"Why don't you try getting a job?"
"Yeah! Hear our voices!"
"This is bull*@%*!"
"Good for you!"
These are just some of the words flung by passing motorists when traffic on the northbound Battleford bridge was reduced to one lane by protestors June 24.
The attempted blockade was organized by Sharmaine Roy to draw attention to the plight of First Nation, Inuit and Metis people in Canada. Roy organized the protest after hearing about Red Power United, a native rights movement who organized the nationwide protest in order to pressure the government to "honor treaty obligations and provide financial resources, education, housing, health care and to relieve poverty of Native communities," according to their website. (redpowerunited.com)
Before the protest was to take place, several RCMP officers showed up, as well as city workers, who set up pylons across one lane of traffic in order to ensure the safety of protestors and drivers.
Staff Sgt. Phil Wilson said blocking traffic on a highway is illegal, but said he understood the protestors intended to relay their message in a peaceful manner.
"I want to make sure everyone is safe and we keep the traffic flowing on the bridge," said Wilson.
At the protest, Roy directed her megaphone at passing traffic and read:
"We are gathered here today to say in one clear, united and loud voice that 'Enough is enough!' Every single day we are subjected to the violence of a white supremacist system that subjects native people to various forms of psychological and physical battering The cries of our missing sisters, the cries of our children in foster care, the cries of our youth warehoused in jails, the cries of our young who have committed suicide, the cries of our students locked in an oppressive educational system that continues to deny them their language, cultural values, traditions and history, the cries of our families living in Third World living conditions of poverty, and the cries of mother earth as our lands continue to be invaded, occupied and destroyed by oil, uranium, mining and forestry companies, will soon stop Today's blockade is but one small step in a great cause and journey that is being taken up across Canada by First Nations, Metis and Inuit people. Our struggle will continue until we have taken back all of our lands and resources and we live as fully sovereign nations on Turtle Island."
Many motorists appeared confused as to the reason for the blockade, some shouted words of encouragement, and many hurled obscenities and raised their middle finger.
Town of Battleford Mayor Chris Odishaw expressed concern about the blockade at the regular town council meeting the previous Monday.
"This council and the councils in the region have been very forceful about trying to promote our community as a great place to be, and I would personally hate to see that we get a negative feedback in national media if we had another highway blockade, especially without the discussion taking place beforehand," he said.
Odishaw said a road blockade wouldn't be effective, because most drivers would only get angry. He also said there are other venues for protests and he doesn't understand why the protestors would choose to inconvenience residents when their issue is with the federal government.
Staff reporter John Cairns also suggested other methods of protest that would be less infuriating for drivers on the blog site newsoptimist.wordpress.com. Cairns implied blocking the main conduit between North Battleford and Battleford would be counterproductive because it would not garner much sympathy for the protestors cause.
Shortly after the protest, two comments were made, one from a protestor who claimed the insults shouted at protestors were due to racism, and one comment from a women who said the insults had nothing to do with racism, rather with holding up traffic.
"I don't know the reason behind the blockade, nor do I care. Why should I? The people who staged the blockade obviously have no care for me, if they had, they would have chosen a proper venue for voicing their dispute, and not held me up in traffic while I'm trying to go about my day," posted Martha.
