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“But I think public opinion is kind of this semi-separate thing, as opposed to what government should do with regard to reconciliation.”

Such polling can also be counterproductive in the view of Indigenous leader Terry Teegee, in boiling down complicated issues to simple questions and helping to reinforce negative views of those who never supported reconciliation with First Nations.

“Many of these questions are kind of set up, to me, to be very divisive,” said Teegee, B.C. regional chief for the Assembly of First Nations. “I mean, these situations are not so black and white.”

To Teegee, the results were unsurprising, considering that the poll followed protests that inconvenienced people and he found it problematic that there is no comparison with public sentiment for reconciliation before the events.

“At the same time, I mean, our whole existence as Indigenous peoples (has been) affected by colonization over the last 152 years, if not longer,” Teegee said. “I suppose what might be interesting is that if there was a poll of First Nations, maybe, asking the same questions.”

For some of the protesters, public opinion doesn’t matter, said Yvonne Houssin, a Métis activist in the Indigenous youth for Wet’suwet’en, who took part in the now-ended occupation on the grounds of the B.C. legislature.

“Many of us already know what the public thinks of the pipeline and solidarity actions by what is written on social media,” Houssin said by email exchange.

“Civil disobedience is the only way we have protected our rights as Indigenous peoples,” Houssin said, “and it is a privilege if you and your family have not had to resort to civil disobedience to have your basic rights respected.”

depenner@postmedia.com

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