In the following video, Kolin Sutherland-Wilson speaks at his arrest yesterday. His message to us is to support the land protectors. “Because we are doing what we know is right, and we are following our truth.“
It is an honor to be here on behalf of the Gitxsan people in support of our brothers and sisters of the Wet’suwet’en people. And I stand here as a diplomatic prisoner of the Gitxsan nation of the Git’luuhl’um’hetxwit people and I stand fully behind the Likht’samisyu clan government and all those who stand up to support of the traditional laws of the land. Much love to all the people of the world. Thank you again for your support.
To all the people out there, I trust you to back up the people who are protecting the land, who are doing everything in their power to stand up to injustice. Because we are doing what we know is right, and we are following our truth. So as a member of the Git’luuhl’um’hetxwit, I ask that the Gitxsan people stand up to uphold our laws for the sake of peace, for the sake of the land.
Kolin Sutherland-Wilson
I trust you to back up the people who are protecting the land, who are doing everything in their power to stand up to injustice.
Some of my friends in Des Moines showing their support for the Wet’suwet’en on October 16, 2021.
In January, 2020, Bear Creek Friends (Quakers) approved the following statement in support of the Wet’suwet’en, and sent the letter below to John Horgan, British Columbia Premier.
Bear Creek Friends (Quaker) meetinghouse is in the Iowa countryside. Many members have been involved in agriculture and care about protecting Mother Earth. A number of Friends have various relationships with Indigenous peoples. Some Friends have worked to protect water and to stop the construction of fossil fuel pipelines in the United States, such as the Keystone XL and Dakota Access pipelines.
We are concerned about the tensions involving the Wet’suwet’en Peoples, who are working to protect their water and lands in British Columbia. Most recently they are working to prevent the construction of several pipelines through their territory. Such construction would do severe damage to the land, water, and living beings.
Bear Creek Friends Meeting, of Iowa Yearly Meeting (Conservative) approved sending the following letter to British Columbia Premier, John Horgan.
John Horgan. PO BOX 9041 STN PROV GOVT VICTORIA, BC V8W 9E1. Email premier@gov.bc.ca
John Horgan,
We’re concerned that you are not honoring the tribal rights and unceded Wet’suwet’en territories and are threatening a raid instead.
We ask you to de-escalate the militarized police presence, meet with the Wet’suwet’en Hereditary Chiefs, and hear their demands:
That the province cease construction of the Coastal Gaslink Pipeline project and suspend permits.
That the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples (UNDRIP) and tribal rights to free, prior and informed consent (FPIC) are respected by the state and RCMP.
That the Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP) and associated security and policing services be withdrawn from Wet’suwet’en lands, in agreement with the most recent letter provided by the United Nations Committee on the Elimination of Racial Discrimiation’s (CERD) request.
That the provincial and federal government, RCMP and private industry employed by Coastal GasLink (CGL) respect Wet’suwet’en laws and governance system, and refrain from using any force to access tribal lands or remove people.
Bear Creek Monthly Meeting of Friends (Quakers) 19186 Bear Creek Road, Earlham, Iowa, 50072
There have been many conflicts and arrests of Wet’suwet’en people by militarized Royal Canadian Mounted Police for years. There are heightened tensions now as construction of the Coastal GasLink pipeline has reached the point of drilling under the sacred headwaters of the Wedzin Kwa river.
Yesterday Chief Dsta’hyl and Kolin Sutherland-Wilson were arrested and removed from the Wet’suwet’en land. At the end of this are information and videos about Kolin and his brother Denzel Sutherland-Wilson and their work to protect the Wet’suwet’en territories.
Chief Dsta'hyl of @Likhtsamisyu has been arrested & removed from his land, along with Kolin Sutherland-Wilson of the Gitxsan fireweed clan & at least one other person.
Cops were deployed from all over northern BC for this.
