This morning as I listened to the radio interview of Daniel Dixon, an organizer with Wet’suwet’en Solidarity DC, not surprisingly I heard the same concepts that informed what we did in Indianapolis regarding the Keystone and Dakota Access pipelines. And the same things my friends and I talked about during our eight day journey along the path of the Dakota Access pipeline from Des Moines to Fort Dodge, Iowa. Which is that our current environmental disaster comes from White settler colonialism. A culture of domination of peoples and lands. A culture that results in the rape of Mother Earth as vast areas are devastated for resource extraction. A culture that threatens our extinction. A culture that turned on White people who now find themselves, ourselves, dominated.
We are in a situation that cannot be corrected by this dominance. Our only hope is to reject this capitalist colonialism and to learn from, be led by the Indigenous peoples who have never stopped loving Mother Earth and each other. Our only hope is to find our spiritual way, that so many have lost.
In this segment, hosts Sean Blackmon and Jacquie Luqman are joined by Daniel Dixon, an organizer with Wet’suwet’en Solidarity DC, to talk about the blockades and resistance actions shutting down Canada in solidarity with the Wet’suwet’en people’s struggle against the Coastal Gaslink pipeline, Ontario Provincial Police arresting land defenders blockading a railway in Tyendinaga Mohawk territory, the ways ongoing violent repression by the Ontario Provincial Police and Royal Canadian Mounted Police undercuts Canada’s international brand as the US’ kinder, gentler northern neighbor and how the ongoing struggle to resist the Coastal GasLink pipeline ties into the broader 500-year ongoing struggle against colonization and settler-colonialism.
This video is from an interview I did on Wyse radio. I took the photographs from several gatherings we held in Indianapolis related to the Dakota Access Pipeline (DAPL). One of the most powerful occasions was when we gathered for prayers and to talk about our thankfulness for what we did together. Thankfulness for the day.
This video was taken by my friend Matthew Lone Bear during the First Nation-Farmer Climate Unity March. The idea was for a small group of Native and non native people to get to know each other so we could then work together on areas of common concern. We all got to know each other pretty well as we shared our stories. There was plenty of time to do that during the hours we walked through rural Iowa in September, 2018. It took eight days to walk and camp the 94 miles along the path of the Dakota Access pipeline.
In this segment, hosts Sean Blackmon and Jacquie Luqman are joined by Daniel Dixon, an organizer with Wet’suwet’en Solidarity DC, to talk about the blockades and resistance actions shutting down Canada in solidarity with the Wet’suwet’en people’s struggle against the Coastal Gaslink pipeline, Ontario Provincial Police arresting land defenders blockading a railway in Tyendinaga Mohawk territory, the ways ongoing violent repression by the Ontario Provincial Police and Royal Canadian Mounted Police undercuts Canada’s international brand as the US’ kinder, gentler northern neighbor and how the ongoing struggle to resist the Coastal GasLink pipeline ties into the broader 500-year ongoing struggle against colonization and settler-colonialism.
Wet’suwet’en Solidarity – DCMarch 4 at 6:27 PM We just disrupted Marc Garneau, the Canadian Minister of Transport, in solidarity with the Wet’suwet’en nation during his speech at the Canadian Embassy in D.C.! Indigenous peoples, from the Tyendinaga Mohawks to the Indigenous youth occupying the B.C. legislature, are literally fighting for their lives. This is life or death, everything is on the line here. Kill the pipeline, save the land! Respect Indigenous sovereignty! #WetsuwetenStrong#WaterisLife
350 DC was live. February 27 at 8:47 AM
The Wet’suwet’en people have been putting their bodies on the line in Canada to defend their rights and their land from a destructive fracked gas pipeline. We’re occupying the pipeline company (TC Energy — the same company behind Keystone XL)’s DC office in solidarity with the Wet’suwet’en Nation. No pipelines on Indigenous land. No climate-wrecking pipelines anywhere. #WetsuwetenStrong Learn more and support the land defenders at http://unistoten.camp/
Wet’suwet’en Solidarity – DC February 27 at 2:30 PM · This morning we visited the D.C. offices of TC Energy, the oil and gas company leading the Coastal GasLink project, to serve an “eviction notice” in solidarity with the Wet’suwet’en people and Unist’ot’en Camp. TC Energy off Wet’suwet’en land!
