Wet'suwet'en Protests and Blockades in BC

[kingofsurrey]

1 minute ago, Alflives said:

It’s not at all about Indians King.  Indians want the projects to go.  

So you think The Mohawk Council of Khanawà:ke are not first nations...  ?  Really ?

[Pickly]

1 minute ago, kingofsurrey said:

So are you a stalker or not ? Quit beating around the bushes.. ?   

People can be against expanding the LNG and dirty bitumen industry and still use resources....  It is about reducing our carbon footprint... not eliminating it.

You crack me up with your simplistic view on the situation.   Protestors are all bad. First nations people should be happy just to have few bucks and a few KM of pipe laid in their territories...  This dispute is about CDN and BC government disrespecting our first nations yet once again.  All in an attempt to ram a pipeline through with a reduced settlement at the same time.....

Man you are such a clown. I don’t believe I’ve given a broken down view on this situation and I definitely do not have a simplistic one. If anything I have a realistic one like a majority of the intelligent posters on this thread who have tried to reason with you to no avail because of your ignorance and outright foolishness. You cannot have a intelligent argument because you are simply not competent enough to do so and run straight to google to find an article that you think supports what you are trying to preach but lacks real substance and makes you look like an idiot. As for the stalker thing. Good one. What are you 12? 

[Pickly]

5 minutes ago, Alflives said:

This is not at all about Indians.  This is a group of professional protesters hiding behind the veil of having Indian support. Indians want the project, because it will help the young people get work.  

Baseball bats and tire irons will end these fake protesters.  

Alf you have redeemed yourself in my books with this post. Kudos. 

[Alflives]

3 minutes ago, kingofsurrey said:

So you think The Mohawk Council of Khanawà:ke are not first nations...  ?  Really ?

No King.  Indians want the projects.  These are professional protesters, who care nothing for the Indian people.  Take away police presence, and these people will run.  

[kingofsurrey]

10 minutes ago, Pickly said:

Man you are such a clown. I don’t believe I’ve given a broken down view on this situation and I definitely do not have a simplistic one. If anything I have a realistic one like a majority of the intelligent posters on this thread who have tried to reason with you to no avail because of your ignorance and outright foolishness. You cannot have a intelligent argument because you are simply not competent enough to do so and run straight to google to find an article that you think supports what you are trying to preach but lacks real substance and makes you look like an idiot. As for the stalker thing. Good one. What are you 12? 

I have an older gif  of you...   you seem more friendly back then..

 

[Pickly]

Just now, kingofsurrey said:

I have an older gif  of you...   you seem more friendly back then..

 

Real mature response to my post. You really are Simple Jack. 

[kingofsurrey]

Just now, Pickly said:

Real mature response to my post. You really are Simple Jack. 

yawn.....

[Squamfan]

1 hour ago, Smashian Kassian said:

Check this out

 

 

lol whalley that explains alot

[Alflives]

2 minutes ago, Squamfan said:

lol whalley that explains alot

Isn’t Whalley the capital of Surrey?  

[Squamfan]

10 minutes ago, Alflives said:

Isn’t Whalley the capital of Surrey?  

newton

[kingofsurrey]

5 minutes ago, Alflives said:

Isn’t Whalley the capital of Surrey?  

The genocide perpetrated against CDN first nations....  has happened / is happening in all  towns and cities in the country.

 

4 % of the CDN population yet over 25% of our prison population..... 

 

Yet our CDN and BC  governments still want to disrespect  / circumvent first nations communities governments.   Time to negotiate properly with all affected parties at the table. 

[kingofsurrey]

33 minutes ago, Alflives said:

No King.  Indians want the projects.  These are professional protesters, who care nothing for the Indian people.  Take away police presence, and these people will run.  

Great quote

 

Nationwide blockades and demonstrations have been popping up for weeks across the country and the group Indigenous Youth for Wet’suwet’en has declared reconciliation dead.

 

“We’re starting to realize that reconciliation may not have existed in the first place, that reconciliation was merely empty rhetoric in order to justify the ongoing colonization of our territories,” said Kolin Wilson-Sutherland. “Reconciliation never had anything to do with Indigenous peoples, we were simply an inconvenience to the ongoing exploitation of our territories.”

