Machete, spear, body armour found at dismantled legislature camp, say police
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Posted October 5, 2022 3:54 pm.
Last Updated October 5, 2022 7:36 pm.
Winnipeg police say they found weapons and armour after dismantling a protest camp on the north lawn of the Manitoba legislature on Tuesday.
Police say they recovered axes, body armour, a spear, a machete, a hatchet, a hammer and a metre-long club.
Protesters have said there were no weapons on site and they only had materials to chop wood and build teepees.
“Our priority is always focusing on public safety, that’s our number one priority when dealing with protests and deciding when and where to act, and why,” said Dave Dalal, the Supt. of uniform operations with the Winnipeg Police Service.
“Yesterday was a situation where we were forced to act.”
WPS also says five more people were charged for allegedly failing to vacate the encampment and obstructing a peace officer.
Those charged range in age from 43 to 54.
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Police and security personnel moved in Tuesday to dismantle the encampment “as a result of escalating threats of bodily harm, the indication of weapons and aggressive behaviour by north camp occupants.”
“The action over the last two days is a specific result of escalating safety concerns from the site that we received from multiple sources,” said Dalal. “These include the public, government sources and our own members interactions with the site.”
Residential school survivor Vivian Ketchum says she watched law enforcement take down the structures on Tuesday.
“They handled the poles, they handled the teepees. They took sacred medicines. Was it all done with Indigenous protocol? No. This is a rape of our culture.”
First batch of arrests on Monday
On Monday, WPS stopped an attempt by protesters to enlarge the encampment by bringing in large poles to construct a teepee. Seven protesters were arrested.
Police say majority of the 12 people charged have been released, some with conditions and some are still going through the release process. None of the charges have been proven in court.
The camp was adorned with signs and flags highlighting a variety of issues, from the discovery of unmarked graves at residential schools to COVID-19 restrictions to conflict in the Middle East.
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Healing Village still standing
It is separate from an Indigenous-led camp on the legislature’s east lawn – known as the Healing Village – which has been ongoing for more than a year and was not the subject of police actions Tuesday.
Allan Holy Flying Hawk, his spirit name, is a member of the former north encampment. He says it’s important for them to remain on the legislative grounds and fight for those who didn’t make it home.
“We have to stand together on behalf of the children, not just Native people, we need people of all races to come here and stand together as one voice because everyone else, except the Native people, are living a lie when they are living in our home because of the things that were done to us,” he said. “So no, I don’t think they have the right to take to come in here and take down the home that was built by the people of this camp.
“Right now, I don’t believe they have the right to take this camp down because they are on Dakota territory.”
The provincial government passed a law in the Spring prohibiting encampments on the legislature grounds, including banning people from using generators and firewood.
“There’s no problem protesting down at the legislature,” said Dalal. “You’ve heard from the provincial government that it is a place for protest and will continue to be a place for protesting. However, there is a new law in place, and it will be enforced.”
—With files from The Canadian Press.