— Likhts’amisyu (Fireweed) Clan (@Likhtsamisyu) October 28, 2021
They refuse to discuss which laws they are willing to enforce… a SCC decision which recognizes our title and also gives the Wet’suwet’en a chance to sort out how our lands will be impacted. There is no attempt to deal with us directly from any of the corrupt parties. pic.twitter.com/yY9VRLUqhQ
— Likhts’amisyu (Fireweed) Clan (@Likhtsamisyu) October 28, 2021
URGENT UPDATE: Chief Dsta’hyl has been arrested while fulfilling his role as @Likhtsamisyu Enforcement Officer on their yintah. Supporters are being read the injunction.
Earlier in this series about #LANDBACK I wrote the first time I heard that term was from Denzel Sutherland-Wilson. I shared this awful video of Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP) pointing sniper rifles at him. Canada is ready to kill us
[ WARNING: This video contains graphic images of an armed threat on the lives of land defenders Denzel Sutherland-Wilson (Gitxsan) and Anne Spice (Tlingit). It may be traumatic for many to see. But we feel strongly that it should be available to witness. Denzel, Anne, and all the land defenders are now safe. These events took place during the RCMP raid on unceded Wet’suwet’en territory on February 7, 2020. The video was filmed by Gitxsan land defender Denzel Sutherland-Wilson from atop this tower. ]
At this same time his brother, Kolin Sutherland-Wilson, was bringing attention to these issues, including sitting outside the doors of the British Columbia legislature by himself for a week. His video on Colonialism in Canada is an excellent review of the subject and brings together many of the issues related to #LANDBACK.
The arrest of Chief Dsta’hyl occurred just a few hours ago. The only news are the following tweets and Facebook posts. Supporters are asked to do what they can now. “We need boots on the ground!”
URGENT UPDATE: Chief Dsta’hyl has been arrested while fulfilling his role as @Likhtsamisyu Enforcement Officer on their yintah. Supporters are being read the injunction.
There have been many conflicts and arrests of Wet’suwet’en people by militarized Royal Canadian Mounted Police. There are heightened tensions now as construction of the Coastal GasLink pipeline has reached the point of drilling under the sacred headwaters of the Wedzin Kwa river. For background information see: https://landbackfriends.com/?s=wetsuweten
With @jjhorgan releasing the provincial Climate Plan today AND while our People file an appeal on our Climate Change court case – this is what we are up against. Fossil Fuels are not an answer to a #ClimateCrisis#WetsuwetenStrong#alloutforwidzinkwa
Following are legislative updates for October from Portia K. Skenandore-Wheelock, Congressional Advocate, Native American Advocacy Program, Friends Committee on National Legislation (FCNL). This is a link to information from FCNL related to Native Americans. On that page you can sign up to receive these legislative updates. https://www.fcnl.org/issues/native-americans
The Friends Committee on National Legislation is a national, nonpartisan Quaker organization that lobbies Congress and the administration to advance peace, justice, and environmental stewardship. https://www.fcnl.org/about
“It is long overdue for the United States to acknowledge the historic trauma of the Indian boarding school era. In the 19th and early 20th centuries, Christian churches collaborated with the government to create hundreds of boarding schools for Native American children. The conditions at these schools, some of them Quaker-run, were unspeakable. Now we must work with tribal nations to advance congressional efforts to establish a federal commission to formally investigate boarding school policy and develop recommendations for the government to take further action. Although the wrongs committed at these institutions can never be made right, we can start the truth, healing, and reconciliation process for the families and communities affected as we work to right relationship with tribal nations. Remind your members of Congress of their responsibility to tribal nations and urge them to support the Truth and Healing Commission on Indian Boarding School Policies in the United States Act (S. 2907/H.R. 5444).”
As a constituent and person of faith, I welcome the introduction of the Truth and Healing Commission on Indian Boarding School Policies Act (S. 2907/H.R. 5444) and urge you to support this important legislation.
From the 1860s through the 1960s, U.S. federal boarding school policy sought to assimilate more than 100,000 Native children into white American culture at 367 boarding and day schools operated by 14 different denominations. The traumatic separation of Native children from their families, identity, traditions, and spiritual beliefs was often coupled with psychological and physical abuse administered at these institutions. Heartbreakingly, many of these children never returned home.
