Sheehan joins march with protesters who occupied his office (photos, video)

"It started out as adversarial, but it turned out to be a very respectful conversation," Sault MP Terry Sheehan said yesterday as a three-day occupation of his Queen Street constituency office came to an end.

The Member of Parliament then joined the grassroots occupiers in a parade down Bay and East Streets to the Indian Friendship Centre, where he joined them at a feast and debriefing session.

Sheehan promised to draft a joint letter with the protesters, inviting federal Minister of Indigenous and Northern Affairs Carolyn Bennett here to discuss unacceptably high suicide rates in indigenous communities and related issues.

When the occupiers arrived Monday morning and lit a sacred fire in Sheehan's parking spot, the MP was attending meetings elsewhere in the Sault.

No advance notice of occupation

"My staff notified me what was transpiring," Sheehan told SooToday.

"I returned to the office and began a dialogue. I was proud of my staff and how they handled themselves."

After discussions with the Sault Ste. Marie Police Service, Sheehan's people took the unusual step of welcoming the occupiers into his constituency office.

The MP said when he got to the office, he talked to everyone in the group.

"Some people I knew from previous experiences. Some I didn't. We started talking about what they were about, the suicides in Attawapiskat and all over the indigenous community."

Three days of sacred ceremonies

"So we had a long talk. I wasn't sure what their agenda was but my goal right at the beginning was: We need to work together on this. We walk this path together. We can each point out various things during our journey that will help us get there."

Sheehan participated in sacred ceremonies over three days with the occupiers.

"We talked and we started to trust each other. The trust and respect went a long way. It was a magnificent journey over the last three days that we were able to come together and work on this important issue."

"Over the last few days, I think we grew together. The trust built. We agreed at the end that we're going to take this on wholeheartedly. We're going to walk this journey together. This is the beginning. It was a very peaceful, important process."

'We have to give them hope. That's our responsibility'

Sheehan said that the root problem behind suicide is hopelessness.

"We have to give them hope. That's our responsibility," he said.

"It didn't feel like an occupation at all. It was a time, three days of being in ceremony, discussion of a very important issue, about suicide that is rampant within the indigenous community."

"I'm pleased that in this riding that we've turned what used to be an adversarial relationship between the government and some of the indigenous people into one where we're going to work together."