Category: colonialism

Defund Coastal GasLink

Today (12/22/2021) we will be gathering in solidarity with the Wet’suwet’en peoples at 4:00 PM. at the Chase Bank, 3621 Merle Hay Rd, Des Moines, IA 50310.

Chase is one of the major institutions funding fossil fuel projects, including the Coastal GasLink pipeline being built on Wet’suwet’en lands. Pressuring financial institutions to divest funds from fossil fuel projects has been a tactic for many years. Gatherings like this can encourage the bank to divest from fossil fuel projects. They can also provide a public way for individuals to divest their funds from these banks.

Banks and private equity companies are pouring billions on a massive fracked gas pipeline to cross Wet’suwet’en territory: Coastal GasLink. 

Indigenous Hereditary chiefs and supporters have responsibilities to defend the sacred, pristine headwaters of the Wedzin Kwa, in Wet’suwet’en law. They hold uninterrupted title to the land, in colonial law. For peacefully acting in accordance with the law and defending our shared future, land defenders, allies and journalists were removed at gunpoint. 

These companies are bankrolling Wet’suwet’en people being removed at gunpoint from their land.

  • RBC, Chase, and KKR are violating the rights of the Wet’suwet’en Hereditary chiefs by funding the Coastal GasLink pipeline. 
  • This week of action comes one month after RCMP raided Wet’suwet’en land, arresting 32 people (Land Defenders, Elders, journalists, and allies). 

Action Goals
  • Take up the time and energy of Chase leadership nationally and locally
  • Educate members of the public on the role of TC Energy in their role in violating Indigenous rights by sharing graphics on social media, on email lists & in-person interactions
  • Increase the skills and leadership abilities of action participants 
  • Informing the public about the link between the bank’s fossil investments, land theft, and the climate crisis. 
  • Building solidarity between Land Defenders on the frontlines and the broader climate movement. 
  • Building power for the movement by training teams who can escalate against RBC come spring.
https://twitter.com/quakers_seekers/status/1473660041597177867?s=20
https://twitter.com/quakers_seekers/status/1473661024658202629?s=20

I will not tell my children and grandchildren that a piece of paper from a colonial court kept me from standing up for our lands and waters.

Skyler Williams

The camp that was burned to the ground by the RCMP with help from CGL has be retaken, the Wet’suwet’en returned to their lands!

The courts and cops think that we will just go away, that we will stop honouring our connection to these lands and waters. That we will forget our responsibilities to our children. When will Canada realize that we cannot be forced from our lands, that we will cannot be forced into giving up on our future generations?

I will not tell my children and grandchildren that a piece of paper from a colonial court kept me from standing up for our lands and waters. The police have power because they use fear, intimidation and violence. Our power comes from our love for our lands and for each other.

Skyler Williams

#WetsuwetenStrong
#WetsuwetenSolidarity
#AllOutForWedzinKwa
#1492LandBackLane
#LandBack

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE – Wet’suwet’en Evict Coastal Gaslink From Drill Site; Re-Establish Coyote Camp

Dec 20, 2021 – Unceded Gidimt’en Territory, Smithers (BC):

Gidimt’en land defenders and supporters have once again evicted Coastal Gaslink workers from a key pipeline drill site, protecting Wet’suwet’en headwaters and re-occupying the area known as “Coyote Camp”. 

Early Sunday, in observance of Wet’suwet’en law, land defenders enforced the Wet’suwet’en Hereditary Chiefs’ 2020 Eviction Notice to Coastal Gaslink, removing pipeline workers and re-establishing the blockade that ended on Nov 19th after two days of militarized police raids. 
The eviction took place exactly one month after RCMP made 30 arrests on Wet’suwet’en yintah, marking the third large-scale militarized operation on unceded Wet’suwet’en land since 2019. Approximately 100 RCMP, equipped with assault weapons, sniper rifles, and dogs were deployed while floodwaters raged throughout the province, to facilitate construction of the Coastal GasLink pipeline and the theft of sovereign Wet’suwet’en land.

The Wet’suwet’en people have never sold, surrendered, or in any way relinquished title to Wet’suwet’en land.

Today’s action follows the 24th anniversary of the 1997 Delgamuukw-Gisday’wa court ruling, which proved that Aboriginal title has never been extinguished across 58,000km2 of Wet’suwet’en and Gitxsan lands. The Supreme Court of Canada recognized the Wet’suwet’en Hereditary Chiefs as representatives of the Wet’suwet’en title holding collective, and Anuc ‘nu’at’en (Wet’suwet’en law) as the basis of Wet’suwet’en society.

In violation of the Delgamuukw-Gisday’wa ruling, the UN Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples, and Anuc ‘nu’at’en, the Coastal GasLink pipeline has proceeded without the Free, Prior, and Informed Consent of the Wet’suwet’en Hereditary Chiefs.

In early 2020, Hereditary Chiefs representing all five clans of the Wet’suwet’en nation issued an eviction notice to Coastal Gaslink, leading to a series of blockades across Wet’suwet’en land and sparking nationwide solidarity actions. Today, this eviction is once again in force.

“Coastal GasLink does not and will never have the consent of the Wet’suwet’en Hereditary governance system and should expect that Wet’suwet’en law will prevail on our lands. No amount of state violence against us will make us forget our responsibility to protect the water for all future generations”, says Sleydo’, spokesperson for the Gidimt’en Checkpoint. 

Media contact: Jennifer Wickham, Gidimt’en Checkpoint Media Coordinator
yintahaccess@gmail.com
250-917-8392 

Media Backgrounder :
Wet’suwet’en 101: https://www.yintahaccess.com/media-background

Wet’suwet’en Hereditary Chiefs’ Eviction Notice:
https://unistoten.camp/wetsuweten-hereditary-chiefs-evict-coastal-gaslink-from-territory/

International Week of Action to Defund Coastal GasLink
Wet’suwet’en solidarity in Iowa

#WetsuwetenSolidarity
#AllOutForWedzinKwa
#1492LandBackLane
#LandBack

EVICTING COLONIZERS

The complete title of the post quoted below is “WET’SUWET’EN RESISTANCE AND SOLIDARITY: EVICTING THE COLONIZERS” By YintahAccess.com, December 19, 2021.

