Members of the Serpent River First Nation and Mississauga First Nation held a joint protest this morning in support of the Treaty rights of the Mi’kmaq people in their conflict with commercial lobster fishermen in Nova Scotia.
The protest took place on Highway 17 near Pronto Road before noon with a parade of vehicles moving slowly along the highway and culminating an exchange of fish symbolizing Indigenous fishing rights enshrined in the Canadian Constitution. The exchange took place at about the halfway mark between the two bands’ territories.
The dispute has seen several large demonstrations and physical confrontations by commercial fishermen in Nova Scotia against the Sipekne’katik First Nation which has launched a self-regulated lobster fishery outside of the federally regulated commercial fishing season. It has also seen the destruction of a lobster pound used by the Mi’kmaq to store their catch. The Nova Scotia facility was burned to the ground and is the focus of a fire and police investigation to determine its cause.
Serpent River First Nation Chief Brent Bissaillion and Mississauga First Nation Chief Reg Niganobe issued a joint statement prior to the demonstration's start, which can be read here.