Attawapiskat walkers: A Moose Cree community perspective

This story was produced with guidance from DannyKresnyakof Journalists for Human Rights as part ofJHRsNorthern Ontario Initiative.

As of Feb. 14, the walkers passed Bissett Creek, Ont., heading in the direction of Deep Water, Ont.on Highway 17.

Attawapiskatswalkers arrived in the Moose River Valley on a grey and overcast Monday afternoon.

The original group of three left Attawapiskat on Saturday,Jan. 4, 2014.

To this point their journey has seen more than 300 kilometres along the James Bay coast of Ontario.

They have been joined by more walkers in each community they passed through, including Fort Albanys 27-year-old chief,Rex Knapysweet.

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Danny Metatawabin, spiritual leader of the group, has led the walkersnow numbering seven on a path that leads to Ottawa.

Their goal is to address federal and provincial government officials with a demand that the treaty and ancestral land claim rights of Canadian First Nations be respected.

Were really proud of these guys, said Moose Cree Chief Norm Hardisty, as he and the deputy chief Earl Cheechoo walked ontothe winter road to meet the groupjust outside Moosonee.

The two were part of an exuberant welcoming committee made up of people from thecommunity.

The group appeared weather-tempered;some displayed noticeable limps as they crossed into Moosonee.Yet they walked on and the crowd cheered every step.

After the welcome,the walkers made their way through the community to the Moosonee Elders Centre.

The group was given a police escort and residents of Moosonee emerged from their homes to greet the men as they passed.

Theyre here, its really them," said a pre-teen girl standing on a street corner with a group of other children.

At the elders centre,the walkers were met by an electrified crowd, includingAttawapiskatChief Teresa Spence and other local leaders.

Its his [Metatawabins]journey, his message, his moment. I support him as his chief. I worry about what they go through to spread this message, the cold they must go through," she said.

The gathered crowd then shared a meal and heard speeches from the walkers.

As they left Moosonee, their numbers grew and they gained a new flag to carry across the Moose River.

Hardisty raised the flag of Moose Cree First Nation as they crossed the ice road to Moose Factory Island.

The ice was jagged and jutted out in different directionsfrom a freeze-up in the fall.

A Moose Cree work truck with a warning light on top of itscab escorted the band of walkers to Moose Factory.

Temperatures were mild and temperate, laying an evaporating haze on the ice.

We made it, exclaimed a child near the end of the group as they walked up the bank of on the island.

The road was bathed in the amber light of overhead street lamps as the walkers and a convoy of vehicles moved along the river road headed north to the Cree Cultural Interpretive Centre.

At the centre, the walkers were led to a large cook tent where three fires and the wood stoves heated the inside of the large teepee, called a shapitawan.

There,they were fed bannock washed down with coffee and tea. Community leaders spoke and welcomed one anotherin both English and Cree.

The walkers, from reserves in Attawapiskat, Fort Albany, Moosonee and Moose Factory,made plans for the next stage of their journey to Ottawa.

Next,they will leave Moose Factory bound for Otter Rapids, Cochrane and Timmins then on to Ottawa.

Metatawabin saysthe group is focused, with a fierce song in their hearts and a message to present to the federal and provincial governments.