THUNDER BAY – Cornelius Beaver says Indigenous protestors from coast to coast are trying to show support to hereditary Wet’suwet’en Territory chiefs in a peaceful manner.
In other locations, it’s meant blockades and street closures.
In Thunder Bay, on Wednesday it meant a sign-filled, supper-hour protest in front of city hall.
Beaver, a student at Superior Collegiate and Vocational Institute, said a show of force isn’t necessary to get the message across.
But it is important to make sure their voices are heard, he said.
“I think it’s important for people to come together and support other Indigenous people because they are our brothers and sisters and they are experiencing arrests, injunctions and being criminalized,” Beaver said.
“I think it’s important to come together in love and be united and show our support.”
It can also send a different message to a portion of the population who look at the recent spate of protests, which stemmed from the hereditary chiefs’ opposition to Coastal GasLink’s planned pipeline through their unceded territory.
“It’s to remind people that we are peaceful people. We are not as angry as we seem, even though we’ve faced a lot of discrimination and oppression all these years. We are still here and we are still able to be peaceful. We are still able to come together and be united as Indigenous people and non-Indigenous people,” Beaver said.
The goal is to have Indigenous rights and sovereignty respected in the eyes of all Canadians.
Seeing people from all different backgrounds standing with him outside of city hall warms his heart.
“I think it’s very humbling and I respect those who come and support Indigenous people. That is a form of reconciliation, even though we’ve been saying that reconciliation is dead,” Beaver said.
About 70 people took part in Wednesday’s protest.
