Category: pipelines

RCMP Raid Wet’suwet’en

Here is the latest news about the Royal Canadian Mounted Police raid on the Wet’suwet’en territories.

https://twitter.com/quakers_seekers/status/1461708079981072386?s=20
https://twitter.com/IGD_News/status/1461489512144535557?s=20
https://twitter.com/kainagata/status/1461565162016571392?s=20

Urgent: RCMP now raiding Gidimt’en Checkpoint

“This is Sleydo over here on Cas Yih Yintah. The RCMP have moved in this morning on Gidimt’en Checkpoint. CGL is enforcing their own injunction order. 

They started this morning on both ends of the blockade at 63 with a bunch of heavy machinery, chasing somebody with a dozer, they had rock trucks. 

Currently right now the state of Gidimt’en Checkpoint is that dozers have rolled in (as well as) Heavy Machinery, CGL workers and RCMP. We just got word that they released K9 units at the bridge at Gidimt’en Checkpoint. Our warriors are down there. Our matriarch is there. There’s a lot of people that are there that are at risk of this police violence.

https://twitter.com/quakers_seekers/status/1461402143802511372?s=20

RCMP deployed to Wet’suwet’en territory

“RCMP raid is on the horizon.” Gidimt’en Checkpoint.

https://twitter.com/quakers_seekers/status/1461347388728098827?s=20
Gidimt’en Checkpoint

11/17/2021 URGENT UPDATE – Dozens of RCMP have deployed onto Wet’suwet’en territory.
A charter plane full of RCMP have landed at the Smithers airport, with between 30 and 50 officers equipped with camo duffel bags. Police loaded onto two buses and unmarked, rental pick-up trucks and headed out towards the yintah. An RCMP helicopter is reported to be heading to the area.
Throughout today, helicopters have circled over our camps, conducting low, deliberate flights for surveillance.
The road into our yintah remains blocked by RCMP at 28km, with hereditary chiefs, food, and medical supplies being turned away.
In the middle of a climate emergency, as highways and roads are being washed away and entire communities are being flooded and evacuated, the Province has chosen to send busloads of police to criminalize Wet’suwet’en water protectors and to work as a mercenary force for oil and gas.
We will not back down.
We need all eyes on Wet’suwet’en Yintah.
We need boots on the ground.
We need solidarity actions throughout Canada.
#ShutDownCanada
#AllOutForWedzinKwa

Wet’suwet’en land defenders and supporters say inaction from B.C. and Canada left them no choice but to enforce an eviction order against Coastal GasLink workers and deactivate road access to the project, a pair of measures that have prompted the provincial and federal governments to call for a peaceful resolution to the blockades.

“We were sending a clear message to the province, to Canada, and they weren’t acting on it — they weren’t hearing what we were saying — so we had to get a little bit louder,” Gidimt’en camp spokesperson Sleydo’ Molly Wickham told The Narwhal in an interview. “They’re destroying absolutely everything that is important to us in our territory. And they have been continuing to do work, despite the eviction order last year.”

The sole access route to Coastal GasLink project sites and work camps housing some 500 people was cut off after the company failed to act on an eviction order issued on Sunday. Tensions have been steadily escalating in Gidimt’en clan territory south of Houston, B.C., since September as the pipeline company began preparing to drill under the Wedzin Kwa (Morice) River.

The Wet’suwet’en eviction order isn’t new. It was first issued on Jan. 4, 2020, by the hereditary chiefs.

“Anuc ‘nu’at’en (Wet’suwet’en law) is not a ‘belief’ or a ‘point of view,’ ” the chiefs wrote at the time. “It is a way of sustainably managing our territories and relations with one another and the world around us, and it has worked for millennia to keep our territories intact. Our law is central to our identity. The ongoing criminalization of our laws by Canada’s courts and industrial police is an attempt at genocide, an attempt to extinguish Wet’suwet’en identity itself.”

UPDATED: Wet’suwet’en land defenders say B.C., federal inaction prompted enforcement of Coastal GasLink eviction By Matt Simmons, Energetic City, Nov 16, 2021

When Chief Dsta’hyl arrived on a Saturday morning in October, the big construction vehicles rumbled back and forth over the cold mud. He watched an excavator dig into the soil, its yellow, hydraulic arm moving against the green backdrop of forests that he has called home all his life.

The area that was being prepared for construction lies within the territory of the Wet’suwet’en, a First Nation in what is currently called British Columbia, Canada. As a supporting chief from the Likhts’amisyu clan, Dsta’hyl had been tasked with enforcing Wet’suwet’en law in the area.

