Widia Larivière and Mélissa Mollen-Dupuis
Co-founders of the Québec branch of Idle No More
Inspired by the movement that began in Western Canada, the two women answered the call to action by co-founding the Québec branch of Idle No More. Widia Larivière looks back at the bills that led to the initial protests as the proverbial straw that broke the camel’s back: Aboriginal people were “fed up with colonization.” She believes that the movement helped address other issues, that it was a means of voicing demands, calling for change and, especially, expressing the right to say “no” to projects. In short, [TRANSLATION] “the bills were the catalyst and gave a lot of Aboriginal people a chance to speak out on topics.” (personal interview) They have kept up their activism and contributed... etc... Widia Larivière, now Widia Sipi, is a co-founder of the non-profit organization Mikana. Mélissa Mollen-Dupuis is a Radio-Canada radio host and author of Nutshimit : un bain de forêt, a children's book illustrated by Élise Gravel that aims to introduce children to aboriginal culture.
