In a celebratory rally, about 40 people gathered in south London to recognize a monumental achievement in the Standing Rock Sioux Nation’s blockade of a controversial oil pipeline in North Dakota.
Joining in prayer, chanting, and beating drums the group marched on the Wellington Rd. overpass at Hwy. 401 at noon on Monday. London police closed the road in both directions, while OPP redirected vehicles exiting the highway away from the peaceful demonstration.
"We need to make people aware of the concerns about the water all over the world, not just here in London, or in Ontario," said organizer Ann Marie Kick-Proulx. "We're praying for the water and all of the water protectors across the world."
A major victory in the fight to reroute the Dakota Access pipeline away from the Missouri River, the main water supply for the Standing Rock Sioux Nation, came on Sunday. The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers refused to grant permission to extend the pipeline beneath a Missouri River reservoir.
But even with the Army Corps on their side, the Indigenous groups and supporters from across North America who have been camped out at the pipeline site since April, believe the fight isn't over.
"(Donald) Trump will come into office on January 20, so he could overturn the decision," said Kick-Proulx. "The message that I'm getting as a water protector and as an Indigenous person is that we need to continue to promote and encourage people to be good human beings and live in a good way with each other."
Kick-Proulx, who is originally from Chippewas of Nawash, also called on Canadian politicians to do more to protect this country's water supply. She cited concerns with a plan by Bruce Power to bury low and intermediate nuclear waste near Lake Huron.
"Nuclear waste will remain toxic for thousands of years and that will effect our water, our land, our animals. It's not a native issue, it's a human issue," said Kick-Proulx.
The London rally lasted just over an hour and was one of dozens being held across North America.
Councillor Daintry Kewayosh of the Walpole Island First Nation council brought her three young children to London to participate in the rally.
"Water is important for everybody. It's important to hold these rallies to raise awareness. It's important to teach our children because once we are gone they will have to fight for their rights for clean water and continue to be on our land," said Kewayosh.
The 1,885km Dakota Access pipeline, worth $3.8-billion, would carry crude oil from the Bakken oil field across four states to the U.S. Gulf Coast refineries.