 

https://www.abbynews.com/news/video-reconciliation-is-dead-wetsuweten-supporters-vow-to-keep-protesting-at-b-c-legislature/

[naslund.is.king]

2 hours ago, kingofsurrey said:

 

Climate change deniers ....    change is hard for you right ?

 

Well the times are a changin...... your old way of thinking is no longer relevent and history will show you were wrong...

 

 

 

 

2 hours ago, kingofsurrey said:

Good riddens. I guess the thought of reading a book about climate change was just too daunting for you.   

 

250 million climate change refugees by 2050  ...  we the world need to change the way we do business now. 

You better hop on a plane and protest to China and India

[kingofsurrey]

5 minutes ago, naslund.is.king said:

 

You better hop on a plane and protest to China and India

You think that Canadians  have no role in reducing our carbon footprint ?

 

Wow... scarey to think that  our education system has failed our citizens this badly....

[UnkNuk]

An informative article from the CBC that I thought I'd pass along.

 

One of the things that jumped out at me is the number of Wet'suet'en hereditary chiefs who are against the pipeline (which I've been trying to establish for some time).  I've seen different numbers thrown around - four, six etc.  I've also read and heard that a 'majority' of the hereditary chiefs are in favour of the pipeline.   According to the reporter, there are thirteen hereditary chief positions in the Wet'suet'en.  Four are vacant so nine are currently filled.  Of those, eight of the nine  chiefs oppose the pipeline.  

 

 

British Columbia

A who's who of the Wet'suwet'en pipeline conflict

 

From outside Wet'suwet'en Nation, conflict over gas pipeline seems complex, but key players have emerged

 

Rafferty Baker · CBC News · Posted: Feb 26, 2020 9:26 AM PT | Last Updated: 9 hours ago

 

Chief Na'Moks (John Ridsdale) of Tsa K'en Yex (Rafters on Beaver House) has been a prominent spokesperson for the hereditary chiefs opposed to the Coastal GasLink pipeline project. (Darryl Dyck/Canadian Press)

The conflict over a natural gas pipeline project in northern British Columbia has swelled across the country, drawing intense attention to the Wet'suwet'en Nation.

To outsiders, the organization and the dual Wet'suwet'en power structures can seem confusing, and parsing who has legitimate authority over the decision to support or block the pipeline can be challenging.

Along the pipeline's route, 20 elected First Nation councils have signed benefit agreements, but across the country, Indigenous groups have taken part in demonstrations and blockades to protest the project.

 

Here's a guide to some of the main Wet'suwet'en people who have emerged as leaders, spokespeople, advocates and opponents of the project, and how they fit into the nation's elected, hereditary and corporate organizational structures.

Note that there's the Wet'suwet'en First Nation, which has an elected chief and council, and the broader Wet'suwet'en Nation, which includes both the elected bands within the colonial system of governance and a traditional hereditary clan system, which has responsibility for a broader unceded territory covering 22,000 square kilometres.

 

IN FAVOUR OF THE PIPELINE

Five of the six elected band councils within Wet'suwet'en Nation have signed benefit agreements with the pipeline company, Coastal GasLink (CGL), a subsidiary of TC Energy. (Hagwilget Nation is not on the pipeline route and has not signed any agreements.)

The elected councils, which also include Witset First Nation, Skin Tyee Nation, the Nee Tahi Buhn Band, Ts'il Kaz Koh First Nation (Burns Lake Band) and the Wet'suwet'en First Nation, represent First Nations on reserves created by the federal government under the Indian Act.

• When pipeline companies want to build on Indigenous lands, with whom do they consult?

Karen Ogen-Toews

Karen Ogen-Toews is a former elected chief of the Wet'suwet'en First Nation. She signed one of the agreements to approve the pipeline, and remains a vocal supporter of the plan. 

"In my heart I know I'm doing the right thing. I've done the right thing for our people and my heart is in the right place," Ogen-Toews told CBC News. "If our people are living in poverty, the way to overcome it is through proper training, trades, education and a job."

