Ep. 172 : Autonomously and with Conviction
Most of this episode is a talk given at the Decolonizing Thanksgiving Dinner (formally Anti-colonial Thanksgiving Dinner) on October 14th, 2018. I wanted to highlight this conversation on reconciliation when right now, RCMP forces are again actively invading indigenous territories across so-called Canada.
Since September 25th, the Gidimt’en Access Point has been holding new blockades and using a variety of tactics to keep Coastal GasLink workers and the RCMP off their territory. Specifically, they have been blocking access to a drill pad, without which CGL will be unable to drill under the Wedzin Kwa, or Morice River.
Gidimt’en clan members and supporters have established themselves on the site, which they have named Coyote Camp, building a log cabin complete with a wood stove to support a sustained defense of the camp.
The RCMP’s Community-Industry Response Group has been present at the camp, carrying out daily reconnaissance, searching tents, emptying campers’ drinking water supply, and generally harassing the site’s inhabitants.
In the words of Sleydo’, spokesperson for Gidimt’en Checkpoint, “Our way of life is at risk. Wedzin Kwa [is the] river that feeds all of Wet’suwet’en territory and gives life to our nation.”
While this talk may not represent the values and ideas of the Gidimt’en Checkpoint, or the clan members, I think it highlights the fallacy of the Canadian states narrative of reconciliation while actively trying to remove indigenous land protectors from their ancestral territories.
To learn more check these out:
Yintah Access - website for the Gidimt’en Checkpoint
What do we know about the RCMP’s resource extraction protection unit?