Chief Theresa Spence's Heroism Already Eclipses Nelson Mandela's
http://www.huffingtonpost.ca/obert-madondo/chief-theresa-spences-her_b_2408049.html
As an American, I have no idea with this is all about, but apparently the commenters don't agree.
Short version.
She is the chief of a native reserve of 1,500 people in remote northern Ontario. in 2011, this reserve gained international attention for a housing crisis in the winter.
Fast forward to this December, and she came to Ottawa and camped out on an island and began a "Hunger Strike" for some nebulous demands for a meeting with Prime Minister Stephen Harper.
Except it isn't
really a hunger strike, as her diet consists of water, tea, and "fish broth".
And even after Harper agreed to a meeting with her, she declared she wouldn't attend and would continue her "hunger strike" because the Governor-General was not going to attend.
And a third-party audit was released this week stating that there has been essentially no due diligence or recordkeeping done by the reserve council when it comes to the $100 million in federal funding provided to the reserve in the past 7 years.
And this week, when reporters from a national network attended the reserve to do a story, Spence ordered them to leave the reserve or be arrested for trespassing.
and this is all taking place in the context of wider native protests, taking the form of flash mobs, and the blockading of railway lines and highways. Last weekend native protesters even blockaded the international bridge crossing from Canada to the US at Sarnia, Ontario.
