Wet’suwet’en Strong: In Defence of Land Defenders

[Speakers Series: Free event with meal, child-minding, wheelchair access and tokens]

The people of the Wet’suwet’en nation in northern British Columbia are courageously defying a supreme court injunction by blocking Coastal Gaslink (CGL) from building a pipeline through their territories. The company is attempting to build a 670km fracked gas pipeline from Dawson Creek to Kitimat, but has not secured the free, prior and informed consent of the Wet’suwet’en who remain opposed to its construction.

The hereditary chiefs of the nation evicted CGL workers from their territories in early January and called for the construction to cease. The company however has indicated it would not comply, raising the threat of a militarized police invasion similar to the one last year that made headlines around the country.

Join us to understand why the land defenders are risking their lives to oppose this and other pipelines, how this struggle is linked to those of Indigenous people here, and how we can support.

Speakers: Vanessa Gray and Niloofar Golkar

Vanessa is a 27 year old Queer Anishinaabe kwe from the Aamjiwnaang First Nation, located in Canada’s Chemical Valley. As a grassroots organizer, land defender and educator, Vanessa works to decolonize environmental justice research by linking scholarly findings to traditional teachings. Vanessa is a co-founder of Aamjiwnaang & Sarnia Against Pipelines (ASAP), host of the annual Toxic Tour of Canada’s Chemical Valley. She continues to take part in a diversity of tactics such direct action, classroom lectures, co-hosting Toxic Tours and Water Gatherings.

Niloofar is a member of Rising Tide Toronto, an organization that has organized actions in solidarity with the Wet’suwet’en in Toronto.