Coast Salish Freedom Fighters: From Alberta Tar Sands to the Salish Sea
SEATTLE -- The dead birds floating in the Alberta tar sands tailing ponds, the man camps linked to missing and murdered Indigenous girls, and the increased oil tankers in the Salish Sea -- are all parts of the dirty oil of the Trans Mountain pipeline pouring out of Alberta's dirty tar sands, bound for oil tankers in the Salish Sea.
"We are not just activists, we are revolutionaries and we're radical and militant and we want to keep it that way, we don't want to get soft in our older years," said Kanahus Manuel, Secwepemc and Ktunaxa, describing her family's struggle to protect their land and stop the Trans Mountain pipeline.
Speaking at the State of Emergency for The Salish Sea in Seattle on Thursday, Kanahus said, "We are the title holders to the land."
During the second day of the three-day gathering at the Daybreak Star Indian Cultural Center in Seattle, Kanahus described the struggle to stop the toxic dirty pipeline that comes from the Alberta tar sands. The pipeline cuts through the rivers and Native territories on the route from Edmonton, Alberta.
The expensive and dirty oil transport continues to the Salish Sea, the waters off the coasts of British Columbia in Canada and Washington State in the United States, where the waters of the rivers combine with the waters of the Pacific ocean.
Residential Schools and the Dirty Tar Sands
"I'm one of those survivors from the residential school system. They did that because they wanted our land," said Jean from Treaty 8 Territory, choking with grief. Jean described being taken away to residential school, and the widespread destruction and filth from the Alberta tar sands that she must live with.
She said she was taken away and was incarcerated from the age of six until she was twelve years old. Describing it as the heart of the resources in Alberta, she said now because of the tar sands, they can't drink the river water and it is hard to find their berries and medicines.
"Meanwhile they're poisoning us."
"Who is going to be accountable for that?" She said they are trespassing and destroying the environment. "We have to honor our treaties."
"Thousands of birds are dead in the tailing ponds."
"They had blue herons there."
"We can't drink water from there any more," she said, "I was born into this destruction."
"We have to drive sixty kilometers to get our fresh food," she said, and described how hard it is to gather traditional foods and go hunting. "All we do is run into gates."
"People have to know, the water is the one who connects us."
"People have to know, the water is the one who connects us."
"We are all connected through water."
In this grief, Jean remembers her young niece that disappeared in Edmonton twelve years ago. She arrived from B.C. and wasn't even there for three months. "She's gone and they still haven't found her."
In this grief, Jean remembers her young niece that disappeared in Edmonton twelve years ago. She arrived from B.C. and wasn't even there for three months. "She's gone and they still haven't found her."
"There's a lot of violence against our women and it's all because we stand up for Mother Earth."
"We are in the grieving stages for our land, and our ancestors who went before us."
Vanishing ancient forests and sturgeons
Tori Cress is an Anishinaabe mother of two from Beausoleil First Nation in the Great Lakes Region, on Christian Island, Ontario.
Tori said their treaty rights to harvest were restored.
"But there's nothing left to harvest."
As for the ancient forests, "All of those ancient relatives are gone."
As for the ancient forests, "All of those ancient relatives are gone."
"It's been logged out."
"Forever changed is the landscape where I come from."
Sturgeons were a huge part of the culture, now they're gone. They were so plentiful, now they are gone. She said now the settlers have moved in -- cottaging in their second homes -- and destroyed the shore lines.
The sturgeon camps were a central part of the culture.
"All those camps are gone, so settlers can have waterfront property."
Striving to be more genuine as a communicator, she went to stay with Jean and saw what the tar sands have done. "You smell it before you see it," she said of the approach to the tar sands tailing ponds on the road to Fort McMurray in Alberta.
"The landscapes where I'm from have been changed forever," Tori said. "We were taught that we don't dig deep into the ground." She said the bitumen, elements deep in the earth, are to be left in the ground.