 

 

Karen Ogen-Toews is a former elected chief of the Wet'suwet'en First Nation and signed one of the agreements to approve the pipeline. She now runs the First Nations LNG Alliance. (Chris Corday/CBC)

She's now CEO of the First Nations LNG Alliance, a collection of First Nations that are taking part in and supporting liquefied natural gas developments in B.C.

 

Construction work on the Coastal GasLink natural gas pipeline is underway along the Morice Forest Service Road, near Smithers, B.C. (Chantelle Bellrichard/CBC)

Troy Young

Troy Young runs a Wet'suwet'en-owned company. He's the general manager and director of Kyah Resources Inc., which is owned by a Witset First Nation Limited Partnership.

Kyah Resources has a contract to provide pipeline-related work, including clearing, heli-logging, road building, security and first aid services, according to the B.C. Supreme Court injunction decision. 

Young's comments were included in the injunction decision. He argued a delay in the pipeline construction "would have a severe impact on the local Wet'suwet'en community and the Wet'suwet'en people."

Gloria George, Darlene Glaim and Theresa Tait-Day

Gloria George, Darlene Glaim and Theresa Tait-Day were stripped of their hereditary titles in recent years after creating the Wet'suwet'en Matrilineal Coalition. They held titles in Tsaiyex (Sun House), Cassyex (Grizzly House) and Kwen Beegh Yex (House Beside the Fire), respectively, though their loss of title remains in dispute.

Tait-Day said the coalition was formed to set up a process for the hereditary groups to consider projects on Wet'suwet'en territory and negotiate agreements, according to the injunction decision.

 

The coalition has a board with five members, including George, Glaim and Tait-Day and two others representing all five of the Wet'suwet'en hereditary clans.

"A few house chiefs cannot make decisions for our nation. Everyone in our nation is equal and has a voice that deserves to be heard," said Tait-Day in an affadivit filed in B.C Supreme Court.

According to the Environmental Assessment Office, the Wet'suwet'en Matrilineal Coalition was not among the list of Indigenous groups CGL had to consult with on the project.

AGAINST THE PIPELINE

While the elected band councils have agreed to the pipeline construction, the hereditary chiefs have maintained opposition to the project.

They assert Wet'suwet'en territory was never ceded to the federal government, and that they have responsibility over it and to the Wet'suwet'en people who aren't confined to the pockets of reserve governed by the elected chiefs and councils.

In 1997, the Supreme Court of Canada affirmed Aboriginal title rights in Delgamuukw vs. British Columbia, a decision that recognized Wet'suwet'en have a system of laws that predates colonialism.

 

 

The hereditary chiefs and their respective houses are nearly all represented by the Office of the Wet'suwet'en for the purposes of consultation with CGL, with the exception of Yex T'sa Wilk'us (Dark House) of Gilseyhu Clan (Big Frog Clan).

• 'We still have title': How a landmark B.C. court case set the stage for Wet'suwet'en protests

The Wet'suwet'en Nation is organized into five clans. Within each clan, there are two or three houses. It's at the house level that chiefs hold hereditary title. Each of the 13 houses also has various chiefs below the head chief, including wing chiefs, sub-chiefs and alternate chiefs.

Currently, four of the house hereditary chief positions are vacant, leaving nine hereditary chiefs. Eight of the hereditary chiefs have clearly opposed the pipeline and this group signed an eviction letter to CGL in early January ordering workers off unceded Wet'suwet'en territory.

The chiefs who signed the letter are:

• Knedebeas (Warner William), Yex T'sa Wilk'us (Dark House)
• Woos (Frank Alec), Cassyex (Grizzly House)
• Madeek (Jeff Brown), Anaskaski (Where It Lies Blocking the Trail)
• Gisday'wa (Fred Tom), Kaiyexweniits (House in the Middle of Many)
• Hagwilnegh (Ron Mitchell), G'en Egh La Yex (House of Many Eyes)
• Na'Moks (John Ridsdale), Tsa K'en Yex (Rafters on Beaver House)
• Smogelgem (Warner Naziel), Tsaiyex (Sun House)
• Kloum Khun (Alphonse Gagnon), Medzeyez (Owl House)

Samooh (Herb Naziel), hereditary chief of Kayex (Birchbark House), doesn't appear to have voiced a position on the pipeline and did not sign the eviction notice.