A crowd of people expressing support for the youth arrested Wednesday gathered in front of the B.C. Legislatures on Thursday. (Mike McArthur/CBC)
The province is defending its decision to invite protesters inside the B.C. Legislature for a meeting that resulted in a sit-in and multiple arrests, as supporters of those arrested gathered in front of the building again Thursday morning.
Seven members of the group Indigenous Youth for Wet’suwet’en met with government officials in the building, which is closed to the public, on Wednesday. Five of them were arrested in the evening after refusing to leave the building and staging a sit-in protest. Minister of Indigenous Relations and Reconciliation Scott Fraser says the youth had requested the meeting.
“I’m very, very disappointed with the outcome,” said Fraser.
Fraser agreed to let the group in on the condition that they leave afterwards — which he says they promised to do. He described the meeting as productive and respectful.
The demonstrators said they met with Fraser to discuss the ongoing dispute over the Coastal GasLink pipeline in northern B.C. which is under construction on traditional Wet’suwet’en territory. But they don’t believe their concerns were addressed. Wet’suwet’en prepare for clan meetings to discuss rights and title proposal.
Ta’kaiya Blaney, one of the Indigenous youth at the meeting, says the group decided to stay in the office because of a “lack of commitment to condemn Coastal GasLink.” She described the sit-in as a peaceful protest to generate accountability.
“This wouldn’t have had to happen if Canada had exhausted all avenues, if [Premier] John Hogan had met with hereditary chiefs, if diplomacy was adhered to,” she said over a loudspeaker to a crowd in front of the Legislature on Thursday.
“Instead, this is what we do out of necessity. This is what we do out of survival.”
Ta’kaiya Blaney speaking to a crowd in front of the Legislature on Thursday morning. She was one of the Indigenous youth at the meeting Wednesday. (Mike McArthur/CBC)
Interim Green Party Leader Adam Olsen, a member of the Tsartlip First Nation, attended the meeting as a witness. He says he is “disappointed” but also concerned that the sit-in and subsequent arrests overshadow the meeting.
“What I take away from that meeting is the youth did a really good job articulating the challenges that are facing Indigenous people in our country and our province,” he said.
“[The outcome] overshadows it in the sense that this is now the story. What the story should be, I think, is that we are sitting down and learning from each other.
Blaney said the Indigenous youth are leaving the legislature but their movement for the rights of Aboriginal peoples continues.
B.C.’s Indigenous Affairs minister defends meeting with Indigenous youth in Legislature despite 5 arrests. Dozens of demonstrators packed up Thursday, ending their 17-day protest. CBC News · Posted: Mar 05, 2020
“At 6:30 PM on March 4, seven Indigenous youth were invited by Scott Fraser, Minister of Indigenous Relations and Reconciliation to discuss the Wet’suwet’en Struggle. After a number of hours, discussions broke down, and the Indigenous youth and Scott Fraser could not come to an agreement that the RCMP (Royal Canadian Mounted Police) and CGL (Coastal Gas Link) remove themselves from Wet’suwet’en land. Despite the continued affirmations that the British Columbia Legislative Assembly youth occupation is a peaceful and a ceremonial vigil in solidarity with our Wet’suwet’en relatives in the north, 5 of the 7 Indigenous youth who were invited into the office for a meeting were violently arrested after hours of detainment inside the parliament. These arrests happened behind closed doors. The Victoria Police Department refused to allow legal observers and lawyers access to the youth as they were being arrested and detained. Despite their legal councils’ request that letters of representation be given to the youth, the police refused to allow them access to this information. While each youth was carried out, allies and supporters repeated messages of love and protection. The police refused to disclose where they were being taken or what they were being charged with. We are asking Canada and all of its citizens to remove for the vail of silence when Indigenous bodies are being forcibly removed from unceded lands by the state. Reconciliation can’t only apply when we are saying yes. Consent cannot exist if NO is not an option. Reconciliation is dead. The revolution is alive. The whole damn system is guilty as hell. Canada is racist.
