OTTAWA - Wrapped in ceremonial white, hooded jackets, nearly 300 young people arrived Monday on Parliament Hill to cap off a marathon winter trek through the Canadian hinterland inspired by the Idle No More movement.

Hundreds more supporters filled the steps beneath the Peace Tower to greet the walkers as they made their way to the Parliament Buildings from nearby Victoria Island on the Ottawa River.

Amid the relentless pounding of ceremonial First Nations drummers and the chants and songs of marchers, dozens of speakers pleaded with the Harper government to alleviate the harsh living conditions on some reserves.

Their long walk began when David Kawapit Jr., a 17-year-old from the isolated community of Whapmagoostui in northern Quebec, decided to trudge the staggering 1,600 kilometres from the edge of Hudson Bay to Ottawa in support of better conditions for aboriginal people.