Category: Wet’suwet’en

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.

Wet’suwet’en 11.27.2021

There is increasing visibility and support for the LANDBACK movement and what the Wet’suwet’en people are doing now.

https://twitter.com/quakers_seekers/status/1464597979948589056?s=20
https://twitter.com/AndresMusta/status/1463673678793785351?s=20
https://twitter.com/morganauthor1/status/1464589642720681986?s=20

As you read this, the RCMP’s force is being used against land defenders standing against the Coastal GasLink (CGL) pipeline project, which severely violates Indigenous rights, poses a major risk to the ecosystems including local food sources, and increases fossil fuels production when we need to cut them. If built, the pipeline would carry fracked gas from northeast BC to a not-yet-built liquefied natural gas (LNG) terminal on the coast – the largest LNG project ever proposed in Canada.

Last year, the Wet’suwet’en Hereditary Chiefs issued an eviction notice to CGL, which still stands. The Wet’suwet’en Nation has also won a landmark case before the Supreme Court, recognizing their authority over their traditional territories. [1] They are now defending the headwaters of a sacred and life-sustaining river, the Wedzin Kwa, where CGL is trying to start up a drill site. [2]

“Follow the money,” they say. When you do, you see that Canada’s Big 5 banks are bankrolling the construction of this pipeline with loans totalling $1.575 billion. [3] These banks — RBC, TD, Scotiabank, BMO and CIBC — are essentially using your money, your savings, to invest in the dirty business of fossil fuels even while making public commitments to respect Indigenous rights and act on climate change.

Cutting off the money pipeline is the fastest way to kill this project. The Wet’suwet’en Nation has called for all investors and financiers of CGL to divest and remove all financial support for this pipeline. [4] The International Energy Agency has also clearly said that fossil fuel expansion is not an option to meet the goals of the 2015 Paris climate agreement. [5]

Show the banks you support the Wet’suwet’en land defenders. A project that creates short-term profits and extends a legacy of colonialism and ecological destruction through militarized police presence is the opposite of the just climate action we need.

Send an email to the CEOs of the Big 5 banks to tell them that you do not support fossil fuel colonialism and neither should they. 

Sources

[1] https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/british-columbia/delgamuukw-court-ruling-significance-1.5461763

[2] https://thenarwhal.ca/wetsuweten-coastal-gaslink-explainer/

[3] https://www.banktrack.org/project/coastal_gaslink_pipeline/0/www.edc.ca (under “Financiers”)

[4] http://ow.ly/Cvj850Gu6EO

[5] https://thenarwhal.ca/iea-report-2021-canada-oil-gas/

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

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.

Canada’s Standing Rock

CONTENT WARNING: POLICE VIOLENCE

https://twitter.com/Kris_Statnyk/status/1461768356248256512?s=20
https://twitter.com/Kris_Statnyk/status/1461776929019805701?s=20

In the early hours of Friday November 19, Gitxsan land defenders set up a railway blockade in the town of New Hazelton (situated about 130 kilometres north of Houston) in solidarity with the Wet’suwet’en under siege by heavily armed RCMP forces.

On Saturday November 20, Gitxsan land defender Kolin Sutherland-Wilson told journalist Brandi Morin: “We are here in solidarity with our Wet’suwet’en allies with whom we have a mutual defence pact going back millennia.”

Kolin further noted: “As a result of their incursions onto Wet’suwet’en territory, their invasion of a sovereign nation using the militarized RCMP, we have set up a railroad blockade here in New Hazelton.”

Significantly, he also highlighted: “As a result of that railroad blockade, Coastal GasLink personnel and equipment brought out RCMP units … to New Hazelton where they displayed assault rifles, tactical units, a swarm of RCMP officers, helicopters.”

That same day, Sunday November 21, RCMP officers violently tackled and arrested Kolin’s brother Denzel near the railroad tracks.

As the police piled on him, Denzel shouted: “I can’t breathe!”

You can also hear Kolin telling RCMP officers on the bridge over the rail tracks: “What you are doing to the Wet’suwet’en is unacceptable. Those are our family. That is the land we survived your genocide to protect. We are still here, and you are still coming at us with guns and that’s absolutely disgusting.”

When I asked Kolin what he thought of the green-garbed, heavily armed RCMP Emergency Response Team in New Hazelton, he replied: “It’s terrorism.”

