A major national protest made its way though the Battlefords Wednesday afternoon, Dec. 19.
The Idle No More movement held a march down the streets of North Battleford around 4 p.m. The parade of marchers and vehicles made their way from Railway Avenue up 100th Street.
Involved in the march were several from the First Nations community. Many of the participants held placards outside their vehicles denouncing Prime Minister Stephen Harper and the federal government while calling for protection of the land and environment.
The march is one of a number of events the movement has had in Saskatchewan and across Canada. The protest is also one of several such efforts organized in recent weeks in the wake of the federal government's omnibus bill C-45 that has been opposed by several First Nations and aboriginal groups as an attack on their rights.
According to the Idle No More movement's website, their mission statement calls on all people to "join in a revolution which honours and fulfills Indigenous sovereignty which protects the land and water. Colonization continues through attacks to Indigenous rights and damage to the land and water."
The protests were set to continue with a march on Ottawa Dec. 21. A hunger strike was commenced by Chief Theresa Spence of Attawapiskat First Nation who planned to keep it going until Prime Minister Stephen Harper agreed to meet with chiefs over Bill C-45. Several Saskatchewan participants were expected to travel to Ottawa to join in that march.
