[antiwar-van] Updated: Indigenous Women Speak Out Against Tar Sands on Sep 21

[Harsha W.]

- please forward widely, updated speakers list and event info below -

She Speaks:
Indigenous Women Speak Out Against Tar Sands

When: Friday September 21
Doors at 5:30 pm, event will start shortly after (by 5:40'ish), ends at
8:30 pm

Where: Aboriginal Friendship Center
1607 East Hastings St (corner Commercial)
Vancouver, Unceded Coast Salish Territories

Childcare & Feast (sponsored by the International Woman's Climate Caucus).
This is a free event.

FB: https://www.facebook.com/events/216667078461052/
Web:
http://www.ienearth.org/blog/2012/09/she-speaks-indigenous-women-speak-out-against-tar-sands/

Indigenous communities are taking the lead to stop the largest industrial
project, the Tar Sands Gigaproject. Northern Alberta is ground zero with
over 20 corporations operating in the tar sands sacrifice zone, with
expanded developments being planned. The cultural heritage, land,
ecosystems and human health of Indigenous communities including the
Mikisew Cree First Nation, Athabasca Chipewyan First Nation, Fort McMurray
First Nation, Fort McKay Cree Nation, Beaver Lake Cree First Nation
Chipewyan Prairie First Nation, and the Metis, are being sacrificed for
oil money in what has been termed a “slow industrial genocide”.
Infrastructure projects linked to the tar sands expansion such as the
Enbridge Northern Gateway pipeline, Kinder Morgan pipeline, Ontario Line 9
reversal, and the Keystone XL pipeline threaten Indigenous communities
across Turtle Island.

Join us to hear from Indigenous women at the front line of defending the
land and communities from tar sands development and expansion.

* Territorial opening by Ta'ah, Rachelle George & Kayah George from the
Tsliel-Waututh Nation who are taking a strong stand against the expansion
of Kinder Morgan tar sands pipelines and tankers in their lands and
waters.

* Territorial opening by Amanda Nahanee, whose ancestral name is
Shamantsut, is a cultural ambassador of the Squamish Nation who have been
active in opposing tar sands oil through their territories.

* Territorial opening by Cease Wyss: T’Uy’Tanat-Cease Wyss is Skwxw’u7mesh
ethnobotanist, media artist, educator, and food security activist. She has
stood up with other Indigenous Peoples to fight for native peoples’ rights
to hunt, gather, and fish in their traditional territories.

* Crystal Lameman is a Beaver Lake Cree First Nation activist and the
Peace River tar sands campaigner for the Indigenous Environmental Network
in Alberta. Crystal is committed to restoring Native treaty rights and
stopping the exploitation of the tar sands.

* Freda Huson is the spokesperson of the Unist’ot’en clan of the
Wet’suwet’en Nation, who oppose all pipelines and mining projects in their
territory. The Unist’ot’en have built a resistance camp to protect the
land from the Northern Gateway, Kitimat Summit Lake Looping Project,
Pacific Trails, Pembina, and Kinder Morgan proposed pipelines.

* Ta'Kaiya Blaney is a Sliammon Nation youth who made headlines when she
wrote a song to speak up against the Enbridge Northern Gateway Pipeline.
Since then, she has been a strong Indigenous youth voice locally and
internationally advocating to protect the coast and the land against big
oil.

* Eriel Tchekwie Deranger is a Dene from the Athbasca Chipewyan First
Nation of Northern Alberta, Canada. She is currently the Communications
Coordinator for Athabasca Chipewyan First Nation, who have recently filed
a suit against oil giant Shell Oil Canada for their open-pit mining
projects.

* Suzanne Dhaliwal is the co-founder of the UK Tar Sands Network, which
works in solidarity with the Indigenous Environmental network to campaign
against UK corporations and financial institutions invested in the Alberta
Tar Sands.

* Melina Laboucan-Massimo is Lubicon Cree from Northern Alberta. She has
been working as an advocate for Indigenous rights for the past 10 years.
She has worked with organizations like Redwire Native Media Society and
Indigenous Media Arts Society. She has joined Greenpeace as a tar sands
climate & energy campaigner.


This event is organized by the Indigenous Environmental Network. IEN is an
alliance of grassroots Indigenous Peoples whose mission is to protect the
sacredness of Mother Earth from contamination and exploitation by
strengthening, maintaining, and respecting traditional teachings and
natural laws.

This event is supported by Aboriginal Front Door, Alliance for Peoples
Health, Council of Canadians, Indigenous Action Movement, Mining Justice
Alliance, No One Is Illegal - Vancouver Unceded Coast Salish Territories,
Occupy Vancouver Environmental Justice Working Group, Pipe Up Network,
Purple Thistle Center, Rabble.ca, Streams of Justice, Tanker Free BC,
Western Wilderness Committee and the International Woman's Climate Caucus.

For more information:
Clayton Thomas Muller: monsterredlight at gmail.com
Sheila Muxlow: sheila.muxlow at gmail.com
Harsha Walia: hwalia8 at gmail.com or 778 885 0040
Maryam Adrangi: madrangi at canadians.org


-- 
Harsha Walia

https://twitter.com/HarshaWalia
https://www.facebook.com/nooneisillegal
http://vancouver.mediacoop.ca/author/dtes-power-women-group





-- 
Harsha Walia

https://twitter.com/HarshaWalia
https://www.facebook.com/nooneisillegal
http://vancouver.mediacoop.ca/author/dtes-power-women-group