He added: “It’s meant to frighten us, but we are still here.”

PBI-Canada affirms that defending rights is not a crime. We share the call that the criminalization of Indigenous land defenders must stop.

Gitxsan land defender Kolin Sutherland-Wilson to the RCMP: “We are still here, and you are still coming at us with guns!” Published by Brent Patterson, Peace Brigades International-Canada, November 23, 2021

See “I can’t breathe” for story about Denzel’s arrest

https://twitter.com/yintahfilm/status/1462891411850862597?s=20
https://twitter.com/quakers_seekers/status/1463140749030174723?s=20
https://twitter.com/Franklin__Lopez/status/1462800565633757184?s=20
https://twitter.com/quakers_seekers/status/1463138846133084170?s=20

Canada’s Standing Rock

If you’ve been with us for some time, you’ve witnessed our struggle at Standing Rock to stop the Dakota Access pipeline and the Anishinaabe resistance to the Line 3 pipeline. You’ve been a friend to us, and you’ve come to know many Indigenous water and land protectors fighting for our sacred lands and waterways. What you may not know is that, for years, our Wet’suwet’en relatives have undertaken a similar struggle in their own territory, to our north in what we now call Canada. They need our attention and support, too.

On Friday, Royal Canadian Mounted Police raided an Indigenous-led blockade with dogs and assault rifles. They arrested two journalists and at least 13 others at the frontlines, the latest in a series of arrests dating back to 2019. The Wet’suwet’en are doing all they can to stop construction of TransCanada’s 670km Coastal GasLink pipeline, because a third of this pipeline would cross their homelands on its way to a facility in coastal Kitimat. 

Wet’suwet’en hereditary chiefs have refused to give consent for the project, and, crucially, they have never signed a formal treaty with the provincial government or relinquished their land. Much like our #NoDAPL fight, this is both an environmental and a sovereignty issue; the Wet’suwet’en are also attempting to protect sensitive headwaters. 

In September, they put out a call for support, and this newsletter is an amplification of that call. I ask that, for now, you please visit their page to get more up to speed. As we go forward, the Lakota People’s Law Project will keep our eyes on things, and — just as so many did for us at Standing Rock — we’ll stand with our First Nations relatives in the best way we can.

Wopila tanka — thank you for supporting our struggle against Big Extraction!
Chase Iron Eyes
Co-Director and Lead Counsel
The Lakota People’s Law Project

Lakota People’s Law Project
547 South 7th Street #149
Bismarck, ND 58504-5859

I can’t breathe

CONTENT WARNING: POLICE VIOLENCE

I first learned about the concepts of #LANDBACK and the work of the Wet’suwet’en peoples’ work to protect their pristine land and water from construction of the Coastal GasLink pipeline in January 2020. One of the first things I saw was the following video. In it Denzel Sutherland-Wilson talks about land back.

Our culture and our tradition is the land. We are directly connected to the land. It’s our spirituality. We cannot be forced to be away from our land.
Nine days since we took the land back.
It feels like something you don’t normally do. (laughter) Its revolutionary, right?
I don’t think anyone’s ever really evicted like a 6 billion dollar pipeline before.
People get confused about what we want as Native people. Like “what do you want?”
Just like, “land back!”. Don’t need any reconciliation, don’t want money, like I don’t want programs or funding or whatever.
(whispers “land back”)
Funny though, when I said that to my Dad, Wet’suwet’en people, if you tell them about LANDBACK, they’re like “we never lost the land, anyway.” Which is true.
Wet’suwet’en have never given up title to their 22,000 square kilometer territory.
Denzel Sutherland-Wilson

Not long after the video above was taken, Denzel had RCMP snipers pointing guns at him.

[ 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. ]

https://twitter.com/quakers_seekers/status/1462811531939389444?s=20

I am reminded of that today as news continues about the latest Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP) raids and arrests. In the following video Denzel says “I can’t breathe” as RCMP tackle and arrest him.

Denzel’s brother, Kolin, has also been a leader in the Wet’suwet’en struggles. He was arrested in October.

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.

https://twitter.com/quakers_seekers/status/1454074052012920832?s=20

See: “I trust you to back up the people who are protecting the land.

Kolin talks about the current situation below.

