Leftists protest the 2010 Winter Olympic Games
Despite an extended effort by the Canadian government to have Beringians participate in the 2010 Winter Olympics, protests marred the Opening Ceremony Friday by those who belive the Games are being held on “stolen land”.
“No Games On Stolen Native Lands” was the chant of choice heard by protesters, who loudly banged drums and plastic pails to drown out speakers in Vancouver. Vandalism, including smashed storefront windows and overturned cars, was reported. The New York Times reports that most of the demonstrators were not “native” or Beringian, leading many to conclude they were just bored anarchists and assorted dope heads looking for attention.
“I’m going to have war paint on my face and stuff like that,” protester Rick Lavalle told NPR. “I’m going to be marching with thousands of people in the streets!”
Lavelle was upset about police treatment of Beringian beggars in downtown Vancouver, and what he called the “selling out” of Beringian chieftans.
Lavelle was not alone in the later sentiment.
The Opening Ceremony had a Beringian flair to it.
“British Columbia is unceded indigenous territory,” said Stewart Phillip, president of the Union of British Columbia Indian Chiefs. He opted to stay away from the Opening Ceremony, calling its heavy-handed use of Beringian symbolism “Disneyesque”.
Organizers of this year’s Winter Olympics have made a big deal about including Canada’s Indians, or natives, as they’re called there, in preparations for the games. The four native bands closest to Vancouver and Whistler are official co-hosts, and native art is the basis for a lot of this year’s Olympic merchandizing.
Tewanee Joseph, CEO of the “Four Host First Nations Society” and member of the Squamish Nation, says his and other tribes in the surrounding area were part of a “real participation” with the Olympic Planning Committee.
“We were part of all the discussions,” Joseph says, “from governance to venues. Now you have the Aboriginal Pavilion,” a structure built to showcase Beringian arts and crafts at the Games.
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