Six Nations protesters disrupt torch relay

Aboriginal protesters diverted the Olympic torchrelay route on Mondayaway from the Six Nations reservenear Caledonia, Ont.

Runners had been expected to carry the torch down Highway 54 onto the reserve. Officials instead drove it to a local hall, where 25 torchbearers took turns running it around a circuit in the parking lot.

Protesters waving Mohawk Warrior and Iroquois Confederacy flags said the torch had no business on Six Nations land, which they consider sovereign territory.

But many more reserve members gathered at the hall to support the aboriginal torchbearers.

Tuesday's route

On Tuesday, the Olympic torch relay will weave its way through southern Ontario, with stops in Brantford, Paris, Simcoe, Tillsonburg and St. Thomas, Ridgetown and Blenheim. It will end the day inChatham, 51 days before the 2010 Olympic Winter Games are set to begin in Vancouver.

The relay will wend its way through Chatham's downtown before arriving for a cauldron-lighting ceremony at the Kinsmen Auditorium and Memorial Arena on Tweedsmuir Avenue at 6:10 p.m.

"It'll be something really to see," said Ashley White, project manager for Chatham-Kent's torch relay. "We've got great acts and local dance groups. We've got fireworks to finish off the night."

The torch will also be blessed by members of the Oneida of the Thames and Chippewas of the Thames.