The scene he was witnessing — construction crews preparing to build a pipeline through Wet’suwet’en territory, without their consent — represented a blatant violation of those laws. And Dsta’hyl had seen enough. After warning the on-site construction managers that they were trespassing, he arrived the next day and approached a pair of orange-vested security subcontractors employed by TC Energy, the company building the fracked gas pipeline known as Coastal GasLink, or CGL. He notified them that he would be seizing one of their excavators and then stepped onto the hulking vehicle and disabled it by disconnecting its battery and other components. Though he planned to leave the vehicle in place, Dsta’hyl said he wanted to make a statement to the company, which the traditional leaders decided to evict from their territory last year.

Canada sides with a pipeline, violating Wet’suwet’en laws — and its own. Despite a Supreme Court ruling, Coastal GasLink is on track to be built through unceded land by Mark Armao, Grist, Nov 18, 2021

https://twitter.com/quakers_seekers/status/1461343571114483725?s=20

Minister’s statement on Coastal Gaslink Project

Mike Farnworth, Minister of Public Safety and Solicitor General, has released the following statement in relation to current events around the Coastal GasLink project:

“Yesterday’s blockades of the Morice River Forest Service Road have put at risk emergency access and the delivery of critical services to more than 500 Coastal GasLink workers, and the good faith commitments made between the Office of the Wet’suwet’en and the Province of B.C. to develop a new relationship based on respect.

“The B.C. government is calling on all those involved to de-escalate the current confrontation and move quickly to eliminate the blockades through peaceful means.

https://twitter.com/quakers_seekers/status/1461336975244500994?s=20

#DivestCGL #WetsuwetenStrong #AllOutForWedzinKwa

Wet’suwet’en update 11/17/2021

I try to do most of the writing on this blog, rather than sharing tweets and videos. But it is important for those on the frontlines to tell their stories themselves.

Some may wonder why I, a white male in the so-called United States, follows so closely and writes about the Wet’suwet’en. There are several reasons. My whole life I have worked to reduce fossil fuel use. Which has been frustrating because so few people in industrialized societies look beyond their own needs for fossil fuels for transportation, heating, cooking, and all the products made from fossil fuels, such as plastics, etc. Our capitalist economy focuses on these things, completely ignoring the draining of non-renewable fossil fuel supplies and the many damages to Mother Earth.

The situation with the Wet’suwet’en peoples is an example of the global nature of environmental devastation. And their Indigenous leadership is an example of the path we all need to embrace to protect Mother Earth for the sake of our children and future generations.

These are moral and spiritual problems for me, again for many reasons. It is not right for certain societies to demand their overconsumption of fossil fuels, while so many others have little access to fuel for heat and cooking. And when the environmental devastation from the overconsumption of fossil fuels disproportionally impacts those with the smallest carbon footprint. When the rights and practices of Indigenous peoples are ignored and attacked. When hundreds of activists are killed each year.

Yesterday’s post provides more background about the Wet’suwet’en struggles to protect the water and the land. https://landbackfriends.com/2021/11/16/wetsuweten-enforce-mandatory-evacuation/

1/UPDATE – RCMP Are Blocking Food And Medical Supplies From Wet’suwet’en Homes
The RCMP are openly violating the human rights of the Wet’suwet’en people again.

2/Today, the driver of a vehicle carrying food and medical supplies was blocked by an arbitrary illegal police exclusion zone and threatened with arrest.
3/There are multiple Wet’suwet’en home sites beyond the police road block and many permanent full time Wet’suwet’en residents on the territory, including elders, children, and chiefs.
4/Despite human rights complaints filed against previous RCMP exclusion zones and recent BC court decisions condemning the use of unlawful exclusion zones, the RCMP is again using this illegal tactic.
There is clearly no accountability or capacity for learning.
5/It is a human rights violation and a war crime against Wet’suwet’en people.
This is just mind blowing.
Let your representatives know how you feel about the treatment of Indigenous peoples.
6/
Mike Farnworth
PSSG.Minister@gov.bc.ca
Phone: (250) 356-2178
Murray Rankin
IRR.Minister@gov.bc.ca
Phone: (250) 953-4844
Marc Miller
Marc.Miller@parl.gc.ca
Phone: (613) 995-6403

#RCMPofftheYintah
#AllOutForWedzinKwa
#WetsuwetenStrong

Originally tweeted by Gidimt’en Checkpoint (@Gidimten) on November 17, 2021.

