Water protectors build tipi on Parliament Hill
June 29, 2017 7:18 AM   Subscribe

In the middle of the night, a group of Indigenous people and supporters erected a tipi on Ottawa's Parliament Hill, despite police efforts to stop them, immediately before celebrations of the 150th anniversary of Canada's confederation are to begin.

For many people, the 150th anniversary is not something to celebrate, but instead represents the Canadian government's ongoing violent betrayal of First Nations, Inuit, and Métis people.

This action (more background here) has been organized by the Bawaating Water Protectors, as part of a call to action by Idle No More.

Those involved emphasized that it is a ceremony, not a protest.

- More coverage from Vice Canada.
- Twitter accounts to follow for news
- Short interview with one of the youth involved.
posted by ITheCosmos (4 comments total) 17 users marked this as a favorite
 
If anyone is interested in supporting the water protectors, there is a donation link here.
posted by ITheCosmos at 7:55 AM on June 29, 2017 [3 favorites]


In a lawsuit filed in December last year, the Algonquin Anishinaabe First Nation say they haven’t ceded the Parliament Hill land, and they want the federal and Ontario governments to recognize that those lands belong to their Nation.

Canada still has a long way to go. Between broken treaties and unceded land, there's a LOT of territory in this country that should still be in native hands. Right now the government is paying more lip service than ever to these issues - lately a lot of orgs in Toronto have been opening their events with an acknowledgment of the original residents of this land - but when it comes it actually allowing people to control their own land, it's still not really happening.
posted by thecjm at 8:02 AM on June 29, 2017 [9 favorites]


Canada has a Parliament Hill because it's where parliament is.
Britain has a Parliament Hill because it's where Guy Fawkes went to watch parliament burn.
posted by w0mbat at 10:45 AM on June 30, 2017


The Prime Minister dropped by the tipi for a chat today, which is nice.
posted by clawsoon at 6:06 PM on June 30, 2017


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