ABOUT 20 Idle No More protestors gathered outside the Minerals North 2013 conference at the Terrace Sportsplex yesterday, April 25, saying that they want development to respect First Nations land that still provides sustenance.
The peaceful demonstration featured traditional drumming and regalia, and was watched over by a single police officer.
Members from several nations, including Gitxsan and Tsimshian were in attendance.
One member of the Tsimshian nation said that land negotiators should listen more carefully to the hereditary chiefs.
Two of the signs took a jab at a decision by Prime Minister Stephen Harper to greet two Chinese panda bears arriving at the airport in Toronto rather than meet with a group of aboriginal people who had walked to Parliament Hill in Ottawa from northern Quebec.
The Idle No More movement has been staging demonstrations regularly since late last year when aboriginal people around Canada reacted to federal omnibus legislation that removed environmental oversight in traditional waterways.