Former Chief Economist warns investors to take seriously the recent call by @Gidimten Checkpoint of Wet’suwet’en Nation to divest from the Coastal GasLink pipeline

Originally tweeted by Julia Levin (@lev_jf) on November 10, 2021.

#DivestCGL #WetsuwetenStrong #AllOutForWedzinKwa

Wet’suwet’en Enforce Mandatory Evacuation

You never know what might happen when you join a struggle for justice. One day in January 2020, I saw this video, “Coastal Gaslink Evicted from Unist’ot’en Territory”. I was amazed! I had been working for years on the Keystone XL and Dakota Access Pipeline resistance. But had not known about the Wet’suwet’en peoples in British Columbia and their efforts to protect the water and their beautiful lands from construction of the Coastal Gaslink pipeline.

I was especially interested because of the issues of Indigenous rights and began to closely follow these stories. https://landbackfriends.com/?s=wetsuweten

Not surprisingly there was little written about this in the mainstream media. Then, as now, the Wet’suwet’en asked supporters to share their stories on social media, which I did. My Quaker meeting wrote a statement about this and sent a letter to British Columbia Premier John Horgan, January 26, 2020. (below)

On February 7, 2020, several of us held a vigil in Des Moines, Iowa, to support the Wet’suwet’en. This vigil was life changing for me because that is where I met Ronnie James, an Indigenous organizer with many years of experience. I first learned of the concepts of Mutual Aid from Ronnie and to this day we work on Des Moines Mutual Aid projects. Mutual Aid and LANDBACK have become the focus of my study and writing. https://landbackfriends.com/

This photo was taken a couple of weeks ago when some of our Mutual Aid friends offered their support for the Wet’suwet’en. You probably notice using the same signs we used in 2020.

The reason for all this backstory is because Sunday the Wet’suwet’en enforced the eviction notice that was first given to Coastal Gaslink in the video above, in January, 2020. Following are stories of what has happened since. You can find updates on twitter at https://twitter.com/Gidimten

The Gidimt’en Clan of the Wet’suwet’en Nation has told Coastal GasLink it will enforce the eviction of pipeline workers from its territories in central B.C.

The enforcement notice, issued at 5 a.m. PT Sunday, provided an eight-hour window for CGL workers to move out of the territory before the access road was blocked.  

Jennifer Wickham, media co-ordinator for the Gidimt’en checkpoint, which monitors access to part of the territory, says the Morice River Forest Service Road is now impassible for all vehicles, including supply trucks. She says only a handful of CGL workers were seen leaving the area before the blockades went up along the access road Sunday afternoon.

On Sept. 25, members of the Gidimt’en Clan of the Wet’suwet’en and supporters established a camp on a CGL work site south of Houston, halting plans to drill under the Wedzin Kwa (Morice River). Wickham called the river “the major concern” right now. She says the enforcement notice is “the next step” in the actions taken to protect the Wet’suwet’en sacred headwaters, salmon spawning river, and source of clean drinking water. 

Wet’suwet’en clan members say they are enforcing eviction of Coastal GasLink from territories. The enforcement notice, issued early Sunday, provided 8 hours for workers to leave before roads blocked By Kate Partridge, CBC News, Nov 15, 2021

This morning, we upheld our laws and issued a mandatory evacuation order for all pipeline workers trespassing on our territory. We are enforcing the eviction order from January 2020, where Wet’suwet’en Hereditary Chiefs representing all clans of our nation stood together and removed Coastal GasLink from our lands. We will never abandon our children to live in a world with no clean water. We uphold our ancestral responsibilities. We continue to protect our yintah and invite all of our supporters to join us on the ground or to take action where you stand.There will be no pipelines on Wet’suwet’en territory.

For more info www.yintahaccess.com#AllOutForWedzinKwa#ResponsibiliyNotRights#WetsuwetenStrong

https://twitter.com/quakers_seekers/status/1460402810168692736?s=20

“This morning Cas Yikh enforced the eviction to Coastal GasLink. CGL was given 8 hours to evacuate the yintah.

CGL has been trespassing and violating our laws for too long. We will continue to uphold our laws! Join us.”

May be an image of text

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 (Quaker) Meeting, Iowa Yearly Meeting (Conservative) January 26, 2020

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 Discrimination’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

#WetsuwetenStrong
#AllOutForWedzinKwa
#NoPipelineNovember

COP26 Not Nearly Enough

I’ve followed the work of Chase Iron Eyes and the Lakota People’s Law Project for years. He was involved in the Dakota Access pipeline struggle at Standing Rock, including begin arrested there. In the video below, he and his daughter, Tokata, talk about why everything discussed at COOP26 isn’t nearly enough.

