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allthecanadianpolitics · 3 years

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From the Gidimt'en Checkpoint Facebook page, November 23, 2021:

ARRESTED LAND DEFENDERS APPEAR IN COURT TODAY;

GIDIMT’EN CONDEMNS UNREASONABLE AND PUNITIVE CONDITIONS OF RELEASE

For immediate release: NOVEMBER 22, 2021

WET’SUWET’EN TERRITORY, SMITHERS, BC: Twenty people who were arrested in a two-day violent raid on Wet’suwet’en territory are appearing at BC Supreme Court in Prince George today at 11 am. Those arrested include Gidimt’en Checkpoint spokesperson Sleydo’ and Dinï ze’ Woos’s daughter Jocelyn Alec, as well as two journalists.

Those arrested are all facing charges of civil contempt for breaching the terms of a BC Supreme Court injunction granted to Coastal GasLink (CGL). CGL is seeking a number of conditions of release, including denying many arrestees access to a vast area of Wet’suwet’en territories. The proposed ‘exclusion zone’ is the whole Morice West Forest Service Road or any other areas accessed by the Morice Forest Service Road. Wet'suwet'en people (as determined by CGL) may be exempt from the exclusion zone for "cultural activities" (as defined by the RCMP), while being subjected to 'culture-free zones' around CGL work sites.

CGL is also asking Sleydo’ to provide documentation to “prove” she is Wet’suwet’en, and is seeking conditions that would bar her from returning to her home on Wet’suwet’en Yintah where her, her husband Cody Merriman (Haida nation, who was also arrested), and her three children live. CGL is also challenging Chief Woos’s daughter Jocelyn Alec’s status as a Wet’suwet’en person because she has Indian Act status with her mother’s First Nation. The Indian Act is patriarchal and does not determine identity or belonging to a community.

According to Jen Wickham, media coordinator of Gidimt’en Checkpoint: “Coastal GasLink’s proposed conditions of release are punitive, unreasonable and, in targeting Sleydo’ and Jocelyn, completely racist and sexist. Allowing a private corporation to determine two Indigenous womens’ identities and allowing this corporation to deny our inherent rights to be Wet’suwet’en on our territory is a very dangerous precedent. This is the colonial gendered violence that is the root of the crisis of MMIWG2S. Even though Coastal GasLink is trying to intimidate us through the colonial court system, we are Wet’suwet’en Strong. Under the governance of our Hereditary Chiefs, there will be no pipeline on our Yintah.”

In granting an injunction to Coastal GasLink, Justice Church recognized that the Wet’suwet’en are “posing significant constitutional questions” but said that “this is not the venue for that analysis.” However, the 1997 Supreme Court of Canada Delgamuukw-Gisdaywa ruling clearly affirmed that Aboriginal title - the right to exclusively use and occupy land - has never been extinguished across 55,000 square kilometers of Wet’suwet’en and Gitxsan territories.

States Grand Chief Stewart Phillip, President of the Union of BC Indian Chiefs:

“Industry’s reliance on the racist and oppressive legal weapon of injunctions is a way to maintain the continued dispossession and criminalization of Indigenous peoples. Indigenous peoples should not have to comply with industry and government decisions that deny our Indigenous rights. By dragging us through court and using injunctions against us, our Indigenous rights are being violated and are given less consideration than climate-destroying corporations. We are calling for the release of all Wet’suwet’en land defenders, and for BC and Canada to uphold Indigenous Title and Rights and institute a moratorium on fossil fuel expansion in the wake of clear and present climate catastrophe - including LNG which is not clean energy and is a non-renewable fossil fuel.”

For more information and developing story, please visit yintahaccess.com

Take Action:

🔥 Host a solidarity rally or action in your area.

🔥 Issue a solidarity statement from your organization or group. Email to: [email protected]

🔥 Pressure the government, banks, and investors. http://yintahaccess.com/take-action-1

🔥 Donate. http://go.rallyup.com/wetsuwetenstrong

🔥 Come to Camp. yintahaccess.com/

🔥 Spread the word.

#FreeSleydo #ShutDownCanada #WetsuwetenStrong #AllOutForWedzinKwa #KILLINIT

More information and developing stories:

Website: Yintahaccess.com

IG: @yintah_access

Twitter: @Gidimten

Facebook: @wetsuwetenstrong

Youtube: Gidimten Access Point

TikTok: GidimtenCheckpoint

https://www.yintahaccess.com/news/court%20date

#submission #wetsuwetenstrong #alloutforwedzinkwa #shutdowncanada #freesleydo #rcmpofftheyintah

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allthecanadianpolitics · 3 years

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From the Gidimt'en Checkpoint Facebook page, November 19, 2021:

FREE SLEYDO'!!!!!

Around 12:30pm, Nov 19, 2021, RCMP breached two structures at Coyote Camp on Cas Yikh Territory, violently arresting Gidimt’en Spokesperson Sleydo’, along with Dinϊ Ze' Woos’ daughter, and several other unarmed Indigenous land defenders, on behalf of TC Energy’s proposed Coastal GasLink pipeline project. At the height of the invasion, a media and communications blackout was enforced at gunpoint, cutting contact with the outside world.

The previous day, Nov 18, 2021, a militarized raid employing dozens of tactical officers, K-9 units, assault weapons, busses, and surveillance vehicles breached the first line of defense of the territory - making 15 arrests (including 2 elders, 3 Legal Observers, and 1 journalist). Their bail hearing is happening now in Smithers, BC as more arrests on the territory continue.

We need all eyes on Wet’suwet’en as the genocidal violence continues. Solidarity actions around the world have already begun.

*** We are fortunate and grateful that our struggle is being amplified! However, many fraudulent accounts get created when the media picks up a story like ours. We ask supporters to confirm that they are only sharing talking points and directing donations to our official pages (listed below). Misiyh! ***

🔥 Issue a solidarity statement from your organization or group and tag us.