'Reclaiming our land': Indigenous leaders join KW Land Back Camp in calls for permanent space

Kitchener -

Guests from Six Nations joined the Kitchener Waterloo Land Back Camp at Laurel Creek Conservation Area on Monday to reinforce calls for permanent land and space for Indigenous peoples.

The gathering happened on National Indigenous Peoples Day and also comes as Land Back Camp marks one year since it was first set up in Kitchener's Victoria Park.

Monday night, the camp was joined by some members of 1492 Land Back Lane along with traditional chiefs of Six Nations.

The group from Kitchener and Waterloo are calling on the regions and cities for permanent space within the region for Indigenous peoples.

The land they are on now in Laurel Creek is on loan to them and not accessible to all people.

The Six Nations hereditary chiefs have called for a moratorium on all development along the Haldimand tract that stretches along the majority of the Grand River.

A group from Six Nations is currently paddling the Grand River from Elora to Six Nations to create more awareness and support for their cause.

The Land Back group in Waterloo says the two groups, although different in some ways, share a similar cause.

"It's really about reclaiming space, reclaiming our land, to come together as Indigenous peoples, more awareness that these are stolen lands," said Shawn Johnston, founder of the Kitchener Waterloo Land Back Camp.