After walking 1,700 km the Omushkegowuk walkers arrive at Parliament Hill Feb. 24

With 1,700 km and 49 days behind them, the Omushkegowuk walkers arrived at Parliament Hill Feb. 24 with a message for government: Take action on treaties. Danny Metatawabin led the group. He stood with Attawapiskat Chief Theresa Spence last year as she went on a hunger strike to bring attention to the concerns of First Nations peoples. “The time to reconcile Aboriginal issues is now,” Matatawabin said. “…from lack of infrastructure, housing, missing and murdered women and girls, the list goes on and on. We have to reconcile those now to live in harmony on a nation-to-nation basis.” Walker Brian Okimaw, who took part in the trek, said the journey was a spiritual one. “Our grandfathers signed those treaties,” Okimaw said. Broken treaties have led to an Aboriginal population that is poorly educated, poorly housed, and a disrespect for Aboriginal women who are going missing and are murdered in astounding numbers.