Wet’suwet’en land defenders have reminded us through their recent re-capture of Coyote Camp – injunctions are only pieces of paper. Canadian law has no legitimacy on stolen land. #LANDBACK

Reconciliation at Gunpoint

CONTENT WARNING: Detailed description of colonial violence and dehumanization at the hands of police and prison/court staff.

In this interview, Layla Staats and Skyler Williams describe their arrest on unceded Cas Yikh territory, and the disgusting lengths that the Canadian state went to try and break their warrior spirits.

Through these desperate and brutal actions, the RCMP and the courts showed the true essence of ‘reconciliation’ in a militarized settler-colonial state.

As Skyler says, and Wet’suwet’en land defenders have reminded us through their recent re-capture of Coyote Camp – injunctions are only pieces of paper. Canadian law has no legitimacy on stolen land.

#AllOutForWedzinKwa #shutdowncanada

https://twitter.com/quakers_seekers/status/1473288514611601411?s=20

The Wet’suwet’en peoples are calling for this to be an International Week of Action to Defund Coastal GasLink.

Hold an Action in your city or your town. Banner drop, hold a Rally/March at RBC or Chase headquarters/ building, have a sit in, jam up phone lines, etc…spread the awareness! You can do this. There were just six of us who stood on a street corner at our first vigil in support of the Wet’suwet’en peoples in February 2020. We knew nobody would recognize Wet’suwet’en, but that was our intention, to “spread awareness”. And amazing connections were made at that event. You never know what will happen. That was where I met Ronnie James who taught me the concepts of Mutual Aid.

Wet’suwet’en vigil, Des Moines, Iowa

We have a sacred responsibility to our children, to protect Wedzin Kwa, our clean drinking water, our salmon, and the right to be Wet’suwet’en, for all future generations. We will not endure genocide by oil and gas corporate colonizers. We call on our allies everywhere, to rise up, stand up, fight back! Put pressure on investors, on industry, and the government to put an end to the Coastal GasLink pipeline. All Out for Wedzin Kwa! Join the Wet’suwet’en resistance!

YintahAccess.com

For the third time in three years, the Wet’suwet’en have faced militarized raids on our ancestral territory.

One month ago today, the RCMP violently raided unceded Gidimt’en territory (November 18-19, 2021), removing Indigenous people from their land at gunpoint on behalf of TC Energy’s proposed Coastal GasLink pipeline. The Wet’suwet’en enforced our standing eviction of CGL by closing roads into the territory November 14-17. Following the raids, arrestees received cruel and violent treatment in prison. The conditions set forth by the court are human rights violations to Indigenous peoples. We’re still here. We’re still throwing down. We are more determined than ever to protect our traditional territories for future generations.

In September 2021, Gidimt’en Checkpoint reoccupied Lhudis Bin territory, building a clan cabin on the drill pad site where Coastal GasLink pipeline wants to drill underneath our sacred headwaters, Wedzin Kwa. The Coyote Camp re-occupation of Cas Yikh Gidimt’en Yintah was an historic 56 days long.

CGL took extreme measures to force us from our ancestral lands. They employed fear tactics and threats of violence daily. They surveilled us with helicopters and drones, threatened us with attack dogs, pointed guns at us and chainsawed down the doors to our homes. They put their own workers in danger and used them as political pawns for profit. They tried to break our spirits in prison and in court with torture and colonial “release conditions”.

Again, they threatened to kill us and steal our land. But we’re still here.

In 2010, there were 13 proposed pipeline projects to go through Wet’suwet’en territory. Investors were forced to pull out of these mega-destructive projects through our territory and the CGL pipeline is the only one left, from Enbridge, Pacific Trails Pipeline, Spectra, Pembina, and several others.

Within the first days of the reoccupation there were violent arrests and police brutality on unarmed welcome guests on Cas Yikh yintah. We put a callout for solidarity from our neighboring nations and from our allies. The Haudenosaunee showed up in solidarity and walked the RCMP out of the territory. Gitxsan erected a railway blockade in solidarity with our reoccupation. Others took action in their territories including land back, rolling blockades, highway shut downs and rallies across Turtle Island.

Wet’suwet’en RESISTANCE AND SOLIDARITY: EVICTING THE COLONIZERS” By YintahAccess.com, December 19, 2021.

International Week of Action week of December 20th 2021

We are calling on our supporters and allies to join us to turn our outrage towards RBC once again! Their lack of accountability in financing Colonial Violence and land theft from Indigenous People is unacceptable. We are all in this together and we all have a responsibility to stand up to big financial institutions that invest and keep the fossil fuel industry going full force. With no green sustainability transition in the foreseeable future, all of humanity and our kin are at dangerous risk. With the fires and floods that happened recently south of so-called British Columbia we can’t let any more time pass while big banks are fueling our demise. 

Hold an Action in your city or your town. We know it’s close to the end of the year, we need to make sure RBC doesn’t slip through the cracks and slither away! 

Banner drop, hold a Rally/March at RBC headquarters/ building, have a sit in, jam up phone lines, etc…spread the awareness! 

https://www.yintahaccess.com/

Wet’suwet’en solidarity in Iowa

There will be a gathering in solidarity with the Wet’suwet’en peoples this Wednesday, December 22, at 4:00 PM. at the Chase Bank, 3621 Merle Hay Rd, Des Moines, IA 50310.

Confronting white supremacy in Johnston community school district

The video below was recorded from last night’s online meeting about the Racist Rise to Ban Anti-Racist Books, Confronting white supremacy in the Johnston School District.

Of all the awful things that have been occurring over the last several years, banning books is the worst, so far, for me as a white person. At Scattergood Friends School we were taught to be lifelong learners. I not only enjoy reading, but that is how I learn about what is going on in the world. Learn about injustice and how others are working for justice.

But there is more to this for black, Indigenous, and other people of color (BIPOC). Rising authoritarianism, increasingly aggressive and militarized policing, voter suppression, and actions such as banning books are all efforts to perpetuate racism and white supremacy.

