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Blevis has been tracking and researching Idle No More’s web presence since December, when the movement took off online. He has captured more than a million pieces of web content related to the movement since then.

At its peak – Jan. 11, the day Prime Minister Stephen Harper met with several First Nation leaders – there were nearly 58,000 relevant Idle No More tweets recorded in a single day. But by Feb. 9, there were just 3,723 tweets recorded from 1,539 sources.

The last time Idle No More saw fewer than 4,000 tweets in a day was Dec. 9, Blevis said. This was before the movement even had its first national day of action. It was also two days before Attawapiskat Chief Theresa Spence began her hunger protest.

“We have now essentially moved on from Idle No More. The media appetitive has waned a fair bit, public interest has subsequently waned in this, and of course other things have come up,” Blevis said.

You’ll see it take different forms at different times, but it’s not going away anytime soon

Blevis’ newest analysis focuses on the week of Feb. 3-9. That week, online mentions from all sources dropped 49 per cent from the week before: from 72,367 mentions to 36,921.

Ryerson University professor Pam Palmater, who has emerged as a key spokesperson for Idle No More, said in an earlier interview with Postmedia News that the movement is shifting, not fading away. The movement is becoming “less visible, but more First Nation focused,” she said. “We’re in this for the long haul.

It was never meant to be a flashy one month, then go away. This is something that’s years in the making,” Palmater said. “You’ll see it take different forms at different times, but it’s not going away anytime soon.”

—With files from Michael Woods