As we near the end of COP26 — the United Nations’ most recent climate conference in Glasgow, Scotland — we have reason for concern. Because, while nations the world over have again come together to talk about addressing the climate emergency, activists — including a host of Indigenous People and organizations — are watching closely and sending a strong message from the frontlines: everything being discussed and promised at COP26 isn’t nearly enough. This past week, my daughter, Tokata, and I appeared on Christiane Amanpour’s show, broadcast on both PBS and CNN, to talk about COP26, our anti-pipeline stands, and the future of Indigenous and climate justice.

As Tokata’s friend, Greta Thunberg, put it in Glasgow, “It is not a secret that COP26 is a failure. It should be obvious that we cannot solve the crisis with the same methods that got us into it in the first place.”

I suspect you’ll agree with Greta, Tokata, and me when we say solving global warming isn’t going to be easy. It will demand sacrifices on the part of individuals and nations and a willingness to embrace a diversity of perspectives — from the latest climate science to the wisdom of Indigenous peoples. Our voices matter, because we have long practiced living in harmony with Unci Maka, our Grandmother Earth, and all the other species who inhabit her.

Chase Iron Eyes

https://twitter.com/quakers_seekers/status/1459161596702466050?s=20

In the video he says the human species is at a very vulnerable, but teachable moment. Our social contract is broken and requires social, economic, and racial justice. That solutions to our environmental crisis depend on Indigenous liberation. And yet, he is hopeful because Standing Rock raised global consciousness and once progress is made, there is no turning back.

There was an emotional part of the video, when Tokata was asked how she felt about the remains of native children being uncovered on the grounds of the institutions of forced assimilation. About learning of these atrocities while she is in school herself, a tool of the genocide of her people. She said she gives thanks for those children. And feeling she is carrying on their legacy.

The video ends with Chase talking about their work building bridges with non-Indigenous people. Let’s come together.

Capitalism must be reprogrammed with mutual aid

There is a lot of attention on the COP26 climate conference in Glasgow, Scotland. I am certain little will be done that can even slow down the rapidly accelerating environmental chaos for several reasons.

Industrial nations have waited far too long to begin to seriously work to get greenhouse gas emissions under control. While every effort should be made to cut emissions, it is painfully obvious that protecting our environment is not a priority of industrialized nations, which continue to expand fossil fuel projects and to subsidize the fossil fuel industry.

Existing governments’ policies will continue to protect the capitalist economy regardless of the environmental consequences. This means we must replace the capitalist economic system. See also: Rejecting capitalism

There is a time lag between the injection of emissions into the atmosphere, and when the effects of those emissions are seen. If burning fossil fuels ended immediately, carbon dioxide levels would continue to rise.

The Alternative?

For thousands of years Indigenous peoples have lived in harmony with Mother Earth. We must follow Indigenous leadership now. See: Indigenous Led Green New Deal

Although the world’s Indigenous population continues to experience unequal access to influential forums such as COP26, they have had an outsize role in calling attention to the impacts of climate change.

Globally, Indigenous people comprise only 5 percent of the population yet manage 80 percent of the world’s biodiversity such as forests, tundra and mountains. And although they exert the smallest carbon footprint, they are among the most vulnerable to the impacts of climate change, according to research published in the academic journal, Nature Sustainability.

“Indigenous peoples are action makers, innovators, through their traditional knowledge,” wrote Hindou Oumarou, a member of the Facilitative Working Group, in the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals blog. Ibrahim is a member of the Mbororo pastoralist people in Chad and president of the Association for Indigenous Women and Peoples of Chad.

“For centuries, Indigenous peoples have protected the environment, which provides them food, medicine and so much more,” she said. “Now it’s time to protect and benefit from their unique traditional knowledge to bring concrete and natural solutions to fight climate change.”

INDIGENOUS LEADERS FACE BARRIERS TO UN CLIMATE CONFERENCE By Mary Annette Pember, Indian Country Today, September 18, 2021

… what if the question all water protectors and land defenders asked was, why don’t we just overturn the system that makes development a threat in the first place? This system, again, is capitalism. 

Rather than taking an explicitly conservationist approach, the Red Deal instead proposes a comprehensive, full-scale assault on capitalism, using Indigenous knowledge and tried-and-true methods of mass mobilization as its ammunition. In this way, it addresses what are commonly thought of as single issues like the protection of sacred sites—which often manifest in specific uprisings or insurrections—as structural in nature, which therefore require a structural (i.e., non-reformist reform) response that has the abolition of capitalism via revolution as its central goal.