Indigenous youth burning injunction on BC legislature grounds this morning
These 7 youth, from our delegation of youth from many Indigenous nations, are inside the monument to colonial governance where so-called BC conducts its colonial business. Relatives & supporters outside are singing, & drumming to hold the ceremonial space.
— Indigenous Youth for Wet’suwet’en (@IY4wetsuweten) March 5, 2020
Five people have been arrested after a group of Indigenous youth occupied an office in the B.C. Legislature on Wednesday night. The demonstrators, members of the group Indigenous Youth for Wet’suwet’en, live-streamed the entire sit-in on Facebook, including police arriving and placing them in handcuffs. Victoria police say five people were arrested for mischief just after 9 p.m. PT. They were taken to headquarters for processing and released on the condition they would not attend the legislature grounds. The mischief investigations remain underway. “Everyone here at the legislature are the biggest fans of peaceful protest but we have to draw a line when it is no longer peaceful and there are criminal code violations,” said Alan Mullen, chief of staff to the Speaker of the House. He spoke to reporters at about 1:30 a.m. PT, soon after the protesters were take off the grounds by police. The sit-in began after a “wholly ineffective” meeting with B.C. Minister for Indigenous Relations and Reconciliation Scott Fraser, one of the young people said during the livestream. The demonstrators said they met with Fraser to discuss the ongoing dispute over the Coastal GasLink pipeline in northern B.C., but they don’t believe their concerns were addressed. Ministry spokesperson Sarah Plank told CBC in an email that Fraser agreed to meet with the young people on the condition they would leave the building once the meeting was over. She said the discussion was respectful and lasted for an hour and half, with Green MLA Adam Olsen acting as a witness. “After the minister and MLA Olsen left, the individuals reneged on their agreement and made it clear that they would not leave the building as agreed. We are disappointed they have not honoured their commitment,” Plank said. Wet’suwet’en prepare for clan meetings to discuss rights and title proposal According to the group’s Twitter account, they are demanding RCMP and Coastal GasLink personnel completely withdraw from Wet’suwet’en territory in northern B.C., and that B.C. revoke permits for the pipeline. A young man identified as Kolin jokes at one point about arrest: “You know it’s funny, young Indigenous people trespassing on unceded Indigenous land.” Police said that when they showed up, the protesters had called for others to surround the the legislature building and that responding officers were obstructed and surrounded by over 100 protesters outside the building. It took several hours to to take the five people who were arrested to police headquarters.
5 protesters arrested after Indigenous youth sit-in at B.C. Legislature. Demonstration was streamed live on Facebook before police arrive with handcuffs. CBC News · Posted: Mar 04, 2020
VICTORIA — An intense scene played out on the lawns of the B.C. legislature late Wednesday night as police removed five Indigenous demonstrators from inside the government building. Victoria Police confirm five Indigenous youth demonstrators were arrested for mischief after they refused to leave a planned meeting with Indigenous relations minister Scott Fraser. The Indigenous youth, who have been occupying B.C.’s legislature for weeks, were invited in for a meeting with Fraser when they allegedly demanded he condemn the Costal GasLink pipeline project that crosses through the Wet’suwet’en First Nation territory in northern B.C. “Our lives are more valuable than an economic bottom line which is why we are occupying this office currently,” said Indigenous youth leader Ta’kaiya Blaney on a live stream she posted to social media Wednesday night. “We had a good conversation, but we know these meetings cannot set the tone for a history, and ongoing history, of colonization in this country.”
