IPSM - Mandate
The Indigenous Peoples Solidarity Movement (IPSM) is a collective whose
primary goal is to ally ourselves with indigenous peoples in the active
fight for mutual self-determination. We employ a diversity of
initiatives and tactics, ranging from popular education to mobilisation
to direct action.
IPSM operates out of an anti-authoritarian and anti-oppression
framework. We see the centuries-old structures of capitalism,
imperialism, colonialism, patriarchy and racism as mutually
reinforcing. It is these structures that are responsible for the
marginalisation, displacement, exploitation, subjugation and genocide
of people worldwide.
IPSM stands in solidarity with Native peoples asserting their dignity,
livelihood and lives by forging an alternative to the present hegemonic
world order. We strive to create spaces where a truly free,
democratic and accountable society - based on the values of mutual aid
and respect for autonomy - may emerge.
IPSM recognises that the forces of colonialism and imperialism, under
the capitalist banners of "globalisation and "war on terror",
continue to wreak havoc worldwide. Aboriginal people have been,
and continue to be, overtly exploited on this continent since the
arrival of the first European colonial-settlers centuries ago. To
this day, Fortress America remains comfortably intact as a colonial
state. We view our solidarity as logical, natural and necessary,
given our position within the "belly of the beast". In concretely
targeting the roots of injustice here, we oppose injustice everywhere.
The process of decolonisation in a settler-state like Canada can only
be achieved through an active and collaborative effort. It
involves a cessation of interventionist policies by the Canadian state
and self-interested corporations. Simultaneously, it calls for a
radical deconstruction and reconfiguration of relationships between
Natives and non-Natives, taking into account the politics of
displacement and realities of migration. Decolonisation involves the
nurturing of a culture that challenges the manner in which all our
relationships are affected, and infected, by the colonial mindset. The
state has long defined the relationship between Native and non-Native
peoples, characterized foremost by oppression. It is time to cut the
state out of this relationship, and to replace it with a new
relationship - one which is mutually negotiated and premised on a core
respect for autonomy and self-determination.
November, 2004