We must be straightforward about what is necessary. If we want to survive, there are no incremental or “non-disruptive” ways to reduce emissions. Reconciliation with the ruling classes is out of the question. Market-based solutions must be abandoned. We have until 2050 to reach net-zero carbon emissions. That’s it. Thirty years.

The struggle for a carbon-free future can either lead to revolutionary transformation or much worse than what Marx and Engels imagined in 1848, when they forewarned that “the common ruin of the contending classes” was a likely scenario if the capitalist class was not overthrown. The common ruin of entire peoples, species, landscapes, grasslands, waterways, oceans, and forests—which has been well underway for centuries—has intensified more in the last three decades than in all of human existence.

Nation, The Red. The Red Deal (pp. 21-22). Common Notions. Kindle Edition.

Following is a diagram I’ve been working on to illustrate the dangers of capitalism, and the alternatives, LandBack, Abolition, and Mutual Aid.

I’m of the firm opinion that a system that was built by stolen bodies on stolen land for the benefit of a few is a system that is not repairable. It is operating as designed, and small changes (which are the result of huge efforts) to lessen the blow on those it was not designed for are merely half measures that can’t ever fully succeed.

So the question is now, where do we go from here? Do we continue to make incremental changes while the wealthy hoard more wealth and the climate crisis deepens, or do we do something drastic that has never been done before? Can we envision and create a world where a class war from above isn’t a reality anymore?”

Ronnie James

capitalism must be reversed and dismantled. meaning that capitalistic practices must be reprogrammed with mutual aid practices

Des Moines Black Liberation

mutual aid is the new economy. mutual aid is community. it is making sure your elderly neighbor down the street has a ride to their doctor’s appointment. mutual aid is making sure the children in your neighborhood have dinner, or a warm coat for the upcoming winter. mutual aid is planting community gardens.
capitalism has violated the communities of marginalized folks. capitalism is about the value of people, property and the people who own property. those who have wealth and property control the decisions that are made. the government comes second to capitalism when it comes to power.
in the name of liberation, capitalism must be reversed and dismantled. meaning that capitalistic practices must be reprogrammed with mutual aid practices.

Des Moines Black Liberation

Updates from the Wet’suwet’en

Following are updates related to the continuing struggles of the Wet’suwet’en peoples related to the attempted construction of the Coastal GasLink pipeline through their territories. One of the reasons I follow this work so closely is because this is a real time example of the Indigenous leadership we need now.

WET’SUWET’EN STRONG, ONE MONTH ON:
Coyote Camp Victory on the Gidimt’en Frontline

We’re celebrating over one month of Wet’suwet’en re-occupation on Cas Yikh yintah, where Coastal GasLink plans to destroy Wedzin Kwa. Our call out for allies was answered! We have boots on the ground and ongoing solidarity actions from our relatives all across so-called canada. This struggle is far from over but we will never give up. We need your support now! Join us at camp or organize where you are.
United, we will no longer endure genocide against our people!
Come to the land. yintahaccess.com/come-to-camp
Host a solidarity rally.
Pressure government, banks, and investors.
yintahaccess.com/take-action-1
Donate. http://go.rallyup.com/wetsuwetenstrong
Spread the word. #WetsuwetenStrong #AllOutForWedzinKwa #NoPipelineNovember

Gidimt’en Access Point

RBC IS KILLING ME
Oct 29th Global Day of Action
Wet’suwet’en Territories Cas Yikh Yintah

Gidimt’en Checkpoint is turning up the heat and putting pressure on the top five funders of the Coastal GasLink project, like RBC that continue to violate Wet’suwet’en Sovereignty and criminalize Wet’suwet’en title.

These projects spend millions of dollars on Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP) who harass and restrict Wet’suwet’en Hereditary Chiefs and members from their territories. The RCMP’s violent raids with lethal overwatch and removing us from our own lands are in direct opposition to Indigenous constitutional rights and UNDRIP.

RBCIsKillingMe represents the irreversible destruction that this pipeline brings to the Lands, Salmon, Waters, Our People and all earths inhabitants. It is all of our responsibility to stand up and save the earth and our future generations.

RBC is the biggest funder of fossil fuels in Canada. The company has poured over $200 Billion into fossil fuel investments since the Paris climate agreement was signed. Let’s let these Investors know to Divest in projects that contribute to Climate Chaos and to STOP KILLING US!

On November 1st, the UN climate conference in Glasgow (COP26) will begin, with a focus on climate finance. This provides us with a crucial opportunity to pressure RBC into ceasing fossil fuel investment and respecting Indigenous rights.