Indigenous youth arrested for refusing to leave B.C. legislature. Scott Cunningham, Journalist, CTV Vancouver Island, @CTVNewsScott, March 5, 2020
Roughly 20 young people are occupying the office of Northern Affairs Minister Dan Vandal in Winnipeg demanding that authorities leave Wet’suwet’en territory. Vandal is Métis and the MP for the riding of Saint Boniface-Saint Vital in the city’s east end. Kakeka Thundersky spoke for the group and why she felt it was important the organization got together. “What’s happening out there is just a complete violation of rights of Indigenous people and it affects all of us, the land and the water they’re all connected, we’re all related. Here on Turtle Island and we really just need to protect it for the next generation. We believe it is all of our responsibility to take care of all of the children all the time.” The group, Indigenous Youth for Wet’suwet’en Winnipeg, is demanding the immediate removal of the RCMP and the Coastal Gaslink (CGL) from Wet’suwet’en territory. The CGL pipeline will carry fracked natural gas from Dawson Creek in northeastern British Columbia 670 km to Kitimat on the coast where it will be processed and shipped to markets in Asia.
“No relationship is more important to our government and to Canada than the one with Indigenous peoples. Today, we reaffirm our government’s commitment to a renewed nation-to-nation relationship between Canada and Indigenous peoples, one based on the recognition of rights, respect, trust, co-operation, and partnership.” • These were the empty words of @justinpjtrudeau on #NationalAboriginalDay in 2016. That statement, along with the rest of his hollow speech, could not be further from the truth. We have now seen over 173 unlawful arrests, of #Wetsuweten & #Indigenous peoples and allies & supporters. The demands of the Hereditary chiefs have been simple: remove @rcmpgrcpolice @bcrcmp & #CGLfrom our yintah, and have @johnhorgan4bc and/or trudeau meet with our Hereditary chiefs in nation-to-nation talks. They have refused to do so. • There was NO response, until #HumanRights defenders, #LandDefenders, #WaterProtectors and #ClimateCrisis#Activists started to #RiseUp & #ShutDownCanada en masse. In an act of good faith, Hereditary chiefs agreed to engage with ministers as the government representatives… however, the rcmp did NOT leave the territories during this time – and CGL did NOT cease work. • Last night, @indigenousyouthforwetsuweten met with Scott Fraser – the minister of Indigenous relations and reconciliation. They reiterated the chiefs demands. S. Fraser responded that the rcmp will NOT be leaving the territories, CGL will NOT stop work… and instead of calling for nation-to-nation talks, or allowing for peaceful occupation, the Vic PD arrested and detained 5 indigenous youth from several different nations. • We are sovereign peoples. The acts of the colonial government say: corporations & industry take priority over people; that Indigenous peoples will not be respected as equals; that climate action is not being taken; and that if you choose to speak out you will be criminalized. • We will NOT back down… we will continue to stand for the rights of generations to come – and we ask you to continue to stand with us ✊🏽❤️ Masih cyoh ✊🏽❤️ • https://www.facebook.com/likhtsamisyu/posts/512664452784439?__tn__=K-R • #WetsuwetenStrong#ReconciliationIsDead#FightForOurFuture
Pressure on all levels of the Canadian government as well as Coastal GasLink investors is incredibly timely. Right now RCMP have constructed militarized exclusion zones preventing Wet’suwet’en and invited guests from accessing their unceded territory. The presence of the RCMP directly violates the basic rights and dignities of Wet’suwet’en peoples, as outlined first and foremost within Wet’suwet’en Hereditary law as well as constitutionally within Canadian law. Days ago, an elder was arrested by these unconstitutional militarized exclusion zones. This is just the beginning. Without the intervention of supporters nationally, the RCMP, BC, and Canada will continue to escalate and criminalize unarmed Wet’suwet’en frontlines.
We have a critical window of action.
