Content warning: Contains mentions of police violence and settler colonial violence
November 23, 2021, Xʷməθkʷəy̓əm (Musqueam), Sḵwx̱wú7mesh (Squamish) and səlilwətaɬ (Tsleil-Waututh) Territories / Vancouver, BC – CPAWS-BC stands in solidarity with Wet’suwet’en clans who have re-occupied and taken control over their Yintah (territory) and condemns the arrests of land defenders and journalists.
Those occupying the land do so under Inuk Nuatden (Wet’suwet’en law) and Canadian law. In 1997, the Supreme Court of Canada issued the Delgamuukw-Gisday’wa decision, which asserted that the Wet’suwet’en people, as represented by their hereditary chiefs, had not given up rights and title to more than 20,000 square kilometres of territory in northern British Columbia. Despite this ruling, the colonial Canadian and British Columbian governments continue to permit resource projects without the free, prior, and informed consent of Wet’suwet’en Hereditary Chiefs.
Like many, CPAWS-BC applauded the BC government’s commitment to uphold the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples (UNDRIP) through the Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples Act (DRIPA) in 2019. UNDRIP protects against all forms of violence and discrimination for Indigenous Peoples of the world. However, the province continues to deny Wet’suwet’en and other Indigenous Nations across British Columbia these human rights.
CPAWS-BC Executive Director Kevin Barlow said, “The main purpose behind UNDRIP, and by default DRIPA, is to prevent resource extraction from Indigenous territories without their full consent. Throughout the world, over 50 per cent of Indigenous people now live in urban areas due to encroachment, primarily from resource extraction. Government has a great responsibility to handle these situations with integrity and without armed force.”
The increased and on-going RCMP action on Wet’suwet’en lands in recent days is deeply concerning. As the climate crisis intensifies with record floods, fires and heatwaves, so does the violence against land defenders and the journalists sharing their stories. Providing safe access for journalists to cover events falls well within their charter rights. Indigenous voices and stories have historically been, and continue to be suppressed in mainstream media as a measure to uphold colonial systems and capitalist agendas. The RCMP must end these acts of aggression immediately.
BC is currently in the grips of a crisis. Across the province, highways and roads have been completely destroyed, huge swaths of agricultural land are under water, thousands have been evacuated, and many more were stranded far from home without adequate food, water, and shelter. Yet the province deployed emergency resources that could have been directed to relief efforts to instead intimidate, harass, and arrest Indigenous Peoples who are exercising their rights to self-determination and stewardship of their lands—and opposing the very type of fossil fuel extraction project that worsens the catastrophic weather we’ve recently experienced.
CPAWS-BC urges the immediate withdrawal of the RCMP from Wet’suwet’en Territory and the release of those detained. We stand in solidarity with the Wet’suwet’en and all Indigenous Peoples who are reasserting their relationships with land and water in order to strengthen their culture, traditional practices, and stories. We are grateful for their leadership and vision for a just future.
We encourage all Canadians to:
- Donate to the Wet’suwet’en Land Defenders http://go.rallyup.com/wetsuwetenstrong
- Amplify the Wet’suwet’en Peoples struggle through your social media handles, and conversations with family, friends, and co-workers.
- Keep up to date as the events unfold by following:
- The Gidimt’en Checkpoint page on Facebook
- @Gidimten on Twitter
- @yintah_access on Instagram
Kevin Barlow (Mi’kmaw)
Interim Executive Director, CPAWS-BC
Quick Facts: Wet’suwet’en, B.C. and Canada launch path to implement rights and title
- Wet’suwet’en means people of the Wedzin Kwe River (Bulkley River) Yintah means territory. Inuk Nuatden means Wet’suwet’en laws.
- The Wet’suwet’en Yintah, is located in the central Interior of B.C. around Smithers, Burns Lake, Broman Lake, and François Lake.
- Wet’suwet’en Nation is comprised of five clans: Gilseyhu (Big Frog) Laksilyu (Small Frog), Gitdumten (Wolf/Bear), Laksamshu (Fireweed), and Tsayu (Beaver).
- The clans are divided into 13 Houses and each House is represented by a Hereditary Chief.
References:
- Wet’suwet’en Hereditary Chiefs. (November 19, 2021). Wet’suwet’en Hereditary Chiefs Support Widzin Kwe [Press Release]. Retrieved from http://www.wetsuweten.com/files/Nov_19_2021_Support_for_Widzin_Kwe_Nov_2021.pdf
- Gidimt’en Access Point. (2021, November 18). 2021 Media Backgrounder: Wet’suwet’en 101. Gidimt’en Checkpoint. https://www.yintahaccess.com/media-background
- United Nations (General Assembly). (2007). Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous People https://www.un.org/esa/socdev/unpfii/documents/DRIPS_en.pdf
- Bill 41 – 2019: Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples Act (2019) https://www.leg.bc.ca/parliamentary-business/legislation-debates-proceedings/41st-parliament/4th-session/bills/third-reading/gov41-3
- CBC News. (2019, January 12). 5 terms to know regarding the Wet’suwet’en pipeline dispute [Video]. YouTube. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eBFdRYZFlYE&t=1s