“Having a relationship with all these things is the basis of us wanting to protect it,” he (Denzel Sutherland-Wilson) says. “We have a relationship with all these plants and species that our ancestors have kept up for thousands of years. And now it’s our responsibility to keep up that relationship.”

He says he’s not completely opposed to logging, and points out old stumps in the bush, explaining his grandfather logged in the area. But there’s a big difference between dragging a few choice trees out of the bush and punching in a road to provide access for heavy machinery, which can clear vast sections of forest in days or weeks. 

“When he’s logging, he always thinks about the future generations and leaves materials for them to create their houses and their cradles and bent boxes. And that’s the opposite of what’s going on.”

Seeing the forest for the trees: searching for solutions in the Kispiox Valley. As the province reviews the timber supply in a northwest B.C. forest district, locals explore options for non-timber forest products and work together to support sustainable forestry opportunities By Matt Simmons (Local Journalism Initiative Reporter), The Narwhal, May 8, 2021.

On the day of the illegal militarized raid on Coyote Camp Dinï ze’ Woos along with media were blocked from accessing unceded Wet’suwet’en land. Meanwhile the Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP) facilitated unfettered access of the territory to Coastal GasLink.

“From what I understand there’s a military style raid that happened up on the drill pad site and that machine guns and sharp shooters were pointing right at the cabins. This is Giditmten territory.” -Dinï ze’ Woos (Gidimt’en)

This project does not and never will have the consent of our hereditary chiefs. RCMP upholds colonial laws and utterly disregards Wet’suwet’en law. We will uphold Wet’suwet’en law. No pipelines will go through our yintah.

Take Action:
🔥 Issue a solidarity statement from your organization or group.
🔥 Host a solidarity rally or action in your area.
🔥 Pressure the government, banks, and investors. http://yintahaccess.com/take-action-1
🔥 Donate. http://go.rallyup.com/wetsuwetenstrong
🔥 Spread the word.#WetsuwetenStrong #AllOutForWedzinKwa #ShutDownCanada #FreeSleydo #Wetsuweten
More information and developing stories:
Website: Yintahaccess.com
IG: @yintah_access
Twitter: @Gidimten
Facebook: @wetsuwetenstrong
Youtube: Gidimten Access Point
TikTok: GidimtenCheckpoint

Criminalization of Indigenous land defenders

Just prior to COP26, more than 120 organizations signed the Call to Action from the Global Women’s Assembly for Climate Justice that states: “We call on all governments to respect the right of freedom of expression and peaceful protest, and to immediately halt the criminalization of land defenders, whose efforts are central to a climate-just world.”

That statement calling for an end to the criminalization of land defenders was echoed by Global Witness, Fridays for Future and others.

The UN Human Rights Council also passed a resolution in March 2019 that affirms defenders “must be ensured a safe and enabling environment to undertake their work free from hindrance and insecurity, in recognition of their important role in supporting States to fulfil their obligations under the Paris Agreement.”

Third RCMP raid; Canada ignores UN resolution

The RCMP raid on November 18-19 is the third RCMP assault on Wet’suwet’en territory in support of the Coastal GasLink fracked gas pipeline being constructed on their territory without free, prior and informed consent.

On January 8, 2019, the RCMP arrested 14 Wet’suwet’en land defenders.

Notes from a RCMP strategy session prior to that raid show that RCMP commanders stated that “lethal overwatch is req’d” and that officers were instructed to “use as much violence toward the gate as you want” ahead of the operation to remove a roadblock established by Wet’suwet’en land defenders.

In December 2019, the United Nations Committee on the Elimination of Racial Discrimination called on Canada to stop construction of the Coastal GasLink pipeline on Wet’suwet’en territory and to remove the RCMP from those lands.

Ignoring that resolution, a second RCMP raid was launched just weeks later on February 6, 2020. Twenty-two land defenders were arrested at that time.

This week Amnesty International Canada called on the governments of Canada and British Columbia, as well as the RCMP, to: “comply without delay with the UN Committee on the Elimination of Racial Discrimination’s 2019 recommendation that Canada withdraw security and policing services from Wet’suwet’en traditional lands.”

Canada was required to submit a report to the UN Committee on Monday November 15 on its compliance with the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Racial Discrimination. Instead, Canada delayed that until an unspecified date in 2022.