The faith community has begun acknowledging our complicity in the historic trauma of the boarding school era and is committed to locating, cataloguing, and sharing boarding school records with the commission and the public as part of the truth-telling process. Given the scale of this effort and the government’s central role in boarding school policy, I call on you to join this important work and establish a federal commission to formally investigate boarding school policy and develop recommendations for the government to take further action.
The intergenerational impact of federal boarding school policy is still felt today. Loss of indigenous languages and cultures, injury to tribal governance and sovereignty, and high poverty, poor health, and growing suicide rates continue to harm tribal communities across the country. The establishment of the commission is an important first step in starting the truth, healing, and reconciliation process for all of us.
I urge you to co-sponsor this vital legislation and make a public statement in support of it and ask that you encourage your colleagues in Congress to do the same.
Washington, DC – The Friends Committee on National Legislation (FCNL) welcomed late last week’s introduction of important legislation to investigate and address the atrocities committed at Indian boarding schools throughout the United States in the 19th and 20th centuries.
Contact Tim McHugh: media@fcnl.org, 202-903-2515
“For far too long, the truth of cultural genocide led by European-Americans at Indian boarding schools has remained hidden in secrecy and ignored. Christian churches, including Quakers, carry this burden of transgression against indigenous people. It is necessary and important for our government to investigate, acknowledge, and report the truth to help us move toward healing the injustice against American Indians, Alaska Natives and Native Hawaiians,” said Diane Randall, FCNL’s general secretary.
“History cannot be undone. But it also can’t be ignored. The faith community must acknowledge our complicity in the historic trauma of the boarding school era and work in solidarity with tribal nations to advance congressional efforts to establish a truth, reconciliation, and healing process for the families and communities affected,” Randall concluded.
Senator Elizabeth Warren (MA), Representative Sharice Davids (KS), and Representative Tom Cole (OK) introduced the Truth and Healing Commission on Indian Boarding School Policies in the United States Act to establish the first formal commission in US history to investigate and document the attempted termination of cultures and languages of Indigenous peoples, assimilation practices, and human rights violations that occurred against American Indians, Alaska Natives, and Native Hawaiians through Indian Boarding School policies. A final report will be due within five years of the commission’s creation.
“This bill is a positive first step toward addressing not only the crimes of the boarding school era but centuries of abuse, maltreatment, and genocide of Native people at the hands of the federal government. Acknowledging the truths tribal communities have always known is an important part of the healing and reconciliation process for all of us,” said Portia Kay^nthos Skenandore-Wheelock, FCNL’s Native American Advocacy Program Congressional Advocate.
“Our work must also continue beyond the Commission in supporting the Indigenous languages, cultures, and peoples these policies were intended to destroy and erase. Only then can we create a future where all our children are safe, loved, and proud of who they are.”
Bill Advances to Protect Native American Cultural Heritage
On Oct. 13, the House Committee on Natural Resources advanced the Safeguard Tribal Objects of Patrimony (STOP) Act of 2021 (H.R. 2930) by unanimous consent. This bipartisan bill would prohibit the export of Native American cultural items that were illegally obtained, provide for the return of items, and double criminal penalties for individuals convicted of selling or purchasing human remains or illegally obtained cultural items.
“Throughout history, Native American cultural items such as human remains, sacred objects, and objects of cultural patrimony have been looted and sold to collectors in our country and abroad,” said Rep. Leger Fernández (NM-3) during an earlier hearing on the bill. “The STOP Act gives Tribes, Pueblos, and Nations a tool to close the door on the illegal exportation of cultural objects.”
Similar legislation (S. 1471) has been approved by the Senate Indian Affairs Committee and is awaiting action by the full Senate.
As we bear witness and lobby in solidarity with Native Americans, we also honor the Nacotchtank tribe on whose ancestral land the FCNL, FCNL Education Fund, and Friends Place on Capitol Hill buildings stand. They are also known as the Anacostans, the Indigenous people who lived along the banks of the Anacostia River, including in several villages on Capitol Hill and what is now Washington, D.C. By the 1700s, the Nacotchtank tribe had merged with other tribes like the Pamunkey and the Piscataway, both of which still exist today.
