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The teepee was set up by about 50 members of indigenous groups who called themselves “a grassroots movement” arrived Wednesday from as far away as Manitoba, Sault Ste. Marie and other parts of northern Ontario.

“It rained and rained until the teepee came up where it’s supposed to be,” said Ashley Courchene, 33, form Sagkenng First Nations in Manitoba.

“This is what we envisioned, this is what we wanted,” said Courchene, who is a student in Ottawa. “We didn’t just want the teepee just inside of the gates.”

Not everyone was happy about the RCMP being part of the teepee moved.

“For our self determination and to make sure we can do this without the colonial state being, I think we should have been able to carry that (the teepee) without the RCMP,” said Brandan Misko, 21, who is Ojibway.

However, many were celebrating with singing and drums were beating as the teepee was being set up in its new location.

“This is not a protest and we are here to pray for solutions, we are in a peaceful state and we are welcoming everybody to come and join us and learn from each other,” said Elizabeth Cooke of the water protectors .

A news conference on Thursday afternoon turned fractious when one of the members of the group refused to answer a reporter’s question on Prime Minister Justin Trudeau’s handling of indigenous issues.

“You’re a guest here and you don’t even know how to speak to us,” speaker Jocelyn Wabano-Iahtail shouted at CBC journalist Julie Van Dusen, who asked whether Trudeau’s policies were an improvement on former prime minister Stephen Harper’s.