Education is one of the most important ways to call attention to racism and to help white people learn ways to call it out. Calls to ban books and ban teaching of “critical race theory” are meant to prevent learning about racial injustice.

As is often the case, Johnston Community School District (JCSD) has equity as one of its strategic goals. But students, parents, and staff feel more unsafe and targeted than ever before. Hostility and violence towards students, parents, and staff of color have been increasing at the district as made evident by the many recent attacks on equity.

Things were particularly bad at the last JCSD school board meeting discussion about banning “The Hate You Give” and “Diaries of a Part-Time Indian”. A white person said several racist or homophobic words from those books out loud. Children were present. There was no context for saying them out loud, and to be spoken by a white person.

White people need to support these efforts to stop banning books and other racial incidents. School boards across the country are being weaponized to promote racism.

One of the principles of justice work is to not add to the burden of those experiencing injustice. Online discussions like last nights are great ways for white people to learn. I encourage you, especially if you are white, to take advantage of these opportunities.

The Racist Rise to Ban Anti-Racist Books.

Parents, students, and allies will gather online this Wednesday, December 15, 2021, at 7 PM CST to highlight a recent incidence of hate speech used at a board meeting and the inaction by Johnston Community School district administration and school board. The meeting largely revolved around the recent attempt by a few Johnston parents to ban the books “The Hate You Give” and “Diaries of a Part-Time Indian”, both written by BIPOC folks, which address oppression and racism in the US. There has been a rise in attempts to ban anti-racist books since 2020 when Trump tried to enact a federal ban on critical race theory. The recent state of racism and discrimination in Johnston will be discussed highlighting recent incidences that propagate racism and discrimination in the district and throughout the community.

Though the Johnston Community School District (JCSD) has equity as one of its strategic goals, students, parents, and staff feel more unsafe and targeted than ever before. Hostility and violence towards students, parents, and staff of color have been increasing at the district as made evident by the many recent attacks on equity. JCSD released a statement saying the district is continuing “to partner with parents and students to create an inclusive environment where everyone in our community has access to a high-quality educational experience” but students, parents, and staff are saying this is simply not happening. Students, parents, staff, and community members called for the district to interrupt hate speech including racist and homophobic slurs used by a parent at a recent school board meeting asking for the policy when individuals share such words. The superintendent and school board members did not stop this from happening and cited instead of the policy on public participation and did not seek to disrupt or disallow these words to be used during a school board meeting.

This event is hosted by: Johnston Parents for Equity and Anti-Racism (JPEAR) is a collective of parents organizing the Johnston Community School District (JCSD) to respond to the needs for equity and anti-racism in our schools and community.

Great Plains Action Society works to resist colonial-capitalist institutions and white supremacy through Indigenous ideologies and practices. Our goal is to reclaim what has been stolen and oppressed to create a better world for us all. Iowa Coalition for Collective Change specializes in empowering organizations and marginalized communities through education, research, and advocacy.

Can’t see the forest for the trees

The reason I write so much is to think/pray about things I am led to do. And in hopes others might see ways they can engage in these struggles. We need massive numbers of people to make the radical changes outlined below immediately. I know people have been hearing this for years, but we have two choices today. If we continue to delay, we will absolutely continue to see escalating environmental chaos. I describe an the alternative here.

Writing yesterday’s post, Canadian pipeline and railway protests, I sensed many of my friends would disagree with the idea of sabotage. And question why a white male would be so focused on Indigenous ways in general, and the Wet’suwet’en actions to protect their water, land, and culture specifically.

All my words might result in people not being able to see my view of the forest for the trees. So, this morning I step back to show the forest. Some of the trees are found at the end.

The Forest

  • Settler colonialists stole the land in this country.
  • The land should be returned to Indigenous control (#LANDBACK) because
    • It is the right thing to do
    • Despite broken treaties, it is the legal thing to do
    • It is the only hope we have to slow down the devastation and begin to heal the land, water, air and ourselves
    • LANDBACK does not mean taking away private property. It means returning public lands to Indigenous practices
  • Environmental devastation has been caused by massively excessive fossil fuel burning.
  • Our environmental catastrophe will cause increasingly severe and frequent storms, drought, and damage.
  • There is no time for gradually decreasing fossil fuel emissions.
  • Any nonviolent action (for example, rail sabotage) to stop fossil fuel combustion should be supported.
  • The capitalist economic system drives excessive fossil fuel combustion, so must be replaced
  • Mutual Aid is a framework to organize communities in humane ways. Is an alternative to capitalism that can be implemented immediately. I’ve been working with Mutual Aid communities for the past year.
  • Mutual Aid has been how Indigenous communities worked for thousands of years.
  • As yesterday’s post said, “use your words to inspire others to action – not to beg for change from government bodies complicit in an active genocide.”
  • The efforts of the Wet’suwet’en peoples demonstrate how to accomplish the above. Might be our ‘last best hope’. And deserve our support.

