Attawapiskat Chief Theresa Spence leaves hospital after ending hunger protest

OTTAWA – Attawapiskat Chief Theresa Spence left her hospital bed on Thursday to sign the 13-point treaty rights declaration that ended her six-week hunger protest.

A chanting, drumming crowd greeted her at a downtown hotel after she left the hospital where she had been kept overnight for observation.

She thanked family, friends and supporters for their backing during the six chilly weeks she spent on Victoria Island, just upstream from Parliament Hill.

She suggested she’ll now step back from the political struggle and let other chiefs take over.

“There you go, chiefs, you take over and I’ll be part of the audience some times, so I’ll be watching you guys,” she said.

Spence also declared the need for unity among First Nations leaders.

“It’s time to really stay together no matter what hardship that we go through, and no matter what the government intends to do to us to divide us,” Spence said.

“Always remember that we’re here together and we’re here for our people, especially the youth.”

Earlier, spokesman Danny Metatawabin praised Spence for pushing First Nations issues to the top of the national political agenda, and for taking a stand on behalf of all indigenous people, demonstrating they can and will persevere.

“We will not be forgotten,” Metatawabin said during a news conference in Ottawa. “We will not be put behind.”

The end came as other chiefs and federal opposition parties vowed to take up her cause of treaty implementation and improved conditions on reserves. And it followed careful negotiation by interim Liberal leader Bob Rae.

Rae said he was concerned some days ago that there was a risk of the whole effort “going off the rails” if Spence didn’t call a stop to her protest.

He said he told Spence: “It’s everyone’s struggle. But no one should die.”

The chiefs and the politicians signed the 13-point declaration committing them to seeking immediate improvements to native housing and education; a meeting of First Nations chiefs, the prime minister and Governor General; and full implementation of treaty and aboriginal rights within five years.

“We agree the self-sacrifice and the spiritual courage of Chief Theresa Spence, along with Elder Raymond Robinson and all other fasters … have made clear the need for fundamental change in the relationship of First Nations and the Crown,” the declaration states.

“We fully commit to carry forward the urgent and co-ordinated action required until concrete and tangible results are achieved in order to allow First Nations to forge their own destiny,” says the preamble to the declaration.

The protest commanded the attention of Prime Minister Stephen Harper, his ministers and top officials. It also polarized public opinion in Canada and around the world, revealing a stark division between people who want to see more help for First Nations and those who believe they already get too much.

The protest also exacerbated a schism within the Assembly of First Nations – with many chiefs questioning the leadership of National Chief Shawn Atleo – and touched off a round of public soul-searching about what it takes to bring success to aboriginal people in Canada.

Atleo, meanwhile, was back on the job Thursday at an event in Vancouver after a 10-day sick leave ordered to bed by his doctor after the AFN political crisis slowed his recovery from flu.

“Our shared goal is simple and clear: to guarantee that our children can achieve the brighter future that they deserve,” Atleo said in a statement Wednesday.

“This is what every chief across this country, every member of the Assembly of First Nations, will continue to fight to achieve.”