RCMP invasions and illegal detentions: What's happening in Wet’suwet’en?
RCMP officers leap over blockade set up by land defenders. (Unist'ot'en Camp/Google Images)
Written by: Morgana Adby
Who owns the land? What do people mean when they say it is unceded?
Unceded land is that which has never been acquired through treaty: in this case, 22,000 kilometres of unsurrendered land. However, much of British Columbia is unceded territory and was forcibly settled. In turn, the courts often rule in favour of who is occupying the land. Unceded land can also be called ‘Crown land,’ which means it is land held in trust for Indigenous nations by the crown, as defined in the Royal Proclamation, 1763.
In short, the declaration was supposed to prohibit settlement without a treaty with the relevant First Nation. This was largely ignored throughout the last two and a half centuries as the Indian Act would become the main governance of settled Indigenous communities.
The reoccupation of areas like the Unist’ot’en camp and the Gidumdt'en checkpoint has legal legitimacy under Canadian law, especially because of a 1997 Supreme Court ruling on this same land.
The hereditary chief governance in Wet’suwet’en is a developed system of five clans that are composed of 13 houses.
When people say they support self-governance, they are typically talking about recognizing independent law on a nation to nation level. The colonial Indian Act band councils have control over reserves of crown land, under Canadian law. All the relevant Indian Act band councils are permitting the pipeline to go forward.
Hereditary Chiefs say that the Indian Act band councils can only give consent regarding the territory within their individual reserves, and not the 22,000 kilometres that include the Unist’ot’en camp and the Gidumdt'en checkpoint.
Were the Wet’suwet’en people consulted? If not, who was?
The Indian Act band councils were consulted. The Wet’suwet’en hereditary chiefs had talks with the provincial and federal governments, just days before the RCMP began enforcing the injunction. These talks were unsuccessful.
According to MP Paul Manly in a Green Party media release, “The Wet’suwet’en hereditary Chiefs provided alternative routes to Coastal GasLink that would have been acceptable to them as a pipeline corridor. Coastal GasLink decided that it did not want to take those acceptable options and instead insisted on a route that drives the pipeline through ecologically pristine and culturally important areas.”
What is an Indian Act Band, what is the difference between this authority and that of Hereditary Chiefs?
An elected council has jurisdiction over reserve land and is a colonial form of governance originating in the Indian Act. That does not take away from its credibility as a representative body. Within Indigenous nations band councils and hereditary chiefs may have different roles, depending on the nation. In some communities, band councils are the primary authority, whereas others lean towards traditional forms of governance.
Many land defenders and allies will point to Wet’swuet’en history. Lawyer, Pamela Palmater, said“The people of Wet’suwet’en Nation, as represented by their traditional government, have long asserted their sovereign jurisdiction over their Nation’s lands which span about 22,000 square kilometres in northwest British Columbia.”
Is Wet’suwet’en law valid?
Wet’suwet’en law is valid. If Canada is serious about self-governance and working with First Nations on a nation to nation basis, they must respect this. Personal preference for systems of governance is not relevant and can be discussed at any time.
Regarding the pressing situation, the question is whether or not the Canadian government will recognize this land claim even though it comes from Indigenous governance that falls outside the Indian Act.
Supporters say that the concerns of the chiefs are legitimate and that they have been protecting the land for years.
What is this Supreme Court Ruling of 1977? How is it relevant?
Delgamuukw v. British Columbia was a landmark Supreme Court ruling that outlines the requirements around Indigenous land claims. In short “In order to establish a claim to aboriginal title, the aboriginal group asserting the claim must establish that it occupied the lands.” when the government tries to use the land.
You can find more details here.
Why did the federal government buy the pipeline?
The pipeline expansion would improve Canada’s ability to get oil to foreign markets. This is why Alberta premier Jason Kenny has been putting pressure on Canada to get the pipeline built.
In 2018, Kinder Morgan sold the pipeline because of the challenges in the courts and on the land. This includes the setback in 2018 when the Federal Court of Appeal ruled that the government could not approve the expansion at the time.
