From CBC.ca

Harper to meet with First Nations chiefs Jan. 11

Attawapiskat Chief Theresa Spence's hunger strike goes into 25th day

Jan 4, 2013

As Attawapiskat Chief Theresa Spence's hunger strike continues for its 25th day, Prime Minister Stephen Harper's office has announced that he will attend a "working meeting" with a delegation of First Nations chiefs on Jan. 11.

"This working meeting will focus on two areas flowing from the [2012 Crown-First Nations] Gathering: the treaty relationship and aboriginal rights and economic development," said a release issued Friday morning by the prime minister's office. "While some progress has been made, there is more that must be done to improve outcomes for First Nations communities across Canada."

On Thursday evening, an Assembly of First Nations effort to broker an end to Attawapiskat Chief Theresa Spence's hunger strike and address the Idle No More protest movement appeared to have stalled, with Spence saying she can't sustain her hunger strike until the chiefs' previously proposed Jan. 24 talks with the prime minister and Governor General.

It's not clear whether Spence will be at the meeting. A spokesman for her, speaking at a press conference in Ottawa Friday, didn't answer a questions about whether she would attend, but reiterated that her hunger strike would continue until the meeting happened.

New Democrat MP Charlie Angus, who was also at the press conference, said the organizing is up to the Prime Minister's Office and the Assembly of First Nations.

Early Friday morning, a news release issued by Spence - who, despite frigid temperatures, remains camped out with her supporters on Victoria Island in the Ottawa River between downtown Ottawa and Gatineau, Que. - says that as the 25th day of her hunger strike begins, "her message is becoming more crucial."

Shawn Atleo, the national chief of the Assembly of First Nations, brushes off questions from reporters as he makes his way to a meeting with Attawapiskat Chief Theresa Spence on Thursday. (Sean Kilpatrick/Canadian Press)

"This is a crisis, and we cannot continue on this path of social indifference," Spence says in the release, reiterating her call for an "urgent" meeting on the implementation of treaties between First Nations and the Crown.

On Thursday, Spence's camp said this meeting needs to happen within 72 hours and suggested protests across Canada sympathetic to her cause could escalate.

Cannot sustain strike

Friday's statement quoted Spence spokesman Danny Metatawabin as saying the chief "cannot physically sustain her hunger strike" until Jan. 24, a meeting date proposed earlier by the AFN, which is calling for Prime Minister Stephen Harper and Governor General David Johnston to meet with chiefs from across Canada on the first anniversary of their 2012 Crown-First Nations gathering.

Metatawabin told reporters that he visited Spence Friday morning and "she's well, but you can tell her body is weak."

AFN National Chief Shawn Atleo and other regional chiefs from northern Ontario were on Victoria Island Thursday, meeting with Spence in an apparent effort to broker some sort of compromise solution that could respond to demands without further endangering anyone's physical well-being. Atleo said little as he left, however, apparently unsuccessful in his efforts.

Atleo has been meeting with officials from the prime minister's office behind the scenes in an effort to address not only Spence's hunger strike but the concerns of the Idle No More protest movement more generally.

It's not clear whether Spence would even accept a meeting between national chiefs and the prime minister as an adequate response to her demands.

Some involved with the movement have suggested theirs is a grassroots protest and the elected national chiefs cannot represent their interests because they are part of the system that has failed them in the past.

Protests escalate

Spence is not alone on her hunger strike. Cross Lake, Man., elder Raymond Robinson has also gone without food since Dec. 11.

The CBC's Adrienne Arsenault reports that while Spence is weak and reporting some pain, she remains upbeat and takes a daily walk with her friends and supporters.

Arsenault says Robinson is not faring as well, telling her yesterday that he's lost more than 30 pounds and is having trouble standing up straight because of his pain.

In a separate development, a release issued Friday morning by the Sikniktuk Mi'kmaq Rights Coalition in New Brunswick said the group has notified the RCMP that it plans to block CN Rail trains from transporting goods along the Highway 126 rail line in Adamsville, N.B., between now and Monday.

The release says the chosen location is a historical trading post where Mi'kmaq people bartered their handmade baskets for goods with local settlers.

Previously, Mi'kmaq protesters from Elsipogtog held a four-day traffic slow down along Highway 11. The group is calling for recent federal legislation to be abolished or stopped, saying it infringes on their treaty rights and human rights.

Attawapiskat Chief Theresa Spence is helped back to her teepee after meeting supporters on Victoria Island near Ottawa Thursday. Spence began a hunger strike Dec. 11, calling for a meeting with the prime minister and governor general to discuss her First Nation's urgent treaty issues. (Sean Kilpatrick/Canadian Press)

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