Attawapiskat First Nation walkers trek to Ottawa with message

Three walkers left Attawapiskat First Nation on Jan. 4with the goal of trekking to Ottawa with a message for the government and their chiefs.

Community members gathered on the bank of theAttawapiskatRiver, in the freezing cold, to send off DannyMetatawabin, BrianOkimawand PaulMettina.

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According to a statement posted by Metatawabinon Facebook, they are walking from thetraditional territories of the Omushkegowuk (People) to deliver a message to the leaders of both levels of Government and to our respective Chiefs that the time to honour our Treaties is now! The time to address and reconcile Aboriginal issues is now!"

Metatawabin writes, "We are and will continue to be here and we want our rightful place back within this country called Canada.

Metatawabinwas a spokesperson for Chief Theresa Spence during her fast on VictoriaIsland inOttawa last winter.

In a phone interview with CBC News, Spencesaid she supports the walkers.

I sent an email out to all the chiefs of Mushkegowuk encouraging us to get togetherand write a letter to the national chief, she said.

Spence wants the Mushkegowuk Council to ask for a national meeting of chiefs to address the walkers concerns. She has requested thatthe chiefs support the walkers when they pass through their communities.

TheMushkegowukCouncil represents eight First Nations in northern Ontario, includingKashechewan, Fort Albany,ChapleauCree,MissanabieCree, Moose Cree, TaykwaTagamouandAttawapiskatFirst Nations.

The walkers are supported by helpers carrying supplies on snowmobiles,and on Saturday and Sunday nights they headed back to Attawapiskat for the night.

In Matatawabins update on Jan.5, he wrote:Tomorrow will be the last time our helpers [from Attawapiskat] will be dropping us off, to begin our journey again. We are hoping that the other member communities will be picking us up from that point forward.

The walkers are currently 52 kilometres away from Attawapiskat and calling on Kashechewan First Nation for support. They are hoping more walkers will join them, and report that all is going well, despite the freezing cold weather.

Last yeara group of young people from the James Bay Cree community of Whapmagoostui, Que.completed a 1,600-kilometre trek to Ottawa, also meant to bring attention to aboriginal issues.