Chief Na'Moks

Chief Na'Moks has frequently served as spokesperson for the hereditary chiefs, and has thus risen to prominence in media coverage of the issue. 

 

 

Chief Na'Moks is joined by fellow hereditary chiefs as he speaks to media at the office of the Wet'suwet'en First Nation in Smithers, B.C., on Jan. 10. (Chad Hipolito/Canadian Press)

"We do expect [RCMP and Coastal GasLink] to meet and discuss things," said Na'Moks in early January in the face of an injunction order and enforcement by police.

"We need them to understand that what they are doing is destroying our lands, our ecological sites, our burial sites," he said. "They have no comprehension of how important it is to our people."

Chief Woos

Chief Woos has also played the role of spokesperson for the hereditary chiefs, especially when the issue in question involves the land of the Grizzly House.

Woos was part of the delegation that travelled to Ontario and Quebec to meet with members of other First Nations who have established solidarity rail blockades.

 

Chief Woos (Frank Alec) speaks to media after a meeting with members of the Mohawk Nation on Feb. 21. (CBC)

In a press conference after the meeting on Jan. 21, Woos spoke out against the police enforcement of the court-ordered injunction against the blockades on Wet'suwet'en land.

"We demand the remote detachment community-industry service office established by the RCMP on Wet'suwet'en territory without our consent be immediately removed, and that the RCMP are completely removed from our territory and cease patrols on our lands. Out means out," said Woos.

 

"We demand that all CGL activities cease within Wet'suwet'en territory while nation-to-nation talks are going," he said.

Chief Smogelgem

Chief Smogelgem is central to one of the three blockades, or checkpoints created in opposition to the pipeline. Along with the title Smogelgem of Tsaiyex (Sun House), Warner Naziel holds the hereditary title of Toghestiy of Medzeyex (Owl House).

He is one of only two named defendants in the injunction against the Wet'suwet'en blockades along the pipeline route.

 

Chief Smogelgem (Warner Naziel), left, and Unist'ot'en spokesperson Freda Huson, right, are the only two people named in a B.C. Supreme Court injunction order granted to Coastal GasLink. (The Canadian Press/Darryl Dyck)

Naziel helped set up an original blockade in 2012, according to the B.C. Supreme Court injunction decision, and assisted the emerging group known as Unist'ot'en with trapping, hunting, gathering and logistical support.

Freda Huson

Freda Huson has served as spokesperson for Yex T'sa Wilk'us (Dark House) and Unist'ot'en. She holds the hereditary title Howihkat within Dark House.

Unist'ot'en is a camp created by Wet'suwet'en pipeline opponents to strategically reoccupy land along the pipeline route. It's associated with Dark House.

 

Huson, along with Naziel, is named in the injunction as a central character in the opposition to the CGL pipeline.

 

There are three camps set up by Wet'suwet'en people opposing the CGL pipeline along the Morice West Forest Service Road near Houston, B.C. (CBC)

Molly Wickham

Molly Wickham is a member of the Gitdumden clan who speaks for the group behind the Gidim'ten Access Point at 44 km, along the Morice Forest Service Road. The B.C. Supreme Court ordered an injunction barring people from obstructing CGL workers at the camp, resulting in 14 arrests on Jan. 9.

Soon afterward, Wickham coordinated the construction of a new camp at the 27-kilometre mark near the RCMP checkpoint, as directed by the hereditary chiefs. She is seen in a video posted on social media Jan. 19 appealing for help from supporters.

 

Molly Wickham speaks to supporters in a video posted on Facebook on Jan. 19. Wickham coordinated the construction of a camp known as Wet'suwet'en Access Point at 27 km on the Morice Forest Service Road. (Wet'suwet'en Access Point on Gidimt'en Territory/Facebook)

"Come out, be self-sustaining. Be dressed for the weather. Come to 27 km for a day. Come to 27 km for a few days. Come and support us on this front line on Wet'suwet'en territory," said Wickham as a generator hummed in the background.

