Protesters outside the Rochdale Blvd. Husky gas station in Regina made it difficult for drivers to access the pumps Monday afternoon.
“We are trying to stop business for husky for a little while,” Katie Wilson said, while protesting for Indigenous Day of Action.
They are part of a nation-wide movement, calling out Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and the federal government for what they call broken promises.
Protestors say they are standing in solidarity, for indigenous rights including land and water protection. Husky was chosen as the site of the protest because of their recent chemical spill in the North Saskatchewan River.
Wendy Lynn Lerat is a professor at the First Nations University and an organizer of the local protest.
“We need to begin to see some action beyond just the reiterate, beyond just the passing of the tax,” Lerat said.
“What is that going to do? We have a crisis right now.”
The theme of the protest was “Deeds, not Words.” The group says it is a call on the Trudeau government for not delivering on election promises.
READ MORE: First batch of birds released after recovering from Husky oil spill
“Again, another broken promise that he was going to begin to honor and make different the relationship with indigenous people in Canada — and that hasn’t been the case… we’ve seen him approving pipelines and the Site C Dam,” Lerat added.
The ‘Site C’ hydroelectric dam in British Columbia is being built on the Peace River. First Nations across the country have been publicly against the build saying it disrupts homes and hunting.
READ MORE: First Nations groups from B.C. and Quebec come together against Site C dam
Signs that read “stop the black snake” made reference to pipelines across North America including North Dakota and Saskatchewan . Protesters brought light to the estimated 250,000 liters of oil and chemicals that spilt in the North Saskatchewan River in July 2016.
Husky Energy claimed responsibility for the spill which impacted water supplies for surrounding communities and first nations.
“We’ve got to start looking at getting off oil, there’s other alternatives. We’ve got to start investing more in that,” Darin Milo said while protesting on Rochdale.
Lerat is asking for both the government and the public to pay more attention to how daily actions impact our environment.
“Today we need to begin to have a real discussion around changing the narrative, around working with indigenous people, around climate action and as far as I am concerned, all of those are the same thing,” Lerat said.
A similar rally took place in Fort Qu’Appelle, Sk.
The office of the Carolyn Bennett, Minister of Indigenous Affairs and Northern Development, has since issued a statement to Global News that they are “deeply committed to renewing the relationship with indigenous peoples” and have invested $8.4 billion in the 2016 budget to “begin to close gap in outcomes experienced by too many Indigenous Peoples in Canada.”
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