A Colonialist Close Up in BC

All week the giant puppets had been watching in horror at the goings on at the Unist'ot'en Camp in traditional Wet'suwet'en territory in Northern BC.

The RCMP had been removing people from the camp on unceded Wet'suwet'en territory. TransCanada Corporation had been seeking entry into this territory, where they were planning to build the massive $4.7 billion Coastal GasLink pipeline.

image courtesy of Pixabay

Where was the Prime Minister during this national emergency? On the Sunday before the RCMP invaded the camp, Prime Minister Trudeau was skiing at Whistler and taking selfies.

What about the BC NDP? Premier John Horgan had said in a recent statement that the LNG Canada decision was on the scale of a "moon landing". He was also waxing poetic about the fantasy of an estimated $23 billion in provincial revenue this soon to be stranded asset would bring to the province.

Letters opposing the RCMP action that had been written by The BC Civil Liberties Association (BCCLA) and the Union of BC Indian Chiefs (UBCIC) were not able to stop the Gidimt'en Checkpoint from being breached by armed RCMP and military, and communications of the Unist'ot'en Camp being cut. Land defenders in this post from the Unist'ot'en Camp describe the injustice of the situation.

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GOOD TIME: What a week! I'm still shaken after seeing that RCMP with machine guns went into the camp on Wet'suwet'en where land defenders were unarmed.

Thank goodness for friends to talk through this with me. How would I sort out everything that's going on without you?

PER: Ya, thank goodness for our mutual support, Good Time. Thank you for being here with me.

It really upsets me that for many it's so hard to know what's really been going on in the Wet'suwet'en Territory. Reading regular media, you'd think protesters were breaking the law. Just compare this

image courtesy of Pixabay

article from Macleans with this video from the women who were at the Unist'ot'en Camp.

 According to the Union of BC Indian Chiefs and the BC Civil Liberties Association, our provincial and federal governments are the ones breaking the law.

NOWCA: My heart is so heavy over what's going on in unceded Wet'suwet'en Territory, and the way we're being lied to about it. But I'm grateful for social media and how quickly the truth is being shared. Democracy Now has done a great job of letting people know what's going on just outside of Houston, BC.

GOOD TIME: The problem is a lot of people who read Macleans don't watch things like Democracy Now, APTN News or other news sources that don't have an industry bias. So they inadvertently believe and spread colonialist points of view.

NOWCA (looking around): Speaking of which, where's Mr. Pipeline? I haven't seen him for days?

PER: Oh, he's probably scheming with his friends, making things up to tell the media. For his ilk this is a public relations disaster, and they have ways of making the people defending the land look bad and themselves look good.

GOOD TIME (heaving a sigh): We'll have to look out for the stories that discredit these courageous land defenders. I think we know where to look. I wonder what we can do to counter their influence.

PER: I guess just talk to people. Share stories on social media. Share the page Unist'ot'en has a set up where you can contribute money, and the wishlist/needslist page that people can respond to. And attend actions in your community. There are many. You can find them on the Support Wet'suwet'en Facebook page.

NOWCA: And send lots of prayers. I'm so grateful for these courageous people who are standing up for all of us and the health of the planet we all depend upon.

GOOD TIME: I still can't believe that here in Canada, our governments are breaking the law for the sake of a fracking company.

PER (head down): From what I've read, it sounds like this has been happening for a long time with the complicity of the mainstream media and the RCMP.

NOWCA: But when people find out about this, most can't go back to trusting sources that lied to them. I hope this situation gets people to think more critically about the news they pay attention to.

And when will our politicians stop treating climate change like a public relations exercise instead of the life threatening thing it is? These heroes at the Unist'ot'en Camp are standing up for me and you and our children's children's future.

GOOD TIME: I hope people will take action. This situation breaks my heart. It's unjust and it's causing so much harm.

I have so much gratitude for the courageous people of the Unist'ot'en Camp. I hope they know that we stand with you.

PER and NOWCA nodded their heads in agreement.

GOOD TIME (with tears on cheeks, hugged the other two puppets): Thanks for being here with me. We need each other now more than ever.

image courtesy of Pixabay