According to the injunction decision, Wickham made public statements that the people occupying the camps were doing it to prevent CGL from completing the work required to get permits and authorizations, "and to ultimately prevent the pipeline project from being completed."

Rob Alfred

Rob Alfred is identified in court documents as being associated with a group calling itself Tsayu Land Defenders, which established one of the Wet'suwet'en camps along the pipeline right-of-way. 

 

 

Rob Alfred, left, takes part in a rally alongside Chief Na'Moks and Antoinette Austin in Smithers, B.C., on Jan. 10. (Jason Franson/The Canadian Press)

Alfred holds the hereditary title Ste ohn Tsiy under Chief Na'Moks in Tsa K'en Yex (Rafters on Beaver House), and is active on Twitter using the handle @showmekittys.

"This isn't just about a pipeline. It's about Indigenous title," Alfred told CBC News. "We wouldn't have this conflict if the governments would step up and deal with that issue. I do wholeheartedly believe the project won't be completed as is."

---

Do you have more to add to this story? Email rafferty.baker@cbc.ca

Follow Rafferty Baker on Twitter: @raffertybaker

[kingofsurrey]

8 minutes ago, UnkNuk said:

An informative article from the CBC that I thought I'd pass along.

 

One of the things that jumped out at me is the number of Wet'suet'en hereditary chiefs who are against the pipeline (which I've been trying to establish for some time).  I've seen different numbers thrown around - four, six etc.  I've also read and heard that a 'majority' of the hereditary chiefs are in favour of the pipeline.   According to the reporter, there are thirteen hereditary chief positions in the Wet'suet'en.  Four are vacant so nine are currently filled.  Of those, eight of the nine  chiefs oppose the pipeline.  

 

 

British Columbia

A who's who of the Wet'suwet'en pipeline conflict

 

From outside Wet'suwet'en Nation, conflict over gas pipeline seems complex, but key players have emerged

 

Rafferty Baker · CBC News · Posted: Feb 26, 2020 9:26 AM PT | Last Updated: 9 hours ago

 

Chief Na'Moks (John Ridsdale) of Tsa K'en Yex (Rafters on Beaver House) has been a prominent spokesperson for the hereditary chiefs opposed to the Coastal GasLink pipeline project. (Darryl Dyck/Canadian Press)

The conflict over a natural gas pipeline project in northern British Columbia has swelled across the country, drawing intense attention to the Wet'suwet'en Nation.

To outsiders, the organization and the dual Wet'suwet'en power structures can seem confusing, and parsing who has legitimate authority over the decision to support or block the pipeline can be challenging.

Along the pipeline's route, 20 elected First Nation councils have signed benefit agreements, but across the country, Indigenous groups have taken part in demonstrations and blockades to protest the project.

 

Here's a guide to some of the main Wet'suwet'en people who have emerged as leaders, spokespeople, advocates and opponents of the project, and how they fit into the nation's elected, hereditary and corporate organizational structures.

Note that there's the Wet'suwet'en First Nation, which has an elected chief and council, and the broader Wet'suwet'en Nation, which includes both the elected bands within the colonial system of governance and a traditional hereditary clan system, which has responsibility for a broader unceded territory covering 22,000 square kilometres.

 

IN FAVOUR OF THE PIPELINE

Five of the six elected band councils within Wet'suwet'en Nation have signed benefit agreements with the pipeline company, Coastal GasLink (CGL), a subsidiary of TC Energy. (Hagwilget Nation is not on the pipeline route and has not signed any agreements.)

The elected councils, which also include Witset First Nation, Skin Tyee Nation, the Nee Tahi Buhn Band, Ts'il Kaz Koh First Nation (Burns Lake Band) and the Wet'suwet'en First Nation, represent First Nations on reserves created by the federal government under the Indian Act.

• When pipeline companies want to build on Indigenous lands, with whom do they consult?