For more info visit yintahaccess.com
#AllOutForWedzinKwa

Asserting Indigenous Sovereignty

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 Peoples’ Day, Des Moines, Iowa

Indigenous people led, and many were arrested at events related to People Vs Fossil Fuels events last week.
https://landbackfriends.com/?s=people+vs+fossil+fuels

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. 

Indigenous Environmental Network Oct. 14, 2021

Wet’suwet’en

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.

Full article here: https://realpeoples.media/video-wetsu…

Donations can be made to support the struggle of the Lihkts’amisyu clan of the Wet’suwet’en at the groups Go Fund Me page. You may also contribute by e-transfer. E-transfer donations sent to likhtsamisyu@gmail.com will be deposited into a clan donation account with multiple signers. To find out more, visit https://likhtsamisyu.com/, and follow them on Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/likhtsamisyu Twitter at https://twitter.com/Likhtsamisyu and Instagram at https://www.instagram.com/sovereignli….

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

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

#AllOutForWedzinKwa
#DefendWedzinKwa
#WetsuwetenStrong
#WeAreAllOne

Let’s demonstrate where power truly lies

It is heartening to see indigenous-led climate actions at the White House, Bureau of Indian Affairs, and the US Capitol this week. I admire those who are participating in acts of civil disobedience, with hundreds of arrests. But disappointed in the absence of a response from the Biden administration. And deeply concerned at the latest news that funding to address environmental catastrophe might not be included in the budget negotiations. White House looks to scale back climate initiative after stiff pushback from Manchin

I’m reminded of the days of the Keystone XL pipeline Pledge of Resistance, a national campaign to use civil disobedience to force denial of the permit for the construction of that pipeline which began in 2013. President Obama, with Vice President Biden, did deny the permit. The President was aware of the Keystone resistance. How much that affected his decision isn’t known. (more below).

This week over 530 climate activists were arrested during Indigenous-led civil disobedience actions in Washington, D.C., calling on President Joe Biden to declare a climate emergency and stop approving fossil fuel projects. Indigenous leaders have issued a series of demands, including the abolition of the Bureau of Indian Affairs, whose offices they occupied on Thursday for the first time since the 1970s. The protests come just weeks before the start of the critical U.N. climate summit in Glasgow, Scotland, which President Biden and senior Cabinet members are expected to attend. “We’re not going anywhere,” says Siqiñiq Maupin, with Sovereign Iñupiat for a Living Arctic, who traveled from Alaska to D.C. and was among those arrested during the BIA occupation. “We do not have time for negotiations, for compromises. We need to take this serious and take action now.”

With the stroke of Biden’s pen, he can change the world. But Biden refuses to do it up to this point so we’ve got to use the greatest weapon we have and that is each other.
Miami is a place where climate disasters have become as familiar as sunshine. We are so glad to be joining to descend upon DC and make our voices heard because we cannot negotiate anymore. We cannot negotiate with rising seas, we cannot negotiate with occupied lands, we cannot negotiate with wildfires, we cannot negotiate with intensifying hurricanes. This is a matter of life or death. What we’re asking each and every one of you to do today is to find your inner warrior. Like I said, they don’t listen unless the people are willing to stand together in unity. They demand fossil fuels, we demand that our futures and the next seven generation futures are guaranteed.
They can divide us, or they can unite us. I choose to unite. So, join us, be with us, let’s demonstrate where power truly lies and that is in the hands of the people.

People vs Fossil Fuels

Oct 19 CALL IN DAY OF ACTION – Social Media Toolkit
The time for Biden to act on climate is NOW.

As negotiations around the infrastructure bill drag on, the President has allowed dangerous fossil fuel projects to advance and passed the buck to Congress, allowing his agenda to be delayed and weakened by industry-friendly politicians, including those in his own party, like Senators Manchin and Sinema. We need your help to hold him accountable to the promises he has made.

Here’s what we need you to do:
Call out the administration.
  1. Dial 888-724-8946 and demand that Biden act on climate change.
  2. Here is a script:

My name is ___. I am demanding that President Biden listen to the people who sent him to Washington and take urgent climate action by phasing out fossil fuels, stopping new fossil fuel projects, declaring a national climate emergency, and acting to deploy 100% clean, safe, renewable energy.

Encourage people to sign the petition.

Share our petition and encourage others to sign: https://actionnetwork.org/letters/president-biden-choose-people-over-fossil-fuels/

Amplify the call-in.

Share this call-in using the social media copy below.

