Northwest tribes use malls for protests

PORTLAND — Native Americans around the Pacific Northwest are gathering this weekend in shopping malls to drum and dance in solidarity with Canadian tribes involved in a treaty rights protest.

The Oregonian reports tribal members from the Portland area planned to meet at Pioneer Place mall Sunday afternoon for a brief demonstration involving singing, dancing and drumming. Portland activist Candida King Bird says they expect the demonstration to be brief since participants don’t want any problems.

Hundreds of people gathered at a large shopping mall in the suburbs south of Seattle on Saturday for another demonstration. Drummers and dancers blocked one corridor of the mall. People held up cell phones to record photographs and videos, which were later posted online.

A proposal before the Canadian government set off protests across Canada earlier this month before spreading south. The “Idle No More” movement started with treaty rights but has broadened to include issues like indigenous rights, sovereignty and living conditions.