Portal:Aboriginal peoples in Canada/Selected article/5
Idle No More a protest movement originating among the First Nations, Metis and Inuit peoples and their non-Aboriginal supporters in Canada, and to a lesser extent, internationally. It has consisted of a number of political actions worldwide, inspired in part by the hunger strike of Attawapiskat Chief Theresa Spence and further coordinated via social media. A reaction to alleged abuses of indigenous treaty rights by the Harper government, the movement takes particular issue with the recent omnibus bill Bill C-45.
The use of flash mobs performing round dances in shopping malls became a recurring theme of the protest during the pre- and post-Christmas shopping season in 2012. On 17 December a flash mob performed a round dance at the Cornwall Centre shopping mall in Regina. This tactic was also used at the Rideau Centre in Ottawa. It also spread internationally when a similar protest at the Mall of America in Minnesota. Members of the Sandy Bay First Nation in Manitoba blocked the Trans-Canada Highway. Members of the Driftpile First Nation also blocked a road on 18 December.
