Members shut down Colonialism No More camp
After a meeting of those involved, members of the Colonialism No More Solidarity camp have decided to pack up and leave.
The camp started as a stand of solidarity with similar protests around Canada, and remained for four months as a meeting ground for people to talk about First Nations issues.
“When the camp first opened, I used to like to think that we were in the first stage,” said Prescott Demes. “We kind of got through that first stage, so now we’re looking at where we can go from here.”
Much of the focus fell on concerns with the federal government’s handling of First Nations issues, which eventually led to a meeting between campers and federal administrators.
“It has been four months since we have set up on reclaimed land on Albert Street here in Treaty 4, and we’ve experienced many highs and lows. Perhaps most noteworthy is the family we’ve created within the camp,” read a post by the group on social media.
A small tree was given to the campers when it first started. It has since grown about one foot and became a symbol of the group’s progress. The decision to close down the camp came after group discussions, but the plan of those involved is to keep meeting regularly. To that end, they hope the tree will continue to grow, even if they are still deciding on where it will do so.
“The whole objective of the camp was to bring awareness to people, surrounding communities, not just native people,” said Demes.
“We accomplished that, and we managed to get our foot in the door.”
The camp was near the city’s downtown core on Albert Street and highly visible to the hundreds of cars passing by each day.
Organizers set up there because that’s where the Indigenous and Northern Affairs Canada (INAC) offices are, but the visibility of the location went far in raising awareness of the camp’s presence.
By Sunday afternoon much of the camp had been taken down, but a handful of people were still mulling about cleaning up some of the remaining items.
It was a common sight to see small crowds gathered at the site, with people sitting around discussing a variety of issues. Many involved said Sunday one of the biggest take-aways from the camp would be the relationships that formed among those involved.