FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE - Wet'suwet'en Evict Coastal Gaslink From Drill Site; Re-Establish Coyote Camp
Dec 20, 2021 - Unceded Gidimt'en Territory, Smithers (BC):
Gidimt'en land defenders and supporters have once again evicted CGL workers from a key pipeline drill site... (cont'd)
...protecting Wet'suwet'en headwaters and re-occupying the area known as "Coyote Camp".
Early Sunday, in observance of Wet'suwet'en law, land defenders enforced the Wet'suwet'en Hereditary Chiefs' 2020 Eviction Notice to Coastal Gaslink, removing pipeline workers and...
..re-establishing the blockade that ended on Nov 19th after two days of militarized police raids.
The eviction took place one month after RCMP made 30 arrests on Wet'suwet'en yintah, marking the third large-scale militarized operation on unceded Wet'suwet'en land since 2019.
Approximately 100 RCMP, equipped with assault weapons, sniper rifles, and dogs were deployed while floodwaters raged throughout the province, to facilitate construction of the Coastal GasLink pipeline and the theft of sovereign Wet'suwet'en land.
The Wet'suwet'en people have never sold, surrendered, or in any way relinquished title to Wet’suwet’en land.
Today follows the 24th anniversary of the 1997 Delgamuukw-Gisday’wa court ruling, which proved that Aboriginal title has never been extinguished across 58,000km2...
...of Wet'suwet'en and Gitxsan lands. The Supreme Court of Canada recognized the Wet’suwet’en Hereditary Chiefs as representatives of the Wet’suwet’en title holding collective, and Anuc ‘nu’at’en (Wet’suwet’en law) as the basis of Wet’suwet’en society.
In violation of the Delgamuukw-Gisday’wa ruling, the UN Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples, and Anuc ‘nu’at’en, the Coastal GasLink pipeline has proceeded without the Free, Prior, and Informed Consent of the Wet’suwet’en Hereditary Chiefs.
In early 2020, Hereditary Chiefs representing all five clans of the Wet’suwet’en nation issued an eviction notice to Coastal Gaslink, leading to a series of blockades across Wet’suwet’en land and sparking nationwide solidarity actions. Today, this eviction is once again in force.
"Coastal GasLink does not and will never have the consent of the Wet'suwet'en Hereditary governance system and should expect that Wet'suwet'en law will prevail on our lands. No amount of state violence against us will make us forget our responsibility to protect the water...
for all future generations”, says Sleydo', spokesperson for the Gidimt'en Checkpoint.
Media contact: Jennifer Wickham, Gidimt’en Checkpoint Media Coordinator
yintahaccess@gmail.com
250-917-8392
Take Action:
🔥Come to Camp yintahaccess.com/come-to-camp
🔥Host a solidarity rally or action in your area.
🔥 Issue a solidarity statement from your organization or group. Email to: yintahaccess@gmail.com
🔥 Pressure the government, banks, and investors yintahaccess.com/take-action-1
More information and developing stories:
Website: yintahaccess.com
IG: @yintah_access
Facebook: @wetsuwetenstrong
Youtube: Gidimten Access Point
TikTok: GidimtenCheckpoint
Early Sunday, Gidimt'en land defenders evicted Coastal Gaslink workers and re-established control of Coyote Camp, the site where Coastal Gaslink plans to drill beneath Wet'suwet'en headwaters.
This courageous action took place one month after a wave of militarized raids on Gidimt'en land, where police with assault weapons, dogs, and sniper rifles arrested 30 people, including land defenders, journalists, and legal observers.
On December 16, 2021, Dinï ze’ Woos of Cas Yikh, Gidimt’en clan of the Wet’suwet’en nation confronted one of Coastal Gaslink’s international investors the National Australia Bank (NAB) at their Annual General Meeting. #WetsuwetenStrong
He confronted NAB about their investment in Indigenous Rights. Coastal GasLink has not gained free, prior and informed consent.
Listen to their response.
Banks are not taking responsibility for their involvement in land theft and illegal projects like Coastal GasLink, that continue to enact colonial violence against Indigenous people with no intention of stopping.
Sleydo’ Molly Wickham confronts NAB about its lending to the Coastal Gaslink Pipeline
Sleydo’ Molly Wickham a spokesperson for Gidimt’en checkpoint on Wet'suwet'en territory speaks about her experience of being violently arrested and removed at gunpoint on Nov 19 from her own territory at Coastal Gaslink's request, a project that NAB has provided funding for.
She asks NAB '"Are you willing to take accountability for that in the face of your commitment to UNDRIP and your commitment to human rights as a national bank?"
Read our full 2021 Recap of Events on Wet'suwet'en Territory 🔥 Resistance to colonial Canada and genocidal CGL on Cas Yikh Gidimt’en Territory continues. We are still here.
Join the #WetsuwetenResistance
Take Action Dec 20-27 #DivestCGL#ShutDownCanada
We call on all nations, allies, accomplices, and supporters everywhere to RISE UP in solidarity. We are in this fight for the long haul and we will not back down. This pipeline will never be built. Join the WET'SUWET'EN RESISTANCE! #wetsuwetenresistance
Wet'suwet'en say no pipelines!
Wet'suwet'en individuals collaborated on making this compilation video of testimonials stating their support of the actions to protect Wedzin Bin and to state their solidarity with the Cas Yikh of the Gitdimt'en.
We are so grateful for those who stand unified with the decisions of our dinï ze’ and tsakë ze’ who made a formal declaration in our bahlats multiple times.
This declaration has already resulted in the defeat of the Enbridge bitumen pipeline and WILL result in the defeat of fracked gas pipelines in our yintah as well.
Please note the views expressed here belong to individuals.