Protesters from Brady Road landfill blockade settle in at second camp outside human rights museum

Protesters are feeling welcomed after settling in at a new camp next to the Canadian Museum for Human Rights, hoping it will draw more support and offer a space for people to heal.

"The fight is far from over, it just might look a little different from here on out," said supporter Diane Bousquet at the second camp on Wednesday, a day after city crews took down a blockade outside a Winnipeg landfill.

Those who were blockading the entrance to Brady Road landfill set up the new camp earlier this week. They called it Camp Marcedes in honour of Marcedes Myran, one of two First Nations women whose remains are believed to be in Prairie Green landfill north of Winnipeg.

City of Winnipeg crews, with police present,took down the blockade outside Brady Road landfill Tuesday, four days after an injunction ordering protesters to remove the barricade went into effect. The camp next to the road, called Camp Morgan in honour of Morgan Harris who is also believed to be inPrairie Green, remains in place.

Bousquet said it was hard to walk away after the city removed the blockade, but she hopes the new camp close to the city's cultural hub helps get their message out to more people.

"We're no longer the voice of one person, we're no longer the voice of one movement, we're the voice of nations now, so we have to do this gracefully and educate people along the way, but also we're not giving up," Bousquet said.

"We took one step back to take a hundred leaps forward," she said.

The Canadian Museum for Human Rights (CMHR) has been in talks with protesters after learning about their intention to set up the camp, Rorie McLeod, CMHR spokesperson, said in an email.

McLeod said CMHR met with elders and family members of missing and murdered Indigenous women and girls, including Marcedes Myran's sister Jorden Myran, earlier this week "to look at the best locations around the museum and how we could support them."

"That includes access to the museum during the hours we are open, portable toilets, garbage and recycling collection, and security support," he said in the email.

Jorden Myran said so far the museum has been accommodating.

"They've been super, super great with giving us the space," she said on Tuesday. "This is a very public place where lots of people come, so I'm hoping that it makes a big impact."

The importance of the location is twofold for Bousquet, since it's close to The Forks, a historic meeting place for Indigenous people, and next to the human rights museum.

"Being on this particular piece of land is so very important because traditionally, it is the meeting ground of our First Nations people, so it's important that they're here, it is a human rights issue," she said.

Bousquet said people are already feeling more welcomed at the second camp.

"These people have been welcomed here, and we're not going tohave the police presence and force that they had at the blockade," she said.

More camps coming

James Aster, a friend of Marcedes Myran's mother, said more support for the camp is likely on its way.

"There will be more people here. It's not going tostop," he said at the camp Wednesday.

MMIWG family member and advocate Isabel Daniels is one of those people supporting the camp.

"I just came to give some food and to support the camp and let them know that community is still with them, advocates are still with them," she said Wednesday.

"We're not giving up people are just re-evaluating and reassessing the situation and where to go next."

For Bousquet, the next step is setting up more camps. She said the group is considering creating camps elsewhere in the city and shutting down larger roadways to bring more awareness to their cause.

She said people are still at Camp Morgan and will be going back and forth between the twocamps.

"We're not going tolet these women be forgotten," she said.

In the meantime, the CMHR plans to "share the reasons for the camp" with visitors, McLeod said. "We will continue to take guidance from camp leaders on the best ways we can work together," he added.

Protesters from Brady Road landfill blockade settle in at second camp outside human rights museum

1 year ago

Duration 2:05

Protesters are feeling welcomed after settling in at a new camp next to the Canadian Museum for Human Rights, hoping it will draw more support. Camp Marcedes will offer a place for people to come together and heal.