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A hunger strike by a Canadian woman has stirred a Māori women's group to call for international solidarity.
Chief Theresa Spence of the Attiwapiskat Nation wants Canadian Prime Minister Stephen Harper to negotiate with her about the living conditions of the country’s First Nations people.
She is part of the Idle No More movement started in Saskatchewan in November in response to new resource laws pushed through by the Harper Government.
Marama Davidson from Te Wharepora Hou says Idle No More is reaching out to other indigenous groups fighting ongoing colonisation.
She says the call for indigenous sovereignty affirms the relationship indigenous people have with their lands, waters and resources.
She says like the Canadians, the New Zealand government seeks to exploit resources in a way that is not sustainable, ignoring the objections and interests of tangata whenua.
Te Wharepora Hou protested outside the Canadian Embassy in Wellington on New Year's Eve, and it plans other actions.
It has created a Facebook page, Aotearoa in Support of Idle No More.
Ms Davidson says there has been a global assault on indigenous sovereignty, and it’s time for indigenous people to fight back.
Copyright © 2013, Uma Broadcasting Ltd
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