Idle No More comes back to Sudbury

Today is a National Day of Action for Idle No More, the protest movement dedicated to First Nations issues and it includes an event at Tom Davies Square in Sudbury.

Todays activities are being viewed by some advocates as a way to bring Idle No More back into the public eye.

The Idle No More movement has drawn thousands to protests and round dances that shut down city streets across the country, but in the past few months it's been out of the public eye, and many are wondering about the future of the movement.

A spokesperson with the Union of Ontario Indians in North Bay said he's worried some people stopped paying attention to the movement following the end of the dramatic hunger strike of Chief Theresa Spence.

"First Nations leaders we're all very supportive of her attempts to draw greater attention, Maurice Switzer said. But it was much easier, I think, for the media to focus on one person, like Theresa Spence."

Networking continues

A professor at Laurentian University who studies social movements said that, while there haven't been as many major events for Idle No More recently, the movement has been busy with lower profile work.

"It's been doing an awful lot, Gary Kinsman said.

It's been doing a lot of grassroots organizing; it's been doing a lot of organizing and a lot of networking. And we'll have to see what that leads to."

Today's events are timed to correspond with the 250th anniversary of the Royal Proclamation that established Canada's treaty system.

The former Grand Council Chief of the Anishinabek Nation said this day is a significant one for all Canadians.

"That was the first actual written document in common law that identifies First Nations as nations, John Beaucage said. Only nations can sign treaties. We're all treaty people."

The Idle No More event in Sudbury will take place at 5 p.m. in Tom Davies Square.