***February 18 2020 update***
“On February 10, RCMP invaded unceded Unist’ot’en territory, arresting and forcibly removing Freda Huson (Chief Howilhkat), Brenda Michell (Chief Geltiy), Dr. Karla Tait, and four Indigenous land defenders from our yintah. They were arrested in the middle of a ceremony to honour the ancestors. Police tore down the red dresses that were hung to hold the spirits of missing and murdered Indigenous women, girls, and two spirit people. They extinguished our sacred fire.
We have had enough. Enough dialogue, discussion, negotiation at the barrel of a gun. Canada comes to colonize. Reconciliation is dead.
It is time to fight for our land, our lives, our children, our future.
As indigenous youth, it is our understanding that Canada’s flagrant violation of indigenous rights in unceded Wet’suwet’en territory sets an unacceptable precedent for Canada’s engagement with all indigenous nations. If Canada is willing to invade Wet’suwet’en territories, it will have no hesitation invading ours. Wet’suwet’en frontlines are facing an imminent raid after negotiations ended at an impasse. Now is the time to turn up the heat on Canadian government and financial backers. Indigenous Youth for Wet’suwet’en are calling upon rolling sit ins of MLA and MP offices as well as banks invested in the Coastal Gaslink Project. The situation on Wet’suwet’en frontlines is developing hour-by-hour, and is dependent on mass mobilization both within Canada and around the world. There is no explicit guarantee that the RCMP won’t move forward with a raid during negotiations as Canada has never been historically accountable to Wet’suwet’en or promises with Indigenous Nations. We need to act fast.
Read this toolkit for more information on how supporters can get engaged
National Call to Action: Indigenous Youth for Wet’suwet’en call upon Indigenous youth and supporters to participate in rolling occupations of MLA and MP offices and financial institutions tied to the Coastal GasLink project.
Indigenous Youth for Wet’suwet’en are a decentralized, grassroots movement comprised of Indigenous youth, who act independently in solidarity with the Wet’suwet’en Hereditary Chiefs representing all five clans of the Wet’suwet’en Nation.
As Indigenous youth, we recognize that Canada’s flagrant violation of Indigenous rights in unceded Wet’suwet’en territory sets a shameful precedent for Canada’s engagement with all Indigenous nations.It is unacceptable that Royal Canadian Mounted Police militarized exclusion zones and ongoing aerial surveillance continue to coerce, intimidate, restrict, and harass Wet’suwet’en peoples on Wet’suwet’en territories. The presence of the RCMP directly violates the basic rights and dignities of Wet’suwet’en peoples, as outlined first and foremost within Wet’suwet’en Hereditary law as well as constitutionally within Canada. We insist that there is no just reason for these coercive tactics if British Columbia is to truly commence good-faith discussions with the Wet’suwet’en Hereditary Chiefs. For nation-to-nation discussions to take place, the Federal government must also fulfill its duty to enter into discussions with the Wet’suwet’en Hereditary Chiefs.
On January 21st, Indigenous Youth for Wet’suwet’en occupied the Ministry of Energy, Mines and Petroleum Resources, demanding that Premier Horgan meet directly with hereditary leaders and that the RCMP remove militarized exclusion zones from Wet’suwet’en territories. They were met with a contingent of thirty to forty officers from the Victoria and Saanich Police who forcibly removed 10 youth and a Ma’amtagila elder between the hours of 2:00-6:00 AM under crown authority. As this national call to action is being released, Indigenous Youth for Wet’suwet’en are occupying the office of Dan Vandal, Minister of Northern Affairs in Winnipeg, Manitoba. We do not seek arrest, but rather to hold Canada accountable for its ongoing criminalization of Indigenous law.
Until Wet’suwet’en sovereignty is respected, we call upon Indigenous Youth and supporters to continue to occupy the offices of Members of Legislative Assemblies and Members of Parliament, as well as financial institutions tied to the Coastal GasLink project. We resist the unlawful encroachment of RCMP upon Wet’suwet’en lands, that will likely escalate in violence against unarmed Wet’suwet’en land defenders and supporters, similar to the raid at Gidimt’en checkpoint on January 7th of last year. We demand the Canadian government dignify the requests of Wet’suwet’en Hereditary Chiefs and withdraw the forces of the RCMP and Coastal Gaslink from their unceded traditional territories.
