University of Ontario Aboriginal students host walk awareness session for Wetsuweten First Nation

An information session was held at the University Center, where t-shirts made by local Aboriginal youth were sold

The University of Ottawa was one of many schools across the country to organize a student outing to show solidarity with the hereditary leaders of Wetsuweten on Wednesday, who saw several students come mobilize at the university center of the school to help raise awareness of the situation.

We just wanted to organize an artistic creation and an information session so that people can come and learn about the problem, because people who are more likely to know the problems are more likely to hang out with us, said Sophia Sidarous. , a second year student in conflict studies and human rights who helped organize the event.

The dispute over the construction of a gas pipeline on the ancestral lands of the Wetsuweten First Nation in northern British Columbia has sparked hundreds of solidarity demonstrations, rallies and blockades across the country, with Ottawa hosting a number of number of events throughout the month of February. .

Sunday, a the draft agreement has been concluded between the federal and provincial governments and the Wetsuweten hereditary chiefs, although the terms of the agreement are still unknown.

Sidarous, a Mikmaq from the Metepenagiag First Nation who helped organize several solidarity events in Ottawa, said that she wanted to organize the event at the school because she found that There was a lot of silence and a lack of information at the university regarding the situation.

I just wanted to bring this to (school), said Sidarous. Indigenous peoples in universities are trying to involve their non-Indigenous peers to care about the problems that are happening in their own communities and in their own country.

Sidarous highlighted how schools such as the University of Victoria, McGill University and the University of Guelph each organized their own student outings on Wednesday as well.

Even people who are not on our side per se, can stop and ask questions and we will do our best to explain the media, and how that plays a role in the current problem, said Sidarous.

In addition to distributing leaflets explaining the situation, t-shirts made by local youth and indigenous allies were also sold during the information session, with all proceeds going to the land defenders in Wetsuweten.

I think the mere lack of information … really turns this tale into something as Indigenous peoples … embarrassing Canadians, said Sidarous. I think it is really important that non-indigenous people act on these problems that happen in their own country, that this is something that affects us all.

For Sidarous, the purpose of the event was to help educate people about the issue and to involve more people in the university.

This is how it should have happened probably a while ago, but there was somehow a lack of response from non-Indigenous peoples to take the initiative. ; educate themselves, she said. So we have to somehow step up.

Hannah Newman, a third-year nursing student who participated in the outing, said that as a white settler, it was important to her to support the rights of the Wetsuweten and Indigenous peoples.

I think it is really important as students, as a future generation, to step down and say no, no, we cannot continue to leave the government specifically to white settlers keep doing these things, said Newman.

She added that it was Indigenous youth who took a stand against the effects of colonialism and that it is important that they know that they are not alone in their struggle.

It’s really nice to see the kids realizing it. I know that there are people who support these movements, whose parents and family do not understand why, and they are able to try to educate the people around them, did she say.

Fernando Jimenez, a second-year anthropology student who also participated in the walkout, said that when students combine their voices, they can play a crucial role in helping to draw more attention to an issue.

I am simply challenging the notion of Canada as a nation because there is so much colonial history that really questions that, said Jimenez. What land are we really on?

Sidarous echoed Jimenez's sentiment, where she said that the role that students play in helping to spread and make sense of the situation is very important.

These are young people, right? We were soon to occupy positions of power, so the more people take initiatives on this subject will affect them later when they are in a position of power or in any field they are studying. said Sidarous. Wetsuweten, in this context, and Indigenous Peoples, whatever field of study you find yourself in, will affect you in one way or another.