Canadian tribal chief spox: Fight not over
TORONTO (AP) - A spokesman for a Canadian aboriginal chief who has ended her six-week hunger protest over tribal rights says the fight for improved conditions in indigenous communities does not end because the hunger strike has ceased.
Chief Theresa Spence ended her strike Thursday. She checked herself into a hospital Wednesday evening where she remains on an intravenous line, recovering from 44 days without solid food.
Spence's spokesman Danny Metatawabin says she ended her strike after a declaration to be signed Thursday commits tribal leaders and representatives of the federal opposition parties to seek improvement to housing and education in aboriginal communities.
Spence began fasting to press for a meeting with Prime Minister Stephen Harper. She galvanized a cross-country aboriginal protest movement over legal changes to environmental laws and land rights.