IN SOLIDARITY WITH THE WET’SUWET’EN PEOPLE

CINCINNATI, OH, February 17 - The Urban Native Collective stands in solidarity with the Wet’suwet’en people. We renounce the military violence of the Royal Canadian Mounted Police and the Coastal GasLink pipeline project. The Wet’suwet’en are the original holders of the land and have never ceded their treaty rights. The hereditary chiefs and matriarchs of the Wet’suwet’en stand united in opposing the project.

Militarization is not reconciliation. Canada’s military violence is in direct opposition to its statements on reconciliation with First Nations. Canada and the Crown are violating the treaty rights set forth in the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous People (UNDRIP). Abuse of Indigenous rights and Indigenous people is impermissible.

In solidarity with the Wet’suwet’en people, we echo the following demands: That construction of the Coastal Gaslink Pipeline project cease immediately. That the UNDRIP and the Wet’suwet’en right to free, prior and informed consent are respected by the state and RCMP. That the RCMP and all associated services be removed from Wet’suwet’en lands. That the provincial and federal government, RCMP and private industry employed by CGL respect Wet’suwet’en sovereignty and jurisdiction, and refrain from using force to access Wet’suwet’en lands or remove their people. (Wet’suwet’en Hereditary Chiefs Media Advisory, January 7, 2020).

February 10... "Unist’ot’en Matriarchs Freda Huson (Chief Howihkat), Brenda Michell (Chief Geltiy), and Dr. Karla Tait have been forcibly removed off our territories and arrested. Our matriarchs were arrested while holding a ceremony to call on our ancestors and to honour missing and murdered Indigenous women and girls."

February 13: Join us for food and a film! Get connected with direct action or come and learn how to support the Unist’ot’en Camp, which is an indigenous re-occupation of Wet’suwet’en land in northern “BC, Canada”.

In this era of “reconciliation”, Indigenous land is still being taken at gunpoint. INVASION is a new film about the Unist’ot’en Camp, Gidimt’en checkpoint and the larger Wet’suwet’en Nation standing up to the Canadian government and corporations who continue colonial violence against Indigenous people.

The Unist’ot’en Camp has been a beacon of resistance for nearly 10 years. It is a healing space for Indigenous people and settlers alike, and an active example of decolonization. The violence, environmental destruction, and disregard for human rights following TC Energy (formerly TransCanada) / Coastal GasLink’s interim injunction has been devastating to bear, but this fight is far from over.

February 22: GCNAC stood with the Seneca Nation in in solidarity for Wet’suwet’en hereditary leaders. This action spread Indigenous rail blockades across the fictional colonial borders. The Wet’suwet’en call for solidarity actions from Indigenous and non-Indigenous communities who uphold Indigenous sovereignty and recognize the urgency of stopping resource extraction projects that threaten the lives of future generations.