of First Nations National Chief Shawn Atleo–Crey believes that the real reason was that the Elder had simply lost credibility with an ill-planned action.

“I think Raymond spent all of his political capital,” Crey added.
“Him giving up on it – having not thought it through to its logical conclusion and not having a context or larger strategy – that type of thing can’t be effective... I don’t have any animosity to Raymond, or for that matter to people loosely associated with Idle No More. I’m sympathetic; but if you want to achieve these things you’ve set for yourselves, you’re not going to get there doing what you’re doing. Get organized, get involved in the mainstream political life of this country, and there’s lots of lessons out there to learn from groups that have already done it, who have been successful in advocacy.”

Robinson retorted that his experience in band politics for more than 30 years–including stints in economic development management, on boards of directors, and hammering out industry deals–led him to give up on that system.

“I’ve done it all in terms of politics,” he said. “I know my way around that mind frame.

“I’ve had my fill of politics; that’s where I learned that there’s no spirituality or life in these meetings... I learned one thing in this political journey: when we are in office, we might make decisions for the benefit of our people, but we always seem to make them at the intellectual level, based on the materialism of this world. We never, most of the time, come from the spiritual aspect of it: the heart. We never make decisions based on what the heart wants.”

Crey’s hope for public figures like Robinson, as well as those involved in Idle No More, is to take more time to ponder political effectiveness.

“If you want to have a say, you have to get involved,” Crey replied, likening political involvement, such as lobbying politicians, to the bitter taste of Buckley’s cough syrup. “If you’re not willing to do those things, but you’re willing to go to a shopping mall or sit on a railway track, that Member of Parliament says, ‘Maybe they’re my constituent, but they never phoned me.’

“Anyone that was politically literate could have told them that the Conservative government of Canada was not going to withdraw their legislative agenda, or repeal the parts of the omnibus bill that concerned First Nations. The way you get it withdrawn is you elect a different government.”

Robinson, who was born in Churchill, Man. where his Air Force father was a station manager, moved to Cross Lake First Nation in the mid-60s at 19. And though he confessed to deep-seated anger towards the racism he experienced in residential school, and in various communities, he urged Aboriginal and non-Aboriginal people alike to reflect on how to make love a driving force.

“Let’s honestly look at ourselves,” Robinson urged. “Do we come from respect every single moment of our life? Do we utilize peace when we meet people and make decisions? Let’s not fool ourselves and say, ‘Yes we do.’ If we went by these rules, by this conduct, our world wouldn’t be where it is. That’s why our world is so chaotic.

“The Red Road teaches us to have kindness, mutual respect, humility, honour, to help out our neighbours, and to pick up the person that has fallen... It only takes one spark; when people see that spark, they’re drawn to it, and it keeps lighting and lighting and lighting. The world is coming to one light.”