The Trees

  • I am a lifelong Quaker, raised in Quaker communities. I seek and try to follow the guidance from the Spirit or Creator.
  • When I moved to Indianapolis in 1970, I was horrified by the filthy air (this before catalytic converters). I was strongly led to do whatever I could to address that, which included refusing to have a car.
  • I came to Indianapolis to participate in the Friends (Quaker) Volunteer Service mission project in inner city Indianapolis. My first experience in justice work with oppressed communities. I learned the importance of building long term relationships.
  • I tried many ways to convince others to stop burning fossil fuels, with no success.
  • In 2013 environmental activists recognized the decision to approve the Keystone XL pipeline was a chance, finally, to take on the fossil fuel industry. The Keystone Pledge of Resistance trained thousands to participate in acts of nonviolent civil disobedience. I was trained as an Action Lead, where I learned how to organize local civil disobedience acts, including training local activists.
  • Around that time, I was led to connect with the Kheprw Institute (KI), a youth mentoring community, because of their environmental work, including making rain barrels and developing an aquaponics system to grow food.
  • Also, at that time my Quaker meeting participated in the Quaker Social Change Ministry (QSCM) program, which trained us how to make connections with communities experiencing injustice. My experience with the Kheprw Institute made it logical for my Quaker meeting to engage with KI using the QSCM model. I learned much more about social justice work.
  • Next, there were many ways various groups in Indiana came together to try to stop the Dakota Access Pipeline (DAPL). This is how I began to learn about and engage with Indigenous peoples, who were part of the DAPL resistance.
  • Standing Rock showed Indigenous peoples from around the world coming together to try to stop DAPL. Demonstrated to necessity of prayer.
  • When I retired and returned to Iowa, I needed to find those who were doing similar environmental and social justice work. I was excited to make new connections, beginning by attending environmental justice rallies.
  • In 2018 I was blessed to participate in the First Nation-Farmer Climate Unity March. About a dozen Indigenous and a dozen non-native people spent eight days walking and camping along the route of the Dakota Access pipeline. Walking for ninety-four miles down empty gravel roads provided opportunities to share our stories with each other. That was remarkably successful in achieving one of the goals of the March, to create a community of native and non-native people who began to know and trust each other.
  • Since the March, there have been many ways we’ve worked together and deepened our relationships.
  • In January 2020, I came across a YouTube video that showed the Wet’suwet’en peoples in British Columbia evict Coastal GasLink pipeline workers from the pristine land and waters of the Wet’suwet’en territories. After so many years of struggle with little success to stop fossil fuel development I was astounded by the eviction and began to follow that closely.
  • The eviction was temporary and multiple actions to force the construction of the pipeline over the objections of the Wet’suwet’en continued.
  • Shortly after that eviction, militarized Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP) violently invaded and arrested Indigenous peoples.
  • This news was not covered by mainstream media, so the Wet’suwet’en peoples wanted their supports to share what was happening on their social media platforms.
  • I wrote daily blog posts about the Wet’suwet’en and shared those on Facebook and twitter as well.
  • I wanted to make sure I was expressing the situation accurately and appropriately. Not being there in person, I connected with a media contact for the Wet’suwet’en which helped in that regard. That was important to do to avoid what happens too often as supporters cause more harm than good.
  • In February (2020) a few of us had a rally to support the Wet’suwet’en. We advertised the event on Facebook.
  • Ronnie James, and Indigenous organizer in Des Moines saw the event and came to see who was doing this work. That meeting changed my life. Ronnie taught me a great deal about organizing.
  • Ronnie patiently taught me the concepts of Mutual Aid, something I hadn’t known about. Eventually I asked if I could join in the work of Mutual Aid and for over a year, I’ve been part of the grocery giveaway program, one of several Mutual Aid projects in Des Moines.
  • I’m convinced Mutual Aid is the model needed to address justice and survival issues.
  • The Wet’suwet’en peoples are being attacked and arrested again by the RCMP.
  • Environmental devastation continues to unfold with much more severe weather occurring more frequently. With both the pollution of water and increasing drought.
  • Groups like the Extinction Rebellion are using direct action to force attention on the existential threats of environmental chaos and the need to act now.
  • Too many tipping points have been reached to stop evolving environmental chaos.
  • Not only the environment, but social, economic, and political systems are collapsing.
  • Mutual Aid is the way to replace those systems and provide immediate help to all who are impacted.
  • Indigenous peoples’ intergenerational trauma from the policies of forced assimilation is overwhelming as the remains of native children are found on the grounds of the so-called boarding schools
  • Indigenous ways are needed to attempt to heal Mother Earth.
  • Indigenous peoples are taking back control of their lands.

Canadian pipeline and railway protests

Railway protests across Canada in support of the Wet’suwet’en and other First Nation peoples have been used effectively for several years. Following are excerpts from a detailed discussion of Canadian railway protests found on Wikipedia.

“Rail was a harbinger of colonized settlements and the genocide of Indigenous peoples.”

And among the other interesting things in the article Glorious Rage below are the following expressions of Mutual Aid:

“As allies/accomplices/dissidents, one of our greatest strengths against the state or organized bodies is our own flexibility and adaptiveness – often a quality hierarchical systems or organizational bodies don’t have.“

Also, “use your words to inspire others to action – not to beg for change from government bodies complicit in an active genocide.”

Canadian pipeline and railway protests

The 2020 Canadian pipeline and railway protests were a series of civil disobedience protests held in Canada. The main issue behind the protests was the construction of the Coastal GasLink Pipeline (CGL) through 190 kilometres (120 mi) of Wetʼsuwetʼen First Nation territory in British Columbia (BC), land that is unceded. Other concerns of the protesters were indigenous land rights, the actions of police, land conservation, and the environmental impact of energy projects.

In February 2020, after the RCMP enforced the second court injunction, removing the Wetʼsuwetʼen blockades and arresting Wetʼsuwetʼen land defenders, solidarity protests sprang up across Canada. Many were rail blockades, including one blockade near Tyendinaga Mohawk Territory which halted traffic along a major Canadian National Railway (CNR) line between Toronto and Montreal and led to a shutdown of passenger rail service and rail freight operations in much of Canada. The Eastern Ontario blockade was itself removed by the Ontario Provincial Police. Blockades and protests continued through March in BC, Ontario and Quebec. Discussions between representatives of the Wetʼsuwetʼen and the governments of Canada and British Columbia have led to a provisional agreement on the Wetʼsuwetʼen land rights in the area.

2021 Wedzin Kwa blockade

 On September 25, 2021, Cas Yikh house and Gidimtʼen clan members erected new blockades on the Morice West Forest Service Road to block CGL’s attempts to drill under the Morice River (known as Wedzin Kwa in Babine-Witsuwetʼen). Sleydoʼ (Molly Wickham), one of the leaders of Gidimtʼen Access Point, claimed that the work near the river would disrupt her people’s livelihoods as well as the salmon population. She called on supporters to join the new blockades. A Gidimtʼen Access Point press release called the Wedzin Kwa “sacred headwaters that nourish the Wetʼsuwetʼen Yintah [territory] and all those within its catchment area”.