"The landscapes where I'm from have been changed forever," Tori said. "We were taught that we don't dig deep into the ground." She said the bitumen, elements deep in the earth, are to be left in the ground.
Speaking with hope, she said she doesn't want to just survive in the genocide of so-called Canada, she wants to thrive -- and wants future generations to thrive.
"It's a high honor to continue being a modern day warrior for our people," Will told the gathering.
Will's film Warrior Spirit follows his journey as he defends himself, offering an intimate inside look at the colonial court system. Will's traditional Tsleil-Waututh name is Swaysən.
"My elders called on me to step up and to help stop it," says George in Warrior Spirit. "And that was just the beginning."
Will was hanging from the Ironworkers Memorial Bridge in North Vancouver for almost 25 hours, APTN reported in July of 2018.
He was one of a dozen aerial protesters blocking oil tanker activity in Burrard Inlet to show Prime Minister Justin Trudeau they don’t agree with his decision to purchase the Trans Mountain pipeline for $4.5 billion.
Coming up next: Part II: Rueben George brings home the waters
Interrupting business as usual: Tiny Houses and increasing risks for investors
Kanahus Manuel, Secwepemc, shared how they are building Tiny Houses on wheels to assert their jurisdiction, and occupy their land. There was a major man camp being built and it was linked to murdered and missing Indigenous Peoples. The man camp and its trailers have come and gone, and now they hope to restore the lands.
Kanahus said she is carrying on the work of her father, Arthur Manuel, and his plan for economic resistance to interrupt Canada's business as usual.
"Let's hit them where it hurts, in their pocket book," her father said. They began to work on what they called, Standing Rock of the North.
They put together a risk assessment as a way to attack them. They met with insurance companies in France to show them how much risk they posed for the pipelines. The companies have insurance to keep from going bankrupt. They pressured companies to stop insuring the Trans Mountain pipeline.
"We are the Title Holders to the land," she said, and pointed out that shutting down business as usual costs the insurance companies and their corporations money.
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| Occupying the land with Tiny Houses. Photo courtesy Tiny House Warriors, Secwepemc land |
When Kanahus father set out to develop an economic plan of resistance, he asked for assistance from DT 'Troy' Cochrane, an economist. Troy grew up on a ranch in Treaty 4 territory. His research focuses on corporate power and its impact on the well-being of people and the planet. He has published on the role of Indigenous resistance in pipeline valuation, which draws on the economic insights of Arthur Manuel.
During the gathering in Seattle, Troy spoke about corporations, and how corporations are essentially psychopaths.
"They view everything in terms of dollars and cents."
Troy said acts of resistance are translated into dollars and cents by corporations.
Continuing her father's work with Troy, Kanahus said the Alberta Tar sands affect the whole world. She said more support is needed for the people there. It is one of the dirtiest extraction processes in the world.
"It is one of the largest carbon bombs in the whole entire world."
She said this panel will scare a lot of people -- because people have made a lot of money off of the tar sands.
Dangling from a Bridge, and Blockading: Prison for Freedom Fighters
"I went to prison three times last year for blockading, for protesting and stopping construction," said Will George of the Tsleil-Waututh Nation. Will described the years of the fight with the people with strong hearts, and strong minds, fighting the Trans Mountain pipeline.
"It's a high honor to continue being a modern day warrior for our people," Will told the gathering.
"It is an honor to be part of our freedom fighters who are being locked up."
Will described the six years of protests for the land and spiritual waters, waters that feed the people.
Will said elders are arrested during their ceremonies, with their drum in their hands. When Will was arrested, the treatment was humiliating. They stripped him, locked those steel doors behind him, and took away his freedom -- but it made him stronger.
Will was arrested for dangling from a bridge to stop an oil tanker from leaving in the Salish Sea. Now, a documentary filmmaker, this work has taken him as far away as Paris and London.
"We bring our gifts together, and we put our gifts together, and we are stronger together," Will said of those here being spirit-guided and working together.
Will also blockaded with a "rez car."