Karen Ogen-Toews

Karen Ogen-Toews is a former elected chief of the Wet'suwet'en First Nation. She signed one of the agreements to approve the pipeline, and remains a vocal supporter of the plan. 

"In my heart I know I'm doing the right thing. I've done the right thing for our people and my heart is in the right place," Ogen-Toews told CBC News. "If our people are living in poverty, the way to overcome it is through proper training, trades, education and a job."

 

 

Karen Ogen-Toews is a former elected chief of the Wet'suwet'en First Nation and signed one of the agreements to approve the pipeline. She now runs the First Nations LNG Alliance. (Chris Corday/CBC)

She's now CEO of the First Nations LNG Alliance, a collection of First Nations that are taking part in and supporting liquefied natural gas developments in B.C.

 

Construction work on the Coastal GasLink natural gas pipeline is underway along the Morice Forest Service Road, near Smithers, B.C. (Chantelle Bellrichard/CBC)

Troy Young

Troy Young runs a Wet'suwet'en-owned company. He's the general manager and director of Kyah Resources Inc., which is owned by a Witset First Nation Limited Partnership.

Kyah Resources has a contract to provide pipeline-related work, including clearing, heli-logging, road building, security and first aid services, according to the B.C. Supreme Court injunction decision. 

Young's comments were included in the injunction decision. He argued a delay in the pipeline construction "would have a severe impact on the local Wet'suwet'en community and the Wet'suwet'en people."

Gloria George, Darlene Glaim and Theresa Tait-Day

Gloria George, Darlene Glaim and Theresa Tait-Day were stripped of their hereditary titles in recent years after creating the Wet'suwet'en Matrilineal Coalition. They held titles in Tsaiyex (Sun House), Cassyex (Grizzly House) and Kwen Beegh Yex (House Beside the Fire), respectively, though their loss of title remains in dispute.

Tait-Day said the coalition was formed to set up a process for the hereditary groups to consider projects on Wet'suwet'en territory and negotiate agreements, according to the injunction decision.

 

The coalition has a board with five members, including George, Glaim and Tait-Day and two others representing all five of the Wet'suwet'en hereditary clans.

"A few house chiefs cannot make decisions for our nation. Everyone in our nation is equal and has a voice that deserves to be heard," said Tait-Day in an affadivit filed in B.C Supreme Court.

According to the Environmental Assessment Office, the Wet'suwet'en Matrilineal Coalition was not among the list of Indigenous groups CGL had to consult with on the project.

AGAINST THE PIPELINE

While the elected band councils have agreed to the pipeline construction, the hereditary chiefs have maintained opposition to the project.

They assert Wet'suwet'en territory was never ceded to the federal government, and that they have responsibility over it and to the Wet'suwet'en people who aren't confined to the pockets of reserve governed by the elected chiefs and councils.

In 1997, the Supreme Court of Canada affirmed Aboriginal title rights in Delgamuukw vs. British Columbia, a decision that recognized Wet'suwet'en have a system of laws that predates colonialism.

 

 

The hereditary chiefs and their respective houses are nearly all represented by the Office of the Wet'suwet'en for the purposes of consultation with CGL, with the exception of Yex T'sa Wilk'us (Dark House) of Gilseyhu Clan (Big Frog Clan).

• 'We still have title': How a landmark B.C. court case set the stage for Wet'suwet'en protests

The Wet'suwet'en Nation is organized into five clans. Within each clan, there are two or three houses. It's at the house level that chiefs hold hereditary title. Each of the 13 houses also has various chiefs below the head chief, including wing chiefs, sub-chiefs and alternate chiefs.

Currently, four of the house hereditary chief positions are vacant, leaving nine hereditary chiefs. Eight of the hereditary chiefs have clearly opposed the pipeline and this group signed an eviction letter to CGL in early January ordering workers off unceded Wet'suwet'en territory.