Coastal GasLink president Tracy Robinson issued a statement about the drilling, saying “the clearing is now complete, and our crews will utilize a micro-tunnel method which is a type of trenchless crossing that is constructed well below the riverbed and does not disturb the stream or the bed and banks of the river”. Robinson claimed that micro-tunnelling was deemed to be the safest and most environmentally-responsible method after consulting with experts, regulations, and best practices. She also noted that there was still an enforceable injunction to prevent any opposition to CGL carrying out its work. In the days after the new blockades went up, the RCMP moved in to remove two of them, in the process arresting at least one individual.[56][57]

Solidarity Protests

Several major protests blocked access to the Port of Vancouver, Deltaport, and two other ports in Metro Vancouver for a number of days before the Metro Vancouver police began enforcing an injunction on the morning of February 10, 2020, arresting 47 protesters who refused to cease obstructing the port.[72][73][74]

Protests on February 15 over 200 people in Toronto blocked Macmillan Yard, the second largest rail classification yard in Canada.[75] On February 16 and 17 temporarily blocked the Rainbow Bridge in Niagara Falls, Ontario and Thousand Islands Bridge in Ivy Lea, Ontario, two major border crossings between the United States and Canada.[76] At the same time, Miꞌkmaq demonstrators partially blocked access to the Confederation Bridge, the sole road link to Prince Edward Island.[77] On February 18, several activists were arrested for trespassing at BC Premier Horgan’s residence.[78]On February 24, 2020 individuals shut down a major junction in Hamilton, ON.

A nation-wide student walkout occurred March 4, with university students across the country showing their support for the Wetʼsuwetʼen protesters.[79][80][81]

The protests led to the creation of several hashtags, used widely on social media in relation to coverage of the protests. These include #ShutDownCanada,[82] #WetsuwetenStrong,[83] #LandBack,[84] and #AllEyesOnWetsuweten.[85]

Wikipedia 2020 Canadian pipeline and railway protests

I’m sharing part of a message from north-shore.info detailing how to disrupt rail service. I share this as a matter of education. As it says, “detailed below for your reference, education and delight!” I do agree with the statement that the violence against the Wet’suwet’en “is an act of genocide. An active genocide. An armed invasion by the colonial state.”

Each method used will have tripped the automatic block signalling system into its failsafe setting of “occupied track” – meaning all rail traffic on the impacted track comes to a stop until checked out and in some cases repaired. This also means interferences were safer than any of the militarized RCMP’s three unjustified raids on Wet’suwet’en people.

Glorious Rage: Rail Sabotage in Solidarity with the Wet’suwet’en

Our goal as North Shore Counter-Info is to make it easy to share ideas and practices as part of the struggle against domination. Sharing this text helps our project do its work. Soli to folks on the ground!

There is nothing left unsaid.
RCMP Out.
CGL off the Yintah.
Defend the Wedzin Kwa.

This is an act of genocide. An active genocide.
An armed invasion by the colonial state.

There is nothing left to say: they do not listen to words.
So just do; that is what we have done.

One recent evening, allies/accomplices went out into the night to pick up where others may have left off in the spring of 2020: targeting rail infrastructure.

Using various methods (detailed below for your reference, education and delight!) we disrupted rail all over so-called southern Ontario throughout the night, hitting nearly a dozen different spots on both CN and CP rail lines. We did this in heartfelt solidarity with the Wet’suwet’en defending their Yintah from destruction, and fuelled our actions with the justified rage we feel towards the RCMP and state for once against invading their territory on behalf of a private corporation.

Rail was a harbinger of colonized settlements and the genocide of Indigenous peoples across so-called Canada, and also an indefensible way to target the kkkanadian economy, so we find it an ideal target as people unable to be standing shoulder to shoulder with the Wet’suwet’en land defenders.

While some crews opted for the copper wire method, others found inspiration in other means of targeting railway circuits – including severing low voltage track circuits and the arson of railway signal bungalows.

Each method used will have tripped the automatic block signalling system into its failsafe setting of “occupied track” – meaning all rail traffic on the impacted track comes to a stop until checked out and in some cases repaired. This also means interferences were safer than any of the militarized RCMP’s three unjustified raids on Wet’suwet’en people.

We encourage others to join us in action. Use your words to inspire others to action – not to beg for change from government bodies complicit in an active genocide.

Shut it down. That’s all there is left to do.
Never Cede
Never Surrender.

Glorious Rage: Rail Sabotage in Solidarity with the Wet’suwet’en by Anonymous submission to North Shore, November 27, 2021

A map of the Canadian National Railway system, showing the system marked in red lines across the continental United States and Canada.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2020_Canadian_pipeline_and_railway_protests#/media/File:Canadian_National_System_Map.PNG

Map of the Canadian National Railway system. Much of the network east of Toronto was temporarily shut down on February 13, 2020, due to protests and blockades in eastern Canada.

#WetsuwetenStrong
#LandBack
#AllEyesOnWetsuweten
#ShutDownCanada

Wet’suwet’en solidarity

As happened with last year’s violent attacks on the Wet’suwet’en by militarized Royal Canadian Mounted Police, many other First Nations peoples are taking actions in solidarity and support.

https://twitter.com/Kris_Statnyk/status/1464624970500165633?s=20

The Gitxsan have posted on Instagram: “Gitxsan Hereditary Chiefs evict MLA Nathan Cullen from Gitxsan Lax’yip [territory].”

Their post continues: “The NDP has failed to uphold good relations with our peoples, and due to the violence inflicted on Wet’suwet’en and Gitxsan Wilp [house group] members, the NDP is no longer welcome on our territories.”

“Someone needs to be accountable for the violent actions inflicted upon our peoples and territories by the RCMP and Coastal GasLink.”

It concludes: “We do not believe these are simply renegade police actions following the rulings of a mere Provincial Court. We know that the feds and the province are guilty of trying to exterminate our way of life.”

Cullen’s colleague Mike Farnworth is the Minister of Public Safety and Solicitor General. In response to the actions of Wet’suwet’en land defenders earlier this month, Farnworth commented: “The right to protest does not extend to criminal actions.”

While Farnworth has Stated he does direct “police operations”, he did Authorize on January 27, 2020 – the same day as Cullen’s appointment – the “internal redeployment of resources within the Provincial Police Services” on Wet’suwet’en lands in order to “maintain law and order.” Days later a militarized raid against the Wet’suwet’en began.

