It took longer than it should have, but Canadians are finally paying attention to the struggle at Wet’suwet’en. The hereditary chiefs and supporters first built cabins on their traditional territory in 2010 to try to stop a pipeline from being built across their land but their campaign has grown thanks to effective solidarity actions.
The difference between Wet’suwet’en hereditary chiefs and elected chiefs are rooted in Aboriginal title, an issue that the Government of Canada continues to leave unresolved
Amber Bracken is an award-winning photojournalist based in Edmonton. Much of her reporting focuses on issues affecting Indigenous people. She’s spent months, over multiple trips, covering the interpretation of Aboriginal title rights inside Wet’suwet’en territory.
The rule of law is an important consideration in this dispute. Has Canada complied with its own legal requirements? That’s a question that has largely been ignored in the issuance of injunctions in disputes such as this. Canada’s obligation to resolve this jurisdictional dispute is clear from the case law, but it has failed to do so, mainly because it has declined to negotiate. Injunctions are supposed to be issued only to those “with clean hands” and Canada would likely fail on that point.
The uprising across Canada in support of Wet’suwet’en First Nation land defenders shows no sign of stopping. As of February 11, ports, bridges, rail lines, highways and roads have been blockaded across much of the country by solidarity protesters, who have also occupied the offices of politicians and at least one bank.
Names are important. Terms are important. We need to use them more carefully and precisely than ever in this current era of spin, obfuscation, fake news and outright lies that comprise a larger and larger proportion of both our social and mainstream media.
OPINION: In much of northeastern B.C., Indigenous populations can no longer hunt and fish as their ancestors did, because their land and water are too polluted and disturbed by infrastructure.
As physicians, we are deeply distressed to see force being used to disrupt a legitimate protest by the Wet’suwet’en people. They are simply trying to protect the present and future health of their people. We need to be cognizant of the devastating effect that the Coastal GasLink pipeline will have on their way of life.