The chiefs who signed the letter are:

• Knedebeas (Warner William), Yex T'sa Wilk'us (Dark House)
• Woos (Frank Alec), Cassyex (Grizzly House)
• Madeek (Jeff Brown), Anaskaski (Where It Lies Blocking the Trail)
• Gisday'wa (Fred Tom), Kaiyexweniits (House in the Middle of Many)
• Hagwilnegh (Ron Mitchell), G'en Egh La Yex (House of Many Eyes)
• Na'Moks (John Ridsdale), Tsa K'en Yex (Rafters on Beaver House)
• Smogelgem (Warner Naziel), Tsaiyex (Sun House)
• Kloum Khun (Alphonse Gagnon), Medzeyez (Owl House)

Samooh (Herb Naziel), hereditary chief of Kayex (Birchbark House), doesn't appear to have voiced a position on the pipeline and did not sign the eviction notice.

Chief Na'Moks

Chief Na'Moks has frequently served as spokesperson for the hereditary chiefs, and has thus risen to prominence in media coverage of the issue. 

 

 

Chief Na'Moks is joined by fellow hereditary chiefs as he speaks to media at the office of the Wet'suwet'en First Nation in Smithers, B.C., on Jan. 10. (Chad Hipolito/Canadian Press)

"We do expect [RCMP and Coastal GasLink] to meet and discuss things," said Na'Moks in early January in the face of an injunction order and enforcement by police.

"We need them to understand that what they are doing is destroying our lands, our ecological sites, our burial sites," he said. "They have no comprehension of how important it is to our people."

Chief Woos

Chief Woos has also played the role of spokesperson for the hereditary chiefs, especially when the issue in question involves the land of the Grizzly House.

Woos was part of the delegation that travelled to Ontario and Quebec to meet with members of other First Nations who have established solidarity rail blockades.

 

Chief Woos (Frank Alec) speaks to media after a meeting with members of the Mohawk Nation on Feb. 21. (CBC)

In a press conference after the meeting on Jan. 21, Woos spoke out against the police enforcement of the court-ordered injunction against the blockades on Wet'suwet'en land.

"We demand the remote detachment community-industry service office established by the RCMP on Wet'suwet'en territory without our consent be immediately removed, and that the RCMP are completely removed from our territory and cease patrols on our lands. Out means out," said Woos.

 

"We demand that all CGL activities cease within Wet'suwet'en territory while nation-to-nation talks are going," he said.

Chief Smogelgem

Chief Smogelgem is central to one of the three blockades, or checkpoints created in opposition to the pipeline. Along with the title Smogelgem of Tsaiyex (Sun House), Warner Naziel holds the hereditary title of Toghestiy of Medzeyex (Owl House).

He is one of only two named defendants in the injunction against the Wet'suwet'en blockades along the pipeline route.

 

Chief Smogelgem (Warner Naziel), left, and Unist'ot'en spokesperson Freda Huson, right, are the only two people named in a B.C. Supreme Court injunction order granted to Coastal GasLink. (The Canadian Press/Darryl Dyck)

Naziel helped set up an original blockade in 2012, according to the B.C. Supreme Court injunction decision, and assisted the emerging group known as Unist'ot'en with trapping, hunting, gathering and logistical support.

Freda Huson

Freda Huson has served as spokesperson for Yex T'sa Wilk'us (Dark House) and Unist'ot'en. She holds the hereditary title Howihkat within Dark House.

Unist'ot'en is a camp created by Wet'suwet'en pipeline opponents to strategically reoccupy land along the pipeline route. It's associated with Dark House.

 

Huson, along with Naziel, is named in the injunction as a central character in the opposition to the CGL pipeline.

 

There are three camps set up by Wet'suwet'en people opposing the CGL pipeline along the Morice West Forest Service Road near Houston, B.C. (CBC)

Molly Wickham

Molly Wickham is a member of the Gitdumden clan who speaks for the group behind the Gidim'ten Access Point at 44 km, along the Morice Forest Service Road. The B.C. Supreme Court ordered an injunction barring people from obstructing CGL workers at the camp, resulting in 14 arrests on Jan. 9.

Soon afterward, Wickham coordinated the construction of a new camp at the 27-kilometre mark near the RCMP checkpoint, as directed by the hereditary chiefs. She is seen in a video posted on social media Jan. 19 appealing for help from supporters.

