Winnipeg Indigenous and Northern Affairs office occupied by protesters

Protesters say they are taking over the Indigenous and Northern Affairs office in Winnipeg “in support of our brothers and sisters across Turtle Island.” (Raquel Lynn Lavallee/Facebook)

Protesters at INAC office on Hargrave Street call for help for First Nations in crisis

CBC News, April 14, 2016

Protesters have occupied an Indigenous and Northern Affairs Canada office in downtown Winnipeg.

“We have officially occupied INAC in Winnipeg in support of our brothers and sisters across Turtle Island!!!!” organizer Raquel Lavallee posted on Facebook.

A similar occupation took place in Toronto on Wednesday when about 20 members of Idle No More and Black Lives Matter set up in an Indigenous and Northern Affairs office there, demanding the federal government take immediate action to address recent suicide attempts in Attawapiskat First Nation in northern Ontario.

Protesters have set up inside the Indigenous and Northern Affairs office on Hargrave Street in downtown Winnipeg. (Raquel Lynn Lavallee/Facebook)

Protesters started that occupation with a die-in on the floor of the office, before holding a ceremony that included the burning of sweetgrass and sage.

They said they were standing in solidarity with the Attawapiskat community, which declared a state of emergency Saturday following reports of 11 suicide attempts in one day alone last weekend.

There are also reports of more than 100 suicide attempts and at least one death since September in the remote community of nearly 2,000 people.

Protesters can be seen in the window of the Indigenous and Northern Affairs office at 365 Hargrave Street in Winnipeg on Thursday. (Dave Gaudet/CBC)

Other First Nations dealing with recent suicides include Pimicikamak and Shamattawa in Manitoba.

The Winnipeg occupation is in the Indigenous and Northern Affairs office on Hargrave Street, between Ellice and Cumberland avenues. Lavallee posted on Facebook that it has been peaceful.

“Well we are doing fine up here. The security is being very friendly,” she wrote.

“The police are outside, we were told they were called only because there was concerns about our smudging.”

http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/manitoba/protesters-winnipeg-inac-office-attawapiskat-1.3535777