Uphold Wet'Suwet'en Laws! RCMP Out of Gidumt’en and Unist'ot'en!

Ten years ago, the Unist’ot’en Clan built a cabin at Talbits Kwah at Gosnell Creek and Wedzin Kwah (English: Morice River) to defend their territory from seven proposed pipelines. What started out as a cabin built on the planned path of pipelines has grown into a land-based wellness centre for the Wet’suwet’en people. ‘Heal the Land, Heal the People’ is a slogan that can be found on the Unist’ot’en Camp’s website. One of these pipeline projects is the Coastal GasLink pipeline, which is an approved LNG pipeline project that is owned by Trans Canada Ltd, that’s intended to span from Dawson Creek BC to the proposed LNG Canada Facility near Kitimat BC.

Last October, the Coastal GasLink got the final approval needed to move forward to start building, which was a nod from their partner LNG Canada that intends to build the facility in Kitimat. This was when the Gidumt’en Checkpoint was announced in the Wet’suwet’en feast hall, which has the support of all chiefs present. Under Anuc niwh’it’en (Wet’suwet’en law) all five clans of the Wet’suwet’en unanimously opposed all pipeline proposals. The Gidumt’en checkpoint, which is 20 km from Unist’ot’en, acts as the first line of defense against any possible attempts on the territory. On December 14, 2018, Trans Canada was granted an interim injunction to be able to cross the bridge onto Unist’ot’en territory.

On January 7, 2018, RCMP and possibly INSET, arrived dressed in combat-style fatigues, armed with automatic weapons, in a convoy of vehicles to the Gidumt’en checkpoint, to escort pipeline workers to cross the bridge onto Unist’ot’en territory in order to start the preliminary work to build the Coastal GasLink pipeline. The RCMP led them through while blocking anyone else from entering, including journalists. At that time, internet and cellular service stopped working, (the RCMP deny any responsibility). Janie Naziel, the mother of hereditary chief Smogelgem, of the Laksamshu Clan, had passed away 3 days before the raid. Dini Ze Smogelgem is the partner of Freda Huson, the spokesperson of the Unist’ot’en. In all appearances, the RCMP timed the raid, to take place when everyone at Unist’ot’en had begun mourning in an attempt to force through the bridge.

Demonstrations and actions took place across Canada and the world immediately in support of the Wet’suwet’en, and effectively put the RCMP in the spotlight. For the time being, the Unist’ot’en are currently allowing Trans Canada workers to cross the bridge they had been blocking. If public support hadn’t been expressed, then maybe the RCMP would have continued to block the flow of people entering Gidumt’en and Unist’ot’en, maybe there would be no updates from Unist’ot’en, and maybe Trans Canada Ltd. would have had more freedom to bend a rule or two and do their work that they haven’t received government approval to do.

By the end of January, a court date will likely be set and then the injunction application will be heard, and because Delgamuukw, the 1997 Landmark decision recognizes that Aboriginal Title is not extinguished in the Wet’suwet’en and Gitxsan territories, the injunction may not be granted. Trans Canada Ltd. will probably attempt to complete as much work as they can before the court hearing.

The  RCMP are not only acting to reinforce the injunction but are also attempting to reinforce the ongoing non-relationship and non-recognition between Canada and the sovereign Indigenous nations. This also goes for Trans Canada Ltd. When the company filed for the injunction in order to gain access to the bridge across the Morice River by Unist’ot’en, they didn’t acknowledge unceded Wet’suwet’en territory, or that the rightful people, according to their own traditional laws are blocking the bridge. Instead, the injunction application named Freda Huson and Warner Naziel (Chief Smogelgem), rather than name the Unist’ot’en and the chiefs who collectively hold title and govern Unist’ot’en territory according to Wet’suwet’en law.

Canada continues to attempt to cloud the general public’s already limited understanding of the Unist’ot’en by publicizing that  INAC (Indigenous and Northern Affairs Canada), band councils and First Nations along the pipeline route have all given their support for this project. While this is true, it’s also true that First Nations and band councils were created by the Canadian government through the illegal Indian Act of 1876. This act is illegal because it does not outweigh earlier laws like the British North America Act, the Royal Proclamation, the Duty of Disallowance, or the revised 1982 Canadian Constitution (this list is incomplete) which acknowledge Native peoples’ rights to govern themselves and their rights to their entire traditional territories.

Sovereignty or any recognized Indigenous right to traditional land, even in the most limited capacity, is expensive for the government and a buzz-kill for industry. Natives who are living on, and protecting their land and water is something that Canada has been preparing Canadian law-enforcement to deal with for years. The 1990 Oka Crisis is something Canada has taken steps to ensure would not repeat again, where the Mohawk nation in Kanehsatake achieved stopping a golf course expansion that threatened to desecrate their burial grounds. They survived the military attack their blockade that had attempted  to shoot to kill those at the blockade. The Mohawks defended themselves well, but also got tremendous support all over Canada and the world. In 1995, when Secwepemc people, who became known as the Ts’peten Defenders (Gustafsen Lake), ignored a trespass notice and continued to stay on their territory. They had to defend themselves from an RCMP invasion, who also had shoot to kill orders. There wasn’t the same widespread support as there was during the Oka Crisis. Why not? Maybe because of the RCMP’s attempts to isolate the Ts’peten Defenders. A video recording of RCMP officers planning what they called “a media-smear campaign” was publicized in court, and the mainstream media reporting of “The Gustafsen Lake Standoff”, was incredibly racist, and downplayed the high level of state violence the small number of people had survived through.