My prayers are being answered as Indigenous peoples in the lands called Canada and the United States are asserting their authority. It has long been clear to me that fossil fueled capitalism, which is responsible for the deepening environmental chaos, will not voluntarily stop the rape of Mother Earth.
There were numerous Indigenous led events related to Indigenous Peoples’ Day. My friends in Des Moines, Iowa, have a message related to Christopher Columbus.
Indigenous leaders released the following statement.
We will no longer allow the U.S. government to separate us from our relationship to the sacred knowledge of Mother Earth and all who depend on her. Her songs have no end, so we must continue the unfinished work of our ancestors who have walked on before us. Because of colonization, our mission has been passed on generation after generation- to protect the sacred. Just as those who walked before us, we continue their song and rise for our youth, for the land, and for the water. Politicians do not take care of us. Presidents will break their promises but Mother Earth has always given us what we need to thrive. We will not back down until our natural balance is restored.
For the land, for our waters, for our future– we must fight now so our young will thrive.
You can arrest us, tear gas us, poison us but there will always be more hearts to continue the song until we are all free.
The work to stop the construction of the Coastal GasLink pipeline on Wet’suwet’en lands continues. Investors in the pipeline are warned to stop funding genocide.
On October 17th, Lihkt’samisyu Chiefs Dsta’hyl and Tsebesa took action, decommissioning and seizing construction equipment by the Likht’samisyu Clan in accordance with its laws.
LIHT’SAMISYU TERRITORY – On October 17th, Lihkt’samisyu Chiefs Dsta’hyl and Tsebesa took action as Coastal Gaslink workers continued to trespass on Wet’suwet’en territory in violation of Wet’suwet’en laws and Canada’s own constitution. The Chiefs instructed Coastal Gaslink to remove all equipment from Lihkts’amisyu territory immediately, indicating that otherwise it would be decommissioned and seized by the Likht’samisyu Clan in accordance with its laws.
In Iowa we held our first vigil to support the Wet’suwet’en in February 2020.
Support for Wet’suwet’en peoples in Des Moines, Iowa, Feb 2020
Last week in Des Moines, after our food distribution work, some of my Mutual Aid friends showed their support for the Wet’suwet’en (using signs from last year’s vigil).
Des Moines, Iowa October 9, 2021
The Wet'suwet'en have called on their Allies across Turtle Island to stand with them. They need boots on the ground, people in the streets, folks amplifying on social media, wherever you are, whatever you can do can make a difference. pic.twitter.com/fuJnhD0c0J
Sleydo’ and our Haudenosaunee relatives discuss impacts of colonization, industry, RCMP and how we are painted by government and media to distract from our true goal of protecting our land and people. Indigenous people understand each other. We all face the same threats. It’s why we stand united with each other. For more information please go to yintahaccess.com Follow us on: Twitter @Gidimten FB @wetsuwetenstrong IG @yintah_access #AllOutForWedzinKwa
I awoke wondering how to bring more attention to the horrors of the institutions of forced assimilation in the lands called the United States and Canada. The atrocities hidden for many years are finally beginning to be exposed as the remains of THOUSANDS of children are being located on the grounds of those institutions.
Even as this history is beginning to show up on social media and websites there is continued silence from mainstream media. Although there is news about a story Anderson Cooper is working on for 60 Minutes (below).
Where is the outrage? As it is sometimes framed, there would be a radically different response if the remains were of white children. Instead, the ongoing silence is the continued erasure of Indigenous peoples.
What really happened and what is still happening today are not what are published in the mainstream media. If you desire truth, you will have to dig for it yourself.
One way I discover websites related to my concerns is when I’m notified when one of my blog posts has been re-blogged. Which was how I learned about the website with the provocative title Earth’s Bloodstains that re-blogged my blog post “We don’t give up“.