He took the wheels off a car to blockade the Trans Mountain pipeline terminal in Burnaby, B.C. in January of 2021. He faced a criminal charge and potential prison time, CBC reports.
Will's film Warrior Spirit follows his journey as he defends himself, offering an intimate inside look at the colonial court system. Will's traditional Tsleil-Waututh name is Swaysən.
"My elders called on me to step up and to help stop it," says George in Warrior Spirit. "And that was just the beginning."
He was one of a dozen aerial protesters blocking oil tanker activity in Burrard Inlet to show Prime Minister Justin Trudeau they don’t agree with his decision to purchase the Trans Mountain pipeline for $4.5 billion.
During the Seattle gathering, panel moderator Anthony Fernandes remembered being at Standing Rock, during the resistance to Dakota Access Pipeline. He said now the people here need their help. His uncles were shot at while clam digging, something that hasn't happened for.
"We need help." Now, here on the frontlines, there is a struggle for fishing rights, defense of the land from pipelines, and the defense of water from oil takers.
"We need help." Now, here on the frontlines, there is a struggle for fishing rights, defense of the land from pipelines, and the defense of water from oil takers.
Salmon are essential to peoples lives, and the salmon aren't coming the way that they used to. And now they are restricted from many of their traditional fishing grounds.
He said the war on Palestine is before them, and although the children here are not being bombed, they are dying in other ways.
"What is the water, if not our elder."
Carrying on the resistance: Storytelling as filmmakers
Doreen Manuel spoke on Govinda Dalton's live broadcast from The Salish Sea Assembly on Thursday.
Doreen comes from a long line of Indigenous oral historians and factual storytellers. She is the daughter of Grand Chief Dr. George Manuel and Marceline Manuel, and the sister of Art Manuel.
She is the director of the Bosa Centre for Film and Animation at Capilano University in north Vancouver, Canada. Doreen said the film program shows students how to become strong and use their voice, along with the instructions in all of the aspects of filmmaking.Doreen is the first Indigenous woman to head a major academic filmmaking training institution in Canada.
At the gathering, Doreen spoke on aboriginal title, and growing up with leaders. She spoke of her film, "Unceded Chiefs," which describes Canada's white paper policy to eliminate Native peoples and their rights. She describes the need for the people to be informed, because once they know about their aboriginal rights, they will fight for those rights.
"So many of our people have gone to jail over the generations trying to protect our land and our water rights."
Doreen described the movements when she was growing up, and the successes of her father, Chief George Manuel, who founded the World Council of Indigenous People, who brought global leaders together in B.C. in 1975. Chief Manuel was responsible for the draft document of the U.N. Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples.
Carrying on this legacy, Doreen said film students from her program at the Bosa Centre are filming the Salish Sea Assembly.
The gathering began on Wednesday evening with salmon cooking over an open fire, and traditional songs and dances. On Thursday, the seafood feast included halibut ceviche, and fresh cooked clams.
Coming up next: Part II: Rueben George brings home the waters
Rueben George, Tsleil-Waututh Nation, founder of Protectors of the Salish Sea, began the panel. Rueben spoke on reliance on the spirit and the spiritual ecosystem during the second panel on Thursday evening.
"We're people of the water."
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Kanahus Manuel welcomes Rueben George, Matt Remle, and Paul Chiyokten Wagner for the second panel on Thursday evening. |
Listen and watch today, Friday Nov. 8, 2024, online
The three-day State of Emergency for the Salish Sea is broadcast live by Govinda Dalton. Listen, and watch live today.
Govinda is live: Listen at http://cast3.my-control-panel.com:8669/live
and on https://earthcycles.net/
Watch Thursday's session:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=giH3RP2S1Fw
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=giH3RP2S1Fw
The three-day Salish Sea Assembly, Nov. 6 --8, 2024, is focused on asserting indigenous jurisdiction and territorial authority to the Salish Sea, sharing the knowledge of "Water is Life: Protecting the Salish Sea / Stopping extractive infrastructures for export of oil and gas, such as tankers."
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