Use the hashtag #PeopleVsFossilFuels and the number 888-724-8946

Social Media Copy 
  • On Tuesday, Oct 19th, we’re hosting a #PeopleVsFossilFuels Call-In Day of Action! Join us in calling the White House and @POTUS to demand they declare a climate emergency & stop approving fossil fuel projects! Call here: 888-724-8946
  • Last week hundreds mobilized in front of the White House to demand @POTUS use his executive power to declare a climate emergency. Today, we’re asking you to join us & call on @JoeBiden to declare a climate emergency & #BuildBackFossilFree. Call the White House today: 888-724-8946
https://peoplevsfossilfuels.org/oct-19-call-in-day-of-action-social-media-toolkit/

Nationwide resistance to TransCanada’s Keystone XL Pipeline began when the Rainforest Action Network (RAN), CREDO, and The Other 98% developed the Keystone Pledge of Resistance, March 6, 2013. This movement to stop the pipeline began by creating a website where opponents of the pipeline could sign the Pledge. Over 97,000 people signed.

“I pledge, if necessary, to join others in my community, and engage in acts of dignified, peaceful civil disobedience that could result in my arrest in order to send the message to President Obama and his administration that they must reject the Keystone XL pipeline.”

The Keystone Pledge of Resistance used the threat of nationwide civil disobedience direct actions in an attempt to persuade President Obama to deny the Keystone pipeline permit.
Planning and training are required for a successful direct action. I was fortunate to be trained by Todd Zimmer and Gabe from the Rainforest Action Network (RAN) in Des Moines the summer of 2013, as part of the national Keystone Pledge of Resistance. RAN went to 25 cities in the U.S. that summer to train local leaders to (1) plan the direct action in their city and (2) teach them how to train others in their area. That resulted in about 400 Action Leaders being trained, who in turn trained nearly 4,000 local activists. If the action was triggered, nonviolent direct actions would unfold in at least 25 cities in the country simultaneously.

See: Keystone XL permit canceled

PEOPLE VS. FOSSIL FUELS

#LandBack is Climate Justice. You can see the signs about land back in photos such as the one below from the protests going on in Washington, DC, this week.

Indigenous youths, climate activists to march to U.S. Capitol on final day of People vs. Fossil Fuels protests by Ellie Silverman, The Washington Post, October 15, 2021

Demonstrators head toward the White House on Oct. 11 during a People vs. Fossil Fuels rally in Washington.
© Eric Lee for The Washington Post

This has been a week of actions to pressure President Biden to declare a climate emergency. As of yesterday, nearly four hundred people had been arrested outside the White House.

Washington, D.C. — Demonstrators returned to the White House on Wednesday morning for the third day of the “People vs. Fossil Fuels” mobilization, keeping up the pressure on President Biden to declare a climate emergency and stop all new fossil fuel projects.

Under a giant banner that read “Biden: Our Communities Can’t Wait,” hundreds of people marched to the White House this morning to highlight the dangerous ongoing impacts of the climate crisis across the country and the world. As hundreds rallied in Lafayette Square Park, 90 people sat in at the White House fence, risking arrest for the third straight day of civil disobedience.

The Biden Administration has so far avoided questions and refused to comment on the mass civil disobedience or respond to the demonstrator’s demands. Many in attendance at the White House today and throughout the week come from communities, like Cancer Alley in Louisiana or Native communities, that the administration has made public promises to defend but remain threatened by fossil fuel projects, including pending projects that Biden could reject right now. Many now say those promises are being broken.

Meanwhile, demonstrators will be returning to the White House on Thursday, urging the Biden Administration to finally respond and acknowledge their calls to action. On Friday, the mobilization will march to Congress, where dozens are expected to commit civil disobedience on the steps of the Capitol.

PEOPLE VS. FOSSIL FUELS: NEARLY 400 PEOPLE ARRESTED OUTSIDE WHITE HOUSE By People Vs. Fossil Fuels. October 14, 2021

Here is a list of 25 Executive Orders the President can take now to protect and invest in communities, end the era of fossil fuel production.

Mr. President, you should use all the tools at your disposal to avert further climate devastation while helping people recover from the pandemic. That means using your executive authority from Day One to:

  • Stop the Bad — Stop approving the fossil fuel projects dueling climate chaos.
    Protect the Black, Indigenous, Brown, AAPI and working-class communities that are disproportionately harmed.
  • Build the Good — Declare a climate emergency. Repair the harm caused by environmental racism and Build Back Fossil Free, delivering jobs, justice, and clean energy for all.

