OTTAWA—The Algonquin Nation will be guaranteed a space in a major Indigenous centre in Ottawa after an agreement with the federal government ended a grand chief’s hunger strike. Verna Polson of the Algonquin Anishinabeg Nation Tribal Council had refused both food and water starting early Monday and extending into Tuesday evening. Polson was protesting the limited role the Algonquins were playing in the development of the Indigenous Peoples Space, a project that encompasses a prime area near Parliament Hill centred on the former U.S. Embassy. Under the agreement struck Tuesday between the Algonquin Nation and Crown-Indigenous Relations and Northern Affairs, the Algonquin Nation will have a space in the Indigenous Peoples Space guaranteed for its use. Discussions with the government had been going for several weeks before Polson’s hunger strike increased pressure on the talks, he said.

Source: thestar July 03, 2019 17:59 UTC