Welcome … this site is about exposing our sanitized histories, revealing truth, uncovering earth’s carefully concealed blood stains, exposing the criminals, both past and present who continue to deprive their fellow human beings of the right to a decent existence on planet earth. After twelve years of researching our histories I can only conclude we have been fed layer upon layer of lies. What really happened & what is still happening today are not what are published in the mainstream media. If you desire truth, you will have to dig for it yourself.*
*Please note, I don’t claim to speak for any group/s of people regarding their own histories. In order for those histories to be known however, I am simply publishing here, histories that have been recorded by non-mainstream indigenous/historians/authors/researchers that we weren’t told, including our own (Aotearoa / New Zealand). So conditioned was I to mainstream versions of history, it was not until I learned about the true history of our own Parihaka in the Taranaki that I woke up to the lies by omission. The official histories taught us in school, were frequently a layer of whitewash, as described by Dr Hirini Moko Mead, the final myth-making phase of colonization. For it is the victors who wrote our histories. I want to expose them. Please contact me if there is anything you know to be incorrect or if you can point me to histories I’ve missed. I am relying on published truth but am aware there are oral histories that likely aren’t in print.
Exposing the lies of the powerful who mercilessly drive people off lands they’ve inhabited for centuries, who greedily shore up land for themselves alone, shutting out the people, all the while under the cover of ‘law’, a law they carefully craft themselves, for their own ends, and under the guise of ‘economic development’, ‘progress’, ‘civilization’, ‘sustainability’, the great lie that there is not room enough for all on planet earth, all this in the name of greed, avarice and profit.
Remembering those who sought justice and found none, the many millions who are still being mercilessly slaughtered with swords, poison, fire, lynching, bombs, warfare, guns, drowning, starvation, enslavement, exile, torture, exposure and disease, suffering unspeakable agonies, driven from their homes, incarcerated, raped, abused and enslaved, shipped to the four corners of the earth, enduring trauma that will continue to haunt them and their descendants all their days, visiting the terror upon succeeding generations, driving them in their sadness to suicide, addiction and death even, far from the comfort of hearth and kin, the innocents whose only ‘crime’ was to require a share of the Creator’s earth to live on …
This first video is an update about what is happening now on the Wet’suwet’en territories.
The video at the end, INVASION, was released in November, 2019, and gives an excellent overview of the struggles of the Wet’suwet’en peoples to protect their land and water. The story is well told, but what really affected me were all the beautiful shots of that pristine land.
We’re occupying this space. People are going to be living here and it’ll be occupied from now on. This project is not a done deal. It’s only one third complete and most of that work is happening in other territories. The Wetsuweten have been resisting this project since day one and will continue to resist this project until it fails.
It’s time to end this once and for all because there’s no way that Wetsuweten are ever going to stand down. There’s no way that we’re ever going to move off of our territories and not be here and occupying them and not be utilizing our Wedzin Kwa, utilizing our territories the way that we’re supposed to be in the way that we have every right to.
So now is the time to let the investors know, let the people who are putting millions and billions of dollars into this project know that it’s going to fail. And let’s put it to rest once and for all because we’re not going anywhere. We’re digging in, the snow’s coming. We anticipated. You know that it’s going to get cold, things are going to get harder but we’re digging in. And this is our territory. This is Wedzin Kwa, the lifeline of our whole territory for all for us and all of our neighbors. And this is the stand that we’re taking, and the position that we’re taking, and we don’t give up.
Molly Wickham, Sleydo’
News Release
Indigenous Environmental Network
On the morning of September 25, 2021, the access road to Coastal GasLink’s (CGL’s) drill site at the Wedzin Kwa river was destroyed. Blockades have been set up and sites have been occupied, to stop the drilling under the sacred headwaters that nourish the Wet’suwet’en Yintah and all those within its catchment area. Cas Yikh and supporters have gained control of the area and refuse to allow this destruction to continue.
Wet’suwet’en Hereditary Chiefs were denied access to their own lands, and there has been one arrest confirmed. The Hereditary Chiefs were read the injunction and threatened with arrest, but they held their ground. Despite heavy machinery and heavy Royal Canadian Mounted Police presence, our relatives and supporters are standing strong holding the line, and so far no more arrests have been confirmed. As of Sunday, September 26, the individual arrested has been released and the chiefs and supporters continue to hold the line and successfully hold off any work by Coastal GasLink.
