Hundreds join march as Idle No More gains momentum
Organizer says movement not just ‘Indian Issue’
Hundreds turned out for a Calgary Idle No More protest that saw activists breach the doors of City Hall before packing Olympic Plaza.
The peaceful march, held Monday by a Calgary and Treaty 7 area group, saw supporters converge from all corners of the city.
Organizer Autumn Eaglespeaker said the group’s message remains the same, but the extra numbers of sup- porters are helping the movement gain momentum.
“It’s not just an Indian Issue. It’s an everyone issue. We all need the environment and for the government to be accountable,” she told reporters. “We need to safeguard for future generations.”
Monday’s event began under the watchful eyes of police and City Hall security, as activists met beneath the Chief David Crowfoot Memorial in the City Hall atrium. After prayers and speeches, a group of more than 50 walked to Olympic Plaza as police shut down Macleod Trail to traffic.
There, hundreds converged to listen to traditional drumming, singing and speeches.
“Obviously, it’s not dying,” said Chakotah Bronson, who travelled from southern Alberta and wore a tra- ditional headdress bearing coloured feathers and fur.
“Even if they’re not listening, a deaf man could hear these drums,” he said.
In Alberta, other events included a rally at Edmonton’s Churchill Square, a march in St. Paul and a protest in Little Buffalo.
The Idle No More movement has grown considerably since its early days in November.
Protests have been launched across the country, sparked by fears the federal government’s omnibus budget bill would erode native rights and threaten the environment.
An earlier protest in Calgary led authorities to contemplate laying charges against Idle No More protesters for a bridge blockade. The 14th Street bridge was shut down for hours Jan. 12 during a peaceful protest march that began earlier in the day at Nose Hill Park.
About two dozen members of the Blackfoot Confederacy Warriors planted themselves on the bridge and demanded a meeting with Mayor Naheed Nenshi along with a Treaty 7 chief. Nenshi, who was in Vancouver at the time, later remarked that the protesters would be wise to speak with federal MPs.
While the march from Nose Hill Park was planned in accordance with police, a spokesperson for the protesters said a Calgary bylaw officer tried to stop the march from proceeding through a red light, angering the male Warriors and triggering a prolonged shutdown of the busy bridge.