International Statement, October 14, 2014
Censored News
With much discussion with Elders Councils and around Sacred fires and ceremonies the Secwepemc Ts’ka7 Warriors have acted out their collective responsibility and jurisdiction to and in the Ts’ka7 area by deactivating the Imperial Metals Ruddock Creek mine road.
Imperial Metals Corporation never asked for or received free, prior and informed consent to operate in Secwepemc Territory. The Imperial Metals Mount Polley mine disaster, in the area known as Yuct Ne Senxiymetkwe, the absolute destruction and devastation of our Territory has never been answered for. No reparations have been made. Instead Imperial Metals continues to force through another mine in our Territory while criminalizing the Klabona Keepers of the Tahltan Nation also exerting their jurisdictional and withholding consent from the same company.
The Ts’ka7 (Tumtum Lake Area) area is a Sacred and important area for the Secwepemc. These are our Sacred Headwaters where the glaciers meet and melt and have fed the creeks and rivers in our Territory for thousands of years. Our Kikye7e call this our food cupboards. It is where we hunt, it’s where we harvest our food and our medicines. It is the birthing grounds for our water and our salmon. We live off this land. Our land is our survival. We need the land the land doesn’t need us. Mother Earth carries on but it is our survival that is dependent on the land and the water.
The genocidal displacement of the Secwepemc from their Homelands through starvation, fear and assimilation by the state and industry being acted out by Imperial Metals stops now. We are committed to the ongoing protection of our Territory. Our salmon is sacred, our land is sacred, our Women are sacred, our water is sacred and we the Peoples, the rightful title holders are the decision makers and we will protect them.
Agreements made by elected chief and council do not have authority and do not represent us. This is a warning to Imperial Metals Corporation: Leave our Lands and do not come back. This is a warning to the provincial government: You do not have jurisdiction on this Land to issue permits to any corporation. This is a warning to investors (including the province), contractors, suppliers and subsidiaries: Divest from Imperial Metals Corporation. We the Secwepemc, united, will not allow Imperial Metals Corporation to continue. Secwepemc Law will prevail in our Territory.
Secwepemculecw wel me7 yews, wel me7 yews
Secwepemc Ts’ka7 Warriors
Also see APTN coverage
http://aptn.ca/news/2014/10/15/warriors-burn-bridge-demand-mining-company-behind-mount-polley-toxic-spill-leave-territory/
1 comment:
While legal and constitutional strategies should not be abandoned or underestimated ( see the September 8 Canadian Supreme Court victory for First Nations vs. Imperial Metals ), popular protest against and resistance to marauding capital and its colluding friends in government is unavoidable and commendable, not least of all when First Nations are not earnestly or honestly "consulted" in the least on issues affecting their health and homelands. Generally speaking, it is also important to note that First Nations in Canada and the US, along with indigenous peoples the world over, are typically on the front lines of the war that aggressive capital and development are waging against a healthy environment and sustainable ecology. By most media standards, a woefully under-reported if not completely ignored story that should be a vital part of what all citizens need to know regarding the ecological and human rights challenges we face where we live and around the world.
Kudos to Censored News.
For more on the misinformation campaigns conducted by Imperial Metals since the Mount Polley spill, see the article by Damien Gillis at the Common Sense Canadian:
http://commonsensecanadian.ca/mount-polley-disaster-misinformation-facts/#respond
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