Border Protest Data

Protests Along the US-Canada Border, 1986-2013

The protests that are depicted on this map (and in the list below it) were compiled from mainstream news sources and are thus a reflection of what “made the news” rather than the total number of protests that occurred between 1986 and 2013.  One striking discrepancy is that there are only sporadic border protests listed for the Niagara Falls Crossing even though the Indian Defense League of America has been organizing free border crossing celebrations there annually since 1928. 

To have a more accurate account of border protests by native nations, the Indigenous Borderlands and Border Rites project is asking for your help: please click here to submit information on protests that will be added to a public spreadsheet.

June 6, 1986   Rally at the Rainbow Bridge, Niagara Falls, NY
March 22, 1988   March on the North Channel Bridge, Massena, NY, USA, Cornwall, ON, CAN
October 14, 1988   Bridge Barricade on the Seaway International Bridge, Cornwall, ON, CAN
October 17, 1988   March, leading to bridge closure, at the Seaway International Bridge, Massena, NY, USA, Cornwall, ON, CAN
September 3, 1990   Rally at the Peace Bridge, Buffalo, NY, USA, Fort Erie, ON, CAN
July 4, 1993   Bridge Crossing and Refusal to Pay Customs at the Peace Bridge, Buffalo, NY, USA, Fort Erie, ON, CAN
May 22, 1994   Bridge Crossing at the Peace Bridge, Buffalo, NY, USA, Fort Erie, ON, CAN
July 30, 1994   Staged cross-border shopping and refusal to declare items, resulting in traffic blockage on the Sault Ste. Marie International Bridge, Sault Ste. Marie, MI, USA, Sault Ste. Marie, ON, CAN
December 17, 1994   Rally at the Peace Bridge, Buffalo, NY, USA, Fort Erie, ON, CAN
April 24, 1995   Border Crossing at the Peace Bridge, Buffalo, NY, USA, Fort Erie, ON, CAN
September 8-10, 1995   Bridge Crossing and Refusal to Pay Customs at the Sault Ste. Marie International Bridge, Sault Ste. Marie, MI, USA, Sault Ste. Marie, ON, CAN
May 16, 1997   Bridge crossing at the Ambassador Bridge, Windsor, ON, CAN
July 18, 1998   Border Crossing at the Rainbow Bridge, Niagara Falls, NY, USA
June 28, 1999    Bridge Crossing and refusal to pay customs at the Sault Ste. Marie International Bridge, Sault Ste. Marie, MI, USA, Sault Ste. Marie, ON, CAN
October 10, 1999   Bridge Blockage and march on the Peace Bridge, Buffalo, NY, USA, Fort Erie, ON, CAN
November 25, 1999   Human chain and rally in Sault Ste. Marie, ON, CAN
November 28, 1999   Bridge Blockage on the Peace Bridge, Buffalo, NY, USA, Fort Erie, ON, CAN
February 5, 2000    March on the Peace Bridge, Buffalo, NY, USA, Fort Erie, ON, CAN
April 19, 2001   Border crossing by anti-globalization protestors, Seaway International Bridge, Cornwall, ON, CAN
September 12, 2002   Exchange of Eagle Feathers, North Portal Border Crossing, ND, USA, North Portal Border Crossing, SK, CAN
September 5, 2003   Refusal to pay customs on cross-border purchases, Sault Ste. Marie International Bridge, Sault Ste. Marie, MI, USA, Sault Ste. Marie, ON, CAN
May 11, 2009   March on the Seaway International Bridge, Cornwall, ON, CAN
May 31 – July 12, 2009   Bridge blockage on the Seaway International Bridge, Cornwall, ON, CAN
June 1, 2009   Protest and Fence Dismantlement at the Nighthawk-Chopaka Border Crossing, Loomis, WA, USA, Cawston, BC, CAN
December 21, 2009   Bridge Blockage on the Sault Ste. Marie International Bridge, Sault Ste. Marie, MI, USA, Sault Ste. Marie, ON, CAN
January 5, 2013   Rally at the Peace Arch Border Crossing, Surrey, BC, CAN
January 5, 2013   Rally at the Peace Bridge, Buffalo, NY, USA, Fort Erie, ON, CAN
January 5, 2013   Rally at the Osoyoos Border Crossing, Osoyoos, BC, CAN
January 5, 2013   March and Bridge Blockage on the Seaway International Bridge, Massena, NY, USA, Cornwall, ON, CAN
January 5, 2013   March and Bridge Blockage on the Blue Water Bridge, Sarnia, ON, CAN
January 16, 2013   Bridge Closure at the Ambassador Bridge, Windsor, ON, CAN
May 17, 2013   March and Bridge Blockage on the Seaway International Bridge, Cornwall, ON, CAN
November 9, 2013   March and Bridge Blockage on the Seaway International Bridge, Cornwall, ON, CAN