The eviction action at Cullen’s office in Hazelton on November 27, comes after RCMP officers were deployed in nearby New Hazelton on November 19 against a Gitxsan blockade of the railroad tracks in solidarity with the Wet’suwet’en.

GITXSAN HEREDITARY CHIEFS EVICT GOVERNMENT LIAISON NATHAN CULLEN By Brent Patterson, PBI Canada, November 28, 2021
Evicted From His Hazelton Constituency Office On Gitxsan Territory.

Deadman

Logan Staats’ beautiful new song, “Deadman” is another example of the power of art to call attention to injustice. The track comes alongside a visual accompaniment partially shot at the site of a former residential school.

Logan was beaten and arrested by the RCMP while supporting the Wet’suwet’en peoples. I was only peacefully singing our water song and hugging/protecting a 70-year-old matriarch. I was free’d and remain steadfast and committed to defending the land from sea to sea all across Turtle Island.

Mohawk singer-songwriter Logan Staats makes his return with the new single “Deadman,” which signals the storyteller and activist’s debut release under the Indigenous-owned label, Red Music Rising.

“I wrote ‘Deadman’ while in rehab. It’s not about a girl; the culture is the love that I’m asking for,” he revealed in a press release.

The love Staats pleads for in the song is not romantic but rather a demand for something cherished, stolen by settler colonialism. “The love for myself that was stolen from me — by the government, the crown, the church. When I sing ‘Give back my love,’ I’m speaking about my culture, my pride and my love for myself.”

As a descendent of residential school survivors, Staats delivers the single alongside a video partially shot on the property of the Mohawk Institute — a former residential school in Brantford, ON — and at Land Back Lane, where Six Nations land defenders have been fighting development on unceded Six Nations territory.

In a statement, Staats recalled fighting for land sovereignty alongside the land defenders in Wet’suwet’en territory:

Recently I’ve been spending a lot of time on the West Coast in Wet’suwet’en territory after answering the call of the Hereditary Chiefs there and standing in solidarity with the land defenders on their sovereign ground. After serving an eviction notice to Coastal Gas Link, a for-profit corporation conducting illegal activities on Wet’suwet’en territory, heavily armed RCMP officers were flown in and conducted a raid on the traditional lands or ‘Yin’tah’. During that raid I was punched in the ear, my head was slammed into the frozen pavement by my braids, and I was kneed in my spine and held down while I was handcuffed and bleeding… all after I was only peacefully singing our water song and hugging/protecting a 70-year-old matriarch. I was hauled off to jail along with my sister Layla Black, several other land defenders, elders; along with members of the press. With the support of my community and people rallying across nations, I was free’d and remain steadfast and committed to defending the land from sea to sea all across Turtle Island.

Logan Staats Announces Red Music Rising Debut with New Single “Deadman”. The track comes alongside a visual accompaniment partially shot at the site of a former residential school by Haley Bentham, exclaim.ca, Nov 25, 2021

This story is about supporting water protectors like Logan who are being criminalized.

https://twitter.com/quakers_seekers/status/1463985611740790789?s=20

And Movement Memos calls attention to Mutual Aid efforts, like those in Des Moines, Iowa, that I work with.

Movement Memos

An ongoing call to action for movement work and mutual aid efforts around the country. Kelly Hayes connects with activists, journalists and others on the front lines to break down what’s happening in various struggles and what listeners can do to help.

https://twitter.com/quakers_seekers/status/1464089431292399624?s=20

An opportunity for healing

How do non-native people in this country reconcile the Thanksgiving holiday versus the National Day of Mourning, both occurring on the fourth Thursday of November?

When I try to engage White people about this, they say Thanksgiving is a time to gather with family and be thankful for all the good things in their lives. And don’t want to talk about the many negative consequences for Indigenous peoples that resulted from the arrival of White people.

National Day of Mourning Plaque.jpg

Thanksgiving is a glaring example of White supremacy and privilege. White people can and do refuse to acknowledge the true history. “Repeating the holiday with no acknowledgement of the intolerance in its history feels delusional at best, if not actively perpetuating oppression.”

Searching for ways to write about this, I finally came upon the following blog posts that express my sentiments. The more recent says, “this year (2020), more than ever, healing is on my mind, and our national fractures run especially deep.” Both blog posts contain many suggestions for things we can do for acknowledgement and healing.

A lot has changed since my last post about this topic, four years ago. Much has certainly stayed the same, too…sparing you the full recap, suffice it to say that #BlackLivesMatter is now at the center of American political activism, and Leonard Peltier remains in prison. We’re teetering on the cliff of irreversible climate change with every passing hour of business-as-usual. Plus, a pandemic. The imperative to teach Thanksgiving as a holiday and to re-imagine it through anti-racist and decolonial lenses is even more ripe today than it was back in 2016.

Before I offer my updated action list, let me offer some timely big picture perspective: Thanksgiving has always been a holiday centered on healing. Lincoln created it to repair a semblance – even a myth – of healing a divided nation. This year, more than ever, healing is on my mind, and our national fractures run especially deep.

I offer these updated suggestions encourage healing – both personal and communal, in hopes they might go a little way toward improving the world.

10 MORE WAYS TO MAKE YOUR THANKSGIVING ABOUT SOCIAL AND ENVIRONMENTAL JUSTICE (2020 UPDATE) by Eve Bratman, October 4, 2020

I love that Thanksgiving is a food and gratitude centered holiday. But ever since reading about the actual people’s history of the holiday, I’m more sick to my stomach than excited about eating.

Sure, we’ve got a lot to be thankful for. We have our religious tolerance, our tradition of welcoming foreigners… ahhem… don’t we? The story of pilgrim-colonists setting foot into the New World does little to assuage my angst about our nation’s future, because it ignores a lot of the actual intolerance, conflict, and oppression that is deep within our history.

The short version of the real story of Thanksgiving is this: President Abraham Lincoln established the day as a national holiday in 1863. In his words, it was established as a day of “Thanksgiving and Praise to our beneficent Father who dwelleth in the Heavens,” but all paternalistic religiosity aside, let’s face it, something else was happening in 1863. A holiday based on a beneficent nationalist myth as our origin story helped smooth over deep divisions after the Civil War.  Well beyond Squanto, the history actually involves conversion, smallpox, and having crops and land indelibly altered within the Colombian Exchange. Our social worlds and our ecological landscapes were indelibly marked by imperialism. Small wonder, then, that the fourth Thursday in November is marked by native peoples with a day of mourning and ceremony at Plymouth Rock.