We peacefully commit to do everything in our power to defend Wet’suwet’en rights because they defend our collective future as Indigenous youth. We call upon you to do the same.
For more information on participating in an office or financial institution sit in, email youthforyintah@protonmail.com
350 Canada13 hrs People power is making history. So inspired by the thousands of students across 30+ post secondary institutions from coast to coast to coast who walked off their campuses in solidarity with Wet’suwet’en heredity chiefs and land defenders fighting against the invasion of Coastal GasLink pipeline. #WetsuwetenStrong#WetsuwetenSolidarity We must continue to show up and support the Wet’suwet’en. Learn how: http://unistoten.camp/supportertoolkit2020/
Langara College students block the intersection at Cambie Street and 49th Avenue in Vancouver on Wednesday afternoon. (Maggie MacPherson/CBC)Students gather in support of the Wet’suwet’en hereditary chiefs at UBC on Wednesday afternoon. (Ben Nelms/CBC)
B.C. students joined others across Canada in a nationwide school walkout organized to show support for the Wet’suwet’en hereditary chiefs. In Vancouver, Langara College students blocked the intersection of Cambie Street and 49th Avenue Wednesday afternoon. In North Vancouver, there was a protest around 5 p.m. in the area of Mountain Highway and Keith Road. And in Victoria, hundreds of university and high school students gathered at the B.C. Legislature, where they stood on the lawn in a circle of ceremony, with the Indigenous youth who have been camped out on the steps for days. More than 5,000 students across Canada from at least 38 different universities took part in the Wednesday walkout, according to a release from a group called Students in Solidarity with Wet’suwet’en. UVic student Alison Conibear said it’s important for students to voice their support because they “have the privilege of endless knowledge.” “[As students], we have to be making the changes we want to see, and this [walkout] is the place for it,” she said.
B.C. students join nationwide school walkout in support of Wet’suwet’en hereditary chiefs. Langara College students blocked the intersection of Cambie Street and 49th Avenue in Vancouver, CBC News · Mar 04, 2020
University of Windsor students, professors, and community members once again took to the streets to stand ten toes down in solidarity with our Wet’suwet’en brothers and sisters protecting their land and the water for everyone. This time, we joined a call for a National Student Walk Out, and we were so excited with the turn out. Thank you from the bottom of our hearts for answering the call with us and setting an example for everyone else.
We can imagine a world where we don’t break colonial laws to take advantage of Indigenous people and exploit them even more than they already have been. We can imagine a world where colonial laws arent even there in the first place. A world where decolonizing is the priority. Lets fight for it today. ✊🏽
“I’m challenging my non Indigenous friends to stand up against racism when you see it.” -Violet Baptiste
Leadnow.ca· March 2 · Since the beginning of the Coastal GasLink blockades, Indigenous people have been attacked with racist slurs, trolled with online harassment and threatened with bombs and hit and runs. Time to stand against racism.
As protests in support of Wet’suwet’en hereditary leaders continue to sweep Canada, hate experts say anti-Indigenous racism and violence is on the rise and should be addressed.
There’s a sea change at foot, with white supremacists and hate groups re-directing their attention to Indigenous people, says Evan Balgord of the Canadian Anti-Hate Network. “So in the last two weeks or so, with the Wet’suwet’en crisis and with the solidarity demonstrations happening across Canada, we’ve seen a marked uptick in far-right activity,” said Balgord.
He’s tracked multiple social media posts calling for the murder or assault of demonstrators, with the primary targets both Indigenous people and their allies. Balgord says race-based violence needs to be addressed by exposing those who commit it and he called on law enforcers to take a firmer line against those who threaten violence on social media.
It’s not just protesters who have been the target of hate.
Wendy Nahanee was dropping her 14-year-old son Kiona off at school in Vancouver at 9 a.m. last Monday when the two faced a man yelling racist slurs at them.