Are land defenders and anti-pipeline protesters the same thing?
No, these are two distinct groups that are aligned. Environmental activists have the primary concern of protecting ecology and stopping Canada’s reliance on oil. Land defenders and allies are specifically contesting that Wet’suwet’en land is being used for the pipeline in a way that they did not give consent to.
These groups often intersect, as many environmentalists also support Indigenous sovereignty, and many of the concerns outlined by hereditary chiefs include protecting water and land.
However, it is best practice to make the distinction because calling land defenders “anti-pipeline protesters” can erase the questions around Indigenous law. This conflict might act as a precedent for the settler colonial framework moving forward.
Paul Manly stated that an alternative route was provided for Coastal Gas Link that they declined. As compromises like this are proposed, the distinction is critical.
What are the RCMP doing in Wet’suwet’en? What is law enforcement doing?
The RCMP’s relationship with the Wet’suwet’en territory is controversial and ongoing. The most important development is the recent enforcement of the injunction. Basically, telling land defenders they have to leave and no longer occupy the territory in question. Which has resulted in many arrests over a number of days, including Freda Huson, also known as chief Howihkat. There have also been mass arrests at solidarity protests across the country.
In the territory, the RCMP has not been allowing the press to remain upon the first raid of the Unist'ot'en Camp on Feb. 6. Vice staff and reporters were told they had to leave or would be arrested as well.
“On Thursday, two journalists were detained and dropped off in a parking lot, and told they’d be arrested if they recorded tactical officers with rifles and police arresting a woman by smashing her truck window and pulling her through,” said Emma McIntosh from the National Observer.
On Friday, one reporter was forced to stand in a ditch with no cell service, unable to witness arrests or communicate with his editors. A reporter was temporarily blocked from going into the area Saturday, and on Monday, a video journalist was told they’d be arrested if they walked near a road where arrestees were being held.”
These actions have been condemned by press freedom organizations.
On Feb. 11, the raid continued as dozens were arrested including that of matriarchs Freda Huson; Brenda Michell, also known as chief Geltiy; and Karla Tait, director at the Unist'ot'en Healing Centre.
The RCMP said the raid is over in Wet’suwet’en for now, because Coastal Gas Link now has access.
As solidarity protests continue, there has been no indication that interactions with law enforcement will change from the status quo.
What are the risks around RCMP, man camps and other safety concerns for land defenders and their communities?
Law enforcement has a poor relationship with Indigenous people in Canada, as the data shows through over-incarceration and disproportionate experiences with police violence. This is a good context to have when evaluating the risk level posed by things like an internal memo for the RCMP authorizing “lethal force” against land defenders. This is a primary reason why land defenders have called for international observation, and have promoted “all eyes on Wet’suwet’en,” across social media.
The RCMP’s constraints on the press do add to the risk of excessive force, although so far no instances stand out as especially forceful during this year’s raid.
Work camps are sometimes called “man camps” by activists and land defenders. This is a way of expressing the safety concern that this may pose to Indigenous women, girls and two-spirited people.
Again, this is within the context of missing and murdered Indigenous women, girls and two-spirited people as an ongoing tragedy of our country; one that has historically been met with neglect.
However, this risk is far more difficult to quantify than that of the police or state, because the workers are individual actors. We do not know what the current day risk looks like, considering the pushes for corporate responsibility, and the last 10 years of spotlighting sexual violence. However, hand waving away this concern because ‘we do not know’ is not sufficient assurance for those who use or work with the Unist’ot'en healing center.
The healing center is especially concerned because it says the culture of work camps “exacerbate isolation, drug and alcohol abuse, violence, misogyny, hyper-masculinity, and racism”, which is related to the sort of trauma that people go to the healing center to recover from.
* Disclosure: Morgana Adby has participated in protests and other activities against the Trans Mountain Pipeline when living in B.C. before 2020.
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