NDP BC invades sovereign Wet'suwet'en territory, RCMP arrest defenders

That’s not the way of our ancestors’: Wet’suwet’en matriarch speaks out about pipeline conflict

A Wet’suwet’en hereditary subchief who helped translate a seminal Supreme Court decision that laid the foundation for greater control for Indigenous communities over their land says she opposes the blockades that have been roiling the country.

https://www.theglobeandmail.com/canada/british-columbia/article-thats-no...

Manitoba Metis Federation opposes Wet’suwet’en solidarity protests, rail blockades

https://globalnews.ca/news/6583365/manitoba-metis-federation-opposes-sol...

Wet'suwet'en member wants protesters to 'back down'

https://www.cbc.ca/player/play/1701376579764

Hereditary B.C. Chief says pipeline protesters aren’t members from her community

Helen Michelle says she is confident that the pipeline also has the support of the Wet’suwet’en people.

https://tnc.news/2020/02/09/hereditary-b-c-chief-says-pipeline-protester...

'People are afraid to speak up': Wet'suwet'en member defends her support for pipeline

https://www.cbc.ca/radio/asithappens/as-it-happens-tuesday-edition-1.545...

HAPPENING NOW: Indigenous youth and allies are holding the intersection outside of West Block in solidarity with the Wet’suwet’en nation, calling on @JustinTrudeau to meet the demands of the hereditary chiefs. #wetsuwentenstrong

https://www.theglobeandmail.com/canada/article-second-wetsuweten-hereditary-wing-chief-voices-concerns-about/

Ottawa Police officers have formed a line blocking Wellington St. near the Supreme Court. No one is available from the force here to explain why. Demonstrators are chanting that they are unarmed and in solitary with Wet’suwet’en. #cdnpoli #ottnews

quizzical wrote:

https://www.theglobeandmail.com/canada/article-second-wetsuweten-hereditary-wing-chief-voices-concerns-about/

Good article that will go completely ignored. Us settlers only suppport First Nations who oppose gas and oil lines, we don't care for the views and opinions of First Nations who are pro pipeline. Because we know better than them.

Going on right now:

Kanehsatake is blocking any traffic from coming in, to raise awareness of Tyendinaga arrests this morning by OPP and in solidarity with Wet’suwet’en.

'Going to get much, much worse': Indigenous Manitobans react to arrests of Mohawk demonstrators

Some Manitobans are concerned after Ontario Provincial Police moved in Monday on the rail blockade near Belleville, Ont., where Mohawks of Tyendinaga are demonstrating in solidarity with anti-pipeline activists in northern B.C.

Niigaan Sinclair, an associate professor in the University of Manitoba's native studies department, is worried the situation could get "much, much worse" now that demonstrators are being arrested for blocking passenger and freight train traffic for more than two weeks.

"The video is pretty damning to watch. It's a video of dozens of police officers armed to the teeth, lined up with paddy wagons, prepared to throw individuals who are standing on their own territory into them," Sinclair said Monday morning.

"It's a pretty horrific scene to watch."

The CBC's Olivia Stefanovich is reporting from the scene and described it as a tense time as dozens of police officers moved in on the camp around 7:15 a.m. CT.

quote:

"This is exactly what Canadian law looks like when it comes to Indigenous land," Sinclair said.

"When they stand up and have legal title to do so, the Canadian government simply moves in and removes them, arrests them and builds the project anyway."

Sheila North, the former grand chief of Manitoba Keewatinowi Okimakinak, a northern Manitoba First Nations advocacy organization, hopes people will look at the arrests without hate.

She said the videos of the Ontario arrests create a real us-versus-them image in Canadians' minds, making it seem as though the Indigenous people are aggressors.

North wants Manitobans to see that Indigenous people are asserting their sovereignty through these blockades.

"I hope that people understand that these are long-standing issues. This is not a one-off thing. It's not happening just because Indigenous people don't have anything to do," she said.

Ry Moran, the director of the National Centre for Truth and Reconciliation in Winnipeg, said he expected something like this to happen.

The federal government needs to show it's dedicated to free, prior and informed consent, he said.

"It's the ability to say yes to something, the ability to say no to something, the ability to say stop, and the ability to say yes, but not that way," he said.

"I just think this is a very painful reminder of how much work we have to do in this country to fully protect and realize human rights."....

Wet'suwet'en supporters spend 2nd day protesting near CP Rail line

After tensions flared on Saturday, Wet'suwet'en protesters had a calm day near a CP Rail line in Saskatoon on Sunday.

Pro-pipeline groups did not make an appearance on Sunday. Senator Lillian Dyck showed up at the protest to show her support.

“I’m here to support them. I believe they have a just cause," Dyck said. "As a senator, especially as an indigenous senator and one from Saskatchewan, I just felt I had to come down and do what I could to help them out."

It is still unknown when the blockade will come down.

epaulo13 wrote:

..this violence reported above..used when in fact the mohawk weren't ever blocking the track. the injunction had it wrong. the mohawk have been saying that all along. they told the minister that they weren't blocking the track when they had the 9 hr talk. 

The train engineers would not run through a site that was inches away from their right of way. But the Mohawk have been very clear that they are not blocking the track right of way. It is my opinion that the trains could have been crawling through the blockade at walking speed for the last week and the Mohawk would have stood on their territory. Of course that would still create an effective bottle neck to rail traffic.

Paladin1 wrote:

quizzical wrote:

https://www.theglobeandmail.com/canada/article-second-wetsuweten-hereditary-wing-chief-voices-concerns-about/

 

Good article that will go completely ignored. Us settlers only suppport First Nations who oppose gas and oil lines, we don't care for the views and opinions of First Nations who are pro pipeline. Because we know better than them.

That's actually true. When you consider how much money it costs to run a newspaper or TV network, plus the fact that the energy companies are the only ones with enough money to be able to afford the ads, it's not a surprise that the media would mainly represent the energy company's point of view, nor is it a surpise that public opinion polling would reflect that as well. I'm sure that if you were doing public opinion polling at the time of the civil rights uprisings in the US, that most people would have told pollsters that they supported the police and that black people should just sit at the back of the bus and not make a big deal out of it. Regardless, energy companies have for far too long been able to extract resources and make profits (with the help of government subsidies, I might add) without regard for the workers doing the work or the land the resources are extracted from. These companies need to be held accountable.

kropotkin1951 wrote:

epaulo13 wrote:

..this violence reported above..used when in fact the mohawk weren't ever blocking the track. the injunction had it wrong. the mohawk have been saying that all along. they told the minister that they weren't blocking the track when they had the 9 hr talk. 

The train engineers would not run through a site that was inches away from their right of way. But the Mohawk have been very clear that they are not blocking the track right of way. It is my opinion that the trains could have been crawling through the blockade at walking speed for the last week and the Mohawk would have stood on their territory. Of course that would still create an effective bottle neck to rail traffic.

Are you suggesting that even though the railways could still have safely operated the trains, even with more inconvenience, that they instead chose to shut down operations to frustrate everyone and try and swing public opinion against the protesters?

Nah, companies would never do a thing like that. That's a conspiracy theory!