“He said ‘you stupid Indians, you hurt people and now you’re going to get hurt,'” said Nahanee, who is of the Squamish Nation.
She believes she was a target because of her car, which is decked out in First Nations decals and motifs, and because she is visibly Indigenous.
DEMONSTRATORS MARCH IN SUPPORT OF WET’SUWET’EN AS A STANDOFF BETWEEN THE NATION’S HEREDITARY CHIEFS AND THE COASTAL GASLINK PIPELINE PROJECT CONTINUES. PHOTO BY TIJANA MARTIN/THE CANADIAN PRESS
Violet Baptiste, a Cree woman living in Winnipeg, says she was waiting for her bus after work when a group of white people—who she said were issuing racist commentary about the nearby Wet’suwet’en rally—ambushed her and started hurling racist, anti-Indigenous insults.
In a five-minute video that went viral, a teary-eyed Baptiste recounts the story, detailing several prejudicial comments allegedly issued at her.
Baptiste said that a pro-Wet’suwet’en rally, which took place on February 10, inspired the vitriol, because it forced several bus routes to change course, delaying commuters. Baptiste stood at her transit stop while others started venting about the Wet’suwet’en supporters.
Ta’Kaiya Blaney, a 19-year-old Wet’suwet’en supporter and advocate, has been mobilizing in Victoria for nearly two weeks. She said she’s noticed heightened racism taking place away from protest sites—and people are scared.
“False and misleading and inaccurate depictions expose us to white supremacists and threaten our safety,” Blaney told VICE on Friday.
Indigenous activists say they’re staying strong despite a steady stream of racism.
Indigenous Peoples Report Racism Surge as Wet’suwet’en Rail Blockades Grow. A Cree woman from Winnipeg went viral after posting a tearful video detailing racism she experienced last week. By Anya Zoledziowski, VICE, Feb 20 2020
The following video and reporting is very disturbing for a number of reasons
Gitxsan community members were on their unceded land
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
Journalist and filmmaker Melissa Cox was arrested. “While reporting on Wet’suwet’en and Gitxsan Territories I have witnessed alarming levels of violent state repression of independent media“
Wet’suwet’en Access Point on Gidimt’en Territory 3/3/2020 Video Via @The Media Co-op Original Post
“We published a video report last week of the blockade on unceded Gitxsan territory, taking you inside the 8 hour stand-off on Feb 24, as Gitxsan community members backed by their allies held their ground against the BC RCMP. The new report published here contains unreleased footage of the lead-up to those events, ending with the arrest of journalist and filmmaker Melissa Cox.
The morning of February 24th, Ontario Provincial Police (OPP) arrested 10 people during a raid on Tyendinaga Mohawk Territory. The Tyendinaga Mohawks setup that railway blockade to stand in solidarity with the Wet’suwet’en Nation who oppose the construction of Coastal GasLink’s natural gas pipeline on their unceded Wet’suwet’en Territory Unist’ot’en Camp . After the arrests made in Tyendinaga Mohawk Territory, Gitxsan community members setup a railway blockade on unceded Gitxsan Territory.
That evening the British Columbian Royal Canadian Mounted Police (BC RCMP), along with their Division Liaison Team (DLT) – a unit that specializes in “Aboriginal relations” – invaded unceded Gitxsan territory and arrested 13 people. One arrest was made earlier in the day. Gitxsan Hereditary Chiefs Spookw, Gwininitxw, and Dawamuux were among the 13 people arrested. Fourteen arrests in total were made that day.
Prior to the wave of arrests there was a stand-off between Gitxsan community members and the RCMP. Gitxsan community members demanded that RCMP stand down and advised RCMP that they were trespassing on unceded territory. Gitxsan community members advised RCMP that they were violating their human rights and breaking the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples (UNDRIP). Article 10 of UNDRIP states, “Indigenous peoples shall not be forcibly removed from their lands or territories.” The RCMP advanced and began quickly making arrests.
