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“This is a call to arms and a call to action in the most peaceful and respective way that reflects our natural laws as Indigenous nations,” she said in the statement.

“First Nations leadership need to take charge and control of the situation on behalf of the grassroots movement. We need to re-ignite that nation-to-nation relationship based on our inherent and constitutionally protected rights as a sovereign nation. We are demanding our rightful place back, here in our homelands, that we all call Canada.”

Spence invited MPs and senators to visit over a two hour period Sunday at her teepee, situated on an island in the frozen Ottawa River looking up at Parliament Hill.

Former prime minister Joe Clark, the highest profile visitor, made an appearance Saturday, meeting with Spence and issuing a statement that said honest conversation can often lead to common ground.

Clark, who was a Tory prime minister from 1979 to 1980, says friends of his in the First Nations community had suggested he meet with Spence, chief of a remote reserve in Northern Ontario.

Clark says he found Spence to have a “humble and achievable” vision and adds that those no longer in active political life may still have a role to play in helping discussions resume.

Clark says says he’s concerned Canada and its First Nations are “headed in a dangerous direction.”

“My experience has been that direct and honest dialogue is always useful and sometimes essential, particularly in dealing with issues as complex and multi-faceted as the relations between First Nations and Canada,” his statement read.