THUNDER BAY – Close to a hundred Thunder Bay residents joined a Wet’suwet’en solidarity rally Saturday, expressing support for hereditary chiefs in their fight against a pipeline that would transport natural gas through their unceded territory.
The group rallied at Waverley Park before marching to the waterfront, with participants calling the issue part of a larger fight for Indigenous self-determination and climate justice that resonates strongly in Thunder Bay.
“We are against what the RCMP and others are doing to the people over there,” said elder Ma-Nee Chacaby, who spoke at the event. “That’s their land and their water – they're protecting their place. I would do the same thing for Thunder Bay.”
“We have to work together and help each other, it doesn’t matter how many thousand miles away that person is. For me, I’m Indigenous, they’re Indigenous, and they’re in their land. We’ve lost enough already, we don’t have to lose more land.”
Marchers joined thousands across the country who have participated in solidary actions after dozens of land defenders were arrested by the RCMP in recent weeks, some at gunpoint, along with journalists and others.
Land defenders occupied a work site in September, attempting to block construction of the CGL pipeline that would transport fracked natural gas to a liquefied natural gas terminal on B.C.’s coast, for transport to Asian markets.
The multi-billion dollar project would run for 670 kilometres from northeastern B.C. to the coast, crossing hundreds of waterways.
That includes a plan to drill underneath the untouched Wedzin Kwa river in unceded Wet’suwet’en territory.
While 20 elected band councils, including Wet’suwet’en First Nations, have inked deals allowing construction to go ahead, the nation’s hereditary chiefs haven't signed on.
The 1997 Supreme Court decision in Delgamuukw vs. British Columbia affirmed recognition of traditional Wet’suwet’en law, which includes the hereditary chief system, on its unceded lands.
While some observers say that gives legal heft to the hereditary chiefs’ opposition, it hasn’t stopped the RCMP from enforcing civil injunctions granted to CGL to arrest protesters and remove barricades several times since 2019.
Saturday’s rally is the latest in a string of local actions in solidarity with Wet’suwet’en hereditary chiefs and others opposing the pipeline, a sign of how long the confrontation there has dragged on.
For marcher Olivia Heppner, joining in the fight from half a continent away is a matter of taking responsibility for the actions of a government that claims to represent her.
“I think it’s important to stand with the rights of all people, especially Indigenous people, who have been so utterly screwed over by the Canadian government for centuries,” she said.
“I see it as important for me as a white person to just be there to express that discontent with how the Canadian government – our government – is treating the people who lived here before we did. It’s honestly disgusting to me.”
Chacaby echoed the sentiment, saying the situation put the lie to high-minded rhetoric on reconciliation from the Trudeau government.
“I’m ashamed our government doesn’t do anything to stop this,” she said. “They don’t seem to care for us. They always pretend, but they never really are behind us. We always gotta fight for ourselves as Indigenous people – we’re forever fighting for our little peace and comfort. When do we get to sit down and rest?”
Organizers said they were happy to see a strong turnout for a local protest, but marcher Andrew Cameron said more Canadians need to join the fight for a “paradigm shift” in our relationship with the environment and Indigenous rights.
“There’s not enough of us, but we’re here and we do what we can,” he said.