Days ago, Coastal GasLink destroyed our ancient village site, Ts’elkay Kwe. When Gidimt’en Checkpoint spokesperson Sleydo’ attempted to monitor the Coastal GasLink archaeological team and contest the destruction of Wet’suwet’en cultural heritage, she was aggressively intimidated by Coastal GasLink security guards. Tensions have continued to rise on the Yintah as Coastal GasLink pushes a reckless and destructive construction schedule with the support of private security and the Royal Canadian Mounted Police.
Now, Coastal GasLink is ready to begin drilling beneath our sacred headwaters, Wedzin Kwa. We know that this would be disastrous, not only for Wet’suwet’en people, but for all living beings supported by the Wedzin Kwa, and for the communities living downstream. Wedzin Kwa is a spawning ground for salmon and a critical source of pristine drinking water.
States Sleydo’, Gidimt’en Checkpoint Spokesperson:
“Our way of life is at risk. […] Wedzin Kwa [is the] the river that feeds all of Wet’suwet’en territory and gives life to our nation.”
Coastal Gaslink has been evicted from our territories by the Wet’suwet’en Hereditary Chiefs who have full jurisdiction over Wet’suwet’en lands. Coastal GasLink is pushing through a 670-kilometer fracked gas pipeline, but under ‘Anuc niwh’it’en (Wet’suwet’en law) all five clans of the Wet’suwet’en have unanimously opposed all pipeline proposals and have not provided free, prior, and informed consent to Coastal Gaslink to do work on Wet’suwet’en lands.
As Coastal GasLink continues to trespass, we will do everything in our power to protect our waters and to uphold our laws. Gidimt’en Checkpoint has issued a call for support, asking people to travel to Cas Yikh territory to stand with them.
In this era of “reconciliation”, Indigenous land is still being taken at gunpoint. INVASION is a new film about the Unist’ot’en Camp, Gidimt’en checkpoint and the larger Wet’suwet’en Nation standing up to the Canadian government and corporations who continue colonial violence against Indigenous people.
The Unist’ot’en Camp has been a beacon of resistance for nearly 10 years. It is a healing space for Indigenous people and settlers alike, and an active example of decolonization. The violence, environmental destruction, and disregard for human rights following TC Energy (formerly TransCanada) / Coastal GasLink’s interim injunction has been devastating to bear, but this fight is far from over.
Following are suggested questions for discussion after seeing the film. The questions can, of course, be used for that lands you live on.
What is the colonial history of this region? Who occupied these lands before the establishment of the current borders & national government?
What does anti-colonial struggle look like in this area? Are there any active anti-colonial struggles going on?
What projects are people in this room currently engaged with that could benefit from applying more of an anti-colonial lens? What would this actually look like in practice… aside from just token acknowledgement?
What are some of the practical things that non-Indigenous activists should know about when working with Indigenous groups, or in Indigenous-led campaigns?
What financial institutions, politicians, or corporations based in your community are supporting the destruction of Wet’suwet’en lands?
What are some ways of demonstrating material support for the Unis’tot’en and Wet’suwet’en? How can you support Wet’suwet’en sovereignty from your stand?
The United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples delineates and defines the individual and collective rights of Indigenous peoples, including their ownership rights to cultural and ceremonial expression, identity, language, employment, health, education and other issues. It “emphasizes the rights of Indigenous peoples to maintain and strengthen their own institutions, cultures and traditions, and to pursue their development in keeping with their own needs and aspirations”. It “prohibits discrimination against indigenous peoples”, and it “promotes their full and effective participation in all matters that concern them and their right to remain distinct and to pursue their own visions of economic and social development”.
UN Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples
Article 10 of the UN Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples states: Indigenous peoples shall not be forcibly removed from their lands or territories. No relocation shall take place without the free, prior and informed consent of the indigenous peoples concerned and after agreement on just and fair compensation and, where possible, with the option of return.
Pam Palmater tweeted this episode of Warrior Life Podcast today. She says this podcast is a response to the call for Wet’suwet’en solidarity. Doing her part to help amplify Wet’suwet’en voices about violent RCMP actions happening right now and how we can help.