Thanksgiving represents loss and genocide to many Native Americans, not bounty.

Let’s face it: white supremacy is actually deeply embedded in Thanksgiving. Funny I should mention those words, “white supremacy”, right? Didn’t we just this week read about people known to hold racist beliefs becoming nominated to the highest offices of our government? Our history has a lot to do with why – and how – it came to this. We haven’t yet come to terms with our nation’s racist and genocidal past, and even our textbooks barely teach this stuff.

I want to make this Thanksgiving more deeply anti-racist, ecologically rooted, and anti-imperialist. I don’t have all the answers, but I don’t want to be paralyzed, either. Repeating the holiday with no acknowledgement of the intolerance in its history feels delusional at best, if not actively perpetuating oppression.

TEN WAYS TO MAKE YOUR THANKSGIVING ABOUT SOCIAL AND ENVIRONMENTAL JUSTICE by Eve Bratman, November 23, 2016

Truthsgiving

I was going to say more non-native people are becoming aware of the true history about Thanksgiving, but I’m not sure that is true.

Some ways to educate ourselves and others can be found in the following resources from my friends at the Great Plains Action Society One way to begin conversations is to point out that many Indigenous peoples refer to the holiday as Truthsgiving. “The truth will not be whitewashed”.

It is said we should avoid talking about religion and politics at family gatherings to avoid conflicts. But avoiding these topics continues the whitewashed versions of relations between non-native and Indigenous Peoples.

Besides being the right thing to do, it is becoming increasingly clear that politics in the land called the United States is breaking/has broken down. The capitalist economy is showing signs of collapse. Capitalism puts a price on everything, including natural resources.

Increasingly frequent and severe storms and environmental chaos mean, among other things, that we need a different approach. Which is why I looked for opportunities to get to know and learn from Indigenous peoples. This is a diagram I’ve been working on for over a year to try to give an overview of relationships among White, Black, and Indigenous cultures and systems.

When I asked my friends what I could do that would be most helpful, they told me to learn about the concepts of #LANDBACK and share what I learn. Several months ago, I built a new website, landbackfriends.com, that discusses these issues from my perspective as a White person.

Following are the resources referred to in Step 1 above, Educate Yourself.

Truthsgiving, Day of Mourning, Anti-Thanksgiving Resources

Truthsgiving Webinar: Great Plains Action Society
Truthsgiving: Why we Must Abolish Colonial Holidays that Perpetuate Dangerous Stereotypes and Whitewashed History
​Thanksgiving Promotes Whitewashed History, So I Organized Truthsgiving Instead
What Does Thanksgiving Mean to Native Americans?  
​The Thanksgiving Tale We Tell Is a Harmful Lie. As a Native American, I’ve Found a Better Way to Celebrate the Holiday.
A Thanksgiving Message From Seven Amazing Native Americans
​The Future is Indigenous: Decolonizing Thanksgiving
​For Me, Thanksgiving Is a ‘Day of Mourning’
​How to Decolonize Your Thanksgiving Dinner
​A Native American Chef Grapples with Thanksgiving and Tries to Create an Authentic Tasting Menu
​Enough Thanksgiving Myths. Schools Should Teach Indigenous History

Wet’suwet’en peoples

Last week, for the third time in as many years, heavily militarized RCMP invaded Wet’suwet’en territories to remove land defenders so construction on the Coastal GasLink pipeline could continue. Following is some of the latest news.

https://www.yintahaccess.com/news/calltoactionnov

This time ‘round what’s more frustrating is they want to hide the corruption that they’ve been doing. They got exposed the last time, so heaven forbid they get exposed for their violence and using militarized police so now they’re holding media people in jail and that is so wrong. It’s like there’s no freedom of the press anymore and it almost doesn’t even feel like we’re in so-called Canada anymore when you don’t even have freedom of the press. And who knows if they’re keeping their footage and deleting footage to make sure they cover up the corruptness that is happening, which I feel it is so wrong. And people need to know. There’s corruptness all around and all I know is it’s not going to last. It will not last and they will be their own demise because you can’t keep going on with evil and corruptness. It’s going to find you out, it’s going to be exposed into the light. My family’s a praying family and we’ve been praying for this project and their corruptness. It’s going to all be found out and I don’t believe their project’s gonna go. 

Natural disasters happening down south and they should have been down there helping the poor people in all the floods and yet they send, what, 60-80 cops up here to arrest peaceful protestors when people are struggling because of climate change which this project has been contributing to it. And they’re here protecting industry because all their pensions are invested in it and the federal government has to pay back every one of those investors because of the Harper deal that he made with investors. If they invest money here, if it doesn’t go, they have to pay them back that money. So that’s why the Trudeau government is backing these projects and amending and changing all the legislation so that these projects go through. So, eventually they’ll be found out.

COP 26 and Beyond Coal and Gas Alliance

COP 26 can only be seen as a failure since there was no agreement to end fossil fuel extraction and use. Nothing short of that will even slow down environmental collapse. It is not true that the deal “keeps 1.5C within reach” as COP26 President Alok Sharma says. Already the temperature has increased 1.1C. We are on a path to reach at least 2.7C by 2100, if drastic changes aren’t made immediately.

China and India will have to explain themselves to climate-vulnerable nations, COP26 President Alok Sharma has said as the summit ends.

It comes after the two nations pushed for the language on coal to change from “phase out” to “phase down” in the deal agreed in Glasgow.

But Mr Sharma insisted the “historic” deal “keeps 1.5C within reach”.

Under the Glasgow climate pact:

  • Countries were asked to republish their climate action plans by the end of next year, with more ambitious emissions reduction targets for 2030
  • There is an emphasis on the need for developed countries to increase the money they give to those already suffering the effects of climate change – beyond the current $100bn annual target
  • The language about coal has been included for the first time ever in a global climate deal
  • A pledge in a previous draft to “phase out” coal was instead watered down to a commitment to “phase down” coal

COP26: China and India must explain themselves, says Sharma by Malu Cursino, BBC News, Nov 14, 2021

Ed Miliband, shadow business and energy secretary, told the Sky News’ Trevor Phillips programme that “keeping 1.5 degrees alive is frankly in intensive care”.