#BuildBackFossilFree

People vs Fossil Fuels
Demand #1: President Biden must stop approving fossil fuel projects and speed the end of the fossil fuel era.
Demand #2: President Biden must declare a national climate emergency and launch a just, renewable energy revolution.
Demand #3: President Biden can use the Defense Production Act — the same law he used to respond to the COVID-19 crisis — to oversee a coordinated, economy-wide investment in unionized, just, and renewable energy development.

Dear Relatives, 

We, the undersigned, come from the trenches in the fight against fossil fuels. From fracking sites and oil wells, to pipelines and refineries, to plastic plants and more, we are impacted Indigenous, Brown, Black, and low-income communities living on the frontlines of this climate emergency. Over the years we have written thousands of messages to politicians, attended countless hearings, testified hundreds of times, and have placed our bodies on the line when needed, all the while our government continues to ignore the science and Indigenous traditional ecological knowledge and steers us toward climate catastrophe. 

We have everything to lose and no time to wait. President Biden promised to address the climate emergency and a history of environmental injustice, but so far, his administration continues to allow the fossil fuel industry to poison our communities and desolate our Mother Earth. The President could stop dangerous fossil fuel projects like the Line 3 pipeline and Formosa Plastics plant with a stroke of his pen, but his inaction is continuing widespread environmental injustice and the violation of Indigenous rights and rights of nature. We will hold Biden to his “Justice 40” initiative; we expect him to help stop the destruction of fenceline communities, homelands and neighborhoods by the fossil fuel industry, and demand equity, restorative justice actions for the same.

We are asking you to stand with us. As representatives of communities who have carried the brunt of the harm from fossil fuels for generations, we ask you to join us in solidarity—and risk arrest—in Washington DC, October 11-15, 2021, as part of Build Back Fossil Free’s People vs Fossil Fuels Week of Action. 

We will be going to Washington DC, to the White House itself, to send a clear message: “President Biden, in light of the upcoming COP26 United Nations climate summit, you cannot claim to be a climate leader when you are still supporting fossil fuels. Stand with frontline communities, stand with future generations, stop approving fossil fuel projects, declare a climate emergency now.” 

The UN’s Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC)’s 2021 report led by hundreds of scientists once again made it unmistakably clear: Climate change is here, it’s a crisis, and it’s caused by fossil fuels. The report tells us that the window to stop irreversible harm to all life on Earth is closing while Congress wastes time bickering over baby steps.

If we don’t stand together now, no matter where we live, all of us —you, your children and grandchildren will all eventually live in sacrifice zones of drought, record temperatures, wildland fires, hurricanes, floods, food shortages, pandemics and more. Transitioning away from fossil fuels cannot be put off any longer—we can either come together as a species now, or make this planet uninhabitable for the foreseeable future. 

We know that participating in People vs Fossil Fuels is a big request. This would be a sacrifice of time, money, energy and freedom, and all under the shadow of a resurgence of COVID-19 cases. But we also know the despair many of you feel, the anxiety of this moment, seeing environmental devastation and human rights abuses around you, but not knowing how to help. 

If you have ever marched, rallied, called your representatives, lobbied, signed petitions to urge governmental leaders to act — we call on you to take the next step. Nonviolent civil disobedience is a time-tested tactic for change. Every movement for change—from suffragettes to the Civil Rights movement, has proven that the defining moments are those where people are willing to risk arrest. 

If we all come together, put our bodies on the line in the name of climate justice, we may be able to change the course of history. Please consider joining us on October 11-15 for one day, for the entire week, or for whatever time you can offer.

In solidarity for the protection of Mother Earth and the next seven generations of life,

Dawn Goodwin, RISE Coalition, Stop Line 3
Taysha Martineau, Camp Migizi, Stop Line 3
Winona LaDuke, Honor the Earth, Stop Line 3
Sharon Lavigne, Founder, RISE St. James
John Beard, Jr., Founder and CEO of the Port Arthur Community Action Network
Joye Braun, National Pipelines Organizer with Indigenous Environmental Network
Juan Mancias, Carrizo Comecrudo Tribe of Texas
Tasina Sapa Win Smith, Cheyenne River Grassroots Collective
Siqiniq Maupin, Sovereign Inupiat for a Living Arctic 
Crystal Cavalier, Stop MVP Pipeline Organizer
Pueblo Action Alliance Leadership, Tiwa Territories
Casey Camp-Horinek, Environmental Ambassador, Ponca Nation of Oklahoma 
Cesar Aguirre, Central California Environmental Justice Network
Native Movement Alaska