Protestors marched in Niagara Falls in solidarity with the Wet’suet’en First Nation. The British Columbia Indigenous community’s fight against a gas line project led to many arrests and raids by the RCMP and the demonstrators here were outrages by the way the occupants were treated.
“This is just a solidarity march with the Wet’suet’en people, the RCMP a couple of weeks ago went in and used excessive force to take out a man camp there, they were their protecting headwaters and their land against the Trans-Canada pipeline,” said Jeffrey Hill, a member of the community.
Community members walked in solidarity starting from Highway 420 at Stanley Avenue all the way down to the Rainbow Bridge.
Layla Staats from the Mohawk Turtle Clan just came back from the Wet’suet’en Territory last week.
“I was one of the land defenders that was illegally detained and went through that experience of dealing with the RCMP, the humiliation process, the terror, the fear, the over use of violence.”
Hundreds of academics have also signed an open letter calling for the government to intervene. Among other calls to action are, a ban on fossil fuel expansion given the climate crisis and a plea for the company – Coastal Gaslink – to drop charges against those arrested last month in British Columbia.
“When you see this river there’s something magical about it. It’s glacier-fed, it’s untouched, it’s pristine and when you feel that pipeline is approaching… we have to do something. This is a river we can still save.”
Staats says this isn’t just about one river. It’s about an ongoing battle for Indigenous rights.