He said: “The task of the world is to halve global emissions over the coming decade, that’s by 2030, that’s what the scientists tell us is necessary to keep 1.5 degrees alive.

COP26: China and India must explain themselves, says Sharma by Malu Cursino, BBC News, Nov 14, 2021

https://beyondoilandgasalliance.com/
Beyond Oil and Gas Alliance

A new diplomatic alliance to phase out global oil and gas production was formally launched at the UN climate change conference in Glasgow on Thursday, signaling an emerging international front in the fight against climate change.

The Beyond Oil and Gas Alliance, which Quebec announced it would join last week, is led by Costa Rica and Denmark, and now also includes France, Greenland, Ireland, Sweden, Wales, and Quebec as “core” members, California, Portugal, and New Zealand as “associate” members, and Italy which joined as a “friend” of the alliance.

Core membership means the country — or province, in the case of Quebec — has committed to end new exploration permits. Associate members must demonstrate efforts towards an oil and gas phase-out, like ending fossil fuel subsidies. The alliance expects to add new members in the coming months, including Scotland, according to news reports, which could upend the United Kingdom’s oil extraction plans, given much of its reserves are in the North Sea.

“There’s no future for oil and gas in a 1.5-degree world,” said Denmark’s Minister for Climate Dan Jørgensen, at the launch.

Here are the countries that joined the Beyond Oil and Gas Alliance By John Woodside, Canada’s National Observer, November 11th 2021

On 7 November, during the COP26 Coalition People’s Summit, I was on the jury of The People’s Tribunal on the UNFCCC (United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change) and its failure to address a range of issues. We heard from a range of rapporteurs and witnesses, each speaking with great feeling about the differential climate catastrophes on nature and on human life. Every minute, $11 million is spent to subsidise fossil fuels (that’s $5.9 trillion spent in 2020 alone); this money underwrites the cascading climate catastrophe, yet few funds are raised to mitigate the negative effects of fossil fuels or to transition to renewable forms of energy. The remainder of this newsletter details the findings of the Tribunal, which was comprised of Ambassador Lumumba Di-Aping (former Chief Climate Negotiator for the G77 and China), Katerina Anastasiou (Transform Europe), Samantha Hargreaves (WoMin African Alliance), Larry Lohmann (The Corner House), and me.

There were six charges put before the Tribunal concerning the failures of the UNFCCC to:

  • address the root causes of climate change;
  • address global social and economic injustices;
  • come up with appropriate climate finance for planetary and social survival, including the rights of future generations;
  • create pathways to a just transition;
  • regulate corporations and avoid the corporate capture of the UNFCCC process; and
  • recognise, promote, and protect the Rights of Nature law.


The jury of five listened carefully to the special prosecutor, to the rapporteurs, and to the witnesses. We were unified in our conclusion that the UNFCCC, which was signed by 154 nations in 1992 and ratified by 197 countries by 1994, has utterly failed the peoples of the world and all species that rely on a healthy planet to survive by failing to stop climate change. This perilous inaction has failed to limit the increase of the average global temperature.

In its latest 2021 reports, the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) found that the Earth has reached an average temperature increase of 1.1 degrees, while sub-Saharan Africa is close to breaching the ‘safe’ 1.5 degree mark.

The UNFCCC has forged an intimate partnership with the very corporations that have created the climate crisis. It has allowed powerful governments to threaten poor countries into submission, guaranteeing certain misery and death for hundreds of millions of people in the poorest parts of the world over the next two decades.

The UNFCCC’s inaction has permitted powerful oil, mining, agriculture, logging, aviation, fishing, and other corporations to continue their carbon intensive activities unfettered. This has contributed to a growing biodiversity crisis: recent estimates suggest that anywhere from 2,000 species (at the low end) to 100,000 species (at the high end) are being exterminated each year. The UNFCCC is implicated in mass extinction.

The UNFCCC has refused to democratise the process and to listen to those on the frontlines of the crisis. This includes the one billion children who live in the 33 countries that are at ‘extremely high risk’ due to the climate crisis – in other words, almost half of the world’s 2.2 billion children – as well as indigenous communities and working-class and peasant women from the countries and nations that bear the brunt of a crisis that they did not produce.

As the world confronts a rapidly escalating climate crisis – evidenced by flooding, droughts, cyclones, hurricanes, rising sea levels, furious fires, and new pandemics – the poorest, most vulnerable, and highly indebted nations are owed a great climate debt.

Powerful nations in the UNFCCC have forced a rollback on earlier commitments to global redress for the long history of unequal and uneven development between nations. Developed countries pledged $100 billion per year for the climate fund but they have failed to provide that money, thereby neglecting their own commitments. Instead, developed countries plough trillions of dollars into their own national efforts to mitigate the impacts of climate change and support adaptation to a warming climate, while the poorest and most heavily indebted nations are left to fend for themselves.

We, the jury, find that the UNFCCC violated the UN Charter, which demands that UN members states ‘take effective collective measures for the prevention and removal of threats to peace’ (Chapter 1). The Charter charges states ‘to achieve international cooperation in solving international problems’.

The UNFCCC has also violated Chapter IX of the UN Charter, ignoring Article 55’s demand to create ‘conditions of stability and well-being’ as well as ‘economic progress and social progress’ and to promote ‘universal respect for, and observance of, human rights.’ Furthermore, the UNFCCC has violated Article 56, which enjoins member states to take ‘joint and separate action in cooperation’ with the UN.

We, the jury of the People’s Tribunal, find the UNFCCC guilty of the charges made by the special prosecutor and established by the witnesses. In light of our sentence, we claim the following measures of redress for the peoples of the world: (list follows)

WHY ARE YOU ASKING US TO COMPROMISE ON OUR LIVES? By Vijay Prashad, Tricontinental: Institute for Social Research, November 12, 2021