She was not able to conduct a face-to-face interview with Gidimt’en spokesperson, Molly Wickham – Sledo. So, she sent a series of questions to Sledo, who recorded her answers to them. The result is a powerful picture of what happened to the Wet’suwet’en in the past, and why it is so important to continue. “I want people to know we have a responsibility to be here doing this work.”
In Episode 111 of Warrior Life Podcast, we hear from Molly Wickham – Sleydo – a Gidimt’en clan member and spokesperson protecting Wet’suwet’en Nation lands and waters from destruction by Coastal Gaslink pipeline. She and other clan members have called for a week of action in solidarity with Wet’suwet’en on Oct.9-15, 2021. This podcast is a respond to that call, doing my part to help amplify Wet’suwet’en voices about violent RCMP actions happening right now and how we can help.
Originally tweeted by Pam Palmater (@Pam_Palmater) on October 13, 2021.
I want people to know we have a responsibility to be here doing this work. I want people to know that the only violence that happens here on our territories is at the hands of the state and at the hands of the RCMP, at the hands of the people that are directing the RCMP to bring violence into our communities, to criminalize us, to harass us, to surveil us, to jail us, and essentially to commit genocide. You know if we don’t have our land, if we don’t have our water, if we don’t have a future, our people aren’t going to want to live.
There’s so much at stake and there are so many repercussions of the devastation of our lands and our access to our lands that have that there are on our people that may not seem blatant to the naked eye but if you look deeper and if you think about who we are and our identities as indigenous people, it is tied to our land, it’s tied to our water, it is tied to the fact that we harvest salmon every year and we get together as families and that helps create a sense, a strong sense of identity and a strong sense of who we are. And we know that the people who are killing themselves are the people that don’t have that connection to who they are as an indigenous person, that don’t have the connection to their land, the people that are lost out in the world, the people who are out on the streets, the children that are taken away from their families all relates back to a strong sense of connection belonging and identity as an indigenous person and if we don’t have that our people will die and that’s the genocide.
Molly Wickham – Sleydo
Following is solidarity action for the Wet’suwet’en by the Haudenosaunee .
Gidimt’en Checkpoint Yesterday at 3:20 PM
Haudenosaunee kick out RCMP out of the yintah
“You can’t push the Wet’suwet’en around!” and “This is Chief Woos’ territory!” can be heard as our Haudenosaunee relatives send the RCMP retreating from their daily harassment patrol at Coyote Camp.
We are so honoured to have our relatives here answer the call. To stand with us against colonial greed and corruption. The Six Nations Confederacy and the Wet’suwet’en have familial ties and children who’s futures we are fighting for together.
“We can hear their war cries. Which is a beautiful sound. The allyship is beautiful.” -Sleydo’
#AllOutforWedzinKwa #WeAreAllOne Skyler Williams Geordon L. Staats
It is such a dichotomy to witness the ongoing invasion of the Wet’suwet’en peoples’ lands by the Royal Canadian Mounted Police and Coastal Gaslink while truth and reconciliation efforts are supposed to be happening in the lands called Canada and the United States. Even during the observation of Indigenous Peoples’ Day in the United States. A dichotomy Indigenous peoples have faced since the appearance of settlers on their lands.
Two days ago, Gidimt’en spokesperson Sleydo’ sent the following message:
All of our warriors who have stood up for Indigenous rights, we need you now. We are calling on you to stand up and say the genocide will no longer happen on Indigenous lands.
We are calling on you to stand up and say the genocide will no longer happen on Indigenous lands.
Sleydo’
The latest update fortunately is there is a temporary reprieve, the RCMP have left Coyote Camp.
Students @CMCnews are agitated and upset about @CoastalGasLink investors @KKR_Co and CMC trustees/KKR CEOs/founders Henry Kravis and George Roberts who have the authority to STOP CGL but wont without MASS PRESSURE.