 

Molly Wickham speaks to supporters in a video posted on Facebook on Jan. 19. Wickham coordinated the construction of a camp known as Wet'suwet'en Access Point at 27 km on the Morice Forest Service Road. (Wet'suwet'en Access Point on Gidimt'en Territory/Facebook)

"Come out, be self-sustaining. Be dressed for the weather. Come to 27 km for a day. Come to 27 km for a few days. Come and support us on this front line on Wet'suwet'en territory," said Wickham as a generator hummed in the background.

According to the injunction decision, Wickham made public statements that the people occupying the camps were doing it to prevent CGL from completing the work required to get permits and authorizations, "and to ultimately prevent the pipeline project from being completed."

Rob Alfred

Rob Alfred is identified in court documents as being associated with a group calling itself Tsayu Land Defenders, which established one of the Wet'suwet'en camps along the pipeline right-of-way. 

 

 

Rob Alfred, left, takes part in a rally alongside Chief Na'Moks and Antoinette Austin in Smithers, B.C., on Jan. 10. (Jason Franson/The Canadian Press)

Alfred holds the hereditary title Ste ohn Tsiy under Chief Na'Moks in Tsa K'en Yex (Rafters on Beaver House), and is active on Twitter using the handle @showmekittys.

"This isn't just about a pipeline. It's about Indigenous title," Alfred told CBC News. "We wouldn't have this conflict if the governments would step up and deal with that issue. I do wholeheartedly believe the project won't be completed as is."

---

Do you have more to add to this story? Email rafferty.baker@cbc.ca

Follow Rafferty Baker on Twitter: @raffertybaker

thanks great article.

Counters  so much of the racist crap printed in mainstream media and shared on social media sites like this one. 

[Toews]

2 hours ago, Russ said:

Its just pathetic.  Journalism is dead.  Journalism was supposed to be unbiased, fact based.  Now its all about opinions on both sides to push narratives and push that story out ASAP regardless of facts and accuracy where they figure they can just edit it at a later time when more info comes in.  Thats the worst part about the internet now, when a major story breaks I try and avoid reading and making snap judgements on it for a good 12 hours to see what else gets reported and what else has been edited in stories as more info is released and discovered.  

I was watching Rick Fox's interview on TNT, he's a former teammate of Kobe's and as the story broke he was one of the "reported" passengers on that helicopter. Irresponsible reporting led to him having to calm down his friends and family members while still grieving the death of a close friend, just terrible.

 

I also remember when some idiots on reddit thought they were sleuths and had identified the Boston Marathon bomber, they falsely accused some poor depressed kid who had gone missing weeks ago because he had taken his own life. Imagine being the family of this kid getting death threats and accusations of terrorism, not knowing his fate.

 

I predict that such incidents are more likely to increase with our current model of click-bait journalism. It has led to the current norm where inaccuracies are proliferated and innocent people often have to bear the brunt.

[Gurn]

8 hours ago, bishopshodan said:

I just had an old memory pop up.

Subhumans( punk band) .... Squamish 5

Anyway, even back in the early 80's these people were going after those harming the environment, the wrong way. They had some crazy and dangerous ideas.

As a former Squamish resident   I've hated the name " Squamish Five". It was a media invention merely because the group was arrested on the  Squamish highway. Loads of bad press for a town that had nothing to do with those nutbars.

[bishopshodan]

6 hours ago, gurn said:

As a former Squamish resident   I've hated the name " Squamish Five". It was a media invention merely because the group was arrested on the  Squamish highway. Loads of bad press for a town that had nothing to do with those nutbars.

I became aware of them for having a member from the Subhumans. I was like, I know punk rock is edgy but these guys take it too far. 

Edited February 27, 2020 by bishopshodan

[Warhippy]

11 hours ago, kingofsurrey said:

This dispute is about CDN and BC government disrespecting our first nations yet once again.  All in an attempt to ram a pipeline through with a reduced settlement at the same time.....

Wrong.

 

this dispute is about a few hereditary chieftains with little power and a mob of protestors blocking what has already been an approved and signed off on agreement and contract between the bands in the area, the government and the company building it.

 

It's amazing how that fact keeps escaping you