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Up to 25 Native protesters briefly held up traffic along County Road 45 at Alderville First Nation on Saturday, February 8, 2020 to ask people to educate themselves on what is happening in Wet’suwet’en.
The protest was on County Road 45 at County Road 18. Nearby two OPP officers kept an eye on the gathering.
The protesters were handing out pamphlets for most of the afternoon. When they ran out of pamphlets they asked drivers to look into what is happening at Wet’suwet’en.
The pamphlet read:
Support for Wet’suwet’en
“We are asking you to inform yourself and show support by means of signing petitions, respect land protectors and questions the very media you see on mainstream news sources. Tune in to APTN, look from an Indigenous LENS of what is still happening here in Canada.
“Here we are, nearly 2020 and we are still being threatened with violence, death and the removal of our children for simply existing on our lands and following our laws.
“We have never ceded or surrendered our lands. This is an issue of rights and title with our sovereign nation, and RCMP are acting as mercenaries for industry. With terminology like, “lethal overwatch, “sterilize the side,” and the threat of child welfare removing our children from their homes and territory, we see the extent to which the provincial and federal governments are willing to advance the destruction of our lands and families for profit.
The state has always removed our people from our lands to ensure control over the resources. This has never changed. At a time when the province has introduced the UNDRIP in legislation, the RCMP are occupying our territory for the sole purpose of protecting industry and ensuring extractive projects proceeds unhindered. We call on the general public, the politicians, the investors in this and other projects to put an end to the RCMP’s interference in this dispute over title to Wet’suwet’en lands. We want to live free on our lands, without the constant threat of violence by CIRG (Community Industry Response Group) who are illegally occupying Gidimt’en territory.”
Milly Wickham
The protest ended at approximately 5 p.m.
Author: Pete Fisher
Has been a photojournalist for over 30-years and have been honoured to win numerous awards for photography and writing over the years. Best selling author for the book Highway of Heroes - True Patriot Love