Today is Indigenous Peoples Day. Across the country, a growing number of cities and states are recognizing this day in place of the traditional Columbus Day. This change reflects the growing awareness that holidays like Columbus Day are used to rewrite the past and uphold institutions of white supremacy, racism and settler colonialism. As Justin Teba writes, in Albuquerque, they issued a proclamation to recognize this as a day “to reflect upon the ongoing struggles of Indigenous peoples on this land.”
I can only write from the perspective of a settler, but I do want to highlight a few of the current struggles. We have a responsibility to educate ourselves about the history of the founding of the United States, to join in struggle with those who are oppressed and to transform our society to end these devastating institutions.
Increased attention to the finding of children’s graves at residential boarding schools has brought the reality of the American Genocide to the forefront. Residential boarding schools for indigenous children started in Carlisle, Pennsylvania as a way to erase indigenous knowledge and culture. These were brutal places where children were killed through violence and neglect. The last schools closed in the 1990’s so there are still survivors who are speaking out about their experiences.
INDIGENOUS PEOPLE’S DAY REMINDS US TO ACKNOWLEDGE AND SUPPORT INDIGENOUS STRUGGLES By Margaret Flowers, Popular Resistance, October 11, 2021
Because of the upsurge in COVID cases in Iowa, my friends at the Great Plains Action Society decided not to hold a public gathering this Indigenous Peoples’ Day. Instead, they participated in a guerrilla street art action to push back at the recognition of Columbus Day in Iowa and the nation.
Celebrate Indigenous People’s Day by Abolishing Columbus Day
To celebrate Indigenous People’s Day, we participated in a guerrilla street art action to push back at the recognition of Columbus Day in Iowa and the nation. The art is inspired by the Overpass Light Brigade and utilizes LED lights to spell out movement messaging tackling various issues. The art build and action was led by Qırımlı Frontlines Organizer, Mahmud Fitil. Ronnie James provided on-the-ground support, gathering together an amazing crew of local radicals to help hold the art. The photos were taken by Karla Conrad, a movement photographer well known for her work in Iowa. The following piece to accompany the photos is written by Sikowis Nobiss.
Indigenous People’s day is a time to celebrate Indigenous cultures, practices, and success but it is also a powerful political statement about and against whitewashed history as well as colonial violence. It is observed on the same date as Columbus Day with the goal of ending the celebration of a man that did not, in fact, discover America who was also a rapist, a murderer, and slave trader. Unfortunately, the bulk of declarations and proclamations recognizing Indigenous Peoples in cities, counties, and states across the country do not abolish Columbus Day. For instance, President Joe Biden issued a proclamation last Friday to recognize Indigenous Peoples’ Day, which is the first time a sitting US president has commemorated this holiday, but Columbus Day is still a national holiday, which means the nation state still celebrates and upholds colonization, genocide, and slavery. Most federal employees will receive the day off to observe Columbus Day, which is still endorsed by Congress.
The state of Iowa needs to completely abolish Columbus Day and statues uplifting white supremacy that perpetuate hate and whitewash our history. Hate speech alone is not considered a hate crime under Iowa code, however, the state itself should be held to a different standard and barred from entering or perpetuating behavior that undermines a person’s mental well-being, safety, and sense of belonging in this state. Furthermore, the Iowa constitution already protects against discrimination based on religion, sexual orientation, age, race, national origin, and disability. Since Columbus Day and monuments to white supremacy celebrate genocide, land theft, and enslavement, they perpetuate and legitimize discrimination as they make many BIPOC residents unwelcome in public spaces that trigger very real historical traumas.
Sikowis Nobiss , Great Plains Action Society
Photo by Karla Conrad
The following is about Indigenous Peoples’ Day last year. My friend Ronnie James appears below, with the bust of Christopher Columbus (and he’s mentioned above for his role in the guerrilla street art.)
Remarks at Indigenous Peoples Day 2020 in Des Moines, Iowa State Capitol grounds, October 12, 2020, by Alejandro Murguia-Ortiz, American Friends Service Committee
Iowa Governor: Abolish Monuments, Names, and Holidays to White Supremacy in Iowa – Sign the Petition! https://t.co/OoEkVrManw via @Change
LANDBACK Friends 