RCMP arrest Wet’suwet’en land defenders days after COP26 summit by Brent Patterson, rabble.ca, November 21, 2021

https://twitter.com/quakers_seekers/status/1462418741074051074?s=20

Sleydo’, the Wet’suwet’en spokesperson for Gidimt’en Checkpoint, discusses an Indigenous-led campaign to stop investors from funding Coastal GasLink and LNG Canada. Sleydo’ says that they are giving investors formal notice that they are violating Wet’suwet’en law and are demanding immediate withdrawal of all financial support. Sleydo’ notes that this campaign is requesting full cessation of this pipeline’s production.

Wet’suwet’en updates 11/20/2021

Following are updates from the Wet’suwet’en territory that was invaded again yesterday by the Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP) on behalf of the Coastal GasLink pipeline. Militarized RCMP came with assault rifles and dogs. Three accredited journalists were arrested.

Militarized RCMP raided Coyote Camp today, arresting 14 people including Sleydo’, Chief Woos’s daughter, and three accredited journalists.. 

They came in with assault rifles and dogs, and without a warrant, used axes to break down the door of the cabin Sleydo’ and Chief Woos’s daughter we’re in, and violently removed them from their territory.

Of the people arrested yesterday, most we’re released this afternoon. Five people refused to sign conditions of release that barred return to the territory and are being brought to jail in Prince Rupert where they face court on Monday.

Solidarity actions continued across the country, with rallies, marches, rail blockades, and road closures. 

TAKE ACTION!

🔥 Issue a solidarity statement from your organization or group and tag us.
🔥 Host a solidarity rally or action in your area.
🔥 Pressure the government, banks, and investors.
🔥 Donate. http://go.rallyup.com/wetsuwetenstrong
🔥 Spread the word.      

#WetsuwetenStrong #AllOutForWedzinKwa #ShutDownCanada

Unist’ot’en Solidarity Brigade robertages@telus.net
 

During a similar RCMP invasion two years ago, it was reported that the use of lethal force to shoot Indigenous land defenders was discussed.

Notes from strategy session for raid on Wet’suwet’en nation’s ancestral lands show commanders argued for ‘lethal overwatch’

Canadian police were prepared to shoot Indigenous land defenders blockading construction of a natural gas pipeline in northern British Columbia, according to documents seen by the Guardian.

Notes from a strategy session for a militarized raid on ancestral lands of the Wet’suwet’en nation show that commanders of Canada’s national police force, the Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP), argued that “lethal overwatch is req’d” – a term for deploying an officer who is prepared to use lethal force.

The RCMP commanders also instructed officers to “use as much violence toward the gate as you want” ahead of the operation to remove a roadblock which had been erected by Wet’suwet’en people to control access to their territories and stop construction of the proposed 670km (416-mile) Coastal GasLink pipeline (CGL).

In a separate document, an RCMP officer states that arrests would be necessary for “sterilizing [the] site”.

Wet’suwet’en people and their supporters set up the Gidimt’en checkpoint in December 2018 to block construction of the pipeline through this region of mountains and pine forests 750 miles north of Vancouver.

On 7 January, RCMP officers – dressed in military-green fatigues and armed with assault rifles – descended on the checkpoint, dismantling the gate and arresting 14 people.

Exclusive: Canada police prepared to shoot Indigenous activists, documents show by Jaskiran Dhillon in Wet’suwet’en territory and Will Parrish, The Guardian, Fri 20 Dec 2019

https://twitter.com/Franklin__Lopez/status/1461874604859871233?s=20
https://twitter.com/quakers_seekers/status/1462048524649082888?s=20
https://twitter.com/quakers_seekers/status/1462049488206446592?s=20

RCMP breach cabins

It is thought this will be the last communication from the Tiny House for some time. And the structure at the drill site (to tunnel under the river) is also being breached.

#ShutDownCanada2.0

Gidimt’en Checkpoint@Gidimten·
2:40pm, Nov 19, 2021:
Tiny House breached w/ axe and K9 unit by #RCMP on behalf of #CoastalGasLink. Cabin breached w/ chainsaw. Unarmed Indigenous women in both structures. No warrants. Heavy machinery, assault weapons. Media, communications blocked. #Wetsuweten#shutdowncanada