So much is going on in Solidarity with the Wet’suwet’en that I needed another blog post to summarize some of the actions that have occurred since the last post earlier this evening. Wet’suwet’en Updates 2.8.2020 Evening
It was very nice for someone to comment “way to go Iowa peeps” related to our Wet’suwet’en solidarity vigil in Des Moines, Iowa. Although we are scattered geographically we are all working toward the same goal.
https://kislingjeff.wordpress.com/2020/02/07/wetsuweten-updates-2-7-2020-evening/
Wet’suwet’en Solidarity #AllEyesOnWetsuweten
“We need you.”
All eyes needed! One of the most important Indigenous movements is under attack right now for attempting to protect their land from a gas pipeline.
With the second day of heavily armed Royal Canadian Mounted Police raids underway at #Wetsuweten watch camps in Nothern British Columbia, thousands of people across so-called Canada are throwing down right now.
This international human rights violation must be stopped. Stand in solidarity with the Wet’suwet’en > http://unistoten.camp/supportertoolkit2020/?
350.org
Hundreds of protesters supporting Wet’suwet’en hereditary chiefs in their opposition to a Coastal GasLink natural-gas pipeline going through their territory in northern B.C. briefly shut down Douglas Street on Friday morning as they marched to the legislature.
Some have indicated they will be staying through the weekend, said spokeswoman Nikki Sanchez.
A number had already spent Thursday night in the central archway on the legislature steps, which remained piled high with bedding and supplies on Friday. Wood was burning in a metal fire pit.
Also on Friday, about 20 protesters staged a sit-in the foyer at the RBC Royal Bank on Douglas Street in the late morning. The bank was closed.
The marchers began the day by gathering at Centennial Square before heading onto Douglas. A portion of the crowd broke off by about 10 a.m. and blocked the intersection of Government and Belleville streets.
Kolin Sutherland-Wilson of the Gitxsan Nation, one of those who spent Thursday night at the legislature, said he wasn’t certain how long the group would stay in the legislative precinct.
“It’s not our intention to stay here indefinitely, but we are here as a part of a national-scale movement by Indigenous youth for Wet’suwet’en,” said the 26-year-old.
Morgan Mowatt, a 30-year-old PhD student at the University of Victoria and also a member of the Gitxsan Nation, said the intent of the Friday rally was to show the urgency of upholding the rights of the Wet’suwet’en people.
“What we’re asking for is that the B.C. government and Canadian government meet the demands of the hereditary chiefs,” she said. “So we’re just here in solidarity. We’re not an organized group. We come together as individuals to support the Wet’suwet’en as young, Indigenous people.
“We’re here in peaceful action out of love.”
Mowatt described the participants as “land defenders,” and said support is spreading. “I do think the movement is picking up,” she said. “We’re seeing a tonne of action across Canada in solidarity with the Wet’suwet’en. “And it’s because what happens on Wet’suwet’en territory sets a precedent for the rest of us.”
Protest march briefly closes Douglas Street, protesters camped out at legislature by Jeff Bell / Times Colonist, FEBRUARY 7, 2020
Protesters supporting Indigenous pipeline opponents in northern B.C. blocked access to the Port of Vancouver for the third straight day Saturday, creating heavy traffic backups.
A long line of trucks was seen stalled on Highway 1 at the McGill Street offramp leading to the Commissioner Street port entrance, with an entire lane blocked off to regular traffic.
The protesters also blocked off access to the port at Powell Street and Heatley Avenue, as well as the overpass near Clark Drive and East Hastings Street.
The blockades are a repeat of actions taken by demonstrators on Thursday and Friday, which were timed with the evening commutes.
The Port of Vancouver said the actions had not yet led to a full port shutdown, but added “some operations are immediately impacted.”
Wet’suwet’en supporters block Port of Vancouver for 3rd straight day, stalling port traffic. BY SEAN BOYNTON GLOBAL NEWS, Posted February 8, 2020 2:49 pm
Protesters blockaded all three entrances to the Port of Vancouver on Saturday in support of Wet’suwet’en hereditary chiefs and land defenders trying to halt a natural gas pipeline project in northwest B.C.
Traffic at the north ends of Heatley, Clark and Commissioner crawled for much of the day as more than 150 demonstrators occupied the intersections outside the port’s gates, blocking vehicles from entering. Police redirected traffic at each blockade.
The protesters carried banners reading “We are the land defending itself” and “Oppenheimer to Wet’suwet’en, all unceded Indigenous land.” They made speeches, sang and chanted, and blocked a man from driving his pickup truck across Clark Drive.
It was the third day of blockades at the port and part of similar action across Canada, including a ceremonial fire lit on the front steps of the B.C. legislature in Victoria.
Herb Varley, another port blockade organizer, said he understood that some people were upset with the protesters but said the threat of climate catastrophe and damage done by colonialism made it important to “disrupt capital” at the port.
“Moral arguments do not work with the powers that be,” Varley said.
“What they understand is economic gains and losses. We have nothing against the people that work at the port. This isn’t about them. This isn’t about us. This is about the Wet’suwet’en. These are kind of economic choke points. Tremendous amounts of goods go through the port every single day.”
Vancouver port gates blocked by Wet’suwet’en solidarity protest by Nick Eagland, Vancouver Sun, 2.8.2020
The RCMP continued to make arrests on Saturday — the third day in a row of police enforcement against the Wet’suwe’ten and their supporters opposed to the Coastal GasLink pipeline in northern B.C.
CBC News saw RCMP officers dragging several people on sleds out of a camp area early Saturday afternoon after people were told they had to leave the area or face arrest.
Tensions remain high in the area and more arrests are expected as people and obstacles remain in the way of Coastal GasLink and its contractors who are attempting to get back into a disputed area to re-start work on a natural gas pipeline.
On Dec. 31, a B.C. Supreme Court judge issued an injunction against members of the Wet’suwe’ten Nation blocking access to the pipeline project inside their traditional territory and empowered RCMP to enforce the injunction.
Tensions continue to rise between RCMP and Wet’suwe’ten at pipeline protest. Police have been enforcing an injunction so Coastal GasLink pipeline work can proceed unimpeded by Chantelle Bellrichard · CBC News · Posted: Feb 08, 2020
Quakers, social justice and revolution 