#Ottawapiskat hashtag cleverly mocks Harper government
Stephen Harper is having a hard time living off the land on Parliament Hill. He's turned to hunting fuzzy kittens.
That joke and many like it are part of a wave of witty social commentary on Twitter under the trending hashtag #Ottawapiskat. Canadian social media users have a point to make about aboriginal relations in this country and once again, they've made it with humour.
The Idle No More movement calling for increased aboriginal rights has prompted protests country-wide and the chief of the troubled community of Attawapiskat, Theresa Spence, has been on a hunger strike for more than a month.
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Now a wave of Tweets is roasting the federal government for poor aboriginal relations and the result has been enough clever zingers to declare a point well made.
'Ottawapiskat' has Twitter users turning aboriginal stereotypes around and applying them to the federal government. Some of the Tweets are funny, others serious and biting criticism of a situation these citizens suggest is critically mismanaged.
Chief Harper says living off the land in #Ottawapiskat Nation is difficult but He hunts everyday... twitter.com/nicolerrabbit/…
— देवAnaiksiinamayakii (@nicolerrabbit) January 14, 2013
Re-educating the children of #Ottawapiskat is key to overcoming the devastating and socially crippling effects of Smug Complacency Disorder. — Taiaiake Alfred (@Taiaiake) January 14, 2013
#Ottawapiskat Chief Stephen Harper calling numbers at a bingo game:F - 35....?C - 45....No one will win, Steve. No one. — meh (@BannockHammock) January 14, 2013
I'm sick and tired of my hard-earned tax dollars paying for the housing of #Ottawapiskat residents. Why do they deserve all the breaks?
— David William (@nrvscrcts) January 14, 2013
One of the most retweeted posts mocks Sun News Network host Ezra Levant.
Everytime someone says #Ottawapiskat, Ezra Levant mutters something racist and pees in his pants a little. — Settler Colonial (@SettlerColonial) January 14, 2013
The hashtag has even earned the attention of Canadian author Margaret Atwood.
Ha! #Ottawapiskat invites you to apply usual jabs at #FirstNations to Ottawa gov't financial gaffes+fashions. #idlenomoreLotsa good ones!
— Margaret E. Atwood (@MargaretAtwood) January 14, 2013
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Tweets have credited the idea for 'Ottawapiskat' to Aaron Paquette, an artist and author in Edmonton.