The Gitxsan hereditary chiefs, together with hereditary chiefs from the Wet’suwet’en nation, were plaintiffs in the landmark Delgamuukw-Gisday’wa court case. The Supreme Court of Canada found that Aboriginal title had never been extinguished over 55,000 km2 of Gitxsan and Wet’suwet’en land.
While filming this video report journalist and filmmaker Melissa Cox was arrested. Melissa Cox is on assignment with Mutual Aid Media as a filmmaker for the feature length documentary film YINT’AH. Mutual Aid Media’s statement on the arrest: https://medium.com/…/statement-on-the-arrest-of-documentary… (excerpts below)
“It was clear to me that police arrested me to prevent me from documenting the arrest of 71 year-old Head House Chief and Matriarch Gwininitxw (Yvonne Lattie) on her own territory. I had no opportunity to leave the scene or to reposition myself. While reporting on Wet’suwet’en and Gitxsan Territories I have witnessed alarming levels of violent state repression of independent media. Since beginning to report on this issue of immense public importance, myself and my colleagues have been detained, repeatedly threatened with arrest, had our access limited by the imposition of an “illegal” exclusion zone, and have been told what we can and cannot document (which included threats of arrest from RCMP if we documented tactical teams). A free press is essential to a functioning democracy and is a pillar for peace. The repression of journalists covering this story across Canada is being enacted by police forces everywhere you look. The way that I was treated made me feel as if I was a target that needed to be neutralized.” – Melissa Cox Video report by Melissa Cox”
Tracks at New Hazelton on unceded Gitxsan territory, February 24th, 2020. Photo: MacKenzie Keir Knight.
We are outraged by the Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP) decision to arrest our long-time colleague, journalist and filmmaker Melissa Cox, on the evening of February 24th 2020, at New Hazelton on unceded Gitxsan territory.
Ms. Cox has been documenting Wet’suwet’en land defenders’ efforts to resist Coastal GasLink’s pipeline project for nearly two months, filming for a documentary by the working title YINT’AH of which we are the producers, and filing video reports with other media outlets.
On February 24th, she was filming as Gitxsan hereditary chiefs and supporters blocked the tracks at New Hazelton in solidarity with the Wet’suwet’en and the Mohawks of Tyendinaga. She was wearing a press credential from the National Press Photographers Association.
Ms. Cox had just filmed as the RCMP arrested Gitxsan hereditary Chief Spookw. In spite of the fact that she was clearly marked press, RCMP officers chose to arrest her, thus making it impossible for her to carry out her work documenting and bearing witness to the events underway.
We are deeply disturbed by the RCMP’s arrest of Ms. Cox, which is part of a pattern of detentions, arrests and efforts to limit the access and mobility of journalists that we have witnessed across the country over the past month. Freedom of the press and other media of communication is a fundamental freedom protected by Canada’s Charter of Rights and Freedoms. In March 2019, a landmark decision by a Newfoundland and Labrador court known as the Justin Brake case reaffirmed that even when an injunction order has been issued, special considerations apply to journalists working in good faith and reporting on matters in the public interest. The decision states that: “To achieve the goal of reconciliation, better understanding of aboriginal peoples and aboriginal issues is needed. This places a heightened importance on ensuring that independently-reported information about aboriginal issues, including aboriginal protests, is available to the extent possible.”
Security forces arresting journalists and filmmakers causes a chilling effect on freedom of speech and interferes with the public’s right to be informed, which are cornerstones of democracy. Transparency and communication in a fair, accurate, nuanced and honest way is also the only basis on which right relations between people and between nations can ever be achieved. This has been Ms. Cox’s stance as a documentary filmmaker, and we wholeheartedly stand with her. We expect that no charges will be laid, and that as matters of public interest related to policing of Indigenous communities continue to unfold throughout Canada, journalists and filmmakers will be able to report and film unimpeded.
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.
Quakers, social justice and revolution 