Since 9/11, Canada has been actively taking steps to label and treat Native groups as terrorist organizations. First Nations and bands are monitored, but the federal government specifically  attempts to discredit “splinter groups” of “Aboriginal Extremists” that operate outside elected Indigenous and Northern Affairs Canada (INAC), band and tribal councils, and attempt to consolidate perceived power within these federally funded organizations.

By 2003, the Integrated National Security Enforcement Teams, or INSET,  the RCMP’s anti-terrorism tactical units were created and were stationed in all the major cities in Canada. Canada showed it’s a commitment to protecting the oil and gas industry, by setting up an INSET in Calgary in 2012. The sudden jump of RCMP funding into INSET in  2013-14, can be explained by the widespread Idle No More, peaceful protests across Canada, followed by the victorious Mi’kmaq struggle against fracking exploration on Elsipogtog reserve in New Brunswick. 40 people were violently arrested by RCMP and what appeared to be INSET, at a blockade and there were nation-wide protests held to support them. Ultimately they won a province-wide moratorium on fracking in New Brunswick.

The RCMP’s Project Sitka was publicized in March 2016. This was a nation-wide project where various  RCMP detachments, collected extensive intelligence on Indigenous people across Canada from 2014-2015. 89 people were identified and their personal information was organized into profiles that were then shared across Canada with other law enforcement agencies. These were people who attended Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women marches, Idle No More rallies, land claims settlements and who organized opposition to resource extraction projects. They gathered information from personal records and social media, then profiles were created and made available to front-line officers, analysts, and other law enforcement agencies through two police databases, the RCMP’s Automated Intelligence Information System and the Police Reporting and Occurrence System. The National Post reported also that the RCMP refused to answer whether the people who were being monitored had committed any crime.

The federal government is currently getting served their nightmare, again. The Hereditary Clans of the Wet’suwet’en Nation have vast support, in their efforts to protect their territory from pipelines. Large numbers of the general public are standing with the Wet’suwet’en, people everywhere and are speaking against the violations the RCMP have made against the Gidumt’en. More people care about the safety of Native people, clean land and clean water over “a handful of jobs” and the development of the LNG industry.

Canada claims that fracking for natural gas is a sure thing, but it is harmful to watersheds ecosystems, soil health and for many and various human health concerns. And is it really the great market the government makes it out to be? How can it be a valid motivation for their actions in the distant and recent past against indigenous nations?

For the Wet’suwet’en clans, the court will hopefully, eventually have to recognize the rights of the Unist’ot’en people in being on their own territory and the Coastal GasLink project will be stopped.

What can we do? Solidarity actions, court support

Demand a province-wide moratorium on all LNG projects. The LNG market is the root of all evil for the Coastal GasLink pipeline project, and the other projects Indigenous people are fighting in Northern BC. Let investors know that the Canadian LNG market very unstable, by making it unstable. Over the past few weeks, people have held small rallies and large rallies. The Vancouver Port has been blocked a few times now. Highways and roads have been blocked. Every action large and small has been sending a loud message to the government, company, and investors. Continue to let Canada know that you are keeping tabs on how the Wet’suwet’en people are being treated by the RCMP and by the court-system.

Keep yourself informed on the updates from Unist’ot’en, as they are publishing their own press releases regularily. Their website is https://unistoten.camp/ . There is information here on how to make donations to legal funds, monthly donations, and one time donations. They also have information on how donations can be made to Wet’suweten Access Point on Gitdumt’en territory.

GoFundMe: https://www.gofundme.com/gitdumt039en-access-point

Cheques can be sent to : Tse Wedi Eltlh, 620 CN Station Road, Smithers BC, V0J-2N1

Please note: Cheques must be made out to “Tse Wedi Eltlh” NOT Unist’ot’en Camp. Thank you!

If you are nowhere near Unist’ot’en and don’t have funds, but want your actions to be effective, the partner in this pipeline project is LNG Canada, whose major funders are Shell, PETRONAS, Petro China, Mitsubishi, and KOGAS. If there aren’t any offices in your region, Shell and Mitsubishi have businesses everywhere that can be protested.

Sources:

• https://unistoten.camp/
• Wolverine Ignace: Pre-confederation and Canadian laws that uphold Aboriginal Tite.
• http://www.mediacoop.ca/story/first-nations-under-surveillance/7434
• https://www.theglobeandmail.com/report-on-business/industry-news/energy-and-resources/ottawa-launches-alberta-counterterrorism-unit/article4236422/
• https://aptnnews.ca/2013/10/26/death-threats-brandished-weapons-forcible-confinement-triggered-raid-rcmp/
• https://www.thestar.com/news/canada/2015/04/08/rcmp-forced-to-shuffle-cash-staff-to-meet-terrorism-duties-documents-show.html
• https://nationalpost.com/news/canada/rcmp-tracked-89-indigenous-activists-considered-threats-for-participating-in-protests