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On Saturday, January 5, 2013, approximately 500 members of First Nations and followers of the Idle No More movement participated in a peaceful international border blockade in the downtown tourist area of the capital of British Columbia, Victoria. The Black Ball Line’s COHO ferry carries passengers between Port Angeles, Washington, USA and Victoria; its terminal is located 1 block from the provincial capital building and 2 blocks from the world-famous Empress Hotel. The culturally-diverse crowd included many families with children and elders; it also included some who had traveled there from the USA and other parts of Canada.

Signs and speeches referred mostly to preserving the legal rights of First Nations and protecting the environment for future generations. There was strong opposition in particular to to Bill C-45 which severely limits the traditional rights of First Nations and weakens environmental protections, thus ensuring approval of a vast energy corridor of oilsands and tarsands, supplying a network of pipelines and supertankers which would transport oil from Canada to Asia. Some demonstrators also were there to support Chief Theresa Spence who has been on a hunger strike since Dec. 11th, asking to meet with Stephen Harper and the Governor General.

One sign noted the 7.4 magnitude earthquake that hit SE Alaska and NW British Columbia at 1 am today, resulting in widespread tsunami warnings all the way to Hawaii, and highlighting the serious risk – some would say absurdity – of putting pipelines and supertankers full of oil and bitumen-based fuel in the midst of one of the world’s greatest earthquake/tsunami danger zones.

Drumming and singing began around 2:30 pm in a street previously blocked off by the local police, who, along with ferry customers and staff seemed to accept the demonstrators’ determined though friendly presence, and remained non-confrontational throughout. At 3:30 pm, the COHO pulled into the terminal. Cars and passengers traveling from Canada to the USA were allowed to embark onto the COHO, and foot passengers from the USA were allowed to disembark. However, the demonstration blocked the exit of approximately 35 disembarking vehicles; they were stuck in the terminal parking lot after the COHO had returned to the USA, for approximately an hour.

Around 4:30 pm, several elders proceeded slowly towards the parking lot, then turned to walk up to the demonstration, signaling that it was time for the demonstrators to permit the vehicles to exit the parking lot. The crowd moved back, allowing the vehicles to slowly pass by, greeting each with signs, applause, and drumming. Soon after, the crowd dispersed, satisfied that they’d done what they could for today to bring greater awareness of the dangers facing the environment and the injustice facing First Nations communities.