Approximately 50 protestors walked Tuesday through the University campus, commemorating the 45th anniversary of the Tibetan uprising.

The Regional Tibetan Youth Congress and other Tibetan groups met at Peavey Plaza in Minneapolis and walked to the Capitol to show their opposition to China’s incorporation of Tibet, as hundreds of others across the world conducted similar events.

Protestors, many of whom were local students, left jobs and classes to make the roughly 10-mile walk.

“We lost our country today,” said Minneapolis resident Pema Dorjeew. “America is the strongest country in the world so we thought we should do something.”

On March 10, 1959, thousands of Tibetans filed into the capital city Lhasa to fight against the communist Chinese occupation of the region. The People’s Liberation Army crushed the revolt and relations between Tibetan freedom advocates and the Chinese government have been strained since.