Caravan to Unis’tot’en Camp

Our friends at Unis’tot’en Camp are bracing for a storm. As winter bears down, the camp is on alert after two incidents of attempted arson on bridges near the camp last month.

The community is responding to the call for support and donating funds for security equipment. The camp is also calling for a few strong-hearted volunteers to watch over the camp and patrol the area.

Volunteers should:

• be willing to stay for two weeks or more
• have experience and gear for winter hiking
• be able to chop wood, carry water, and watch for intruders

Jump to the volunteer form

Four years ago, grassroots members of the Wet’suwet’en people of northern BC (western Canada) found out about oil and gas pipeline projects that are planned to cross their territory without permission.

The land defenders set up a “soft blockade” to keep out the corporations, and started building a camp and permanent homes in the pipeline route. A large log cabin now houses the defenders and volunteers, while several pithouses are still under construction.

The oil and gas representatives and police have made a couple forays into the territory, but so far they have avoided starting a full-scale confrontation.

Donations will supply the camp with security cameras, motion sensors, night-vision equipment, and an all-terrain snowmobile to patrol the territory and watch for invaders.

The success of the camp jeopardizes oil and gas deals supposedly worth billions of dollars (plus the untold costs of spills and leaks, poisoned water, lost habitat, and human suffering). We know there is a risk of dirty tricks and intimidation tactics to try and scare the campers away. The more support we have, the less likely those tactics will work.

The camp is 1000 km north of Vancouver, BC. Volunteers and donations are needed now. Stand up for the ones who are defending the land, water, and wildlife.

For more information, please visit the Unis’tot’en Camp homepage and join the Caravan to Unis’tot’en page on Facebook. To help with fundraising, please call Zoe at 250-813-3569. Thank you

About donating through Paypal

This week, supporters are finding that Paypal is rejecting valid credit and debit cards. Currently the only contributions that are getting processed are from people giving from their own Paypal accounts. We suggest instead sending a cheque or money order to VIC FAN c/o UBP Law, 816-1175 Douglas St, Victoria BC V8W 2E1. Interac email transfers can be sent to [email protected] (but don’t forget to also send the password). Thank you!

Permaculture not pipelines

Help defend the land, the water, and the wildlife. Members of the Wet’suwet’en First Nation and allies are building permaculture gardens and traditional pithouses in the right-of-way for three pipeline projects: Enbridge Northern Gateway, Pacific Trail and Coastal Gas Link. Right now, the good guys are winning.

Forest Action Network is organizing winter camp teams. We’re arranging transportation and supplies, and making sure volunteers have all the information they need.. The camp has hosted visitors from all over the world. Hundreds of people have pitched in to help, each in their own way. This support is crucial.

To donate your time and energy to the cause, read on.

Why a blockade?

There are only a few routes the oil and gas companies can take though the mountains, and the whole route has to be set before the pipeline can proceed. Even if they secure 90% of the route, they still don’t have a pipeline. Certainty for 100% of the route is key.

Why would an investor gamble millions on a roll of the dice? Pipelines can cost a billion dollars, and investors will lose it all if the pipeline is stopped in court or a competitor beats them to market. So the actions of the grassroots Wet’suwe’ten are reverberating around the world.

The land defenders are turning away pipeline workers and surveyors trying to start work on the pipelines. They are protecting their territory, their water, and their hunting and fishing grounds. The intruders have been warned about trespassing on unceded land. The Unis’tot’en people are supported by their neighbours in the Likhts’amisyu Clan, the Gidem’ten Clan and other indigenous and non-indigenous allies.

The oil and gas companies are trying to change the pipeline route to avoid the cabins that were built last year. But they won’t get off that easy. The clan leaders are blocking the new route as well.

To volunteer for the camp, please click here. To join one of the teams in Victoria or Vancouver, email us a message.
Thank you for your support!