Canada: Arrest of Real People’s Media journalist Starla Myers for reporting on 1492 Land Back Lane is proof of prejudice against indigenous journalists

September 22, 2020, Ontario, Canada -- Indigenous journalist Starla Myers was arrested on September 16 by Ontario Provincial Police over her coverage of protests of land defenders in the 1492 Land Back Lane action reclaiming land along the Haldimand Tract. 

Since July 19, Haudenosaunee Land Defenders have been peacefully reclaiming land along the Haldimand Tract, just south of Caledonia. The Haldimand Tract was land given to Six Nations, in 1784, for supporting the British during the American Revolution. However, the Canadian government has unlawfully sold the land to developer Mackenzie Meadows.

On Friday, July 31, the Land Defenders’ camp was served an injunction order. Since then the injunction has been violently enforced by Ontario Provincial Police (OPP), arresting several demonstrators before the Land Defenders took action by blockading roads and rail traffic and escorted OPP off the Indigenous territories.

Several indigenous journalists have been arrested in Canada for reporting on indigenous issues especially those that have to do with land defense. Starla Myers is the third journalist to be arrested by the OPP over coverage of 1492 Land Back Lane. 

Starla was contacted by the police late on September 14 and was informed that she had to meet with them regarding “an issue in Haldimand County”. She met with the Ontario Provincial Police in September at the Six Nations Police Department station in Oshweken. 

Before going inside Myers gave an interview for Real Peoples Media in which she expressed concern about which violation she could have committed.“As a reporter, as a journalist I was really concerned about what I could have done in Haldimand that was against Freedom of Speech or the Constitution or my personal rights as an Onkwehon:we woman on my own territory”

During her interview Starla expressed the need for Indigenous voices in journalism “That’s what was missing in journalism people who are out there, who are able to walk the walk, talk the talk. People who are able to tell stories from a place of knowledge, a place of hereditary knowledge.” She also said: “What’s happening to us, not just myself but other Indigenous journalists is that we’re effectively being silenced. The quiet Indian, dead Indian are the only kind of Indian they want in Canada”

Starla Myers was asked to sign documents she did not understand without presence of her lawyer, she was released as the “order to sign” those papers were unconstitutional, however she was charged with 2 counts of mischief and disobeying a court order and it is unclear if the conditions are valid as she did not sign the Promise to Appear.

The Coalition For Women In Journalism spoke to Starla who explained what it meant to be an indigineous journalist and how much police pressure on journalists affect the righteous cause of First Nations peoples of Canada: “I am Kanienka:haka, I have a matrilineal line that can be traced to the Mohawk Valley in New York State. Caring for and nurturing our mind, body and soul is directly connected to the land. Having the opportunity to be able to translate this connection while covering land back defence has been a lifelong endeavour. Up until recently, I felt that surely those who had misunderstandings as to why First Nations felt compelled to take measures that appear as restricting access to the use of our territory could and would learn that it is a matter of protection. Historically we walked lightly and never overused land until there was no life left in the soil. We would rotate our villages to ensure that she could recover and heal so that life could once again flourish for the generations yet to come. I do understand the difficulty in translating the world view that I hold strongly to terms that can be understood but I do not believe they exist in the English language. That difficulty in translating it can be seen as silence or consent to the ongoing transgressions in the form of housing developments, But it seems as though that the people who stand to benefit from land theft merely do not want to understand those connections. I know that being an indigenous reporter in the eyes of law enforcement now means that there is an expectation to disconnect myself from the land and not tell the stories of original people with any compassion, support or expression of myself.”

When asked about how she was treated at the police station she explained that as an indigenous woman she never feels safe at the hands of the police, even it they have been kind to her: “I believe any time an Indigenous woman is in police custody that there exists a power dynamic that removes her from being viewed as a human. To be detained and arrested by the very people who have used images of indigenous women as target practice or knowing that Indigenous women have died in police custody remains a very real and relevant concern for my safety. I have never and will never feel safe with the police in their attempts to exert their laws over me. They thanked me for my kindness and disposition with them, They did not acknowledge their role in the erasure of strong Onkwehon;we women voices”

Canada ranks as one of the highest in the world when it comes to press freedom (16/180), however in the particular case of indigenous women journalists, the risk of experiencing violence as a result of their work may increase due to the combination of structural patterns affecting community media; intersectional discrimination against indigenous women; and the high public profile they may acquire in defense of the rights of indigenous peoples and/or the rights of women in their territories. The combination of these factors often exposes indigenous women journalists to a greater risk of stigmatization and persecution in certain contexts, whether by State or non state actors.

The Coalition For Women In Journalism stands in solidarity with Starla Myers and indigenous women journalists in Canada. We call upon Canadian security forces to do better and live upto the country's expectations and it’s worldwide championed status on freedoms.