Winnipeg Indigenous and Northern Affairs office occupied by protesters - Action News
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Winnipeg Indigenous and Northern Affairs office occupied by protesters

Protesters have occupied an Indigenous and Northern Affairs Canada office in downtown Winnipeg.

Protesters at INAC office on Hargrave Street call for help for First Nations in crisis

RAW: Protesters occupy Indigenous and Northern Affairs Canada office in downtown Winnipeg

9 years ago
Duration 0:32
Protesters at INAC office on Hargrave Street call for help for First Nations in crisis.

Protesters have occupied anIndigenous and Northern Affairs Canada office in downtown Winnipeg.

"We have officially occupied INAC in Winnipeg in support of our brothers and sisters across Turtle Island!!!!" organizer Raquel Lavalleeposted onFacebook.

Protesters say they are taking over the Indigenous and Northern Affairs office in Winnipeg "in support of our brothers and sisters across Turtle Island." (Raquel Lynn Lavallee/Facebook)

A similar occupation took placein Toronto on Wednesday when about 20 members of Idle No More and Black Lives Matter set up in an Indigenous and Northern Affairsoffice there, demanding the federal government take immediate action to address recent suicide attempts inAttawapiskatFirst Nation in northern Ontario.

Protesters started thatoccupation with a die-inon the floor of the office, before holding a ceremony that included theburning ofsweetgrass and sage.

They saidthey were standing in solidarity with theAttawapiskatcommunity, which declared a state of emergency Saturdayfollowing reports of 11 suicide attempts in one day alone last weekend.

There are alsoreports of more than100 suicide attemptsand at least one death since Septemberin the remote community of nearly 2,000 people.

Other First Nations dealing with recent suicides includePimicikamakand Shamattawain Manitoba.

First Nations across Canada need better funding and a commitment from the federal government to address the poverty, overcrowded housing, and other issues, the protesters in Winnipeg say.

It's time to honour our commitments of healing and reconciliation in Canada," saidKo'naCochrane, who heard about the protest and drove to the INAC officeonHargraveStreet, betweenElliceand Cumberland avenues.
Ko'na Cochrane drums on Thursday outside the Indigenous and Northern Affairs office on Hargrave Street in Winnipeg. (David Gaudet/CBC)

She drummed, sang songs and performed a smudge on the street in front of the office, wherethe protesters could see from a second-storey window.

"Canada has a serious problem and they need to deal with it in a big way. The population of indigenous people in Canada have had enough."

Lavallee postedon Facebook that it has been peaceful but asked supporters to bringprotesters water and food.

"Well we are doing fine up here. The security is being very friendly," she wrote.

"The police are outside, we were told they were called only because there was concerns about our smudging."

Protesters have set up inside the Indigenous and Northern Affairs office on Hargrave Street in downtown Winnipeg. (Raquel Lynn Lavallee/Facebook)
Protesters can be seen in the window of the Indigenous and Northern Affairs office at 365 Hargrave Street in Winnipeg on Thursday. (Dave Gaudet/CBC)