OTTAWA, Jan. 24 (UPI) -- Almost two-thirds of Canadians say they have heard of the new aboriginal rights movement Idle No More, a poll released Thursday indicated.
In British Columbia, 75.6 percent of respondents said they had heard of the movement, the Canadian Broadcasting Corp. reported. Across the country, 64.2 percent were aware of Idle No More, with the percentage falling consistently from west to east.
The group was founded in November during a teach-in in Saskatoon, Saskatchewan. Its aim is to organize to protect American Indians -- known as First Nations in Canada, the metis or people of mixed descent -- and the Inuit, sometimes known as Eskimos.
Attawapiskat Chief Theresa Spence, head of a tribe living in northern Ontario on James Bay, began a hunger strike Dec. 10, She ended it Thursday.
Asked whether Spence's hunger strike "will advance or not advance the cause of First Nations, Inuit and Metis people in Canada," 54.1 per cent said it would not, 28.1 percent said they were not sure and 17.8 percent said they believed it would be helpful.
Among those who had heard of Idle No More, 40.6 percent expressed positive or somewhat positive views, 45.5 percent were negative and 13.9 percent were unsure.
The poll of 1,000 people was conducted online by Nanos Research Jan. 18-19. No margin of error was reported.
